Chinese Police Chief Reveals Using a Large Spy Network
- 14 years ago
The Chinese regime’s secret police are in the spotlight. State-run media published an interview of a police chief who boasts about his large network of informants in a remote farming community. It gives a glimpse of how extensive the regime’s spy network is throughout China.
A police chief in a farming region of Inner Mongolia says he has a large network of spies that can inform him of crimes, ‘even before they happen.’
In an interview published by state-run Xinhua news agency, Liu Xingchen, assistant to the head of Kailu County, says each police officer in his area has to establish a network of 20 informants.
His Bureau, by his latest count, has more than 12,000 informants, he says.
The informants are targeting residents who create what Liu calls “conflicts” and people who might petition to higher-level authorities.
Petitioning is legal in China, but local officials who are pressured to minimize complaints, often harass or detain petitioners.
Liu says his bureau has also moved from punishing people after the crime is committed to (quote) “resolving the problem before the fact.”
Experts say the ratio of spies in major cities, like Shanghai and Beijing, and areas under turmoil like Xinjiang, is probably much higher. This is part of the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing security operation that attempts to crush any sign of dissent.
Liu is a Chinese Communist Party member. He has been working for the Public Security Bureau for more than 20 years.
A police chief in a farming region of Inner Mongolia says he has a large network of spies that can inform him of crimes, ‘even before they happen.’
In an interview published by state-run Xinhua news agency, Liu Xingchen, assistant to the head of Kailu County, says each police officer in his area has to establish a network of 20 informants.
His Bureau, by his latest count, has more than 12,000 informants, he says.
The informants are targeting residents who create what Liu calls “conflicts” and people who might petition to higher-level authorities.
Petitioning is legal in China, but local officials who are pressured to minimize complaints, often harass or detain petitioners.
Liu says his bureau has also moved from punishing people after the crime is committed to (quote) “resolving the problem before the fact.”
Experts say the ratio of spies in major cities, like Shanghai and Beijing, and areas under turmoil like Xinjiang, is probably much higher. This is part of the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing security operation that attempts to crush any sign of dissent.
Liu is a Chinese Communist Party member. He has been working for the Public Security Bureau for more than 20 years.