According to the statement<\/a>, some projects were \u201cdirectly funded by foreign governments,\u201d and other observation sites were set up around sensitive places, such as military bases, industrial enterprises, and major grain-producing areas. It also noted that some of the devices were \u201csmall in size, easy to install, hard to find, and can automatically collect and transmit over the network in real time.\u201d<\/p>\n The unidentified foreign parties did not obtain an administrative license for their activities, had not submitted the meteorological data to relevant Chinese authorities, and had transmitted the data overseas without approval \u2014 some of which violated China\u2019s administrative and security regulations, including the recently beefed-up Data Security Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMeteorological data is an integral element of data security and resource security. It is closely linked to military, food, and ecological security, climate change, and public interests,\u201d the ministry\u2019s post said. \u201cThe illegal collection and cross-border transmission of meteorological data endangers China\u2019s sovereignty, security, and development interests.\u201d<\/p>\n On September 28, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) proposed easing its strict cross-border data security controls in a bid to soothe corporate jitters over the country\u2019s tightening grip on data.<\/p>\n The set of draft rules, titled \u201cProvisions on Regulating and Facilitating Cross-Border Data Flows\u201d (in Chinese<\/a>, PDF in English<\/a>), stated that data relating to international trade, academic collaboration, global manufacturing, and marketing activities that don\u2019t contain personal or \u201cimportant\u201d information would no longer need to undergo a security review or obtain special consent to be transferred. It was made available for public comment until October 15.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom a research and more importantly an economics perspective\u2026those wishing to get more access to Chinese data and really understand how that is, if China is their bread and butter, if that\u2019s what they\u2019re going to be focused on,\u201d Skip Schiphorst from I-Intelligence told The China Project<\/a> in September.<\/p>\n Beijing has ramped up scrutiny on cross-border data flows over the past few years, as it looks to strengthen control over the vast troves of data generated by the world\u2019s second-largest economy and second-most-populous nation. In March, China announced plans to set up a new department to oversee the country\u2019s data as part of the State Council\u2019s sweeping bureaucratic makeover.<\/p>\n The tighter reins on data have sent chills through the international business community, as overseas firms remain wary of getting caught in the regulatory crosshairs despite Beijing\u2019s efforts to assure that it is \u201copen\u201d to foreign businesses.<\/p>\n China in recent months has also passed wide-ranging legal amendments that have fueled concern over the risks to individuals and organizations operating in the country, particularly those in sensitive industries such as journalism, technology, research, and data monitoring.<\/p>\n \u201cNot only corporate researchers, but also journalists and academics in general need to be sensitized on the implications of data requests and data sharing with their Chinese counterparts, as it might put the receiver in hot waters,\u201d Schiphorst added.<\/p>\n On July 1, China\u2019s new revisions to its anti-espionage law<\/a> took effect. The changes \u201cexpand the scope of targets of espionage, with all documents, data, materials, and articles\u201d related to national security, though the law itself does not define what falls under national security or interests. (The full text can be found in Chinese here<\/a>, and an English translation here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n The revisions also imbue Chinese authorities with new surveillance powers. These include the ability to access people\u2019s emails or social media accounts on electronic devices, as well as impose exit bans on anyone under investigation, whether they are citizens or foreigners, if they are deemed a potential national security risk after leaving the country.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, Hiroshi Nishiyama, a Japanese executive of the pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma, was formally charged in China on allegations of espionage<\/a>. He had been detained in Beijing by Chinese authorities in March, a move that had shocked the Japanese business community and damaged ties between the two Asian neighbors.<\/p>\n A week prior, Australian journalist Ch\u00e9ng L\u011bi \u6210\u857e, a former news anchor at Chinese state media television channel CGTN, was released after more than three years of imprisonment<\/a> in China on national security charges.<\/p>\n \u201cI always thought by being a business reporter I was quite safe, and I was very blas\u00e9 and even boasted to other people that because I was bilingual and I knew the culture, that I knew where the red lines were,\u201d Cheng said in an October 24 interview<\/a> with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). \u201cTurns out, I don’t at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Another Australian citizen, Y\u00e1ng H\u00e9ngj\u016bn \u6768\u6052\u5747, remains behind bars since January 2019 on vague espionage charges after a closed-door trial. Today, his family released a letter<\/a> pleading with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to negotiate with Beijing for his release.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the MSS has encouraged everyday citizens<\/a> in China to be on the lookout for potential espionage ever since it opened its WeChat account, its first social media presence aimed at increasing public engagement. While the Chinese government has long encouraged its people to report any spying activities<\/a> or threats to national security<\/a> through perks like cash incentives, the MSS\u2019s first WeChat post<\/a> on July 31 called for a \u201cwhole of society mobilization\u201d against espionage. \u201cThe participation of the masses\u201d should be \u201cnormalized,\u201d it stated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" China\u2019s Ministry of State Security investigated 3,000 meteorological stations for sending weather data abroad, as the country tightens up on cross-border data flows and beefs up its anti-espionage efforts. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19964,"featured_media":288878,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12902],"tags":[14425,15402,18362,13925,14089],"column":[],"class":[],"coauthors":[18088],"acf":[],"la_post_categories":{"politics-and-current-affairs":"Politics & Current Affairs"},"la_post_tags":{"access":"Access","data-security":"data security","data-security-law":"Data Security Law","espionage":"espionage","national-security":"national security"},"content_writeup":{"rendered":" China\u2019s spy agency is cracking down on \u201cforeign-related\u201d weather stations<\/strong>, citing risks to the country\u2019s national security.<\/p>\n Beijing has ramped up scrutiny on cross-border data flows <\/strong>over the past few years, as it looks to strengthen control over the vast troves of data generated by the world\u2019s second-largest economy and second-most populous nation.<\/p>\n China in recent months has also passed wide-ranging legal amendments<\/strong> that have fueled concern over the risks to individuals and organizations operating in the country, particularly those in sensitive industries such as journalism, technology, research, and data monitoring.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the MSS has encouraged everyday citizens in China to be on the lookout for potential espionage ever since it opened its WeChat account in July. While the Chinese government has long encouraged its people to report any spying activities through perks like cash incentives, the MSS\u2019s first WeChat post, called for a \u201cwhole of society mobilization\u201d against espionage.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thechinaproject.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image1-5.png\")
\n\u201cAn illegal home weather station found in a residential area in China.\u201d Caption and image via<\/a> China\u2019s Ministry of National Defense. <\/em><\/p>\nScrutinizing data flows<\/h3>\n
Eyes for spies<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thechinaproject.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image3-5.png\")
Screenshot from Ch\u00e9ng L\u011bi\u2019s \u6210\u857e interview on her detainment in China<\/a> with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on October 24, 2023.<\/em><\/p>\n\n
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