Chinese Informers to be Rewarded

By Lodoe Gyatso / December 16, 2018;

A new law aimed at encouraging people to report “illegal content” has been passed in China, effectively co-opting private citizens into the security apparatus of the Chinese state. This affects Tibetans living under Chinese occupation as rewards are offered to people who inform on others suspected of reading or speaking about, for instance, foreign newspaper articles or broadcasts about His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Published on November 16, the law is entitled Measures for Rewarding Informants in Efforts to Eliminate Pornography and Illegal Content. A translation of the law has been provided by ChinaLawTranslate (CLT)*.

The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT)** states that “the measures are so broad and all-encompassing that almost anything other than official state propaganda that is published, posted online or broadcast could be characterised as ‘evil’ and ‘illegal’ and subject to punishment.”

This image depicts the power of the Communist Party to crack down on “evil forces” consistent with the Party’s campaign

The measures state that informers are to be offered rewards for providing information on, among other things, “that which is harmful to national unity, sovereignty, or territorial integrity; that which divulges state secrets, endangers national security or harms national honor or interests; that which incites ethnic hatred or ethnic discrimination, destroying ethnic unity, or infringing on ethnic customs and habits; that which promotes evil cults or superstition; that which disrupts social order or undermines social stability.”

This cartoon shows a friendly cartoon policeman offering a reward for reporting information

Coinciding with the campaign, a series of graphic cartoons were distributed in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, including one of a closed fist smashing into two people marked with the Chinese characters for “black (illegal)” and “evil.” The Dalai Lama is characterised as a leader of such “evil forces” by the Chinese authorities.

ICT reports that they have obtained a circular on social media issued by the Chinese Public Security Bureau on November 14 which states that 30 boxes across Lhasa have been set up for citizens to report on such “criminal issues.”

The rewards for informers depend on the type of information that is given and range from Chinese Renminbi 1,000 (US$145 / £115 / Rs 10,500) to Chinese Renminbi 600,000 (US$87,000 / £69,000 / Rs 6,000,000).

A circular issued earlier this year similarly urged the public to inform on people they suspect of being loyal to the Dalai Lama and his “evil forces” across Tibet. Its significance is that it effectively made everyday and often devotional activities illegal by, for instance, targeting those who seek to encourage the use of the Tibetan language or protect Tibetan culture, calling it a “reactionary and narrow nationalistic idea.” The official state newspaper the Global Times stated that the political struggle against the Dalai Lama is central to the Beijing leadership’s concerns and is carried out on a war footing, saying: “The spread of separatist gangs in Tibet is rampant […] a campaign against the gangsters would deter off secessionist activities by the Dalai.”

*CLT is a crowdsourced, crowdfunded translation project making Chinese law accessible to English speakers, run from the United States based Paul Tsai China Centre at the Yale Law School.