New regulations rolled out on Feb. 8 will clamp down on anyone in China sharing or analyzing details about the country’s armed forces. This highlights the CCP’s double standard: exploit open societies like the United States for data while shutting off scrutiny at home.
The timing is no accident either—U.S. government agencies and committees, such as the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, are digging deeper into Chinese military affairs, often by searching online Chinese-language sources the CCP now wants to bury. The new CCP rules, which took effect on March 1, aim to blind outside observers and prevent domestic audiences from accessing unfiltered truths.
The regulations issued by the Chinese regime’s top military, police, and intelligence agencies aim to control various types of online military content, including technical specifications, operational details, and personnel information. They rely on a Confidentiality List to prevent leaks of sensitive information, such as new missile systems and naval operations. Even minor updates on progress or slip-ups could disappear.
Breaking the rules may result in fines, content removal, account lockdown, detention, or worse. Local officials will enforce these regulations, keeping tabs on every military-related post.
For years, people in China—military buffs, independent voices, and even ordinary citizens—have managed to discuss military topics online while navigating tight controls, often infused with a sense of nationalism. Now, these new rules make that nearly impossible.
Controlling information is crucial for the CCP to maintain its power. However, the emergence of digital media has allowed some negative stories about the military to occasionally bypass censors. For instance, bloggers have uncovered corruption cases, such as that involving former top General Xu Caihou, which undermines the Party’s carefully curated image.
Military failures—such as the 2011 radioactivity leak aboard a Type 094 nuclear submarine and the 2023–2024 Rocket Force scandal—undermine the CCP’s narrative of unbroken success. These incidents, among others, often come to light through non-official sources—ranging from intelligence leaks and foreign media reports to independent military enthusiasts—after official channels attempt to suppress them.
Internal power struggles, notably since Xi Jinping launched his anti-corruption campaign in 2012, further expose factional infighting that the Party would rather keep hidden.
Accurate information from outside China has also undermined the CCP’s secrecy. Details about the Party’s authoritarian structure, classified operations, and overseas ambitions have surfaced, allowing some citizens to glimpse what the authorities try to conceal.
That kind of awareness—or a dip in military morale—could shake the Party’s hold, especially as the United States and other countries track China’s moves more closely.
Alarmed by these breaches, the CCP is doubling its efforts to silence independent analysis and reporting, especially when it exposes corruption, reveals failures, or challenges official claims. Once-respected outlets like Caixin Global have already been forced to abandon military coverage under mounting pressure.
The new rules ban anything that threatens “national sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity,” as the Party defines them.
While the Chinese regime touts its commitment to sovereignty, it aggressively asserts its claims in the South China Sea, steps up “gray zone operations” against Taiwan, and forcibly occupies disputed reefs.
Yet Beijing remains silent on Russian-occupied territories in northern China, demonstrating a clear double standard. Its “no-limits” partnership with Moscow amid the Ukraine conflict further highlights how the CCP brushes aside historical grievances for strategic gain—an inconvenient truth too risky to discuss openly under the new regulations.
Under these directives, the only “correct” perspective is unwavering praise for the Party and its military. News about major strategies, key operations, significant weapons programs, or sensitive matters must come solely from state and military sources.
Other viewpoints, no matter how well-grounded, risk being labeled misleading or dangerous.
For military enthusiasts and independent commentators in China, who are already navigating a shrinking space, this latest clampdown could silence their discussions entirely.
