China: China has advised its compatriots to avoid sharing photos of sensitive military equipment online. China has warned that people who post photos of military equipment online may endanger national security. According to a CNN report, this warning has been posted by China’s counterintelligence agency on WeChat.
According to the South China Morning Post report, the Ministry of State Security said on its WeChat account on Saturday (December 23) that anyone who photographs sensitive military equipment could be sentenced to prison. The ministry further said: “Photographing sensitive military equipment without permission is an act that seriously endangers national security.”
Foreign powers can take advantage
The Ministry of State Security has said that these types of photographs can expose sensitive information about the country, which can be exploited by hostile foreign forces. The ministry said that in recent years there have been cases of people using professional equipment such as telephoto lenses and drones to secretly take photographs of airports, ports and military equipment. In such a situation, this is the last warning given by the government to such people.
These people have been punished before too.
In early 2021, a similar person was sentenced to a year in prison for taking secret photographs. That same year, a man in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, was sentenced to 14 months in prison for leaking sensitive military photographs.
There could be seven years in prison
The ministry warned that people who illegally obtain or possess documents, data, materials and objects containing state secrets could face detention of up to 10 days. At the same time, criminals who repeatedly obtain state secrets through theft, espionage or bribery can be sentenced to up to seven years in prison.
