Law and Discipline Online | Classification Cannot Be Done 'Off the Top of One's Head'

Classification Cannot Be Done 'Off the Top of One's Head'

■ Li Yuanfei

"Staff Officer Zhang, the classification level marked on this document does not conform to the standards for identifying classified matters. Please re-classify it in accordance with secrecy regulations."

Not long ago, Xiao Li, a secrecy officer (保密员) at a certain unit, brought a newly circulated document approval form to a section of the headquarters organ.

Upon receiving the feedback, Staff Officer Zhang of that section felt somewhat aggrieved: "This document contains sensitive information about the unit and its officers and soldiers. I set the classification level higher precisely to draw everyone's attention and prevent information leaks caused by carelessness during work."

"Being cautious and responsible is not a justification for arbitrarily raising a document's classification level. Relevant regulations make clear that the determination of classification levels for military classified documents follows strict scope, authority, and procedures—it must be precisely determined against the applicable standards." Drawing on typical cases of classification violations that had been previously circulated, Xiao Li walked Staff Officer Zhang through several accounts of the costs of 'under-classified matters being over-classified' (低密高定).

"First, the security account: arbitrarily expanding the scope of classification dilutes the core classified information that genuinely requires priority protection, and actually weakens the protective force applied to that core classified content. Second, the efficiency account: arbitrarily raising a document's classification level subjects non-classified documents to the full management process for classified documents, which not only substantially increases the cost of managing secret documents but also slows the efficiency of normal official business, and may even affect the personal interests of officers and soldiers. Third, the law-and-discipline account: failing to classify according to legally prescribed standards is itself a violation of secrecy regulations. Once adverse consequences result, the corresponding disciplinary and legal responsibility must be borne."

Regulation after regulation explained, harm after harm laid out—Staff Officer Zhang bowed his head, flushed with embarrassment, and recognized where the problem lay. He immediately withdrew the document with the incorrectly marked classification level, carefully studied the regulations governing document classification, and re-marked the classification level.

Afterward, Staff Officer Zhang proactively made a self-criticism at the headquarters organ's handover meeting, using his own personal experience to warn everyone: classification work cannot be done 'off the top of one's head,' and even less can it be determined arbitrarily on the basis of subjective judgment.

After the unit's Party committee learned of the situation, it attached great importance to the matter and made clear that secrecy work must be standardized throughout every step. They subsequently conducted special secrecy work training and inspection-and-rectification campaigns at all levels, earnestly correcting problems such as subjectivity and arbitrariness in secrecy work.

"Before, I only knew that secrecy work was important, but in actually handling official business, lapses were inevitable. During the training, I not only clarified the regulations on secrecy discipline but also learned quite a few practical methods and approaches for secrecy work." A secrecy officer at the unit told this reporter that, in order to further improve the secrecy capabilities of relevant personnel, the unit organized all headquarters organ cadres and secrecy backbone personnel to systematically study secrecy laws and regulations. They also invited superior secrecy departments to conduct special lectures, established dedicated on-the-job training and assessment specifically for secrecy work personnel, and stipulated that anyone who fails the assessment is categorically prohibited from handling document and communications business.

Today, Staff Officer Zhang has become someone who truly understands secrecy work. Every time he handles a document, a list of classified matters (涉密事项清单) is always laid out on his desk, and whenever he encounters content he is uncertain about, he consults the secrecy department at the first opportunity. He said with deep feeling: "There is no small matter in secrecy work. Only by strictly following the regulations can one truly build a solid line of defense for the unit's secrecy and security."