Mentioning China's Economic Crisis May Lead to Punishment... Chinese Embassy in Korea Urges Residents to Be Cautious

Authorities "Will Firmly Punish China Economic Crisis Theory"
Embassy "Ask Korean Residents to Refrain from Sensitive Opinions"

As Chinese security authorities classify the 'China economic crisis theory' as a national security threat and launch a large-scale crackdown, the Korean Embassy in China has also urged the Korean community to exercise caution.

According to diplomatic sources on the 13th, the Korean Embassy in China has been informing the Korean community through the official WeChat (微信, the Chinese version of KakaoTalk) channel's daily 'China Consular News' since the 5th, stating, "The Ministry of State Security of China has announced that it will firmly crack down and punish those who claim or spread ideas about China's economic decline, rejection of foreign investment, and oppression of private enterprises."

Weekday message of 'China Consular News' sent by the Korean Embassy via WeChat [Image source=Yonhap News]

The consular section of the embassy further added, "Local businesses and overseas nationals are requested to refrain from spreading sensitive opinions related to China's economy and diplomatic security online." They also shared contact numbers for consular assistance should any issues arise with local authorities.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, China has focused on economic recovery, but structural problems such as weak domestic demand, a stagnant real estate market, and local government debt remain unresolved, resulting in limited progress.

Amid these circumstances, as Western media raised concerns about a potential crisis in China, Chinese authorities have responded sensitively. At the Central Economic Work Conference held in November last year, presided over by President Xi Jinping, the policy direction for 2024 officially included a stance to actively counter the economic crisis theory with the 'China Economic Bright Theory (光明論)'.

Given that this conference traditionally emphasizes conventional policy tools such as fiscal and monetary policies, observers noted that formalizing a public opinion campaign as a state policy was unusual.

Subsequently, the Ministry of State Security, China's counterintelligence agency, declared via its official WeChat account that "mentioning negative situations such as the slowdown in China's economic recovery is a cognitive warfare by external forces aiming to destabilize the Chinese system."

The Ministry of State Security stated, "Various outdated narratives negatively portraying China's economy continue to emerge, essentially fabricating a 'China decline' discourse to trap people in a 'cognitive trap.' This represents continuous attacks and denials of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and its path, attempting to strategically encircle and suppress China."

The Ministry also emphasized, "We will resolutely crack down on and punish crimes that threaten national security in the economic security domain."

Chinese media such as the Singapore Lianhe Zaobao and other Sinophone outlets reported rumors that Weibo (微博), China's largest social media platform, is asking users not to make negative remarks related to the economy. It is known that some Weibo users in the financial sector with tens of thousands of followers have received messages from Weibo requesting them to reduce economic-related posts.

Taiwan's Central News Agency reported on December 9 last year that the Weibo account of Chinese financial expert Liu Jifeng disappeared recently, and his Douyin (音, Douyin) account was banned from following others. On the 1st, Liu Jifeng posted a critique of the Chinese capital market's problems, stating, "I do not recommend investing."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.