Beijing wants to hire 100,000 volunteers as 'anti-terror informants'
Local governments are offering big rewards for tip-offs about security threats, but residents question if community should police itself
Beijing's plan to recruit up to 100,000 volunteers as "anti-terror informants" has been met with doubt by some members of the public.
They fear efforts to collect information could lead to dangerous confrontations with strangers, and point to concerns about living in a community where suspicion of one's neighbours is rife.
The chief of the municipal Public Security Bureau, Fu Zhenghua, announced late last month that the capital aimed to enlist people from across society, including cleaners, security guards and deliverymen, to act as lookouts for possible terrorist activity. The announcement came a few months after Beijing police began offering up to 40,000 yuan (HK$50,280) for tip-offs on suspected plots.
Some provinces have unveiled even bigger rewards to informants, with Yunnan offering up to 200,000 yuan and Inner Mongolia 500,000 yuan. In Shenzhen, authorities have left the amount uncapped. But some members of the public question whether such payments will be made if they were to step forward with information.
"The 40,000 yuan reward seems too good to be true," said a bicycle repairman in Beijing's Tuanjiehu area, who did not want to be identified. "Who can guarantee the reward won't be an empty promise?"
Tuanjiehu is a typical Beijing neighbourhood and its 32 residential compounds are home to about 60,000 people, many of whom are originally from outside the city. "People move all the time. How can you tell who's good and who's bad?" the repairman said, dismissing the tip-off system.