Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:
China tightens curbs on foreign travel by bankers, state
workers (1/2)
Tue, October 17, 2023 at 10:02 a.m. GMT+8
By Engen Tham and Julie Zhu
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese civil servants and
employees of state-linked enterprises are facing tighter constraints on private
travel abroad and scrutiny of their foreign connections, according to official
notices and more than a dozen people familiar with the matter, as Beijing wages
a campaign against foreign influence.
Ten current and former employees told Reuters the curbs had been widened since 2021 to include bans on overseas travel, tighter limits on trips' frequency and duration, onerous approval processes, and pre-departure confidentiality training. They said the measures were unrelated to COVID-19.
The individuals' accounts varied but were consistent in describing heightened scrutiny of overseas travel even after China reopened borders in January. The people, who worked across the country as civil servants, in state-owned enterprises or the public sector more broadly, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the issue's sensitivity.
Reuters also found eight public announcements over the past two years by eight government entities, including the national pension fund, that indicated they were strengthening rules around workers' personal trips outside China, without detailing all the changes.
The actions reflect President Xi Jinping's focus on national security amid fraught relations with the West, two experts told Reuters. China in recent months has encouraged citizens to participate in anti-espionage activity, and introduced new laws that broadened the definition of spying.
"Beijing is increasingly paranoid about the threat of espionage by Western countries, and preventing government employees from going abroad could be a way to reduce opportunities for spying by foreign powers," said Neil Thomas, a fellow of Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis in Washington.
Political ideology was a factor, too, Thomas said, with Xi wanting to "look inward for ideas" rather than seek inspiration from the West.
Neither the State Council Information Office, which handles media queries on behalf of China's government, nor any of the state-linked enterprises, Chinese government and Communist Party entities described in this report responded to Reuters questions about the travel curbs or data collection.
(to be continued)
Translation
上海/香港（路透社） - 據官方通知和十多名知情人士透露，中國公務員和國有企業員工正面臨更嚴格的私人出國旅行限制以及對其海外關係的審查, 發動對抗外國影響的運動。
十名現任和前任員工告訴路透社，自 2021 年以來，限制措施已經擴大，包括禁止海外旅行、更嚴格地限制旅行頻率和持續時間、繁瑣的審批流程以及出發前的保密培訓。 他們表示，這些措施與 COVID-19 無關。
這些人的說法各不相同，但一致地描述了即使在中國一月份重新開放邊境之後，仍加強對海外旅行的嚴格審查。 這些在全國各地擔任公務員、國有企業或更廣泛的公共部門的人士; 由於問題的敏感性而要求匿名發言。
路透社還發現，過去兩年，包括國家退休基金在內的八個政府機構發布了八份公開聲明，表明他們正在加強有關工人個人出國旅行的規定，但沒有詳細說明所有變化。
路透社查閱的其他個人概述和有關文件顯示，中國中央和地方當局也在努力繪製公務員和國有企業員工與其他國家的個人和家庭關係。 路透社首次報導了這些措施, 以及新冠疫情後一些旅行限制的範圍。
兩位專家告訴路透社，這些行動反映了習近平主席在與西方關係緊張的情況下對國家安全的關注。 近幾個月來，中國鼓勵市民參與反間諜活動，並推出了新的法律，擴大了間諜的定義。
在華盛頓的 Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute 的中國分析中心的研究員 Neil Thomas 表示：「北京對西方國家間諜活動的威脅越來越偏執，阻止政府僱員出國可能是減少外國勢力從事間諜活動的機會的一種方式。」
Thomas說，政治意識形態也是一個因素，習近平希望 “向內尋找出意念” ，而不是從西方尋求靈感。
代表中國政府處理媒體詢問的國務院新聞辦公室, 以及任何與國家有聯繫的企業、中國政府和共產黨實體, 就本報告中所描述的事, 都沒有對路透社就有關旅行限制或資料收集問題作回應。
（待續）
Note:
In its web-site, Asia Society
Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis (中国分析中心)states that its aim is to unravel China’s
complexities to deliver independent policy-relevant analysis. Asia Society now
operates 15 centers across the United States, Asia, and Europe. As the Asia
Society’s “think-and-do tank,” the Policy Institute focuses on the political,
economic, foreign policy, and climate change-related challenges and
opportunities facing the countries of Asia, and their engagement with the
United States and other regions of the world. ( https://asiasociety.org/policy-institute/center-china-analysis)
沒有留言:
張貼留言