The blog of a military enthusiast from East China's Anhui Province was reportedly temporarily shut down for leaking military intelligence, highlighting concerns about citizens unintentionally revealing military secrets on social media.
An army official from a military regiment in East China's Shandong Province found an online article that provided detailed information of its troops and subsequently contacted authorities in Anhui, where the blog was registered, to shut it down on July 22, China National Defense Daily reported Thursday.
According to the report, the blogger had written 579 articles on the Chinese navy, air force, armored forces, artillery, engineering corps, seven military regions and Chinese military history, and many involved confidential information.
The Global Times found that the blog, "tanker-01," was still accessible online as of press time on Thursday, though only 318 articles were available on it.
Gao Jiandong, head of a military contracting company based in Shandong, told China National Defense Daily that many military enthusiasts are obsessed with digging into Chinese military history and are eager to share their discoveries on social networking platforms.
"A good deal of information is not yet outdated and is still confidential," said Gao, adding that military bases and local authorities should jointly strengthen supervision to prevent leaks.
"It's good to see that these enthusiasts are so interested in our country's military, but they should be prudent," Song Zhongping, a military commentator, told the Global Times.
According to the National Security Law, Chinese citizens have a duty to safeguard security and must not commit any act endangering the State's security.
Although the blogger used an old regiment name, information on the regiment's history, location and organization were consistent with its current form, the report said.
Song confirmed to the Global Times that such information on a military regiment's designation and property is legally confidential.
