Beijing's transport commission unveiled its WeChat account to reach more people who seek the group's services. (Photo : Reuters)
The commanders of the People's Liberation Army ground force's 20th Group Army have organized lectures to teach the wives of servicemen in the unit about confidentiality and the threat that social media possesses.
According to China Daily, the move came after authorities found out that spies had been attempting to gather information about the People's Liberation Army from a WeChat group created by the wives of servicemen.
The group, which was originally created by the wives of servicemen to share ideas on how to care for their partners, reportedly delved into the details of the unit's schedule. Since the incident, reports indicate that the wife of one serviceman has been elected to monitor their online exchanges.
In 2011, the People's Liberation Army banned servicemen from using social media and creating a website or a blog. The ban, which also bans soldiers from chat forums and hunting for jobs online, is based on the reasoning that the personal detail of servicemen could be easily revealed online and this may compromise the entire military.
China has been suspicious of attacks by foreign spies, just as foreign powers have accused Chinese spies of infiltrating their systems. In a recent report by The Washington Times, U.S. officials said that China is increasing its investment in military cyberprograms to match the capacity of the U.S. in this field.
Last year, the Chinese state media revealed that a foreign intelligence unit known as "feige" had been uncovered in the country. Feige had allegedly recruited up to 40 people from different provinces in the country to gather information on the People's Liberation Army. Reports indicate that the people were recruited via social media. At least one member of the group was arrested and sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
"Last year, I set a photo of myself and my husband in his uniform as my WeChat picture, then a stranger asked me to add him or her to my friends' list on WeChat several times, saying he or she wanted to make friends with service members," says Xiao, who is married to an officer in the 13th Group Army.
"My husband told me that I had violated confidentiality rules and made me delete all his uniform pictures," she adds.
