Intelligence authority’s high-profile video shows confidence in shaping its image
In a rare move, the Ministry of State Security (MSS), China’s national intelligence and antiespionage authority uncovered its veil of mystery on Sunday by introducing itself in a fourminute video. Such a highprofile presentation on China’s first People’s Police Day demonstrates that the national security authority is becoming more confident in shaping its image to fit the country’s overall strength and is determined to safeguard the country’s national security, observers said.
In the four-minute video, Li Yifeng, a young actor popular with young people does the voice-over. The video also features Morse code, reflecting that MSS officers have been working in a hidden battleground with growing challenges although China is in a time of peace.
A Beijing-based expert on national security affairs who asked not to be named told the Global Times on Sunday that the increasing publicity shows that the MSS is going to be more confident to shape its image to fit the country’s national strength and rising role in the international arena.
“We can see the CIA or the FBI of the US are very highprofile and are frequently the subject of Hollywood movies. Their images have been shaped or even over-beautified by these high-profile publicity measures,” the expert said, noting that the MSS also needs to make necessary changes to let more people learn who they are and what they are fighting for.
The MSS always keeps a low-profile with very limited public information, and it has become a highly mysterious department to the Chinese public. However, this style of carrying out duties has been changing significantly recently.
For example, in a recent interview with the Legal Daily, a newspaper under the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, the MSS openly introduced some information to the public for the first time, including the methods of recruiting MSS officers.
Allowing more people to know the MSS in this way could help it recruit more young people and it also makes lawenforcement easier and more efficient, the expert said.