China’s cabinet on Wednesday released broad new definitions of conduct punishable under its three-year-old counter-espionage law, as China seeks to bolster its defence against threats to national security and social stability.
Over five years, President Xi Jinping has ushered in a flurry of new state security legislation to defend China from perceived threats both inside and outside its borders.
Rights groups and foreign governments have criticised the national security laws as being written in such a way to allow the party state to target activists or dissidents who challenge the Communist Party or call for political reform.
