(Adopted by the Second Session of the Fifth National People’s Congress on July 1, 1979 and amended by the Fifth Session of the Eighth National People’s Congress on March 14, 1997)
Table of Contents:
Part I General Provisions
Chapter I Tasks, Basic Principles, and Scope of Application of the Criminal Law
Chapter II Crimes
Section 1. Crime and Criminal Responsibility
Section 2. Preparation for a Crime, Criminal Attempt, and Discontinuation of a Crime
Section 3. Joint Crimes
Section 4. Unit Crimes
Chapter III Punishments
Section 1. Types of Punishments
Section 2. Control
Section 3. Criminal Detention
Section 4. Fixed-Term Imprisonment and Life Imprisonment
Section 5. The Death Penalty
Section 6. Fines
Section 7. Deprivation of Political Rights
Section 8. Confiscation of Property
Chapter IV The Concrete Application Of Punishments
Section 1. Sentencing
Section 2. Recidivists
Section 3. Voluntary Surrender and Meritorious Service
Section 4. Combined Punishment for More Than One Crime
Section 5. Suspension of Sentence
Section 6. Reduction of Sentence
Section 7. Parole
Section 8. Limitation
Chapter V Other Provisions
PART II Special Provisions
Chapter I Crimes of Endangering National Security
Chapter II Crimes of Endangering Public Security
Chapter III Crimes of Undermining the Order of Socialist Market Economy
Section 1. Crimes of Manufacturing and Selling Fake and Shoddy Goods
Section 2. Crimes of Smuggling
Section 3. Crimes of Disrupting the Order of Company and Enterprise Administration
Section 4. Crimes of Undermining the Order of Financial Management
Section 5. Crimes of Financial Fraud
Section 6. Crimes of Endangering Collection and Management of Taxes
Section 7. Crimes of Infringing Upon Intellectual Propert Rights
Section 8. Crimes of Disrupting Market Order
Chapter IV Crimes of Infringing Upon the Rights of the Person and the Democratic Rights of Citizens
Chapter V The Crime of Encroaching on Property
Chapter VI Crimes of Disrupting the Order of Social Administration
Section 1. Crimes of Disrupting Public Order
Section 2. Crimes of Disrupting Justice
Section 3. Crimes of Disrupting Administration of the Territory (Border)
Section 4. Crimes of Disrupting Administration of Cultural Relics
Section 5. Crimes of Endangering Public Health
Section 6. Crimes of Undermining Protection of Environmental Resources
Section 7. Crimes of Smuggling, Trafficking, Transporting, and Manufacturing Drugs.
Section 8. Crimes of Organizing, Forcing, Inducing, Housing, and Introducing Prostitutes
Section 9. Crimes of Manufacturing, Selling, and Spreading Obscene Publications
Chapter VII Crimes of Endangering the Interests of National Defense
Chapter VIII Graft and Bribery
Chapter IX Crimes of Dereliction of Duty
Chapter X Crimes of Violation of Duty by Military Personnel
Supplementary Articles
Appendix I
Appendix II
Part I General Provisions
Chapter I Tasks, Basic Principles, and Scope of Application of the Criminal Law
Article 1. This law is formulated in accordance with the Constitution and in light of the concrete experience of China launching a struggle against crime and the realities in the country, with a view to punishing crime and
protecting the people.
Article 2. The tasks of the PRC Criminal Law are to use punishment struggle against all criminal acts to defend national security, the political power of the people’s democratic dictatorship, and the socialist system; to
protect state-owned property and property collectively owned by the laboring masses; to protect citizens’ privately owned property; to protect citizens’ right of the person, democratic rights, and other rights; to maintain
social and economic order; and to safeguard the smooth progress of the cause of socialist construction.
Article 3. Any act deemed by explicit stipulations of law as a crime is to be convicted and given punishment by law and any act that no explicit stipulations of law deems a crime is not to be convicted or given punishment.
Article 368. Those who use methods of violence or threat to obstruct military personnel from carrying out their duties in accordance with the law are to be sentenced to not more then three years of fixed-term
imprisonment, or criminal detention or control and may, in addition, be sentenced to a fine.
Those who intentionally obstruct military actions of the armed forces and cause serious consequences are to be sentenced to not more than five years of fixed-term imprisonment or criminal detention.
Article 382. State personnel who take advantage of their office to misappropriate, steal, swindle or use other illegal means to acquire state properties constitute the crime of graft. Those who are entrusted by state organs,
state companies, state enterprises, state undertakings and mass organizations to administer and operate state properties but take advantage of their office to misappropriate, steal, swindle or use other illegal means to
acquire state properties also constitute the crime of graft.
Those who collaborate with those personnel as listed in the aforementioned two paragraphs and join the crime are considered as committing a joint crime.
Appendix I
The following regulations, supplementary provisions, and decisions, made by National People’s Congress Standing Committee, have either been included in this law or are no longer applicable; therefore they are to be
nullified as of the date when this law goes into effect
1. PRC Provisional Regulations on Punishing Military Personnel for Violation of Duty;
2. Decision on Severely Punishing Criminals Seriously Undermining the Economy;
3. Decision on Severely Punishing Criminal Elements Seriously Compromising Social Order;
4. Supplementary Provisions on Cracking Down on the Crime of Smuggling;
5. Supplementary Provisions on Cracking Down on the Crime of Corruption or Bribery;
6. Supplementary Provisions on Cracking Down on the Crime of Letting Out State Secrets;
7. Supplementary Provisions on Cracking Down on the Crime of Killing Rare and Endangered Wildlife That Are Selectively Under the State’s Protection;
8. Decision on Cracking Down on the Crime of Insulting the PRC National Flag or Emblem;
9. Supplementary Provisions on Cracking Down on the Crime of Robbing Ancient Cultural Ruins or Ancient Tombs;
10. Decision on Punishing Criminal Elements Hijacking Aviation Vehicles;
11. Supplementary Provisions on Cracking Down on the Crime of Counterfeiting Registered Trade Marks;
12. Decision on Cracking Down on the Crime of Producing or Selling Counterfeit or Inferior Commodities;
13. Decision on Cracking Down on the Crime of Infringing on Copyright;
14. Decision on Cracking Down on the Crime of Violating the Company Law;
15. Decision on Handling Escaped Criminals Under Reform Through Labor or People Under Education Through Labor, or Those Who Commit Crimes Again.
Appendix II
The following supplementary provisions and decisions, made by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, are to be retained. Among them, provisions governing administrative punishment and measures
continue to be effective; provisions governing criminal liability have been included in this law and therefore provisions in this law will apply as of the date when this law goes into effect.
1. Decision on Prohibiting Drugs;
2. Decision on Punishing Criminal Elements Committing Smuggling, Producing, Selling, or Disseminating Obscene Materials;
3. Decision on Punishing Criminal Elements Committing Abduction and Selling or Kidnapping of Women or Children;
4. Decision on Strictly Prohibiting Prostitution and Whorehouse Visiting;
5. Supplementary Provisions on Cracking Down on the Crime of Evading Taxes or Refusing to Pay Taxes;
6. Supplementary Provisions on Severely Cracking Down on the Crime of Organizing People to Illegally Cross National Borders (Frontiers) or of Illegally Shipping People Across National Borders (Frontiers);
7. Decision on Cracking Down on the Crime of Undermining the Financial Order;