TYB
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China’s Espionage Plans for the 2022 Winter Olympics: What Athletes Should Expect
January 23, 2022
Yes, China is going to spy on the Olympic athletes. Its mandatory app is just the tip of the iceberg.
As the world prepares for the Winter Olympics in Beijing, the athletes will have to contend with more than just competing in their chosen sport. The Chinese government will implement extensive surveillance efforts to ensure the safety of all involved, to control the spread of COVID-19, and to serve China’s political interests. It is the latter reason that is of particular concern.
China’s national image before the world is of the utmost importance to the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Why would China feel threatened by professional athletes? Of what possible interest would the personal lives, actions, and opinions of the world’s athletes be to China’s powerful regime? After all, these athletes have not spent their lives in self-sacrifice and arduous training just to spy on China. They will not have access to any Chinese government facilities, senior officials, or state secrets. Why then would China spy on them? The answer is to protect China’s image.
Saving face is a particular paranoia for the CCP; it is what maintains China’s dictatorship. Protecting the CCP’s image has driven Chinese leaders to create the world’s most advanced and pervasive censorship capability, effectively becoming the first digital authoritarian nation. China restricts all information that is released to or by its citizens and is known to coerce or lash out at any foreign government, business, or public figure that criticizes China or its rulers. Athletes are no exception.
First, the athletes must be aware that the information they provide on their visa applications has been used to create files and open-source collection efforts on them. That research effort identifies and places athletes into at least two categories: First, those who have espoused public views that the CCP deems threatening, such as issues relating to democracy, freedom, human rights, Uyghurs, Tibet, minorities, Hong Kong, women’s rights, homosexuality, and/or transgender issues. And second, those that have made public statements in support of China (what the CCP would call “friends of China”). The first group can threaten China’s image by making public statements at the Winter Olympics, while the second group can be exploited to represent China in a positive light.
Beijing requires all athletes to install a smartphone app called MY2022 to report health and travel data while in China. The University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab reported the app as having significant encryption and security flaws and a censorship list (albeit currently inactive) of 2,442 “illegal words.” The security flaws are by design, allowing authorities to access phones. Such subtle approaches are common among intelligence services.
[full story here:]
https://thediplomat.com/2022/01/chinas-espionage-plans-for-the-2022-winter-olympics-what-athletes-should-expect/
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Interesting article. The world should absolutely boycott their hosting of the Olympic games.