{"id":2717,"date":"2018-12-19T20:50:14","date_gmt":"2018-12-19T20:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/?p=2717"},"modified":"2018-12-19T20:52:37","modified_gmt":"2018-12-19T20:52:37","slug":"workers-at-scandal-hit-chinese-shipbuilder-csic-given-lessons-in-keeping-state-secrets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/2018\/12\/19\/workers-at-scandal-hit-chinese-shipbuilder-csic-given-lessons-in-keeping-state-secrets\/","title":{"rendered":"Workers at scandal-hit Chinese shipbuilder CSIC given lessons in keeping state secrets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Scores of workers at China Shipbuilding Industry Corp (CSIC), whose former general manager has been accused of selling state secrets \u2013 a crime punishable by death \u2013 have been schooled in how to protect classified information.SCMP TODAY: INTL EDITIONGet updates direct to your inboxE-mail *By registering you agree to our T&Cs<\/a> & Privacy Policy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a statement released on social media, the company said that more than 200 of its employees, including security directors and those \u201cresponsible for handling information\u201d, had taken part in a training workshop organised by the National Secrecy Science and Technology Evaluation Centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The participants listened to lectures on how to identify and handle military secrets, and exchanged views on how to safeguard confidential material, the statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aim of the session was to improve people\u2019s awareness and understanding of the need for secrecy, it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CSIC was responsible for creating China\u2019s first aircraft carrier \u2013 the Liaoning \u2013 after refitting an unfinished vessel once intended for the Soviet navy that it bought from Ukraine in 1998.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is currently working on the country\u2019s first domestically developed aircraft carrier, the Type 001A \u2013 which is based on the Liaoning \u2013 at its shipyard in Dalian, Liaoning province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Monday, China\u2019s top anti-corruption agency, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, said that Sun Bo, the former general manager of CSIC, had been found guilty of taking bribes. Sources said he was also being investigated for allegedly passing secrets about the Liaoning to foreign intelligence agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the shipbuilder has long played a leading role in the development of Chinese naval vessels, including nuclear and conventional submarines, its apparent mismanagement of classified information has been a cause for concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCSIC is well known for its poor management of confidential information,\u201d a source close to the PLA Navy said in an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a time of growing geopolitical tensions between China and the United States, Hong Kong-based military expert Song Zhongping said that Beijing was becoming increasingly aware of the need to keep its secrets under wraps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cProtecting classified information about weapons technology has become a priority,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And for workers at companies like CSIC it was not only important but an \u201cobligation\u201d to safeguard secrets, and anyone found guilty of violating security protocols \u201cwould not get a second chance\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A worker at a state-owned company involved in China\u2019s space programme, who asked not to be identified, said that employers and employees both could face serious consequences if they failed to respect confidentiality agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKeeping confidential information secure applies for their [workers\u2019] entire lives,\u201d the person said. \u201cAnd the same principle applies to private companies that work with the People\u2019s Liberation Army.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a sign of the US\u2019 growing interest in China\u2019s military capabilities, a replica of a Chinese J-20 stealth fighter was spotted earlier this month at a military facility in the southern US state of Georgia. The facility\u2019s commander said it had been commissioned by the US Marine Corps and was being used as a training aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Military observers, however, said that building such a precise replica would have been impossible without a blueprint.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scores of workers at China Shipbuilding Industry Corp (CSIC), whose former general manager has been accused of selling state secrets \u2013 a crime punishable by death \u2013 have been schooled in how to protect classified information.SCMP TODAY: INTL EDITIONGet updates direct to your inboxE-mail *By registering you agree to our T&Cs & Privacy Policy According to a statement released on social media, the company… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/124"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2717"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2717\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2720,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2717\/revisions\/2720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}