thayer on china's security state

7/28/2019 Thayer on China's Security State

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Vo l. 31No.2:2 0 13

SPECIAL ISSUE: DRIVERS OF JUSTICE

NORDI[ JOUR of


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Contents118 ForewordArticles119 EI.1N S KAAR AND ERIC WIEI\ ELl IAUS-BR-\ Il M

D rivers of jus tice afier Viol en t Conflict: An Introduct ion127 f U N S KAAR AND ERIC WIEI\ELHAUS- B AAIl M

The D rivers of Trans itional justice: An Analytical Framework for Assessing th e Role of Actorst49 VICTOR I GREj A AND E UN S KAAR

"A C onflict Docs Nor R()[": Stare and C ivil Soc iety Responses to Civil War Offencesin Mozambique

176 A RE KN U DSEN AND SAID] LANAFISpecial Tribunal for Lebanon (STL): Imparrial or Imposed Inrernarional Just ice?

201 A ZI Z l lAKIMI AND ASTRl SUIIRKEA Poisonous Chalice: 'The Struggle for Hu man Rights and Accounrabil iry in Afghan istan

224 GUNNAR M SORBO AND ABD}; l. G II AFI'AR M At IM EDJus tice by D efaulr? D ealing with Accountability Issues in Sudan

248 CHANDAA LEKHA SRlAAMSpoilers ofJustice

Legal Developments262 ,EC ILI A M B AIl.L1E'!" AND KjETIl. M U j EZ INOVlC LARSEN

Nordic Expert ,o IlSulration on [he Righr to Peace: Summary and Reco m mend ations

Book Reviews279 R.lW IEW ED tlY CARLYLE A TIIAYERXuczhi GuoChina's Security Strite: Philosophy, liuolution, and Politics

284 REVI EWED BY DA RREN C II R.lSTO I' Il EIl REM)H eat her Harrison DinnissCyber Warftre and the Laws ofWar


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Book ReviewsXuezhi Guo, Chinas Security State: Philosophy, Evolution, and Politics, (Cambridge Un iversity Press 20 12) ISBN: 978 11 7 0 2 3 2 Reviewed by Carlyle A Thayer"China 's Security State is the f r full-length academic treatment of C hina's secur ityan d intelligence com m uniry. It covers the period from the 1920 s, before thefound ing of th e C hinese Commun ist Parry (CCP), 10 the rule by party GeneralSecretary and state Presiden t H u j in rao. It is not a history of C hina's in telligenceand security services per se but a detailed exami nation of th e role intelli gence andsecuriry services play in elite politics in C hina.

Acco rd ing ro its au th o r, 'Th is book is not a political history of Chinese securiry and intelligence appara tu es. Rat her, it is an ana lysis of several in terrelatedissues at th e intersection o f secur iry and intelligence appararuses an d elite politics'(p, 1). Chinas Security State explores four main themes. First, I he book reco unt sthe founding and development of CCP intelligence and securiry services in thepre-19 49 period. Seco nd, th e book examines the influence of secur ity and int elligence services in factional infighting and power str uggles within the CCP and theC h inese state. T hird , China 's Security State analyses the d uties and responsibil itiesof secur iry and intelligence servi es in pro tecting Ch ina's regime and its politicalelite. Fou rt h, China's Security State discusses how (he CCr.exerts control over thesecurity and in r lIigencc serv ices to ensure their loyalty.

Xuezhi G uo uses four methodological approaches to his st udy: narrative anal ysis, descript ive s atistical, network analysis and con tent analysis. G uo utilisesfour carego ri s of sources for th is study: the academic literatu re, official govern ment do cuments and reports, media reports incl ud ing speeches, and int erv iewscond ucted in C hina with C P histori ans and serving and retired securiry officials. Ch inas Security State provides in-depth coverage of the pre-revolutionaryand post-revolu tionary period up to end of th e Ga ng of Four in 1976. T heperiod after 1976 is treated mo re generally and th ins our in its coverage of morerecent years.

Carlyle A Thayer is Emeritus Professor, T he University of New Sout h Wales at the AustralianDefence f orce Academy, Canberra, Australia .

N O RDIC JOURNAL O F H UMAN R IGH TS VOL. 31 N O. 2 . rS S N 1891 - 8131 @ U 201 3


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280 N] HR 31:2 (2013), 279- 288

Chint/s Security State is organised into eigh t substantial chapters and a co nclusion. C hapter one p rovides an hi sto rical an alysis of the evolution of four m ainpub lic security organisa rlo ns from their fo u nd ing lip to the 1940 s. T hese include:Committee fo r Elim inati ng C o unterrevo lu t io naries, the st ate Po liti cal Sec urityBureau, D epa rtment o f Elimina ting Tra ito rs, Spi es, and Tro tskyites and theBureau of Public Secur ity. T his wa s a blood soaked time dur ing wh ich th ese services co nd ucted viol en t po litical cam paigns agai nst "co unterrevolutionaries" andrhus 'set th e stage for th e developmen t o f b rut al and violent secur ity organ izarions controlled by th e domi nant lead ers in th e base areas - mi llio ns of inno centpeople would peris h at the hands o f th ose security forces' (p. 36).

Chapter two di scusses the fo und ing and ro le of th e Soc ial Aff.lirs Departmentan d its evolurion inro today's Ministry o f Pu blic Securi ty (M PS) . T he M PS wasfou nded in 1949 as China's mai n po lice for ce ch arged w ith th e law,maintaining pub lic ord er and prosecut ing po lit ica l crimes. T he MPS co nd ucts'active surveill ance over po lit ical di ssidents, relig ious grou ps, rad ical mi noritygroups, te rrorist g :9ups- separat ist g ro ups, ext remi st groups, and cult groups,incl uding no t only Falun Gong but va rio us t radit io nal Chin ese m ed iation andexercise gro ups' (p . 65). G uo focuses th e lio n's share of his an alysis on the rol e ofthe MPS in elite politics du ring the C ultural Revo lutio n and th e refo rm era.

C hapter three dis cu sses the special ro le of the Cent ral G uard Bureau as thereg im e's elite cent ral security agen cy. I t has responsibi lity for p rov iding sec urityand p rotection fo r C hina's h igh est leaders hip level, the m em bers and fo rmermembers of the Polirburo Stan d ing C omm itt ee and their fam ilies. T he Cent ralG ua rd Bureau comes und er th e dual leadersh ip of t he Peopl e's PLA Army (PLA)and th e CCE G uo di scusses in detail the C entral G uard Bureau 's va rious organisario nal com po nel1ls and their d ut ies. C hapter th ree also provides a d etailed analysis of th e rise and fall o f M ao Zedong's protege W ang D ongxing and th e ro le o fth e C ent ral Gua rd Bureau in the post-M ao reform era.C ha pter four di scu sses a seco nd elite sec u rity body, th e Cen tral G uard Regim ent. Guo firs t tra ces th e evolution of the C en tr al G ua rd Regim ent fro m it s ori-gins as a brigad e. H e t hen an alyses the reorgan isatio n and increasing p rofessio nalism of the Cent ral Guard Regiment in its ro le as the personal security for ce fo rCh ina's top leaders at Zhongna nhai , the leadershi p co m pou nd in Be ijing. fi na lly,G uo d iscusses the ro le of the C en tra l G ua rd Regi ment in th e post-M ao era .

hapter five prov ides an histo rical acco u nt o f the organ isatio n and fun cti o nsof rhc armed pol ice o r the Chinese Peo ple's Public Security Fo rces crea ted in1949. Much of chap te r five is devo ted to the co nstan tly cha ng ing o rgan isatio nal


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Book Reviews 281

and co m mand arrangemen ts o f th e People's Ar med Police ro the Peop le's PublicSecurity Forces and its abso rp tion int o the PLA (1966---82) .

Chapter six traces the evolu tion o f the People's Arme d Police in the reform eraun der D eng Xiao p ing and th e d ifficu lties o f dual pa rty -army leadershi p. G uoanalyses the politi a l ro le of th e People's Arm ed Police at the local level and irsrole in maintain ing pu bli sc uriry, C ha pter six co ncludes with a d iscussion o f th ePeople's Armed Poli cy in th e post-Dong era.

C ha pter seven d iscusses the founding, evolu tion and ro le of PLA Ga rrisonC ommands th ro ugho ut C hi na. T h is analysis focuses on th e h isto rical evolutiono f th e G arrison C o m mand s from their foundi ng to the post -Mao era and th einfluence oflocal authorities.

C hapter eigh t provides an hisrori cal oversighr o f C h ina's intel ligence agenciesduring th e revolutio nary period with atten tio n to th e Special Services D ivisio nand the Poli tical Securiry Department, later renamed State Political SecurityBureau. As ' uo notes, 'A study of C h ina's in telligence services is beyond the sco peof th is work' (I" 300). T h is chapte r confines itself to the role of intelligence agencies ill elite po litics and do es no t pro vide the gra nular de tail o f earlier hapters.

C ha pter nine picks up th e analysis o f the in t lIigcnce services after th e founding of the Peo ple's Republic of Ch ina in 1949 . In parti cu lar, th is chapter d iscussesthe Cent ra] In vestigation Department, its role in elite party poliri s, and the est. blishrnen t of the present day M inis try o f Sta te Security created in 1983. T he M in istry o f State Secu ri ty has responsibility for co unterinrclligence o perations, in thisro le it m o ni to rs political di ssidents (p , 366). This chapter also. d iscusses the rolean d fun ctions of the PLA's intelligence departments loca ted in the Gene ral StaffD epart ment. T he T hi rd Department mo nitor the Intern et and long-d istan ce telephone calls with a focus on sensitive issues Stich as the Falun Gong (p, 47 1).

hapre r ten weaves together th e role of th e PLA and other secur ity services inelite po lit ics in Beijing. G uo focuses his an alysis on th e PI.A's Security D epart ment tha t comes un der th e command of the PLA Gene ral Poli tical De part me ntand th e Guard Bureau th at is d irected by the Cent ral M ilitary Commissio n'sGeneral O ffice. This cha pte r includes a detailed histo rical ana lysis o f the 38 thArmy Corps in th e Mao and post- Mao eras and examines the trend towardsgreate r professionalisation,

uo's conclu sion provides a welcom e summary of th e mai n themes in Child sSecurity State. H ere G uo steps o ut of the thi cket o f co m plex and at rimes confusing detail to present his findin gs under five headings. H is last sectio n brancheso ur to d iscuss th e likely future tr ajectory o f C hina's poli t ical system an d the ro leof its security and intell igence services.


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2,82 N]HR 31:2. (2.013), 2.79- 2.88

First, Guo argues that since the 1950s C hina's intelligence and security services,particularly the Mi nistry of Public Security and the Chinese Peop le's Public Security Force, have beco me more institutionalised and professional as they have comeunder the dire ct ion of the CCP Politburo and Cent ral Secretariat. Guo specificallycred its reforms carrie d out in the post-Deng era. G uo argues, 'T he developmenttoward professionalism of the Ministry of Publ ic Security and other civilian security forces had been the major feature since the PRC was established in 1949,despite the setbacks they experience at times. T he vertical chain of command inthe civilian securi ty apparatuses was abandoned, and dual leadership by higherlevel security agencies and local party committees was introduced' (p. 420).

Second, Guo concludes that key paramount leaders, such as Mao , Deng andJiang Zemin, all used informal personal connections to exert personalised controlover the CCP's security forces. For exam ple, Guo writes, 'D cng'scontrol over thesecurity apparatus was achieved th rough direct and personal interactions withtrusted followers and veterans of the Second Field Army' (I" 425 ); Jiang maintained control over} he secur ity services by appointing trusted colleagues to keyleadership posts. However, under the leadership of Hu jintao 'the party's controlover the military and securi ty agencies has shifted away from blatant manipulation of institutions and has instead fo und mo re gro und ing in the authority ofinstitutions; fo rmalized methods of in teractions; and an emphasis on rule, law,and regu lations' (p, 42 6).

T hird, Guo argues that the influence of the PLA over the CC P's security an dinre lligence serv ices has been a co nt inuing feature of elite politics since thefoundi ng of the armed forces (Red Army, Eighth Route Army, New Fourth Armyand PLA). At the same rime, the military has kep t its security and intelligenceagencies separate from the C CP' 'O ne of Deng's reform programs', Guo writes,'was the div ision of China's intelligence o rganizarions into two systems: civilianand military' (I" 433).Fourth , Guo argues that dual CCP-P LA leade rship ' is a un ique model implemented by the CCP in its control over and adm in istration of both civilian andmilitary orga nizations' (I" 43 4). The PLA has either direct or joint control oversix security agencies: Cen tral G uard Bureau, C ent ral G uard Regiment, GuardBurea u of the Cent ral M ilitary Commission's General O ffice, Security D epartment of the CCP 's Ge neral Politica l Department , People's Armed Police, andGarrison Commands nati onwide and in Beijing .

Fifth, Guo concludes that in the post-Mao era the power and size of China's public security organisations have been enhanced to carry ou t the 'overrid ing mission ofthe regime: ensuring social order and social stability and maintaining CCP rule'.


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Book Reviews 283

Because China's Security State is focused 0 11 the role o f security and intelligenceservices in elite politics it gives only general coverage to their ro le in rep ressing po lit icaldissidents, pro-democracy and religious freedom advocates and ethnic m inorities. Forexample, human righ ts and religious freedom arc not listed in the index, there is oneentry for the Uig hur mino rity an d there are only five references roTlber.

uo , nevertheless, to uches on th ese issues in his co nclusio n . 'T he CCP' , hew rites, 'bel ieves that C hina is threa t ned by "Western host ile forces ", led by theUn ited States, and th at those forces are attemp t ing to Westernize, divide andove rthrow the CCP by su pporring democracy activists, religi o us groups (includ ing p ractitioners o f falun gong), sep ara tists (Tiberans, Uighurs, and Taiwan) , andpoli tical d iss idents' (p. 4 18).

Guo offers the in t r igu in g argu ment tha t th e CCP 's interna l co ntro l mechanisms arc a system of ch ecks and balances tha t p rovide legitim acy in the eyes o fth e public, and arc fun ctionally eq uivalent ' to a de mocratically elected cen tralgovern ment in which voters hold th e power to accept or dismiss gove rn ment andparty autho rities' (I" 442). Further, he asserts, 'T his in tern al watchdog syste m islikened to an in rra party "democracy", and it is intended to faci litate the expan sion of personal freedoms and socia l mob ility, insritutioual p luralism and freedo m , greater legal independence. to lerance o f limited pub lic space, an d the erner-gerlCe of grass roots democra tic part icipat ion and polit ica l act ivism' (p. 443 ).C hina is a long way from reaching these objectives, as G uo admits: 'th regimehas neve r hesita ted to rely on state-sanc t io ned repression an d some tim es huma nrigh ts vio latio ns against polit ical di ssidents, ethnic separat ists , n d angry demonstrators, even tho ug h there is a significant d cline in the freque ncy and sev riry ofpolitical repression compared with tha t under M ao. To red uce a ny instabilityfro m any source, the C C P also o pen ly censo rs the tree flow of informat ion andto lerates poli tical and jud icial corrupt ion' (I" 444) .

G uo co ncl udes it is more likely tha t C h ina's political insti tu tions will beco memore democratic than retu rn to an aurocract ic d ictato rsh ip. Ch ina will nor , however, transform in to a modern day Singapore, Russia, Japan o r Taiwan; ' it may F.tshio n a system of selective de mocratic govern ance to su it its ow n sit uation - that is, ademocracy wi th C hinese character ist ics' (I" 444). G uo's forward looking prognostica tions appear excessively optimi stic when judged against presenrday reality. Contem porary hina is a security state that rou tinely represses pro-democracy, religiousfreedom, pu blic advocacy and ethnic m inority rights activists at all levels of socie ty.The cu rrent conduct of C hi na's security serv ices rellecr thei r historical legacy byemplo ying fo rced labour, coe rcion, vio lence and extra jud icial killings against allpersons and groups deemed a threat to the o ne-party state.

thayer on china's security state

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