BEIJING -- China's national security authorities have released five typical cases of crimes that threaten national security, urging the public to heighten their awareness as the nation observes National Security Education Day on April 15.

These cases include instances of overseas enterprises and intelligence agencies pilfering rare earth national secrets and rice seeds and seed production technology, and illicit gathering of meteorological data.

In one such instance, motivated by personal gain, a deputy general manager at a domestic rare earth company, surnamed Cheng, disclosed details regarding China's rare earth inventory categories, quantities, and prices, to an employee surnamed Ye at the Shanghai subsidiary of an overseas non-ferrous metal company.

In November 2023, a court in Nanchang city, Jiangxi province, sentenced Ye and Cheng for offenses related to the procurement and unauthorized provision of state secrets to foreign entities, as well as bribery.

In another case, national security authorities discovered that a former general manager of a domestic agricultural technology company, surnamed Zhu, unlawfully sold five varieties of parent rice seeds under the guise of "cooperative breeding" to a company established by foreign espionage agencies in China, yielding returns surpassing the regular selling price.

A court in Hefei city, Anhui province, sentenced Zhu in January 2024 to one and a half years in prison for illegally disseminating intelligence to foreign entities. In addition, the national security authorities imposed administrative penalties on the remaining 17 individuals involved in accordance with the law.

In recent years, foreign intelligence agencies have persistently deepened their infiltration into China's food sector, extensively pilfering the nation's core scientific research information. In response, the national security authorities have scrutinized nearly 100 individuals involved, penalized 11 key enterprises, and held accountable relevant personnel in accordance with the law.