2026-11
Recently, several railway photography enthusiasts were taken away by local personnel while filming train operations near the perimeter fence of Yuding Station in Jiangsu. They were accused of espionage, their mobile phones were confiscated for data extraction, and they were ordered to delete their photos. They were released after being detained for over 48 hours, during which no written documentation was provided, and their phones were not returned.
2026-10-29
The human rights organization Safeguard Defenders has released a new edition of the book 'The People's Republic of the Disappeared.' It includes first-hand accounts of secret detention under the 'Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location' (RSDL) system from Chinese rights lawyers, journalists, NGO workers, as well as Michael Kovrig, Cheng Lei, and Lee Ming-che, and offers a free PDF download.
2026-10-23
The trial of Shenyang petitioner Fu Youling, charged with the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble, has opened; the prosecution recommended a fixed-term prison sentence of two years.
2026-10-19
The Ministry of Justice, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, the National Health Commission, and the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration jointly issued standards defining the scope of serious illnesses and criteria for identifying inability to care for oneself for temporary execution of sentences outside prison.
2026-10-07
On October 7, according to CBS, Zhang Wanying, suspected of surveilling Lai Ching-te's son, offered three properties worth more than $1.2 million as collateral and agreed to electronic monitoring, but a judge at the federal court in Los Angeles ruled that she posed a flight risk, citing her possession of a Chinese passport she had not surrendered, her family's financial ties in China, and inconsistent statements about her assets, and ordered that she remain in custody. Prosecutors also disclosed that another person in the same case had already traveled to China on a one-way ticket.
2026-10-05
On October 5, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it had filed denaturalization lawsuits against 40 naturalized citizens suspected of serious crimes, the largest number in a single period under the Trump administration. Among them, Li Ping pleaded guilty in 2024 for gathering intelligence for China's Ministry of State Security, and Wei Jinchao was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for selling military secrets to China.
2026-09-28
Japan's Teikoku Databank announced a survey on September 28, listing the revised Counter-Espionage Law, rare earth export restrictions, and price competition with Chinese government-backed companies as business risks in China, and pointing out that deteriorating China-Japan relations and economic stagnation affect corporate decision-making.
2026-09-26
Around September 26, the Ministry of State Security publicly released three closed espionage cases in a batch: aerospace researcher Zhao Xuejun was recruited and turned by overseas agents to steal secrets and was sentenced to seven years; exchange student Xiao Zhe who went to Taiwan for an exchange program was cultivated by Taiwan Military Intelligence Bureau agent Xu Liting and leaked nearly 100 pieces of national defense science and industry intelligence; public official Zhang stationed abroad was coerced into espionage through a honey trap; all were held criminally responsible.
2026-09-17
On September 17, it was circulated online that the Justice Bureau of Puan County, Guizhou Province, issued a notice requiring local lawyers, when handling cases related to cracking down on organized crime, to report to the county justice bureau for study and obtain approval before they can present defense arguments that involve changing the characterization of a crime, and demanding that all law firms strictly enforce this.
2026-09-15
Xie Weiyaxing, wife of US scholar Mingen who is illegally detained by China, revealed that US consular officials visited Mingen for the fourth time on September 15. He was in good spirits and earnestly requested President Trump to raise this case at the summit.
2026-09
The national security reporting and acceptance platform 12339.gov.cn carried the full text of the Implementing Regulations of the Counter-Espionage Law of the People's Republic of China, defining espionage acts, the identification of hostile organizations, and citizens' obligations and legal responsibilities.
2026-08-27
The U.S. State Department listed Chen Youlin and Min Zin as wrongfully detained Americans; Chen Youlin was detained in China in November 2024, Min Zin was detained on June 3, 2026, and the latter was added to the list on August 27.
2026-08-20
The U.S. Department of State has officially determined that Min Zin, a Burmese-American citizen and founder of the Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar, is being illegally detained in Yunnan, China, and has called on the Chinese side to release him immediately.
2026-08-04
On August 4, 2026, the official platform of the National Administration of State Secrets Protection altered the details of an old classified case already closed in 2019 and reissued it as a typical espionage case, prompting public doubts about the authorities deliberately manufacturing anxiety about enemy activity.
2026-08
In August 2026, prominent criminal defense lawyer Chen Youxi publicly pointed out that in multiple cases involving fallen officials, the case-handling authorities appointed legal aid lawyers to crowd out the lawyers retained by family members, effectively depriving the parties of their right to defense.
2026-07-16
On July 16, 2026, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that it had detained a Czech businessman at the end of June on suspicion of endangering national security. Outside observers analyze the move as a tit-for-tat retaliation for the Czech Republic's earlier arrest of a Guangming Daily reporter suspected of espionage.
2026-07-15
The U.S. State Department said the United States has raised the case of Chen Youlin directly with Chinese officials and called on China to immediately release the seismology scholar, who has been detained for more than 600 days and faces charges of espionage.
2026-07-14
Reuters disclosed that Youlin Chen, a Chinese-American seismologist studying North Korea's nuclear tests, has been secretly detained by China for nearly two years and charged with espionage.
2026-07-08
On July 8, 2026, the public interest organization Asia Lawyers Network released a report disclosing that the crackdown on lawyers in China has extended to the civil and commercial sectors, with lawyers frequently facing criminal prosecution by authorities using criminal charges to replace civil litigation when handling civil and commercial disputes.
2026-07
Chinese-American seismologist Chen Youlin has been detained by China for more than 600 days over his research on North Korean nuclear tests, has yet to face a formal trial, and faces espionage charges.
2026-07
After the case was accepted, it remained unhandled for a long time; Lin attempted suicide by slashing his or her wrist shortly afterward, and his or her lawyer says Lin was subsequently diagnosed with severe depression by a hospital.
Location: Junlian County, Sichuan ·
Importance III ·
Verification: Reported ·
View causal chain →
2026-06-27
On June 27, 2026, China's Ministry of State Security once again issued a warning article claiming that graduates taking group photos, enabling location tagging on WeChat Moments, or revealing where they are headed at classified-affiliated work units could all become channels for foreign spy agencies to collect sensitive information and "hunt" them.
2026-06-26
In late June 2026, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress released the draft amendment to the Lawyers Law, with new clauses explicitly requiring practicing lawyers to support the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and the socialist rule of law, and mandating that law firms establish grassroots Party organizations in accordance with the Party Constitution.
2026-06-24
At a regular press conference, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that two Japanese nationals have been detained by Chinese authorities in accordance with the law on suspicion of violating Chinese laws.
2026-06-10
On June 10, 2026, Chinese independent feminist and human rights activist Li Qiaochu sent an inquiry letter, legally filing an administrative reconsideration against the Shandong Provincial Prison Administration for its inaction on the marriage application of Xu Zhiyong, who is incarcerated.
2026-06-03
Min Zin, a US-Myanmar political scholar, suddenly disappeared at Kunming Changshui International Airport in Yunnan. It was later confirmed by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs that he has been criminally detained on suspicion of endangering state security.
2026-05-02
Yuan Keqin, a Chinese national and former professor at Hokkaido University of Education who was detained on suspicion of espionage while returning to China and sentenced to six years in prison by the Changchun Intermediate People's Court, has now been released and is living in Changchun, Jilin Province.
2026-05
A federal court jury in Brooklyn, New York, returned a guilty verdict against Chinese American Lu Jianwang on charges of acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government; prosecutors alleged he operated a secret police station in Manhattan.
Location: New York, United States ·
Importance III ·
Verification: Verified ·
View causal chain →
2026
China's Ministry of Justice announced the results of a crackdown on local law enforcement violations, saying it identified and corrected more than 66,000 problems and recovered economic losses of 30.7 billion yuan for businesses.
2024-11-05
On November 5, 2024, US-based seismologist Chen Youlin was arrested by state security at the Beijing airport as he prepared to return to the United States after visiting family and lecturing. His wife stated that he has already faced over 100 interrogations and is facing trial on fabricated espionage charges.
2024-08-21
On August 21, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the arrest of former 1989 student movement participant Tang Yuanjun in New York, charging him with acting as an unregistered agent for the Chinese Ministry of State Security, spying on overseas pro-democracy activists, and making false statements.
2024
Hokkaido University professor Yuan Keqin was sentenced to six years in prison for violating the anti-espionage law.
2023-07-31
The Ministry of State Security officially launched a WeChat official account, frequently publishing counter-espionage warnings and propaganda content, and beginning to actively build a public presence.
2023-04-26
The revised Anti-Espionage Law was passed, significantly expanding the definition of espionage activities, adding a dedicated chapter on security prevention, and incorporating the mass line and the primary responsibility of work units into the law.
2019
Hokkaido University professor Yuan Keqin was arrested by state security during a trip back to China for a funeral.
2018-12-10
Days after Meng Wanzhou's arrest, Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were taken away in Beijing and Dandong, respectively, by state security (MSS) on charges of endangering national security.
2015-07-09
From July 9, 2015, Chinese police (Public Security) carried out large-scale arrests, summons and detentions of over a hundred rights lawyers, rights defenders and their relatives across 23 provinces, an event known as the 709 crackdown.
2014
Following the introduction of China's Anti-Espionage Law, the methods for taking hostages have become more diversified.
2011-05-10
In May 2011, the Xia Junfeng case entered the Supreme People's Court's death penalty review; afterward, academics and netizens launched a "stay the execution" solidarity campaign, though the exact launch date and the scale of hundreds of thousands of participants could not be verified.
2009-06-16
On June 16, 2009, the court of Badong County, Hubei, found Deng Yujiao guilty of intentional injury in the first-instance ruling, but, taking into account such circumstances as excessive self-defense and voluntary surrender, exempted her from criminal penalty.
2008-07-02
The night after the Yang Jia case occurred, his mother Wang Jingmei was first taken to the Datun Police Station in Chaoyang District, and was then sent by Shanghai and Beijing police to the Ankang Psychiatric Hospital of the Beijing Public Security Bureau in Shunyi District and forcibly detained. Her family only learned of her whereabouts four months later, and legal professionals pointed out that there was no regulatory basis whatsoever for sending her to a psychiatric hospital.
2006
Sun Daolin admitted to acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government, was sentenced to 4 years in prison, and is currently serving his sentence in a federal prison.
1985
Yu Qiangsheng defected to the United States via a CIA-arranged flight through Hong Kong, causing massive tremors within the Chinese Communist Party.
1983-07
The Ministry of State Security of the People's Republic of China is officially established, primarily undertaking foreign intelligence and counter-espionage work, forming a parallel system with public security organs that handle domestic security.