Laws of the People's Republic of China

    Article 1  These Provisions are formulated with a view to strengthening
the administration of achievements in survey and drawing, ensuring the
rational use of achievements in survey and drawing, and increasing the
economic and social benefits of survey and drawing so as to render a better
service in socialist modernization.

    Article 2  The "achievements in survey and drawing", as mentioned in these
Provisions, refer to the following achievements in basic survey and drawing
and in specialized survey and drawing that are completed on land, at seas and
oceans, and in space:

    (1) the data and pictures from astronomical survey, geodetic survey,
geodetic survey completed on artificial satellites, and gravitational survey;

    (2) the data, recorded on negatives and magnetic tapes, that are collected
from aerial survey and airborne remote sensing survey;

    (3) various kinds of maps (including topographic maps, ordinary maps, land
registry maps, sea charts, and other relevant specialized maps);

    (4) the data and pictures from engineering survey;

    (5) other relevant geographical data; and

    (6) technical data directly related to achievements in survey and drawing.

    Article 3  The competent authorities for the administration of survey and
drawing under the State Council shall be in charge of the administration of
and supervision over the achievements in survey and drawing of the whole
country, and shall also be responsible for the organizational work for the
reception, collection, sorting out, storage, and provision for use, on a
nationwide scale, of the achievements in basic survey and drawing and the
relevant achievements in specialized survey and drawing.

    The competent authorities for the administrition of survey and drawing
under the people's governments of various provinces, autonomous region, and
municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be in charge of the
administration of and supervision over the achievements in survey and drawing
within their respective admistrative areas, and shall also be responsible for
organizational work for the reception, collection, sorting out, storage, and
provision for use, within their respective admistrative areas, of the
achievements in basic survey and drawing and the relevant achievements in
specialized survey and drawing.

    The departments concerned under the State Council and the departments
concerned under the people's governments of various provinces, autonomous
regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be
responsible for the administration of the achievements in specialized survey
and drawing of their respective departments.

    The competent authorities for the administration of survey and drawing in
the armed forces shall be responsible for the administration of the
achievements in survey and drawing in military departments.

    Article 4  With respect to achievements in survey and drawing, scientific
administration shall be practised, rules and regulations be instituted and
perfected and modern scientific and technical means be employed so as to
provide the achievements for timely, accurate, safe and convenient use.

    Article 5  The achievements in survey and drawing shall, in light of their
different natures - those open to the public (i.e. to be openly used, or
openly published), and those kept from the public (i.e. to be used only within
restricted departments, or kept confidential), be administered in accordance
with the relevant requisitions of the State.

    Article 6  The security classification, adjustment, and
declassification of achievements in basic survey and drawing shall be
promulgated by the competent authorities for the administration of survey and
drawing under the State Council after the competent authorities for the
administration of survey and drawing under the State Council and the competent
authorities for the administration of survey and drawing in the armed forces
have jointly consulted with the competent authorities for guarding secrets of
both the State and the armed forces.

    The security classification, adjustment, and declassification of
achievements in specialized survey and drawing shall be determined by the
department concerned for the administration of achievements in specialized
survey and drawing and they shall also be reported to the competent
authorities for the administration of survey and drawing at the same level for
the record; and their classes of security shall not be lower than those of the
originally used geographical base maps and of other achievements in basic
survey and drawing.

    Various departments and units must, in using classified achievements in
survey and drawing, carry out administration in accordance with the relevant
laws and regulations of the State on guarding secrets. In the event that
classified achievements in survey and drawing have to be used openly, they
must go through the process of declassification in accordance with the
relevant regulations of the State.

    The destruction of classified achievements in survey and drawing shall be
approved by the person in charge of the competent authorities at or above the
county level of the user unit of the said achievements in survey and drawing.
The classified achievements in survey and drawing to be destroyed shall be
duly registered and recorded, and then destroyed under supervision; and the
destruction shall also be reported, for the record, to the administrative
department that had provided the said achievements.

    Article 7  With respect to the achievements in basic survey and drawing
and the relevant achievements in specialized survey and drawing made by the
departments concerned under the State Council and by the local departments
concerned, the departments mentioned above must submit annually, in accordance
with pertinent provisions, to the competent authorities for the administration
of survey and drawing under the State Council or to the competent authorities
for the administration of survey and drawing under the people's governments
of various provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities under the Central
Government, a catalogue or its duplicate listing the following achievements:

    (1) a catalogue and its duplicate (one copy of each) of the data and
pictures from astronomical survey, geodetic survey, geodetic survey completed
on artificial satellites, and gravitational survey;

    (2) a catalogue (one copy) of the data, recorded on negatives and magnetic
tapes, that are collected from aerial survey and airborne remote sensing
survey;

    (3) a catalogue (one copy) of topographic maps, ordinary maps, land
registry maps, sea charts, and other important specialized maps;

    (4) various kinds of officially printed maps (in duplicate);

    (5) a catalogue (one copy) of the data and pictures collected from survey
of important engineering projects.

    Article 8  The achievements - made in survey and drawing by foreigners
independently or in cooperation with the departments concerned of the People's
Republic of China, within the territory of the People's Republic of China, or
outside the land territory of China, in the sea areas that are under the
jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China, with the approval of the
goverment of the People's Republic of China or the approval of a department
authorized by it - shall be administered in accordance with these Provisions.
The propretary rights of the aforesaid achievements are stipulated as follows:

    (1) the achievements made in survey and drawing by foreigners
independently or in cooperation with the departments concerned of the People's
Republic of China within the territory of the People's Republic of China shall
all belong to the People's Republic of China;

    (2) the achievements made in survey and drawing by foreigners in
cooperation with the departments concerned of the People's Republic of China,
outside the land territory of China, in the sea areas under the jurisdiction
of the People's Republic of China shall, on the premise of not violating these
Provisions, be shared between the two parties concerned in accordance with the
stipulations in the relevant contract;

    (3) with respect to those achievements made in survey and drawing by
foreigners independently outside the land territory of the People's Republic
of China, in the sea areas under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of
China, the aforesaid foreigners must provide the competent authorities for the
administration of survey and drawing of the People's Republic of China with a
duplicate or a reproduction of all the achievements made in their survey and
drawing.

    Article 9  Where a unit has the necessity to make use of the achievements
in basic survey and drawing made by other provinces, autonomous regions, or
municipalities directly under the Central Goverment, the said unit shall go
through the procedures for the use of the aforesaid achievements in survey and
drawing by presenting an official letter written by the competent authorities
for the administration of achievements in survey and drawing of the province,
autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Goverment where
the unit is located, to the competent authorities for the administration of
achievements in survey and drawing of the province, autonomous region, or
municipality directly under the Central Government where the achievements have
been made.

    Where a unit has the necessity to make use of the achievements in
specialized survey and drawing of other provinces, autonomous regions, or
municipalities directly under the Central Government, the case shall be
handled in accordance with the procedures stipulated by the department, under
whose administration the aforesaid achievements in specialized survey and
drawing are placed.

    Article 10  Where a military department has the necessity to make use of
the achievements in survey and drawing made by government departments, the
case shall be handled in a unified manner by the competent authorities for the
administration of achievements in survey and drawing under the Headquarters of
the General Staff, or by the competent authorities for the administration of
achievements in survey and drawing under military region or the services, in
cooperation with the competent authorities for the administration of
achievements in survey and drawing under the people's governments of the
various provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the
Central Government.

    Where a government department or a unit has the necessity to make use of
the achievements in survey and drawing made by military departments, the case
shall be handled by the competent authorities for the administration of
achievements in survey and drawing under the State Council, or by the
competent authorities for the administration of achievements in survey and
drawing under the people's governments of the various provinces, autonomous
regions, or municipalities directly under the Central Government, in
cooperation with the competent authorities for the administration of
achievements in survey and drawing under the Headquarters of the Central
Staff, or with the competent authorities for the administration of
achievements in survey and drawing under military region or the services.

    Article 11  The compent authorities for achievements in survey and drawing
shall be responsible for the quality control and administration of the
achievements in survey and drawing made within the boundaries of their own
administration areas. The achievements in survey and drawing made by the
various departments and units concerned must be subject to the procedures for
checking up and acceptance; and only those which are up to the standard shall
be provided for use.

    Article 12  The provisions of achievements in survey and drawing shall be
non-gratutous. The procedures and the rate of fees for the non-gratutous
provision of achievements in survey and drawing shall be stipulated
seperately, after consultation with the administrative department for the
achievements in survey and drawing in question, by the competent authorities
for the administration of achievements in survey and drawing under the State
Council in conjunction with the competent authorities for the administration
of commodity prices.

    Article 13  Achievements in survey and drawing shall not be duplicated,
transferred or lent out without permission. Where it is truely necessary to
duplicate, transfer or lend out achievements in survey and drawing, the
approval from the department that is to provide the needed achievements in
survey and drawing must be obtained; where the classified achievements in
survey and drawing are duplicated, they must be subjected to the
administration corresponding to the original security class.

    As regards achievements in survey and drawing made through entrustment by
unit, the trustee unit may not duplicate, reprint, transfer, or publish the
said achievements without the permission of the entrusting unit.

    Article 14  When a department concerned under the State Council provides
a foreign party with achievements in survey and drawing of the People's
Republic of China that have not yet become open, the said department must
submit the case, for approval, to the competent authorities for the
administration of achievements in survey and drawing. When a local department
or unit concerned provides a foreign party with achievements in survey and
drawing of the People's Republic of China that have not yet become open, the
said department or unit must submit the case, for approval, to the competent
authorities for the administration of achievements in survey and drawing under
the people's government of a province, an autonomous region, or a municipality
directly under the Central Government. In order to safeguard the security and
secrets of important military installations, the specific measures for all
units which submit for examinations any achievements in survey and drawing to
be provided for the use of a foreign party and that have not yet become open
shall comply with the pertinent provisions of the State Council.

    Article 15  The important geographical data (including position, altitude,
depth, area, and length) collected in the territory of the People's Republic
of China and in sea areas under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of
China, shall be submitted, for examination and verification, to the competent
authorities for the administration of achievements in survey and drawing under
the State Council, and then to the State Council for approval before they are
published by the State Council or by its authorized agencies.

    Article 16  Units and individuals that have made great contributions to,
or achieved remarkable results in, the administration of achievements in
survey and drawing shall be commended or rewarded.

    Article 17  If the inferior quality of the achievements in survey and
drawing has resulted in losses on the part of the user, the unit that has
undertaken the said survey and drawing shall compensate for the direct
economic losses mentioned above, and be responsible for conducting
supplementary survey and drawing; if the case is serious, the competent
authorities for the administration of avhievements in survey and drawing
shall impose a fine on the said unit or revoke its corresponding
qualifications for survey and drawing.

    article 18  any unit that has committed one of following acts shall be
given administrative sanctions in accordance with the following provisions:

    (1) with respect to a unit which, in violation of the state privisions on
the rate of fees for the provision of achievements in survey and drawing, has
raised and collected without authorization the charges for achievements in
survey and drawing, the illegal gains of the said unit shall be confiscated
in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations of the People's Republic
of China on the Control of Prices, and a fine equal to 3 to 5 times the said
illegal gains may be imposed concurrently;

    (2) with respect to a unit which has been held responsible for a major
divulgence of classified achievements in survey and drawing, the competent
authorities for the administration of achievements in survey and drawing shall
issue a circular criticizing the said unit, and the responsibilities of the
person-in-charge of the said unit shall be investigated in accordance with the
provisions of Article 19 of these Provisions;

    (3) with respect to a unit which has duplicated, transferred, or lent out
achievements in survey and drawing without the approval from the department
that provides the said achievements, the competent authorities for the
administration of achievements in survey and drawing shall issue a circular
criticizing the said unit, and a fine may also be imposed concurrently.

    Article 19  An individual who has committed any of the following acts
shall be given administrative sanction by the unit where he/she work, or by
its higher competent authorities; if the act has constituted a crime, the
criminal responsibilities of the offender shall be investigated by judicial
organs according to law:

    (1) an individual who has lost classified achievements in survey and
drawing, or who is held responsible for the divulgence of secret achievements
in survey and drawing;

    (2) an individual who, in violation of the stipulation in Article 14 of  
these Provisions regarding the procedures for examination and approval, has
provided without permission a foreign party with achievements in survey and
drawing that have not yet become open;

    (3) the administrative personel who have failed to carry out their duties
in safeguarding achievements in survey and drawing and caused great losses or
damage to the achievements in survey and drawing; or they have provided,
without permission, those achievements that have not yet become open;

    (4) an individual who has lost achievements in survey and drawing or
divulged secrets in this regard and caused serious consequences, and the
person-in-charge of the unit who fails to investigate and deal with such
incidents.

    Article 20  If a party concerned refuses to accept the decision on
administrative sanction, he/she may, within 15 days from the next day of the
receipt of the notification on the administrarive sanction, apply for
reconsideration to the competent administrative department at a higher level
than the department that has made the said administrative sanction; if the
said party does not accept the decision made after the reconsideration,
he/she may, within 15 days from the next day of the receipt of the
reconsideration decision, bring a suit before a people's court; the party
concerned may also directly bring a suit before a people's court within 15
days beginning from the second day of the receipt of the sanction decision;
if the party concerned neither brings a suit before the court, nor carries
out the sanction decision, the competent administrative department that made
the sanction decision shall apply to the people's court for compulsory
enforcement.

    Article 21  The people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions,
and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the departments
concerned under the State Council, and the armed forces may formulate rules
for the implementation of these Provisions in accordance with these Provisions
and in the light of their respective conditions.

    Article 22  The rights to interpret these Provisions shall reside in the
competent authorities for the administration of survey and drawing under the
State Council.

    Article 23  These Provisions shall go into effect on May 1, 1989.