New | China withholds full details of 2014 domestic security budget
Province and regional figures missing from this year’s announced total for internet policing and surveillance
China left out major details from its domestic security budget this year, only announcing the total coming directly from central government of 205 billion yuan (HK$259 billion) and witholding what has usually been hundreds of billions in yuan more from the provinces and cities.
After three years in a row in which the domestic security budget drew headlines for exceeding the fast-growing military budget, the government this year did not publicise the overall figure despite a stepped-up focus on stability at home.
Analysts said the reason for the non-disclosure could be due to the sensitivity of the budget used for policing and surveillance, which some activists have criticised as tools for censorship and harrassment.
Domestic security spending covers everything from monitoring dissidents online and eavesdropping on journalists to trying to stop attacks like the one at the weekend in Kunming in which 29 civilians were killed by knife-wielding assailants.
The government last year announced at the annual session of the National People’s Congress, the largely rubber-stamp parliament, that the domestic security budget would rise 8.7 per cent to 769.1 billion yuan, the third year in a row it outstripped defence spending.