China warns propaganda staff and classified units to stop media leaks of state secrets
Public information is often the ‘focus of external force scrutiny’, social media account linked to state secrets protection office cautions
China’s secrecy authorities have warned staff in propaganda departments and classified units to better protect confidential information, citing several leaks of state secrets by news media.
A social media account affiliated with the National Administration of State Secrets Protection, urged relevant departments in an article on Friday to bolster their confidentiality reviews to prevent leaks in media interviews.
As websites and social media platforms of various departments were important outlets for propaganda, “this public information is often the focus of external forces’ scrutiny”, the account called Baomiguan cautioned.
Lax controls on news and publicity, as well as the absence of confidentiality reviews, could easily lead to information leaks, it added.
The article said some propaganda and news workers were “blindly pursuing novelty”, prioritising publicity over confidentiality reviews and endangering national security and interests.
Almost every state-run entity in China has a department responsible for propaganda.