Operation Sky Net, commonly known as Skynet (

Simplified Chinese Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to: Mathematics Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one that is simpler (usually shorter), according to a well-founded ordering. Examples include: ...

: 天网), is a clandestine operation of the

Chinese Ministry of Public Security The Ministry of Public Security (MPS, zh , c = , p = Gōng'ānbù ) is the primary law enforcement agency of the People's Republic of China. It oversees more than 1.9 million of the country's law enforcement officers and as such the vast majo ...

to apprehend

Overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese people are Chinese people, people of Chinese origin who reside outside Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. As of 2023, there were 10.5 milli ...

it sees as fugitives guilty of

financial crime Financial crime is crime committed against property, involving the unlawful conversion of the ownership of property (belonging to one person) to one's own personal use and benefit. Financial crimes may involve fraud (cheque fraud, credit card f ...

s in

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

. The initiative was launched in 2015 to investigate

offshore companies The term "offshore company" or "offshore corporation" is used in at least two distinct and different ways. An offshore company may be a reference to: * a company, Corporate group, group or sometimes a division thereof, which engages in offshorin ...

and underground banks that transfer money abroad. It has reportedly been consolidated with Operation Fox Hunt (which was launched in 2014, a year before Operation Sky Net) and returned around 10,000 fugitives to China in the last decade, including

political dissidents Political dissent is a dissatisfaction with or opposition to the policies of a governing body. Expressions of dissent may take forms from vocal disagreement to civil disobedience to the use of violence.Central Commission for Discipline Inspection The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) is the highest supervisory organ of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCDI is elected and supervised by the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, CCP National Congress. ...

, China has captured over 1,200 fugitives, including 140

Party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

members and government officials, and recovered () of embezzled funds in 2023.

Activities

Human rights NGO

Safeguard Defenders Safeguard Defenders is a not-for profit human rights organization that monitors disappearances in China. Co-founded by Michael Caster and Peter Dahlin in June 2019 in Madrid, Spain, it operates as a private foundation. History In 2009, activis ...

highlighted methods used in Operation Sky Net, including the detention of fugitives' relatives in mainland China, dispatching agents overseas to illegally intimidate the person in their overseas location, or kidnap them and return them to China. In some cases, authorities froze family assets or even threatened to take away their children. In 2016, Operation Sky Net led to the escortion of Yang Xiuzhu, one of China's most-wanted fugitives according to a post of a list of 100 suspects "wanted for economic crimes and said to be living abroad" published in April 2015. She was escorted by

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the Un ...

officers to Beijing, where she was then turned over to Chinese authorities. In 2018,

Jacky Cheung Jacky Cheung Hok-yau (born 10 July 1961) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. One of the most influential artists in the Greater China region, Cheung is widely regarded as a Heavenly King of Cantopop music and an icon of Hong Kong popular culture. He ...

held concerts in the cities of mainland China. Police from many provinces repeatedly arrested detected fugitives in the concert after the concert was over. In July 2018, the Uyghur Human Rights Project documented 395 cases of

Uyghurs The Uyghurs,. alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central Asia and East Asia. The Uyghurs are recognized as the ti ...

being deported, extradited, or rendered back to China.

Surveillance

The government also uses GIS mapping, image acquisition, and other technologies to monitor different areas of the country. It uses technologies such as

facial recognition systems A facial recognition system is a technology potentially capable of matching a human face from a digital image or a video frame against a database of faces. Such a system is typically employed to authenticate users through ID verification ser ...

and

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

and is part of mainland China's large-scale surveillance system. In 2023, China was estimated to have a huge surveillance network of around 540–626 million surveillance cameras.

References

{{CCPCorruption2017 Corruption in China Espionage in China Espionage in the United States Chinese diaspora Political repression in China Extraterritorial jurisdiction Ministry of Public Security (China) Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party

Activities

Surveillance

See also

References