Ministry of State Security (China)
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| 中华人民共和国国家安全部 Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Guójiā Ānquánbù | |
.svg) Emblem of the People's Republic of China (in the centre of the Ministry's seal) | |
 Logo of the Ministry of State Security | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | July 1983 |
| Preceding agency | |
| Jurisdiction |  People's Republic of China |
| Headquarters | Beijing |
| Annual budget | $3 billion to $4 billion[1] |
| Agency executive |
|
| Parent agency | State Council |
The Ministry of State Security (MSS) is the intelligence agency and security agency of the People's Republic of China (non-military area of interests), responsible for counter-intelligence, foreign intelligence and political security. It is headquartered in Beijing.
Article 4 of the Criminal Procedure Law gives the MSS the same authority to arrest or detain people as regular police for crimes involving state security with identical supervision by the procuratorates and the courts.[2]
The National Intelligence Law of 2017 grants the MSS broad powers to conduct many types of espionage both domestically and abroad, it also gives the MSS the power to administratively detain those who impede or divulge information on intelligence work for up to 15 days.[3]
The network of state security bureaus and the Ministry of State Security should not be confused with the separate but parallel network of public security bureaus, administered by the Ministry of Public Security.
History
The precursor of the modern MSS was the Central Department of Social Affairs (CDSA), the primary intelligence organ of the Communist Party of China (CPC) before its accession to power in 1949. The CDSA operated from the communist base area of Yan'an in Shaanxi Province in northern China during the 1937–45 Second Sino-Japanese War. The CDSA provided the CPC with assessments of the world situation based on news reports and furnished the Communists with intelligence that proved important in the 1946–49 Chinese Civil War against the Nationalist forces.
The CDSA was thoroughly reorganized in the summer of 1949.[4] It ceased to exist in name, and some of its most prominent officers were transferred to senior positions in the new Ministry of Public Security of the CCP Central Revolutionary Military Affairs Commission (after the founding of the People's Republic of China renamed the Ministry of Public Security of the Central People's Government). After an extended transition during which segments of the former CDSA came within the purview of the People's Liberation Army, it was fully re-established as an organ directly under the Communist Party Central Committee in 1955, now with the new name Central Investigation Department (CID).[5] The MSS was established in 1983 as the result of the merger of the CID and the counter-intelligence elements of the Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China. One of its longest-serving chiefs was Jia Chunwang, a native of Beijing and a 1964 graduate of Tsinghua University, who is reportedly an admirer of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He served as Minister of State Security from 1985 until March 1998, when the MSS underwent an overhaul and Xu Yongyue was appointed the new head of the organization. Jia was then appointed to the Minister of Public Security post, after a decade of distinguished service as head of the MSS.
Chinese intelligence agents, probably under the control of the MSS, have achieved success in penetrating the U.S. Intelligence Community in the past. In the 1980s, Larry Wu-Tai Chin (Jin Wudai), a translator for the CIA's Foreign Broadcast Information Service, was arrested and charged with espionage in the service of the PRC. He had been recruited in 1944 while stationed in China as a U.S. Army officer and went undetected for four decades. More recently, in 2003, Chinese-American Federal Bureau of Investigation source and Republican Party fundraiser Katrina Leung was arrested and accused of being a double agent for both the FBI and the Chinese government, although she was acquitted of charges of copying classified information, and convicted only of tax charges and of lying to the FBI.
In March 2009 former MSS operative Li Fengzhi told the Washington Times in an interview that the MSS was engaged in counterintelligence, the collection of secrets and technology from other countries, and repressing internal dissent within China. The internal repression, according to Li, includes efforts against nonofficial Christian churches and the outlawed Falun Gong religious group, plus censoring the Internet to prevent China's population from knowing what is going on outside the country. Li emphasized that MSS's most important mission is, "to control the Chinese people to maintain the rule of the Communist Party".[6]
In 2012, an executive assistant to MSS vice minister Lu Zhongwei was found to have been passing information to the CIA. Lu Zhongwei was not formally charged, but that incident was said to have infuriated Hu Jintao and led to a tightening on information dissemination and increased counterintelligence activities in Beijing and abroad.[7]
The Shanghai State Security Bureau (SSSB) of the MSS has repeatedly been involved in both failed and successful attempts to recruit foreign agents, including the recruitment of US citizen Glenn Duffie Shriver in 2010 who unsuccesfully attempted to join the CIA's National Clandestine Service under direction of the SSSB, as well as the recruitment of US Department of State employee Candace Claiborne who was charged with obstruction of justice charges in 2017 following the uncovering of a scheme involving SSSB handlers.[8]
Economic espionage has become a prime directive of the MSS and the FBI has estimated that 3,000 companies in the United States are covers for MSS activity.[9] Companies such as Huawei, China Mobile, and China Unicom have been implicated in MSS intelligence collection activities.[10][11]
Mission
According to Liu Fuzhi, Secretary-General of the Commission for Politics and Law under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Minister of Public Security, the mission of the MSS is to ensure "the security of the state through effective measures against enemy agents, spies, and counter-revolutionary activities designed to sabotage or overthrow China's socialist system."[12]
Agency heads
Agency heads are known as Minister of State Security (MSS), reporting directly to the State Council.[13]
| № | Name | Took office | Left office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ling Yun | June 1983 | September 1985 |
| 2 | Jia Chunwang | September 1985 | March 1998 |
| 3 | Xu Yongyue | March 1998 | August 2007 |
| 4 | Geng Huichang | August 2007 | November 2016 |
| 5 | Chen Wenqing | November 2016 | Incumbent |
Organization
The MSS is estimated to have over 100,000 intelligence personnel with at least 50,000 within China, and no less than 40,000 abroad.[14] The government lists that headquarters as shared with the Ministry of Public Security adjacent to Tianamen Square at 14 Dongchangan Avenue, Dongcheng District, Beijing.[15] MSS facilities also opperate in in the northwest of Beijing in an area called Xiyuan next to the Summer Palace in Haidian District. Xiyuan is located south of the MSS affiliated University of International Relations and northeast of the government operated Xijiao Airport. A guarded compound called Yidongyuan is located within the Xiyuan area and offers housing to MSS personnel. The Xiyuan area also contains an elementary school, a hospital, a campus for the Beijing Business Management School, and the Beijing Institute of Electronics Technology and Application. The MSS operates clandestine facilities in the Xiyuan area among the housing and various other institutions.
The MSS is divided into Bureaus, each assigned to a Division with a broad directive and given a specific task. In November of 2016, a MSS associated Weibo account posted the an outline of the first 11 Bureaus, however additional Bureaus up to No. 17 have been identified:[16][17]
| Bureau № | Encompassing Division | Directive |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confidential Communication Division | Responsible for the management and administration of confidential communications |
| 2 | International Intelligence Division | Responsible for strategic international intelligence collection |
| 3 | Political and Economic Intelligence Division | Responsible for gathering political, economic, and scientific intelligence from various countries |
| 4 | Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau Division | Responsible for intelligence work in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau |
| 5 | Intelligence Analysis Division | Responsible for analysing and reporting on intelligence and collecting guidance on how to handle intelligence matters |
| 6 | Operational Guidance Division | Responsible for directing and supervising the activities of provincial level MSS offices |
| 7 | Counterintelligence Division | Responsible for gathering counterintelligence information |
| 8 | Counterintelligence Division | Responsible for monitoring, investigating, and potentially detaining foreigners suspected of counterintelligence activities. This Bureau is reported to primarily investigate diplomats, businessmen, and reporters[18] |
| 9 | Internal Security and Anti-Reconnaissance Division | Responsible for protecting the MSS from infiltration by foreign entities by monitoring domestic reactionary organizations and foreign institutions |
| 10 | Internal Security and Anti-Reconnaissance Division | Responsible for monitoring students and institutions abroad in order to investigate international anti-communist activities |
| 11 | Information and Auditing Division | Responsible for the collection and management of intelligence materials |
| 12 | Social Research Division | Responsible for conducting public opinion polling and surveying the population |
| 13 | Science and Technology Investigative Division | Responsible for managing science and technology projects and conducting research and development |
| 14 | Science and Technology Investigative Division | Responsible for inspecting mail and telecommunications |
| 15 | Comprehensive Intelligence Analysis Division | Responsible for the analysis and interpretation of intelligence materials |
| 16 | Imaging Intelligence Division | Responsible for collecting and interpreting images of political, economic, and military targets in various countries through both traditional practices and through incorporation of satellite imagery technologies |
| 17 | Enterprises Division | Responsible for the operation and management of MSS owned front companies, enterprises, and other institutions |
Additionally, In 2009, the MSS was reported by a former official to have a Counterterrorism Bureau.[19]
Other managerial offices have been said to include:[20]
- General Office
- Legal Department
- Political Department
- Party Committee
- Propaganda Department
- Legislative Affairs Coordination Office
- Veterans Affairs Department
- Xiyuan Management Department
The China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) is a large civilian think tank for international issues. Located in Beijing, the Institute is affiliated with the MSS, and overseen by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.[21][22] CICIR has been identified by Stratfor Global Intelligence as belonging to the No. 8 Bureau of the MSS, and as providing intelligence reports to the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China.[23] The organization itself does not speak much about its relationship with the Chinese government, however, and Chinese media reports rarely acknowledge the institution's ties with the regime.[24]
The cyberespionage threat group known as Gothic Panda or APT3 has been determined to have nation-state level capapbilities and to be functioning on behalf of the MSS by researchers.[25]
In December 2016, the MSS structure was split into a National Counterintelligence Agency and a National Intelligence Agency, it is unclear from public information what change this reorganization had on MSS Bureaus and Divisions.[26]
MSS personnel are trained at the University of International Relations in Haidian, due north of MSS housing and offices in Xiyuan[27][28] and Jiangnan Social University in Suzhou.[29]
In popular culture and literature
An agent of the MSS, Zheng Lu Peng, is the main antagonist of the espionage hero Cono 7Q in the spy novel Performance Anomalies,[30][31] by Victor Robert Lee.[32] Zheng, who is engineering Beijing's takeover of the country of Kazakhstan, comes from a family that was tormented during the Cultural Revolution, leading to his own traumatized personality.
See also
- National Security Commission of the Communist Party of China[33]
- Ministry of Public Security (China)
- Chinese intelligence activity abroad
- KGB (Soviet equivalent)
- Glenn Duffie Shriver
- Katrina Leung
- Shi Pei Pu
References
- ^ Gertz, Bill, [http://freebeacon.com/national-security/chinas-spy-network-united-states-includes-25000-intelligence-officers/ China’s Intelligence Networks in United States Include 25,000 Spies, Washington Free Beacon, July 11, 2017
- ^ "Criminal Procedure Law of The People's Republic of China". Chinacourt.org.
- ^ "China passes tough new intelligence law". Reuters.
- ^ Zhu Chunlin (ed.), Lishi shunjian 1 (Moments in History 1) (Beijing: Qunzhong chubanshe, 1999), p. 5
- ^ Yang shangkun riji (Yang Shangkun's Diaries) (Beijing: Zhongyang wenxian chubanshe, 2001), p. 185.
- ^ Gertz, Bill, Chinese Spy Who Defected Tells All, Washington Times, March 19, 2009, p. 1.
- ^ Gertz, Bill, Exclusive: Arrested spy compromised China's U.S. espionage network: sources, June 15, 2012
- ^ Mattis, Peter, This Is How Chinese Spying Inside the U.S. Government Really Works, June 11, 2017
- ^ Ministry of State Security MSS (Guojia Anquan Bu Guoanbu), July 28, 2011
- ^ Gertz, Bill, Chinese telecom firm tied to spy ministry, October 11, 2011
- ^ Fuhrman, Peter, Government cyber-surveillance is the norm in China — and it’s popular, January 29, 2016
- ^ Ministry of State Security, Intelligence Resource Program, Federation of American Scientists
- ^ Ministry of State Security search, China Vitae. Accessed 14 March 2010.
- ^ 揭秘中共特务政治：国安〝里外通吃〞 特工超十万, June 1, 2015
- ^ 揭秘中共特务政治：国安〝里外通吃〞 特工超十万, June 1, 2015
- ^ MSS Associated Weibo Account, "国家安全部内设11个局", November 21, 2016
- ^ 王海天, 红墙背后的黑手 解密中共国安部(图), Jan 31, 2012
- ^ Blanchard, Ben (December 30, 2016). Macfie, Nick (ed.). "China to Prosecute Former Senior Spy Catcher for Graft". The New York Times.
A source with ties to the leadership has previously told Reuters that Ma was director of the ministry's "No.8 bureau", which is responsible for counter-espionage activities on foreigners, mainly diplomats, businessmen and reporters.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ 观海内参, "揭秘马建口中的大陆国安部第17局究竟是什么单位", May4, 2017
- ^ 王海天, 红墙背后的黑手 解密中共国安部(图), Jan 31, 2012
- ^ David Shambaugh, “China’s International Relations Think Tanks: Evolving Structure and Process,” The China Quarterly, Vol 171 (Sept 2002) pp 575-596.
- ^ Michael D. Swaine, "The role of the Chinese military in national security policymaking," National Defense Research Institute.
- ^ Stratfor Global Intelligence Ministry of State Security organization chart
- ^ Open Source Center, "Profile of MSS-Affiliated PRC Foreign Policy Think Tank CICIR", 25 August 2011
- ^ Spring, Tom, APT3 LINKED TO CHINESE MINISTRY OF STATE SECURITY, May 17 2017
- ^ Radio Free Asia, "中国国安部或将拆分 各设反间谍和情报单位", December 26, 2016
- ^ Peter Mattis, 'Assessing the Foreign Policy Influence of the Ministry of State Security', The Jamestown Foundation, China Brief Volume: 11 Issue:1, January 14, 2011
- ^ Stratfor Global Intelligence, 'Special Report: Espionage with Chinese Characteristics', March 24, 2010.
- ^ Monk, Paul (June 2012). "Chinese Spies and Our National Interest". Quadrant. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ^ Lee, Victor Robert (2012-12-20). Performance Anomalies. USA: Perimeter Six. ISBN 9781938409226.
- ^ Performance Anomalies | ReadingGroupGuides.com.
- ^ Diplomat, James Pach, The. "Interview: Victor Robert Lee". The Diplomat. Retrieved 2017-05-22.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Diplomat, James Pach, The. "Interview: Victor Robert Lee". The Diplomat. Retrieved 2017-05-22.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
External links
- Ministry of State Security, Intelligence Resource Program, Federation of American Scientists (Last updated since 1997)
- Ministry of State Security at GlobalSecurity.org (Last updated 2007)
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