The National Administration of State Secret Protection is an institution of the State Council of the People's Republic of China that is responsible for the protection of classified information. It is under the Chinese Communist Party's Central Secrecy Commission.
Under the "one institution with two names" arrangement, it is also the Office of the Central Secrecy Commission under the General Office of the CCP Central Committee.
Overview
The administration is responsible for the protection of classified information. 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,"Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, "Law on Guarding State Secrets " (), promulgated 1988 and effective 1989. 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.Translation per Human Rights in China (pdf), State Secrets: China's Legal Labyrinth , (2007).
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".
References
External links