Law Enforcement in The People's Republic of China - Overview

Overview

The national security system is made up of the Ministry of State Security and the Ministry of Public Security, the People’s Armed Police, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and the state judicial, procuratorial, and penal systems. The Ministry of Public Security oversees all domestic police activity in China, including the People’s Armed Police Force. The ministry is responsible for police operations and prisons and has dedicated departments for internal political, economic, and communications security. Its lowest organizational units are public security stations, which maintain close day-to-day contact with the public. The People’s Armed Police Force, with its 1.5 million personnel, is organized into 45 divisions. These include internal security police, border defense personnel, guards for government buildings and embassies, and police communications specialists.

The Ministry of State Security was established in 1983 to ensure "the security of the state through effective measures against enemy agents, spies, and counterrevolutionary activities designed to sabotage or overthrow China’s socialist system." The ministry is guided by a series of laws enacted in 1993, 1994, and 1997 that replaced the "counterrevolutionary" crime statutes. The ministry’s operations include intelligence collection, both domestic and foreign. Authorities have used arrests on charges of revealing state secrets, subversion, and common crimes to suppress political dissent and social advocacy.

Security Bureau (Hong Kong) is the local security department for Hong Kong. The paramilitary Hong Kong Police Force was established in 1844 and has 27,375 uniformed personnel and 4,885 civilian staff. Hong Kong Correctional Service was established in 1879 and has 6,659 uniformed personnel and civilian staff. Both services report to this Security Bureau.

Secretariat for Security (Macau) is the local security department in Macau. Macau Security Force (established in 1999 by the merger of the Judiciary Police Unitary Police Service, Macau Prisons) is a force of 3,700 personnel and reports to the local Security department.