China Makes Cartoons To Urge Citizens To Turn in Western Spies
Chinese authorities are now offering rewards of up to $72,000 for Beijing residents who turn in spies, and the cartoons they created as part of the campaign show Western agents tempting locals with cash.
The "incentive measure" was issued Monday by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of State Security, according to the official newspaper of the Communist Party. The People’s Daily reported growing concern in China’s capital city because of "an increased number of international exchanges and outbound visitors."
The measure doesn’t specifically mention U.S. spies, but in recent months, authorities have cited increased attempts at espionage by both the CIA and Britain’s MI6, working with "subversive and separatist" elements inside China.
The two animated videos created for the campaign — one for adults, another for kids — tell citizens what to look suspicious signs to look for. The bad guys in the videos are clearly Westerners. Informants have three ways to snitch, including a phone hotline, snail mail and in-person reports to security agents. Rewards range from 100,000 up to 500,000 renminbi ($72,487 U.S).
Citizens who fabricate reports, however, will be punished.