Authorities eavesdrop on social media chat of Chinese military brigade’s wives

An army unit in China has started monitoring soldiers' wives chat on social media to ensure they don’t give away any “secrets”, according to a report on the People's Liberation Army website.

A number of supervisors, usually the wives of Communist Party officials, are paid to keep across the chat among a group of about 50 wives whose husbands serve in a brigade in the 20th Army Group, the report said.

The woman often talk about their husbands’ assignments and how they are helping them to prepare and the authorities fear they may give away information about the timing and nature of missions.

The unit’s duties in recent months have ranged from peacekeeping missions, to military drills and field training exercises. The report did not say where the unit was based.

Chat on the app included conversations such as “‘I heard they will set out on Monday for a military drill. I think it’d better to prepare cotton trousers and a sweater for him’” or “In a couple of weeks time the peacekeeping force will be set up. What will you prepare for your husbands?”

Most members of the chat group are soldiers’ wives, but members of the public have joined in, the report said, posing a threat to security.