In China, a man who loves military history made a shocking discovery. He bought four books for less than a dollar at a local recycling center, only to find out they were secret military documents.
China’s Ministry of State Security, a powerful government agency, shared the story on social media.
They praised the retired man, identified only by his last name Zhang, for reporting the incident to a special hotline. The post didn’t say what the documents contained.
“Mr. Zhang realized he had accidentally bought the country’s military secrets,” the post said. “If someone with bad intentions had bought them instead, the results could have been terrible!”
The post, which was shared on popular Chinese news websites, is part of a series by the state security agency. They seem to be trying to reach new audiences with exciting and unusual stories, sometimes even using comic book-style storytelling.
This campaign looks like an effort to make people more aware of national security at a time when tensions with the United States are growing. Both countries are increasingly worried about the possibility of important secret information being stolen or shared.
The post says Zhang used to work for a government-owned company and enjoys collecting military newspapers and magazines. At the recycling center, he found two bags of new books and paid about 85 cents for four of them.
After Zhang reported what happened, state security agents quickly went to the recycling center. They discovered that two military employees who were supposed to shred more than 200 books had instead sold them as scrap paper – about 65 pounds in total – for around $2.75.
The agents took the documents, and the military has fixed the problems in how they handle such materials, according to the post.
In China, it can be hard to know what counts as a state secret because the state security agencies and legal system are not transparent.
In recent years, Chinese and foreign companies working in the country have been investigated by state security for having or sharing information about the economy, which suggests that the definition of a state secret may be expanding.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.