A male foreigner was arrested by security authorities in Jilin Province after he was caught spying on military installations in a local county, China National Defense, a newspaper affiliated with the PLA Daily, reported on Thursday, Nov. 19.
According to the report, a local farmer in Changbai County of Jilin had seen the "suspicious-looking" man "sneaking" around with a telescope in October. When accosted and interrogated by police, the suspect, who has a foreign passport, yielded a high-powered telescope and a camera with photos of several military installations.
A hand-drawn map of frontline forces was also found in a pocket of the suspect's underwear. The man, whose nationality was not disclosed, was later identified as a spy attempting to steal military information, the paper said.
"The public's lack of awareness is the biggest problem in counterespionage," a local security official told China National Defense. "Safeguarding the country's safety, especially carrying out counterespionage activities, should not only depend on national security defense organizations, but also requires the mobilization of our whole society and the enhancement of their consciousness."
A counterespionage hotline was launched in Jilin on Nov. 1 through which citizens can report suspected espionage cases, according to the Jilin-based New Cultural Newspaper.
"The reasons for the occurrences of espionage activities in Jilin are twofold. First, the northeastern regions of China, including Jilin, are home to important military bases and the country's military industrial base. Second, the province is located on the China-North Korea border, a sensitive area that has attracted worldwide attention," Song Zhongping, a Beijing-based military expert, told the Global Times.
Song said that criminals take advantage of the growth of tourism in the region and slip into Chinese territory to steal information on the guise of traveling or sightseeing.
The paper cited the three Japanese spies who were recently caught in China, two of whom confessed that they were carrying out missions by Japan's Public Security Intelligence Agency.
China's Counterespionage Law, adopted in 2014, mandates that foreign organizations and individuals conducting espionage activities, or instigating and sponsoring others conducting them, will be punished.