National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets

National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets
Simplified Chinese	国家保密局
Literal meaning	State Secrecy Bureau
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Guójiā Bǎomì Jú
Office of the Central Secrecy Commission
Simplified Chinese	中央保密委员会办公室
Literal meaning	Central Protecting Secret Commission Office
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngyāng Bǎomì Wěiyuánhuì Bàngōngshì

The National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets (NAPSS; Chinese: 国家保密局; pinyin: Guójiā Bǎomì Jú; literally: "State Secrecy Bureau") 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] It is also the Office of the Central Secrecy Commission (Chinese: 中央保密委员会办公室; pinyin: Zhōngyāng Bǎomì Wěiyuánhuì Bàngōngshì), a subordinate organization of the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.^[2]

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,"^[3] state secrets are defined as those that concern:

1. Major policy decisions on state affairs;
2. The building of national defence and in the activities of the armed forces;
3. Diplomatic activities and in activities related to foreign countries and those to be maintained as commitments to foreign countries;
4. National economic and social development;
5. Science and technology;
6. Activities for preserving state security and the investigation of criminal offences; and
7. Any other matters classified as "state secrets" by the national State Secrets Bureau.^[2]

Secrets can be classified into one of three categories:

• Top secret (绝密): Defined as "vital state secrets whose disclosure would cause extremely serious harm to state security and national interests";
• Highly secret (机密): Defined as "important state secrets whose disclosure would cause serious harm to state security and national interests"; and
• Secret (秘密): Defined as "ordinary state secrets whose disclosure would cause harm to state security and national interests".^[2]

References

1. Richburg, Keith B. (5 July 2010), China sentences American geologist to 8 years for stealing state secrets, Washington Post
2. Translation per Human Rights in China (pdf), State Secrets: China's Legal Labyrinth, (2007).
3. 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.