海角大神

If you happen to be an expat living in Beijing, you鈥檇 better watch out.

After previous campaigns reminding the public to be aware of foreign espionage around them,听the Beijing Municipal National Security Bureau now offers cash rewards to people who help report foreign spies. The strategy, which听may be听driven by China's concerns over foreign exploitation and a need to tighten control,听is raising alarms among experts who say the practice will only add to the government's听growing distrust of foreigners as, meanwhile, the world grows ever-more globally integrated.

鈥淚ts kind of an insurance policy to protect the Chinese regime and Chinese society against the dislocations that will come with greater outward-oriented reform,鈥澨齅ichael Swaine, an expert in Chinese security at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C., tells 海角大神. 鈥淏ut that's putting a charitable听interpretation on it.鈥�

The measures, which went into effect in China鈥檚 capital city on Monday, reward tips exposing espionage activities with various amounts of cash,听ranging from $1,450 to $7,240 in the lowest category, to more than $72,000听in the highest category, according to the Beijing Daily. The reward program features an听online cartoon, which depicts a young boy wearing a Young Pioneer鈥檚 red scarf ousting a foreign spy in a bandit鈥檚 mask.听

The legislation, though new, brings into sharp focus a cultural suspicion of outsiders that has existed throughout Chinese history, Dr. Swaine says. Wary of foreigners seeking to take advantage or undermine their society, the Chinese have long perceived relationships with foreigners as both opportunities and threats to their society and culture, according to Peter Mattis, a fellow in the China Program of the听Jamestown Foundation in听Washington, D.C.

For instance, Britain鈥檚 opium trade with the Qing Dynasty in the 1800s, which led to millions of Chinese opium addicts and two Opium wars, was often seen by China as an exploitation of the Chinese market at a time of weakness, Swaine says. Other events under Western and Japanese imperialism, including foreign nations鈥� imposing extraterritoriality without reciprocity across China, have added to such sentiment.听

鈥淵ou鈥檝e always have this streak of suspicion, or xenophobia,听in elements in Chinese society, which has been used and manipulated by the government听at times,鈥� Swaine says. 鈥淭his regulation tends to sort of resonate with that history.鈥�

But Mr. Mattis says a rise in the number of people allegedly committing treason in recent years 鈥� with more than 100 people, including officials, arrested for espionage in the past 15 years 鈥� also likely motivates the formation of the reward system.听

鈥淭here has been a steady emphasization of concerns in the last 15 years of managing society in general, and this is one of the pieces of that overall state security approach,鈥� he says.

The new legislation comes at a time when the world's second-largest economy听interacts with the rest of the world more frequently than ever, which has made the Chinese government eager to remind its citizens to be vigilant against foreign and domestic subversion. Long before the latest measures, informant networks, primarily those听managed by the Ministry of Public Security, already existed in neighborhoods across the country, says Mattis. The government passed a sweeping听national security law听in July 2015 and instituted the first National Security Education Day last April. The 鈥淒angerous Love鈥� poster campaign听launched at the same time was designed to听warn female state employees against Western male spies who could profess their affection in order to gain access to state secrets.听

Such campaigns, usually aimed at children and women, are 鈥渇airly ridiculous,鈥� says Elizabeth Economy, the director of Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, N.Y.

鈥淚t is part of a broader 鈥榰s against them鈥� or 鈥榟ostile foreign forces鈥� narrative that has intensified during the Xi Jinping years,鈥� she writes in an email to the Monitor.听

Although most Chinese living in large cities or farming villages alike are now used to foreigners,听some see the benefits of remaining cautious.

鈥淚t鈥檚 necessary for the government to have these kinds of warnings, because some Chinese women are na茂ve,鈥� a young saleswomen who only identified herself as Ms. Cheng told The New York Times when the "Dangerous Love" campaign was launched. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 come into contact with foreigners at work, but if there was a foreigner making advances I would definitely ask what kind of job he did before dating him. I鈥檇 be alert.鈥�

It's not only individual foreigners who may feel targeted in recent years. Foreign tech companies expressed concerns over the passing of听a controversial cybersecurity law听in November, which Beijing said will counter the growing threats of terrorism and hacking. Earlier last year, foreign non-governmental organizations protested a new law requiring them to find Chinese sponsors and register with the police.听

While the new rewards may听send another chill through the foreign community working and living in China,听Swaine says they also serve as a warning to Chinese citizens, alarming them to be cautious while听underlining the larger beliefs of the Communist Party under President Xi Jinping鈥檚 leadership.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 probably part of this whole desire to make Chinese society more upright, more virtuous, more honest,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t wants to have citizens who will be patriotic, who will not engage in corrupted practices of all kinds.鈥�

However, the lack of details on how the authorities will investigate the leads makes the rules vulnerable to abuse, making the question 鈥渉ow much investigative power are they going to put behind these tips,鈥� Mattis says. The Beijing campaign does, however, warn readers that those who intentionally make false accusations may be prosecuted.听

Overall, the measure is self-defeating, Swaine says, and sends another worrying message to Western countries concerned that China is moving further away from reforms.

鈥淎s China moves towards a global-oriented economy 鈥� that all can produce a more insular attitude and suspicion of the outsiders, which is just not healthy for Chinese society,鈥� he says.听