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Resources on the Draft Revision of the "Law on Guarding State Secrets"

July 24, 2009

For a comprehensive examination of China’s state secrets system, including a full English translation of and related laws and regulations, see Human Rights in China’s 2007 report State Secrets: China’s Legal Labyrinth. Below is a list of additional resources relating to the draft revision of the Law on Guarding State Secrets, including official documents and links to news and commentary.

Official Resources

Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress [全国人民代表大会常务委员会]. “Baoshou guojia mimi fa (xiuding cao’an) quanwen ji shuoming” [保守国家秘密法(修订草案)全文及说明] {Full Text and Explanation of the Law on Guarding State Secrets (Draft Revision)}. June 27, 2009. http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/xinwen/lfgz/2009-06/27/content_1508588.htm.

Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress [全国人民代表大会常务委员会]. “Law on Guarding State Secrets of the People’s Republic of China” [中华人民共和国保守国家秘密法]. Promulgated September 1, 1988, and effective May 1, 1989.
Chinese: http://www.gov.cn/banshi/2005-08/21/content_25096.htm.
English (official translation): http://www.npc.gov.cn/englishnpc/Law/2007-12/12/content_1383925.htm.

National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets [国家保密局]. “Measures for the Implementation of the Law on Guarding State Secrets of the People’s Republic of China” [中华人民共和国保守国家秘密法实施办法]. Promulgated April 25, 1990, and effective May 25, 1990. http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgl/swdcglgg/xgfg/t20041118_402209111.htm

State Council of the People’s Republic of China [中华人民共和国国务院]. “Regulations on Open Government Information of the People’s Republic of China” [中华人民共和国政府信息公开条例]. Promulgated January 17, 2007, and effective May 1, 2008.
Chinese: http://www.gov.cn/zwgk/2007-04/24/content_592937.htm.
English (unofficial translation): http://www.cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/index.phpd?showsingle=93505.

National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets [国家保密局]. “China Secrecy On-line” [中国保密在线]. http://www.baomi.org.

News and Commentary on the Draft Revision of the Law on Guarding State Secrets

“China to Amend State Secrets Law, Avoid Internet Leaks.” Xinhua News Agency, June 22, 2009. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-06/22/content_11582526.htm.

Li, Lingqun. “China State Secret Law under Amendment.” China Elections and Governance, June 9, 2009. http://www.chinaelections.net/newsinfo.asp?newsid=20305.

“Redefine State Secrets,” China Daily, June 23, 2009. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-06/23/content_8310667.htm.

Sapio, Flora. “Draft Law on State Secrets, with Explanations.” Forgotten Archipelagoes, June 27, 2009. http://florasapio.blogspot.com/2009/06/draft-law-on-state-secrets-explanation.

Sapio, Flora. “What’s New in the Draft Law on Protecting State Secrets.” Forgotten Archipelagoes, June 26, 2009. http://florasapio.blogspot.com/2009/06/whats-new-in-draft-law-on-protecting_26.

Xi, Fengyu [席锋宇]. “Tebie guanzhu: xi shu guojia baomi fa xiuding cao'an de ‘jia-jian-cheng-chu’” [特别关注:细数国家保密法修订草案的“加减乘除] {Special Focus: Details on the Modifications Made in the Draft Revision of the State Secrets Law}. Legal Daily [法制日报], June 23, 2009. http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/0801/2009-06/23/content_1111896.htm.

Xiong, Wenzhao and Zhang Bufeng [熊文钊及张步峰]. “Zhengfu xinxi gongkai tiaoli xin yao qiu; baomi fa youdai xiugai wanshan” [政府信息公开条例新要求 保密法有待修改完善] {New Requirements from the Open Government Information Regulations – the State Secrets Law to Be Revised to Improve Implementation}. Outlook Weekly [瞭望], May 26, 2008. http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2008-05/26/content_8255414.htm.