Beijing is offering cash rewards of up to half a million yuan (over $72,000) to anyone who assists in exposing a foreign spy. The Beijing City National Security Bureau (BCNSB) has also shared an animated video to help people figure out what to look for in spies and how to claim the reward.
The video is a complete illustrated guide with a motivating message which suggests that nice people do not finish last, according to The Washington Post.
The cash prize and the instruction video are few of the measures that the nation's growing campaign to reinforce China's national security against what the Communist Party sees as rising internal and external threats.
According to BCNSB, the aim of the measures is to motivate citizens to "gradually build up a steel Great Wall against spies and espionage."
"Beijing is the top choice for overseas spy agencies and other hostile forces to conduct activities of infiltration, subversion, division, destruction and information theft," BCNSB said in a statement.
China had set up a national hotline two years ago for citizens to report any suspected activities associated with spies and espionage. Last year, the Chinese government had also listed warnings about spying and released a comic book poster which warned young female government employees against dating handsome foreigners. The warning stated that these foreigners could have ulterior motives.
On Monday, the BCNSB said that it will give out rewards from the range of 10,000 to 500,000 yuan ($1,500 to $72,000) to those who assist in providing information that could expose spies in the country.
"Foreign intelligence organs and other hostile forces have also seized the opportunity to sabotage our country through political infiltration, division and subversion, stealing secrets and collusion," the official Beijing Daily newspaper said.
The BCNSB statement also said that information which leads to discovery of certain equipment like a monitoring or a recording device can bring additional rewards.
