Wednesday, May 2, 2012

China's Accidental Spies



China Convicts Spy Blogger, Lets Others Keep Leaking -- Danger Room

Three years ago a physically disabled Chinese man unwittingly broke the law when he shot video of a military airbase in eastern China and uploaded the footage to his website. Huang Moumou’s subsequent arrest and conviction for leaking state secrets is a surprising wrinkle in the tale of China’s “accidental spies.” Civilians with cameras are Beijing’s preferred method of revealing military developments to the world. But only, it seems, when the civilians stick to the government’s script.

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My Comment: When I visit my friends in China, I usually stay in the city of Quanzhou (this city is south of Fuzhou). Because of it's proximity to Taiwan, there are many military installations in the area .... and yes .... on many occasions the highway itself will actually pass by major military airports where there are many military planes on the tarmac. I always refrained from taking pictures .... as a foreigner this would not look good .... but these planes are always there .... and yes .... China's aviation fans were always there (by the fence) looking and taking videos/pictures of the planes that you just know will be uploaded on their websites asap.

The sentence for this 'accidental' Chinese spy was a suspended one .... and while I am sure the Chinese military would like to crack down hard on these observers .... the lack of privacy and available land in China makes this next to impossible to enforce.

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