Laws of the People's Republic of China

    In view of the fact that currently criminal activities in the economic
field, such as smuggling, arbitrage and speculation for exorbitant profits,
theft of public property, theft and sale of precious cultural relics and
extortion and acceptance of bribes are rampant, seriously jeopardizing the
cause of the country's socialist construction and the interests of the people,
and in order to deal firm blows to such criminal activities and severely
punish the criminals and those state functionaries who have participated in,
shielded or connived at these criminal activities, it is necessary to
appropriately supplement or amend some relevant provisions of the Criminal Law
of the People's Republic of China. It is hereby decided as follows:

    1. The following supplementations and amendments shall be made with
regard to the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law:

    (1) With respect to the crimes of smuggling, arbitrage and speculation
for exorbitant profits mentioned in Article 118 of the Criminal Law, of theft
mentioned in Article 152, of sale of narcotics mentioned in Article 171, and
of secretly transporting precious cultural relics for export mentioned in
Article 173, penalties are respectively supplemented or revised as fellows:
When the circumstances are especially serious, the offender shall be
sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years, life
imprisonment or death, and he may in addition be sentenced to confiscation
of property.

    State functionaries who take advantage of their office to commit the
crimes listed in the preceding paragraph, when the circumstances are
especially serious, shall be given a heavier punishment in accordance with
the provisions of the preceding paragraph. State functionaries referred to in
this Decision include personnel working in state organs of power at all
levels, administrative organs at all levels, judicial organs at all levels,
the armed forces, state enterprises and state institutional organizations, and
other personnel of all types who are engaged in public service according to
law.

    (2) With respect to the crime of acceptance of bribes mentioned in
Paragraphs 1 and 2, Article 185 of the Criminal Law, the following revisions
are made: Any state functionary who extorts or accepts bribes shall be
punished as for the crime of embezzlement mentioned in Article 155 of the
Criminal Law; when the circumstances are especially serious, he shall be
sentenced to life imprisonment or death.

    (3) State functionaries, regardless of whether or not they are judicial
functionaries, who take advantage of their office to protect or shelter
criminals as provided in Items (1) and (2) of this Article, concealing and
covering up the facts of their crimes, shall all be punished in accordance
with Article 188 of the Criminal Law for malpractices from selfish motives.

    Relatives of state functionaries, or state functionaries who have already
left office, who commit the above crimes shall be punished in accordance
with Paragraph 2, Article 162 of the Criminal Law for the crime of protecting criminals.

    Whoever destroys criminal evidence or fabricates false evidence in
favour of the above-mentioned criminals shall be punished in accordance
with Article 148 of the Criminal Law for the crime of giving false evidence.

    Whoever carries on obstructive actions, threats or retaliatory attacks
against law enforcement personnel and persons who expose, accuse and give
testimony shall be punished in accordance with Article 157 of the Criminal
Law for the crime of obstructing the administration of public order or
Article 146 for the crime of retaliation or frame-ups.

    Whoever conspires with the criminals listed in Items (1) and (2) of this
Article, before committing the crimes listed in the preceding four paragraphs,
shall be punished as for a joint crime.

    (4) In cases where state functionaries with the responsibility for
investigation do not handle criminals listed in Items (1), (2) and (3) of this
Article according to law: or if they do not perform the investigatory
obligations stipulated by law because they are thwarted; and in cases where
personnel directly in charge who know the circumstances of criminals and
of the facts of crimes, or the personnel with sole knowledge of these
circumstances, do not report the cases according to law and do not give
testimony truthfully, they shall be punished respectively according to the
crimes of dereliction of duty specified in Articles 187, 188 and 190 of the
Criminal Law.

    2. This Decision shall be implemented as of April 1, 1982.

    In cases of crimes committed before the date of implementation of this
Decision, if the offender voluntarily surrenders before May 1 , 1982 or, if
having already been arrested, he truthfully confesses all his crimes before
May 1, 1982, and in addition brings truthful accusations with respect to the
facts of crimes of other criminals, he shall be dealt with in accordance with
the relevant provisions of law before the implementation of this Decision.
In cases where the offender, before May 1, 1982, continues to conceal the
crimes he has committed, refusing to surrender voluntarily, or refuses to
confess all his crimes, and also does not bring accusations with respect to
the crimes of other criminals, he shall be taken as continuing to commit
crimes and shall be dealt with in accordance with this Decision.