World news explained
China's official media say officials warned not to abuse state secrets laws
Issued on:
Play - 05:20
China's official media say that the government has issued new rules warning officials not to abuse the country's state secrets laws. The laws are ill-defined and they cover everything, from the number of people executed every year to industry databases and even pollution figures. Any information can be retroactively labelled a state secret and publication of secrets can lead to prosecution. RFI talked to Willy Lam, professor with the Chinese University in Hong Kong. He has been following the ways the Chinese Communist Party conceals things it thinks are harmful for its existence.
