China warns public servants not to 'show off' online
Beijing has ramped up espionage warnings in recent years as ties with the United States and other Western nations have cooled.
The Ministry of State Security said this month foreign spooks were targeting public officials with tantalising "honey traps" and blackmail to infiltrate the country and steal sensitive information.
In another admonition yesterday, the ministry turned its focus to newbie workers who, in its view, might be spending a little too much time online.
It cited the example of a young man surnamed Jiang, a "newly employed cadre at a certain agency" who received a confidential document during a regular work meeting.
"Out of a desire to show off, he took a photo of the front page and posted it on his WeChat Moments, causing a leak," said the ministry, referring to the social media app's news feed.
It added that Jiang faced punishment from the ruling Communist Party and "administrative discipline" for his actions.
In a similar case, a greenhorn worker surnamed Tian "casually" shared his progress on a confidential project with a colleague, whose family overheard the conversation and posted about it online.
Another "novice" mistake involved a scientific worker surnamed Li, who lazily uploaded sensitive data to an artificial intelligence app to generate a research report, causing a leak.
"New employees in confidential units... must strictly distinguish between work and life boundaries, strictly follow confidentiality agreements while socialising and entertaining, and strictly control their 'desire to show off' and 'vanity'," said the ministry.
Beijing and Washington have long traded accusations of espionage.
In China, spying can be punishable by death.
The ministry said in March it had handed such a sentence to a former engineer for leaking state secrets to a foreign power.
This month, it had cracked three spying plots, including one in which a public servant was bewitched by the "seductive beauty" of a foreign agent.
Enmeshed in a "meticulously designed honey trap", the hapless employee was blackmailed with "intimate photos" and forced to hand over official documents, landing him five years in prison, said the ministry. — AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
23 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Trump gets his way on tariffs, but global trade system intact for now
PARIS: President Donald Trump has succeeded in strong-arming nations to accept higher tariffs on US exports, yet for now experts see little threat to the postwar trend of lower duties in the pursuit of greater wealth all around. Since World War II, most politicians and economists view free trade as a pillar of globalisation, enshrined in the 1947 signing of the GATT accord. It was the precursor to the World Trade Organisation, which now has 166 members and covers 98 percent of global commerce. "What we've learned in the postwar is that lower tariffs are better for prosperity of your own country," said Richard Baldwin, a professor at the IMD Business School in Switzerland. "And it's also good if other countries lower their tariffs, so we have a vibrant international economy," Baldwin, who was a member of US president George Bush's Council of Economic Advisors, told AFP. Trump however has embarked on a punishing trade war, claiming that deficits with other nations show they are "ripping off" the United States. He has recently landed accords with Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia and, most importantly, the European Union. For dozens of other nations, US "reciprocal" tariffs are to jump from 10 percent to various steeper levels come August 1, including powerhouse economies such as South Korea, India and Taiwan. "To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is 'tariff'," Trump repeatedly said during the 2024 election campaign that returned him to office. Despite the headline figures, many economists expect the fallout for the global trade system overall to be limited. US importers may well decide to procure more from American producers as the tariffs are applied, or pass along the higher costs to consumers. "That won't have a systemic impact" outside the United States, Pascal Lamy, a former WTO chief, told AFP, calling the tariffs a "Pyrrhic victory" for Trump. He noted that Trump is targeting only the US deficits for goods and not services, "the part of global trade that is increasing the fastest." "You need to change your outlook when it comes to international trade," Lamy said, adding that "Donald Trump has a medieval view" of the issue. And instead of making a country more prosperous, the accepted economic wisdom is that by making goods more expensive, tariffs weigh on economic growth for everyone involved. "Putting up your own tariffs is not a way to make yourself richer – that's something that people have given up on many years ago," Baldwin said. "Trump has not screwed up the entire world trading system yet because the rest of the world hasn't changed their opinion as to whether trade is good or bad," he said. "And generally speaking, it's good." Global trade has risen sharply in recent decades, totalling nearly US$24 trillion in 2023, according to WTO figures. US imports represent just 13 per cent of overall imports – meaning the vast majority of international commerce will not be directly affected by Trump's levies. "It's significant, but it's only a small part of imports worldwide, and the rest of the world still wants the system of engagement and interdependence to work," said Elvire Fabry, a specialist in geopolitical economics at the Jacques Delors Institute. Several countries have moved in recent years to forge new trade deals, a trend Trump's tariffs blitz could accelerate. In March, Japan, South Korea and China pledged to speed up negotiations on an accord, while Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has called for a deal between the Mercosur Latin America bloc and Japan. The European Union has also signed a free-trade deal with Mercosur, though its ratification has been held up, in particular by France over concerns about unfair agriculture competition. The EU has also relaunched efforts to secure a deal with Malaysia and countries in Central Asia. In April, the WTO said world merchandise trade would fall 0.2 per cent this year before a "modest" recovery to growth of 2.5 per cent in 2026. But those forecasts took into account only the tariffs Trump had announced up to then – not the more severe levels he has threatened to put in place starting August 1 for countries that have not signed deals with Washington.
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Cambodia urges Thailand to return soldiers taken in border clashes
FILE PHOTO: This handout photograph taken and released by the Royal Thai Army on July 27, 2025 shows Thai soldiers preparing to repatriate the bodies of 12 Cambodian soldiers to Cambodian authorities at the Chong Sa-ngam border checkpoint between Thailand and Cambodia, in the Thai border province of Sisaket. Cambodian defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata said on July 31 that talks with Thailand were under way for the release of 20 Cambodian soldiers.- AFP Photo/Royal Thai Army/Handout PHNOM PENH: Cambodia called on Thailand Thursday (July 31) to return 20 soldiers it said were taken captive hours after a ceasefire to halt the neighbours' bloodiest border clashes in decades. The two countries agreed a truce on Tuesday following five days of clashes that killed at least 43 people on both sides - the latest eruption of a long-standing dispute over contested border temples on their 800-kilometre frontier. ALSO READ: Hun Manet: Non-disclosure of information regarding captured Cambodian soldiers 'for their own safety' Bangkok said there were no reports of violence during the night up to 7:00 am (0000 GMT), after both sides traded allegations of ceasefire breaches on Wednesday. Cambodian defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata said Thursday that talks were under way for the release of 20 soldiers. "We will do our best to continue negotiations with the Thai side in order to bring all our soldiers back home safely and as soon possible," she told a briefing. "We call on the Thai side to send all 20 military personnel back to Cambodia as soon possible." The troops were captured around 7:50 am on Tuesday, she said - nearly eight hours after the ceasefire came into effect. Thailand's government said Wednesday the detained soldiers were being treated in line with international humanitarian law and military regulations, and would be returned when the border situation stabilises. UN rights chief Volker Turk urged the neighbouring nations to implement their ceasefire deal in full and take rapid steps to build confidence and peace. "This crucial agreement must be fully respected, in good faith, by both sides, as diplomatic efforts continue, in a bid to resolve the root causes of the conflict," he said. The agreement to stop fighting was sealed in Malaysia after an intervention by US President Donald Trump - whom both Thailand and Cambodia are courting for a trade deal to avert his threat of eye-watering tariffs. Nearly 300,000 people fled their homes as the two sides battled with jets, rockets and artillery along the rural border region, marked by a ridge of hills surrounded by wild jungle and agricultural land where locals farm rubber and rice. Thailand has said 15 of its soldiers and 15 civilians were killed, while Cambodia has confirmed eight civilian and five military deaths. The death toll is significantly higher than in the last major flare-up of violence on the border, when 28 were killed in sporadic fighting from 2008 to 2011. - AFP
Sinar Daily
2 hours ago
- Sinar Daily
Trump confirms attendance at 47th Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur
The announcement was made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the presentation of the 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK13) in Parliament today. 31 Jul 2025 12:53pm US President Donald Trump speaks before signing the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 30, 2025. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) KUALA LUMPUR - United States (US) President Donald Trump has confirmed his attendance at the 47th ASEAN Summit, scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur this October. The announcement was made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the presentation of the 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK13) in Parliament today. The confirmation follows an official invitation extended to Trump via US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during his courtesy call at the Prime Minister's Office on July 10. - BERNAMA
