What do snapping turtles, tissue boxes and college students looking for part-time jobs have in common?
They all might be hiding threats to China’s national security.
That, at least, is the message being pushed by the Ministry of State Security, China’s main intelligence agency, in a flurry of recent social media posts. Every few days in the past month, the agency has published an addition to its long, wide-ranging list of dangers, with the stated goal being to keep the public vigilant and enlist it to fend off foreign enemies.
The drumbeat is part of a broader push by China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, to make national security the country’s top priority, above other longstanding goals, such as economic development.
In Beijing’s view, that requires far more than strengthening spy agencies or investing in the military. It requires activating every Chinese citizen to be on the lookout, in what China has called a “whole of society” mobilization.
The creation of the usually secretive security ministry’s social media account last year was one step toward that goal. The account’s posts are reaching a wide audience: Each one on WeChat has been read more than 100,000 times — the maximum view count that the messaging platform will show — and hashtags about the warnings have been top trending topics on Weibo, another social media site.
In the past several weeks, here are some of the risks the security agency has warned about:
Apparent Good Samaritans: One recent post titled “Beware! Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing” warned readers that spies might pose as generous donors. It told the story of a young orphan with top grades, who one day was approached by a stranger offering to financially support him through college. Over the years, the stranger kept in touch with the student and encouraged him to apply for a government job. When he landed it, the stranger asked him to share confidential information about China’s economic policies. Fortunately, the post said, the student recalled the “anti-espionage propaganda education he’d received” and reported the stranger, whom the Chinese authorities confirmed was a foreign spy.
Courier services: Another post was called “These types of packages are not allowed!” Besides reminding people not to mail top-secret documents to spies, it warned that “some foreign organizations and individuals” had shipped animals, such as alligator snapping turtles, American bullfrogs and red fire ants, to China to reproduce as invasive species and destroy local ecosystems.
Students looking for cash: College students are a persistent source of worry for Beijing. Another post warned that students looking for part-time work may be targets for spies who ask them to take photos of scientific research sites for pay.
Students applying to colleges abroad: But students don’t need to be sharing sensitive information to threaten national security. They may also be unwitting vessels for spreading a negative image of China — as described in another post, where a study-abroad agency purportedly inserted political content critical of China into a student’s application materials, to help them win admission overseas. “Without knowing it,” the post said, the student went from “a young student with a simple résumé to an anti-China vanguard.”
Pretty much anything: Pens can contain hidden cameras. Lighters can be bugged with listening devices. That dragonfly? Actually a tiny aerial drone. And beware the tissue box, which a guest may bring to a dinner party where major infrastructure projects are being discussed. A recorder may be hidden inside. “Some unassuming daily objects may contain mysteries,” the post said, above a hotline for reporting spies.