Chinese spy agency issues warning after ‘secret’ military books sold for less than US$1

State security ministry educates public about anti-espionage law, citing case of retiree who bought military documents from recycler

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China’s top spy agency says two military personnel sold more than 200 classified books and other items to a waste recycling station for 20 yuan, or about US$2.75. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 5:03pm, 13 Jun 2024Updated: 6:01pm, 13 Jun 2024

China’s top spy agency has warned against the mishandling of confidential information as it tries to educate the public about its anti-espionage law, citing a case in which military-related materials were found to have been sold by a recycling station.

On its official WeChat account on Thursday, the Ministry of State Security recounted the case of a man with the surname Zhang who bought four books from a waste recycling station.

The books were later determined to be classified materials sold to the station by military personnel who did not follow the rules on the destruction of sensitive items, according to the article published as part of the ministry’s public education campaign on China’s anti-espionage law.

Zhang, who is retired from a state-owned enterprise, is a military enthusiast who likes to collect newspapers and magazines. He saw there were some books related to military topics at the recycling station and bought four of them for six yuan (US$0.83).

However, Zhang later noticed that the books were marked with the words “confidential” and “secret”. He reported the situation to the ministry and handed over the books.

The ministry said an investigation found two people, surnamed Guo and Li, from a military unit “involved in classified information” sold the materials to the recycling station.

The pair had “weak awareness of information security” and did not follow proper procedures required for destroying classified documents, the article said.