On October 18, 2023, in Beijing, China, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the “Belt and Road” initiative, a Chinese flag flew on the roof of the Great Hall of the People before the opening ceremony of the “Belt and Road” Summit Forum.
Sue Edgar | Reuters
BEIJING – China is tightening national security measures to expand protection of state secrets to cover a broader category of “work secrets.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping signed an order on Tuesday formally passing the revised law “Keep state secrets” Lawmakers passed the updated law at a meeting earlier in the day, state media reported.
new rulesSet to take effect on May 1, it describes that precautions taken with respect to state secrets should also apply to unclassified information known as working secrets. The law broadly defines work secrets as information that would lead to work secrecy. “Negative Effects” If there is any leakage, it said that specific measures will be released separately.
Jeremy Daum, a senior fellow at the Tsai Ing-wen China Center at Yale Law School, said the article about work secrets was “the most problematic.”
“Individual departments can be overzealous in deeming certain things ‘work secrets,'” said Daum, who also founded the Chinese Legal Translation website, which publishes unofficial English New rules translation.
“This limits the public’s right to know and exposes people to potential liability.”
For foreign companies, the lack of clarity remains an unquantifiable risk of doing business in China.
Jeremy Daum
Paul Tsai China Center at Yale Law School
Although China regularly discloses a certain amount of information on government plans and economic data, the country is generally considered more opaque than many developed countries.
For example, senior Chinese officials disappear from public view without formal explanation. Policies, even those that support businesses, do not always have specific implementation dates.
Last year, China’s new laws on espionage and foreign policy included catch-all phrases such as “state secrets” that were open to interpretation by authorities. Separate rules on what types of data foreign companies in China can send out of the country have yet to formally clarify which data is considered “important” and therefore subject to export restrictions.
“For foreign companies, the lack of clarity remains an unquantifiable risk of doing business in China,” Daum said.
“Adding work secrets and mentioning information that becomes secret only when aggregated with other information raises concerns that people may accidentally infringe on confidential information,” he said.
“But in reality, the protection of state secrets has previously been expanded to cover seemingly benign situations while foreign businesses remain in existence.”
National security concerns are growing
The updated National Secrets Law comes as Beijing and Washington increasingly cite national security risks when announcing new business restrictions.
Gabriel Wildau, managing director at consultancy Teneo, said: “The new law will deepen the widespread understanding among foreign business communities that China’s leadership’s focus on national security has made the country’s operating environment more difficult.”
“China’s economic growth prospects remain a key factor influencing foreign investment decisions, but the secrecy law adds another disincentive to a certain extent,” he said.
According to China Legal Translator, the regulations define state secrets as information that “may harm” China’s security and interests in the fields of politics, economy, national defense, diplomacy, science and technology if leaked.
The law also retains restrictions on foreign travel for people currently or recently working in state secrets.
“I don’t know if the revised coverage will be meaningfully expanded, but a theme that runs throughout this and other recent security laws is the overall view of national security and generally putting some barriers to travel,” Daum said.
“A document on counterintelligence precautions issued a few years ago requires all categories of personnel traveling in a professional capacity to receive a security briefing before departure.”
The final version of Keeping State Secrets has been discussed by the government for months.
Li Zhaozong, director of the Central Security Office and the State Secrecy Bureau, said that the revised law provides strong legal protection to better safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests. wrote in an article published in the People’s Daily on Wednesday, the organ of the Chinese Communist Party. That’s according to CNBC’s translation.
Lee noted that it is important to disclose information that should be made public while ensuring confidentiality where necessary. The article made no mention of work secrets.
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress reviewed and approved the final draft of the newly revised State Secrets Law A round of revisions will be conducted in October. The law was originally passed in 1988.
Daum noted that many of the changes in the new rules are “new technology updates and changes in style.”
He added: “The law provides clarity in a number of areas, limiting leadership liability in certain circumstances and providing compensation for those whose rights have been limited due to confidentiality requirements.”
The National People’s Congress is scheduled to hold its annual meeting next week, where China’s top leadership will release its economic plan and outlook and outline key policies.
