[5] In 2019, former Chinese diplomat turned dissident Australian citizen Yang Hengjun was arrested in Guangzhou and transferred to the BSSB Detention Centre to face espionage charges.

In December 2020, the BSSB detained Haze Fan, a Beijing-based assistant reporter for Bloomberg News, on what was purported to be a suspicion of endangering national security.

[9] In June 1989, the Beijing bureau was behind the expulsion of Associated Press reporter John Pomfret following his coverage of the Tiananmen Square protests over allegations of his links with student leaders.

[13] In a subsequent hearing, executives declined to explain why they had provided emails and IP addresses to BSSB authorities which was allegedly used to convict and sentence journalist Shi Tao and blogger Wang Xiaoning to ten years in prison each for "leaking state secrets.

cofounder Jerry Yang later appealed to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to press for the release of the two dissidents prior to her visit to China in 2008.

[24] Several outlets noted the rhetoric of the hiring announcement closely mirrored wording from new components of Xi Jinping Thought released just days prior.

[25] In 2017, the Beijing bureau announced cash bounties of up to ¥500,000 yuan for anyone who reports on what they believe to be foreign espionage activity with the aim of building "an iron Great Wall" counterintelligence program to "combat evil.

[2][27][28] State media said the investigation into Liang was connected to allegations of corruption and his dealing with Zhou, while other sources reported that he was suspected of monitoring the whereabouts of some members of the Politburo Standing Committee, including Xi Jinping himself.