Guangzhou man latest to be prosecuted for espionage

Soldiers in Taizhou city of East China's Zhejiang province take vows to protect and defend the country, in May 2012.[Photo/IC]

A man in his early twenties has been transferred to a judicial department for further investigation and possible prosecution after he was suspected of releasing military secrets to foreign organizations, Guangzhou Daily reported.

The man surnamed Li, a shipyard worker in Guangdong province, was detained late 2014 after he allegedly disclosed illegal publications which were intended for circulation only within the shipyard and took photos of the warships berthed in the waters around the shipyard for foreign organizations.

Li said he was paid 3,000 yuan ($458) a month to disclose the military secrets after he became cyber friends with a foreign spy via a QQ chatroom in February, 2014.

Authorities said Li's actions threatened national security.

This is just one of the many cases in recent years involving the disclosure of military and State secrets that have been reported in the southern province of Guangdong.

According to an educational exhibition on State security opened in Guangdong provincial capital this Thursday, a growing number of cases involving disclosure of military and State secrets have been reported in Guangdong.

Authorities have urged locals to raise their awareness on how to prevent disclosure of State and military secrets when it is getting easier to leak them online.

"Some Chinese military facilities and bases are not far from the reach of the public and people may not be aware that they are disclosing military secrets online," authorities said.

"While information spreads online quickly, it is necessary to popularize judicial knowledge, telling the public what information must be protected," according to authorities.

In 2012, a Foshan man surnamed Tang was sentenced to 15 years in jail when he was pronounced guilty for releasing military secrets to overseas organizations.

Before Tang was detained, he was hiding in a local military command as a delivery man for more than 6 years after he received special training in 2005 in a Southeast Asian country. Tang was paid more than 200,000 yuan for disclosing military secrets abroad.

A senior business executive surnamed Shen was sentenced to 17 years behind bars in 2009 after he disclosed secrets about Guangdong's bottom line for inviting public biddings for nuclear power project to foreign companies. Shen was also confiscated of his personal properties valued at 500,000 yuan.

In November 2014 a man in his mid-twenties surnamed Liao surrendered himself to police after he realized he was violating relevant laws and regulations by sending military photos abroad.

Liao began helping a foreign spy procure military secrets after he met the spy while seeking job opportunities online at the beginning of November 2014.

Liao frequently visited military ports in Zhanjiang, the western coastal of Guangdong, and illegally took photos of local military facilities and naval vessels for the foreign spies before surrendering himself to police.

A candy factory boss surnamed Chen was put under investigation and confessed his crime in Shantou in March, 2015.

Chen illegally visited local military airport and harbor before disclosing military secrets to a foreign spy who passed himself off as a foreign journalist in April, 2014.