China enlists citizens to guard against perceived threats : NY Times

Amidst the deteriorating economic situation in China, the ruling Communist Party is enlisting its ordinary citizens to guard against the perceived threats to the country, The New York Times reported. Even though China is facing a bad phase in the economic sector, its leader Xi Jinping appears to be more fixated on national security and preventing threats to the party’s control. This campaign is blurring the line between vigilance and paranoia.
According to The New York Times, Chinese universities require the faculty to take courses on protecting state secrets, even in departments like veterinary medicine. A kindergarten in the eastern city of Tianjin organised a meeting to teach staffers how to “understand and use” China’s anti-espionage law.
China’s Ministry of State Security, a usually covert department that oversees the secret police and intelligence services, has even opened its first social media account, as part of what official news media described as an effort at increasing public engagement. Its first post: a call for a “whole of society mobilization” against espionage.
“The participation of the masses,” the post said, should be “normalised.”
“We must be prepared for worst-case and extreme scenarios,” Xi told China’s National Security Commission in May. He called on officials to “enhance real-time monitoring” and “get prepared for actual combat.”
The sense of urgency may be heightened by the fact that China is confronting some of its biggest challenges since Xi’s ascension more than a decade ago. Beyond the economic gloom, China’s relations with the West are increasingly tense. And unexplained personnel changes at the highest tiers of power — including the sudden removal in July of China’s foreign minister and two high-ranking generals — suggest that Xi may have feared threats to his control, reported The New York Times.

China’s Leader shifts focus from Economy to National security

• Security Education Across Disciplines: Chinese Universities Mandate Faculty Training in Protecting State Secrets
• Ministry of State Security’s Social Media Campaign: China’s Security Department Engages Public on Social Media to Combat Espionage
• Xi’s Urgent Call for Preparedness: Xi Jinping Urges Enhanced Monitoring and Readiness for National Security Challenges
• China’s Complex Global Challenges: Beyond Economic Issues, China Faces Strained Relations with the West and High-Level Personnel Changes.
• Expanding Anti-Espionage Measures: China Broadens Espionage Laws and Offers Rewards for Reporting Spies