Counter-terrorism Law of the People's Republic of China (Amended in 2018)
Counter-terrorism Law of the People's Republic of China (Amended in 2018)
Counter-terrorism Law of the People's Republic of China (Amended in 2018)
Order of the President of the People's Republic of China No.6
April 27, 2018
(Adopted at the 18th session of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress on December 27, 2015, and amended according to the Decision on Revising Six Laws including the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law of the People's Republic of China adopted at the second session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress on April 27, 2018)
Table of Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Identification of Terrorist Organizations and Terrorists
Chapter III Safety Precautions
Chapter IV Intelligence Information
Chapter V Investigation
Chapter VI Response and Disposal
Chapter VII International Cooperation
Chapter VIII Safeguard Measures
Chapter IX Legal Liability
Chapter X Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 In order to prevent and punish terrorist activities, strengthen counter-terrorism efforts, and safeguard national security, public security and security of people's lives and property, the Counter-Terrorism Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "Law") is formulated according to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China.
Article 2 The State opposes terrorism in any form and bans terrorist organizations according to the law; any parties organizing, planning, preparing for the implementation of and implementing terrorist activities, promoting terrorism, inciting the implementation of terrorist activities, organizing, leading, and participating in terrorist organizations, and providing assistance for terrorist activities shall be subject to legal liability in accordance with the law.
The State neither compromises with any terrorist organizations or terrorists, nor provides asylum for or gives refugee status to any terrorist.
Article 3 For the purpose of the Law, "terrorism" refers to the contention or behavior of creating social panic, endangering public security, infringing upon personal property, or threatening state organs or international organizations through violence, destruction, intimidation and other means, in order to realize the polity, ideology or other purposes of terrorism.
For the purpose of the Law, "terrorist activities" refer to the following behaviors of terrorism nature:
1. organizing, planning, preparing for the implementation of, or implementing activities that cause or aim to cause serious social harm such as casualties, significant property losses, damages to public facilities and social disorder;
2. promoting terrorism, inciting the implementation of terrorist activities, illegally possessing materials that promote terrorism, or forcing others to wear clothes, accessories or marks in public that promote terrorism;
3. organizing, leading or participating in terrorist organizations;
4. providing support, assistance or convenience such as information, capital, goods and materials, labor services, technologies and venues for terrorist organizations, terrorists, the implementation of terrorist activities or training for terrorist activities; and
5. other terrorist activities.
For the purpose of the Law, "terrorist organizations" refer to criminal organizations composed of more than three persons with a purpose to implement terrorist activities.
For the purpose of the Law, "terrorists" refer to persons who implement terrorist activities and members of terrorist organizations.
For the purpose of the Law, "terrorist incidents" refer to terrorist activities that are being carried out or have been carried out, which cause or may cause significant social harm.
Article 4 The State has incorporated counter-terrorism into national security strategies; it comprehensively implements policies, treats both the symptoms and root causes of the issue, enhances capacity building for counter-terrorism, and uses political, economic, legal, cultural, educational, diplomatic, military and other means towards counter-terrorism efforts.
The State opposes extremism in any form which incites hatred, encourages discrimination, or advocates violence through distorting religious doctrines or other methods, in order to eliminate ideological basis of terrorism.
Article 5 Counter-terrorism efforts shall uphold the principles of combining specialized work with working with the masses, putting prevention first, combining punishment and prevention, dominating the enemy by striking first, and keeping the initiative.
Article 6 It is imperative to make counter-terrorism efforts to accord with the law, respect and safeguard human rights, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of citizens and organizations.
In carrying out counter-terrorism efforts, respect shall be given to citizens' freedom of religious belief and national customs and traditions, and any discriminatory practices based on region, ethnicity, religion and other grounds shall be prohibited.
Article 7 The State establishes a leading institution for counter-terrorism efforts to provide unified leadership and command for national counter-terrorism efforts.
Local people's governments at or above the level of city with districts shall establish leading institutions for counter-terrorism efforts; the people's governments at the county level may, according to their needs, establish leading institutions for counter-terrorism efforts, which are in charge of their local counter-terrorism efforts under the leadership and command of the leading institutions for counter-terrorism efforts at higher level.
Article 8 Public security organs, state security organs, people's procuratorates, people's courts, judicial administrative organs and other relevant government offices shall, based on the division of work, implement the job responsibility system, and effectively make counter-terrorism efforts according to the law.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army, the Chinese People's Armed Police Force and militia organizations shall prevent and deal with terrorist activities in accordance with the Law, other relevant laws, administrative regulations, military regulations, orders of the State Council and the Central Military Commission, and under the deployment of leading institutions for counter-terrorism efforts.
Relevant departments shall establish a coordinated response mechanism, and rely on and mobilize the villagers' committees, residents' committees, enterprises, public institutions and social organizations to jointly carry out counter-terrorism efforts.
Article 9 Any entities and individuals shall assist and cooperate with relevant departments in making counter-terrorism efforts, and timely report suspected terrorist activities or terrorists found to public security organs or relevant departments.
Article 10 Honors and rewards shall be given according to relevant state provisions to entities and individuals who make outstanding contributions to the reporting of terrorist activities or the assistance in preventing or stopping terrorist activities, or make other prominent contributions ton counter-terrorism efforts.
Article 11 The People's Republic of China has criminal jurisdiction over and will impose criminal liability in accordance with the law for terrorist crimes committed against the People's Republic of China or citizens or organizations thereof outside the territory of the People's Republic of China, or terrorist crimes against international treaties concluded or ratified by the People's Republic of China.
Chapter II Identification of Terrorist Organizations and Terrorists
Article 12 The national leading institution for counter-terrorism efforts shall identify terrorist organizations and terrorists according to Article 3 hereof, and its office shall make the corresponding announcement.
Article 13 The public security department, the national security department and the foreign affairs department under the State Council and provincial leading institutions for counter-terrorism efforts shall file an application with the national leading institution for counter-terrorism efforts if they need to identify terrorist organizations and terrorists.
Article 14 Financial institutions and specific non-financial institutions shall immediately freeze the capital or other assets of terrorist organizations and terrorists that have been announced by the office of the national leading institution for counter-terrorism efforts, and report the same to the public security department, the national security department and the competent administrative department of anti-money laundering under the State Council in a timely manner in accordance with relevant provisions.
Article 15 Where the identified terrorist organizations and terrorists refuse to accept the identification, they may apply for review through the office of the national leading institution for counter-terrorism efforts. The national leading institution for counter-terrorism efforts shall timely conduct review, and make a decision on maintaining or revoking the identification. The review decision is final.
If the national leading institution for counter-terrorism efforts decides to revoke the identification, the office of the national leading institution for counter-terrorism efforts shall make an announcement; if capital or assets have been frozen, the freeze shall be lifted.
Article 16 According to the Criminal Procedure Law, the intermediate people's courts or above that have jurisdiction may identify terrorist organizations and terrorists in accordance with the law during the trial of criminal cases. If the corresponding announcement shall be made by the office of the national leading institution for counter-terrorism efforts after entry into force of the judgment, the relevant provisions of this Chapter shall apply.
Chapter III Safety Precautions
Article 17 The people's governments at all levels and relevant departments shall organize and conduct counter-terrorism publicity and education to raise citizens' counter-terrorism awareness.
Competent administrative departments of education and human resources, schools, and relevant vocational training institutions shall incorporate the knowledge of prevention of terrorist activities and emergency responses into their educational, teaching and training curricula.
News, radio, television, culture, religion, internet and other relevant entities shall carry out targeted counter-terrorism publicity and education oriented to the public.
Villagers' committees and residents' committees shall assist the people's governments and relevant departments in strengthening counter-terrorism publicity and education.
Article 18 Telecommunications service operators and internet service providers shall provide technical support and assistance such as technical interfaces and decryption for the prevention of and investigation into terrorist activities conducted by public security organs and national security organs according to the law.
Article 19 Telecommunications service operators and internet service providers shall, in accordance with laws and administrative regulations, implement network security and information content supervision systems, and safety and technical precautions, to prevent the dissemination of information involving terrorism and extremism; if such information is found, its transmission shall be immediately halted; relevant records shall be saved; relevant information shall be deleted, and reported to the public security organs or related departments.
Competent departments of network communications, telecommunications, public security, national security and others shall, according to the division of their duties, timely order relevant entities to stop the transmission of or delete the information involving terrorism and extremism, shut down relevant websites, or cease related services. Relevant entities shall implement the order immediately, save relevant records and provide assistance in conducting investigation. Competent departments of telecommunications shall take technical measures to stop the cross-border transmission of information involving terrorism and extremism on the Internet.
Article 20 Railway, road, water or air cargo transport entities and postal offices, couriers, and other logistics operators shall implement safety inspection system, check customers' identities, and carry out safety check or visual check on articles transported or delivered in accordance with relevant provisions. It is not allowed to transport or deliver any articles, the transport or delivery of which is prohibited, which have material hidden dangers, or for which customers refuse the safety inspection.
Logistics operators prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall implement registration system for customers' identities and the information about the articles involved in the transportation and delivery.
Article 21 Telecommunications, internet, finance, accommodation, long-distance passenger transport, motor vehicle leasing and other business operators and service providers shall check the identities of customers. No service shall be provided for unidentified customers or those who refuse the identity check.
Article 22 Manufacturers and importing entities shall make electronic tracking marks for guns and other weapons, ammunition, controlled appliance, dangerous chemicals, civil use-explosives, nuclear and radioactive materials in accordance with relevant provisions, and shall add security inspection tracers to civil use explosives.
Transport entities shall monitor the vehicles in operation that transport hazardous chemicals, civil-use explosives, nuclear and radioactive materials through positioning systems in accordance with relevant provisions.
Relevant entities shall conduct strict supervision and administration over substances such as infectious pathogens in accordance with relevant provisions, and tightly prevent the spread or entry into illegal channels of infectious pathogens and other substances.
For controlled appliance, dangerous chemicals and civil-use explosives, relevant competent departments of the State Council or provincial people's governments may, according to the needs, decide to control their production, import, export, transport, sale, use, and elimination within a specific area and a specific time, and may prohibit cash transactions or in-kind transactions, or impose other restrictions on trading activities.
Article 23 Where guns and other weapons, ammunition, dangerous chemicals, civil-use explosives, nuclear and radioactive materials, infectious pathogens and other substances are stolen, robbed, or lost, or disappear under other circumstances, the involved entities shall immediately take necessary control measures, and immediately report the cases to the public security organs, and to the related competent departments at the same time according to relevant provisions.
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