Law of the People's Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets (2010 Revision) [Effective]

Order of the President of the People's Republic of China

(No.28)

The Law of the People's Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets, as amended, was adopted at the 14th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on April 29, 2010, is hereby promulgated, and shall come into force on October 1, 2010.

Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China

April 29, 2010

Law of the People's Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets

(Adopted at the 3rd meeting of the Standing Committee of the 7th National People's Congress on September 5, 1988 and amended at the 14th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on April 29, 2010)

Contents

Chapter I General Provisions

Chapter II Scope and Classification of State Secrets

Chapter III Secrecy Provisions

Chapter IV Supervision and Administration

Chapter V Legal Liability

Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is formulated to guard state secrets, protect the national security and interests and guarantee the smooth implementation of reform, opening up and socialist construction.

Article 2 State secrets refer to matters which relate to the national security and interests as determined under statutory procedures and to which access is vested in a limited scope of persons during a given period of time.

Article 3 State secrets shall be protected by law.

All state organs, armed forces, political parties, social organizations, enterprises, public institutions and citizens shall have the obligation of guarding state secrets.

Any conduct endangering the safety of state secrets must be subject to legal liability.

Article 4 The work of guarding state secrets (hereinafter referred to as the “secrecy work”) shall be carried out under the guideline of “actively preventing leakage, giving prominence to key matters and managing state secrets according to law”, so that state secrets are kept safe while information resources are reasonably utilized.

Matters that shall be disclosed as required by laws and administrative regulations shall be disclosed according to law.

Article 5 The state secrecy administrative department shall be responsible for the secrecy work throughout the country. The local secrecy administrative departments at and above the county level shall be responsible for the secrecy work within their respective administrative regions.

Article 6 A state organ or an entity involved in any state secret (hereinafter referred to as “organ or entity”) shall administer the secrecy work of the organ or entity.

A central state organ shall, within its functions, administer or guide the secrecy work within its system.

Article 7 An organ or entity shall apply a responsibility system for its secrecy work, establish complete secrecy management rules, improve its secrecy measures, carry out publicity and education on secrecy, and strengthen secrecy inspection.

Article 8 The state shall reward entities or individuals which have made extraordinary contributions to guarding or protecting state secrets as well as improving secrecy techniques, measures, etc.

Chapter II Scope and Classification of State Secrets

Article 9 The following matters which relate to the national security and interests and the leakage of which may damage the national security and interests in the field of politics, economy, national defense, foreign affairs, etc. shall be determined as state secrets:

1. Classified matters involved in the key policy decisions on state affairs;

2. Classified matters involved in the national defense construction and armed force activities;

3. Classified matters involved in the diplomatic and foreign affair activities and classified matters involved in the state's international obligation of secrecy;

4. Classified matters involved in the national economic and social development;

5. Classified matters involved in science and technology;

6. Classified matters involved in the activities of maintaining national security and investigating criminal offences; and

7. Others classified matters as determined by the state secrecy administrative department.

A political party's classified matters which conform to the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall be state secrets.

Article 10 State secrets shall be classified into three levels: top-secret, secret and confidential.

State secrets at the top-secret level are the most important state secrets, the leakage of which would cause extraordinarily serious damage to the national security and interests; state secrets at the secret level are important state secrets, the leakage of which would cause serious damage to the national security and interests; state secrets at the confidential level are ordinary state secrets, the leakage of which would cause damage to the national security and interests.

Article 11 The specific scope of state secrets and scope of each classification level shall be determined by the state secrecy administrative department respectively with the foreign affairs department, the public security department, the national security department and other relevant central organs.

The scope of state secrets in the military field and the scope of each classification level shall be determined by the Central Military Commission.

Provisions on the specific scope of state secrets and scope of each classification level shall be published within a certain range and adjusted in light of changes of situations.

Article 12 The person in charge of an organ or entity or any person designated by him shall be the state secret decider responsible for the determination, change and declassification of state secrets of the organ or entity.

To determine, change or declassify a state secret of an organ or entity, the handling person shall put forward a specific proposal subject to the examination and approval of the state secret decider.

Article 13 The classification levels of state secrets shall be determined within the powers to determine state secrets.

Central state organs, provincial organs and organs or entities authorized by them shall have the powers to determine state secrets at the top-secret level, the secret level and the confidential level. Organs of districted cities and autonomous prefectures and organs or entities authorized by them shall have the powers to determine state secrets at the secret level and the confidential level. The specific powers to determine state secrets and scope of authorization shall be prescribed by the state secrecy administrative department.

Where an organ or entity executes a state secrete determined by its superior and needs to classify the state secret, it shall follow the classification level of the executed state secret. Where an organ or entity considers that the determination of classification level of a state secret which arises in the organ or entity is within the powers of its superior, it shall take secrecy measures in advance and report it immediately to the superior for determination. If it has no superior, it shall immediately apply to the competent business department or secrecy administrative department which has the corresponding determination powers.

The public security and national security organs shall, within their respective scopes of work, determine the classification levels of state secrets within the prescribed powers.

Article 14 An organ or entity shall determine the classification level of a state secret arising in the organ or entity pursuant to the provisions on the specific scope of state secrets and scopes of classification levels, as well as the secrecy period and access scope.

Article 15 The secrecy period of a state secret shall be a necessary period of time set according to the nature and characteristics of the matter and the needs for maintaining the national security and interests. Where it is impossible to determine the secrecy period, the conditions for declassification shall be determined.

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