National Administration of State Secrets Protection

The National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets of the People's Republic of China (NAPSS; Chinese: 中共中央保密委员会办公室; pinyin: zhōnggòng zhōngyāng bǎomì wěiyuánhuì bàngōngshì; lit. 'Office of the CPC Central Committee Security Committee'; Chinese: 国家保密局; pinyin: guójiā bǎomì jú; lit. 'State Secrecy Bureau') is an institution of the State Council of the People's Republic of China that is responsible for the protection of classified information. There also exists the Central Committee for the Protection of State Secrets, a subordinate organization of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Overview

Main article: Classified information: People's Republic of China

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," 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.

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".