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Beijing State Security Bureau

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Beijing State Security Bureau
Chinese: 北京市国家安全局

BSSB listing address at the Beijing Ministry of Public Security headquarters
Bureau overview
FormedMay 1984; 40 years ago (1984-05)
Preceding bureau
  • Beijing Public Security Bureau counterintelligence unit
JurisdictionBeijing, China
HeadquartersPuhuangyu, Fangzhuang, Fengtai District, Beijing, China
Bureau executive
  • Director
Parent ministryMinistry of State Security
Child bureau
  • Beijing State Security Bureau Detention Centre

The Beijing State Security Bureau (Chinese: 北京市国家安全局; pinyin: běijīng shì guójiā ānquán jú; BSSB) is a municipal bureau of the Chinese Ministry of State Security tasked with national security, intelligence and secret policing in the country's capital. Like other state security bureaus, the Beijing bureau is semi-autonomous from the national headquarters of the MSS located across the city. Established in May 1984 from parts of the Beijing Public Security Bureau,[1] the bureau has been accused of numerous human rights abuses, and has been involved in the arrest of journalists, jailing of dissidents, torture of businessmen, and was responsible for abducting the "two Michael's" used as hostages in exchange for Canada's release of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wangzhou.

The bureau appears to place a heavy emphasis on internal and political security operations. While Beijing may be well suited for operations against foreign countries, and nearly all MSS bureaus specialize in one area or another, according to Chinese intelligence expert Peter Mattis, "the huge number of foreign officials and businesspeople living in and transiting the city probably keep the focus on counterintelligence."[2]

The bureau has 21 operational divisions and is headquartered in a nondescript building at Puhuangyu in Fangzhuang subdistrict, Fengtai District of Beijing.[3][better source needed] One of the most recent additions was the Shijingshan District bureau, established in 2005.[4] The bureau also operates a detention facility which holds sensitive political prisoners transferred from across the country to a central location in Beijing.[5]

Facilities

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The headquarters of the BSSB is in the Fengtai District, while the bureau's listing address is No. 9 Qianmen East Street in the Dongcheng District, which is the Beijing Public Security Bureau headquarters.[6]

Prison

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The Beijing State Security Bureau Detention Centre is a detention facility primarily used to house political prisoners, similar to Russia's Lefortovo Prison in Moscow. In 2019, former Chinese diplomat turned dissident Australian citizen Yang Hengjun was arrested in Guangzhou and transferred to the BSSB Detention Centre to face espionage charges.[5]

Human rights abuses

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Arrest of journalists

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See also: Mass media in China

In December 2020, the BSSB detained Haze Fan, a Beijing-based assistant reporter for Bloomberg News, on what was purported to be a suspicion of endangering national security.[7][6][8] On June 14, 2022, China's embassy in the US told Bloomberg that Haze had been released on bail, although the agency had not made contact with her.[9]

In June 1989, the Beijing bureau was behind the expulsion of Associated Press reporter John Pomfret following his coverage of the Tiananmen Square protests over allegations of his links with student leaders.[10] During the public pronouncement of charges against Pomfret, the bureau revealed its technical competence, displaying images from cameras previously assumed to be traffic cameras, cameras hidden inside restaurants, and raw footage from an ABC News interview that had been intercepted from a satellite transmission to ABC News headquarters in the United States.[10][11]: 237 

Arrest of human rights activists

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In 2005, the BSSB detained Sharon Hom, executive director of Human Rights in China, after she attended an EU-China bilateral human rights dialogue in Beijing.[12]

Suppression of free speech

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See also: Censorship in China

In 2006, Yahoo! executives admitted to the U.S. House Foreign Relations Committee that they had allowed two liaison officers with the Beijing State Security Bureau to work in a special Hong Kong-based office within the company.[13] In a subsequent hearing, executives declined to explain why they had provided emails and IP addresses to BSSB authorities which was allegedly used to convict and sentence journalist Shi Tao and blogger Wang Xiaoning to ten years in prison each for "leaking state secrets."[13] The company later settled a civil suit over the matter out of court, and promised changes to the way it handles foreign law enforcement requests.[14] Yahoo! cofounder Jerry Yang later appealed to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to press for the release of the two dissidents prior to her visit to China in 2008.[15]

Torture of Xue Feng

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Main article: Xue Feng

In November 2007, Chinese American geologist Xue Feng was arrested by the BSSB and charged with "exporting intelligence" for purchasing a commercially available database of Chinese oil wells.[16] Residing in Houston, Texas, Xue was on a business trip for IHS, Inc at the time of his arrest.[17] Following his arrest, human rights activist John Kamm told the Associated Press that the BSSB had ignored the deadlines for notification and visits required by Chinese law and its consular agreement with the U.S., and had not provided US consular officials his whereabouts for more than three weeks following his arrest.[18] Upon finally receiving access to US consular officials, Xue revealed he had been tortured, displaying cigarette burn marks on his arms.[19] After taking office in 2009, President Obama pressed for Xue's release in meetings with Chinese officials, to no avail.[17] Later appeals, attended personally by U.S. ambassador Jon Huntsman, were unsuccessful.[16] During Hu Jintao's state visit to Washington, D.C., members of Congress confronted Hu about Xue. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, at the time chairwoman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, and Kevin Brady, who represented Xue's Houston district, separately pushed letters into Hu's hands urging Xue's release. After 8 years in the Beijing No.2 prison, he was released and deported to the U.S. on 3 April 2015.[20]

Involvement in hostage diplomacy

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Main article: Detention of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig

Following the 2018 detention and attempted extradition of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wangzhou in Canada, the MSS arrested and jailed two Canadian citizens, Michael Kovrig of the International Crisis Group, and Michael Spavor, a consultant on relations with North Korea, in what was widely seen as hostage diplomacy to coerce Canada into repatriating Meng.[21] According to Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Lu Kang, the Beijing State Security Bureau and the State Security Bureau of Dandong city in Liaoning, were responsible for abducting the two men.[22] The men were released in 2021 after 1,019 days in MSS custody, just hours after charges against Meng were dropped.[23]

Involvement in academia

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In 2018, Peking University announced its new Party Secretary would be former Beijing SSB Party Secretary Qiu Shuiping, who headed the Communist Party's involvement in the bureau from 2013 to 2014.[24] Several outlets noted the rhetoric of the hiring announcement closely mirrored wording from new components of Xi Jinping Thought released just days prior.[25]

Counterintelligence activities

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In 2017, the Beijing bureau announced cash bounties of up to ¥500,000 yuan for anyone who reports on what they believe to be foreign espionage activity with the aim of building "an iron Great Wall" counterintelligence program to "combat evil."[26]

Leadership

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Purge of Liang Ke

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In January 2014, BSSB director Liang Ke [zh] was removed from office and arrested amid a power struggle.[27] As Xi Jinping tightened his control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), he waged an anti-corruption campaign to purge his political adversaries, culminating in the downfall of former minister of public security Zhou Yongkang and his political allies, which included MSS vice minister Qiu Jin and his protégé Liang.[2][27][28] State media said the investigation into Liang was connected to allegations of corruption and his dealing with Zhou, while other sources reported that he was suspected of monitoring the whereabouts of some members of the Politburo Standing Committee, including Xi Jinping himself.[28]

List of directors

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Fan Shouzhi [zh] has held the longest tenure in BSSB leadership, serving as deputy director from October 1986 to December 1996, at which time he was promoted to director, serving through September 2001, before becoming a member of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games.[29]

No. Director Took office Left office Time in office Ref.
1 Min Boying (闵步瀛) 10 December 1983 November 1986 2 years, 11 months [29][30]
2 Wang Tong (汪统) November 1986 1988 2 years [29]
3 Fan Shouzhi [zh] (樊守志) December 1996 September 2001 4 years, 9 months [29]
4 Wang Chongxun (王崇勋) 27 February 2003 unknown unknown [29]
5 Liang Ke [zh] (梁克) 18 April 2008 21 February 2014 5 years, 8 months [29]
7 Li Dong [zh] (李东) 21 February 2014 unknown unknown [29]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Joske, Alex (2023). "State security departments: The birth of China's nationwide state security system" (PDF). Deserepi: Studies in Chinese Communist Party External Work.
  2. ^ a b Mattis, Peter (22 July 2015). "China's New Intelligence War Against the United States". War on the Rocks. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  3. ^ Yifan, Li (25 April 2006). "揭揭北京市国家安全局的老底" [Exposing the old background of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of State Security]. Google Groups (in Chinese). Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  4. ^ Pei, Minxin (2024). The Sentinel State: Surveillance and the Survival of Dictatorship in China. Harvard University Press. p. 117. ISBN 9780674257832. For example, the state security outfit in Beijing's Shijingshan District was established only in 2005. (from 北京石景山年鉴 ["Beijing Shijingshan Statistical Yearbook"] 2006, p. 201.)
  5. ^ a b "China: Australian-Chinese writer held incommunicado: Yang Hengjun". Amnesty International. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Chinese Bloomberg employee held on national security grounds". South China Morning Post. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  7. ^ "China Authorities Detain Bloomberg News Beijing Staff Member". Bloomberg L.P. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  8. ^ "Chinese authorities detain citizen who works for Bloomberg news". The Guardian. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  9. ^ "China releases Bloomberg staff member on bail". BBC News. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Big Brother Was Watching". Time. 26 June 1989. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  11. ^ 北京市地方志编纂委员会 (1990). 北京年鉴1990 (in Chinese). 中国城市出版社.
  12. ^ "Security Agents Detain U.S. Human Rights NGO Executive Director After Beijing Human Rights Seminar | Congressional-Executive Commission on China". Congressional-Executive Commission on China. 1 August 2005. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  13. ^ a b McCullagh, Declan (6 November 2007). "Yahoo executives grilled by Congress over China policies". CNET. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  14. ^ Paul Elias (13 November 2007). "Yahoo settles lawsuit by jailed journalists over decision to give info to Chinese government". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2012 – via HighBeam Research.
  15. ^ Dibya Sarkar (21 February 2008). "Yahoo Asks US Gov't to Help Dissidents". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2012 – via HighBeam Research.
  16. ^ a b "Jailed US geologist loses court appeal in China". The Guardian. Associated Press. 18 February 2011. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  17. ^ a b Hornby, Lucy (20 November 2009). "U.S. seeks release of geologist in China secrets case". Reuters. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  18. ^ "U.S. geologist held secretly in China". The Washington Times. Associated Press. 20 November 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  19. ^ Hutzler, Charles (5 September 2010). "Xue Feng, U.S. Geologist, Gets 8-Year Sentence, Was Tortured In China". Huffington Post. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  20. ^ "US geologist Xue Feng 'released from prison in China'". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 4 April 2015. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  21. ^ Jeremy Nuttall; Douglas Quan (24 June 2020). "'Two Michaels' fight is bigger than Canada, global observers say – and the world is watching". The Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  22. ^ Kang, Lu (13 December 2018). "Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang's Regular Press Conference". Embassy of the PRC to North Macedonia. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  23. ^ "China has released detained Canadians Kovrig, Spavor: PM". CTVNews. 24 September 2021. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  24. ^ "New Peking University leader former state security official". Associated Press. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  25. ^ Hadano, Tsukasa (26 December 2021). "Peking University gets extra dose of Xi ideology with new centers". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  26. ^ Coonan, Clifford (20 April 2017). "China offers €68,500 reward to people who help catch spies". The Irish Times. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  27. ^ a b "Beijing security head detained in China graft probe: NYT". Reuters. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  28. ^ a b Ignatius, David (11 April 2023). "China's intelligence shake-up mirrors its political tumult". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g "北京市國家安全局 - 怪猫的图书资源库" [Beijing State Security Bureau]. Fudan University (in Chinese). Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  30. ^ Joske, Alex (2023). "State security departments: The birth of China's nationwide state security system". Deserepi: 8–9.
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