Notice anything suspicious in China? Call the spy hot line!

[LedZeppelin]

Notice anything suspicious in China? Call the spy hot line!

Increasingly sensitive authorities in China have launched a spy hot line to target foreigners.

Seen a spy ? Dial 12339 Photo: Alamy

By Neil Connor, Beijing
1:47PM GMT 02 Nov 2015

China has set up a new national hot line for reporting “spies”, local media reported on Monday, as authorities grow increasingly sensitive over national security issues.

The new service was set up by officials in the north-eastern province of Jilin, the local New Cultural Newspaper said Sunday, with reports saying those who suspect “espionage activity” can call 12339.

“The hot line targets foreign organisations and individuals who conduct espionage activities or who instigate and sponsor others in conducting them,” the fiercely nationalist Global Times newspaper said.

A list of "guidelines" to help people identify spies appeared on Chinese social media soon after the hot line was announced, however it was unclear where it originated.

Potential spies included “those with vague job tiles and a lot of money” and “those who bring up controversial topics at parties and then only observe the discussion”, said the guidelines, which had been shared widely on Chinese messaging app Wechat.

A list of suspicious behaviours that is circulating on WeChat

It is the second hot line to be established in China, after the southern island province of Hainan - the administrative centre of Beijing’s claims in the disputed South China Sea – set up its own in July.

The new hot line would receive calls from across the country, and not just in Jilin, the Chinese edition of the Global Times said.

Sandy Phan-Gillis has been detained for six months in China, supporters claim Photo: SaveSandy.org

China says it has detained four Japanese citizens for spying in recent months, with media reports saying at least one of them was carrying out “espionage activities” near a military facility. It emerged in September that an American businesswoman was detained for "spying and stealing state secrets” - allegations her supporters strongly deny.

“China is entering a crucial period,” military expert Song Zhongping told the Global Times.

“Many foreign countries are eager to get inside information about national strategies, with others sabotaging the country’s development.”

Communist China takes an extremely strict approach to its national security and state media have previously reported on web users in the country being "lured" by foreign spies when looking for jobs and friends online.

Stability-obsessed Beijing passed a new national security law earlier this year which has been criticised by rights groups for being couched in general terms and open to wide interpretation.

President Xi Jinping has made security concerns a top issue, and chaired the first meeting of the country's national security commission last year.

Additional reporting by AIlin Tang