National Administration of State Secrets Protection explained
| Agency Name: | National Administration of State Secrets Protection |
| Nativename A: | Chinese: 国家保密局 |
| Seal: | File:National Emblem of the People's Republic of China (2).svg |
| Headquarters: | Beijing |
| Parent Agency: | State Council |
| Agency Name: | Office of the Central Secrecy Commission |
| Nativename A: | Chinese: 中央保密委员会办公室 |
| Parent Agency: | Central Secrecy Commission |
The National Administration of State Secret Protection of the People's Republic of China is an institution of the State Council of the People's Republic of China that is responsible for the protection of classified information.[1] The name was translated as National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets.
It is also the Office of the Central Secrecy Commission, a subordinate organization of the General Office of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
Overview
The Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (which is not operative in the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao) makes it a crime to release a state secret. Under the 1989 "Law on Guarding State Secrets,"[2] state secrets are defined as those that concern:
- Major policy decisions on state affairs;
- The building of national defence and in the activities of the armed forces;
- Diplomatic activities and in activities related to foreign countries and those to be maintained as commitments to foreign countries;
- National economic and social development;
- Science and technology;
- Activities for preserving state security and the investigation of criminal offences; and
- Any other matters classified as "state secrets" by the national State Secrets Bureau.[3]
Secrets can be classified into one of three categories:
- Top secret : Defined as "vital state secrets whose disclosure would cause extremely serious harm to state security and national interests";
- Highly secret : Defined as "important state secrets whose disclosure would cause serious harm to state security and national interests"; and
- Secret : Defined as "ordinary state secrets whose disclosure would cause harm to state security and national interests".
Notes and References
- News: China sentences American geologist to 8 years for stealing state secrets . Keith B. . Richburg . . 5 July 2010 . 30 October 2017 . https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120412183752/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/05/AR2010070500859.html . 12 April 2012 . live .
- Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, "Law on Guarding State Secrets " (中华人民共和国保守国家秘密法), promulgated 1988 and effective 1989.
- Translation per Human Rights in China (pdf), State Secrets: China's Legal Labyrinth, (2007).
