After entering the 21st century,with the development of the social economy,many new situations and problems have emerged in social security. At the same time,the promulgation of the newly promulgated Criminal Law,Administrative Penalty Law,Administrative Reconsideration Law,Administrative Litigation Law and Road Traffic Safety Law has caused some provisions in the regulations to conflict with them,and has also caused law enforcement officers to encounter embarrassment in the specific implementation process. In addition,in order to adapt to the level of economic development,the amount of fines stipulated in the existing regulations is obviously too low,and it is necessary to increase the range of fines. In October 2004,the 12th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress reviewed the Law of the People's Republic of China on Administrative Penalties for Public Security (Draft),which is a revision of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Administrative Penalties for Public Security. At the same time,its name was changed from "Regulations" to "Law" to better comply with the provisions of the Legislation Law. On 28 August 2005,the 17th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress passed the Law of the People's Republic of China on Administrative Penalties for Public Security,which came into effect on 1 March 2006. [1] The newly promulgated Law on Public Security Administration Punishment added units as the objects of punishment. If a unit violates public security administration,its directly responsible supervisors and other directly responsible personnel shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the law. [2]
2025 revision
In January 2017,the Ministry of Public Security released the Draft Amendment to the Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security (for Public Comment). Due to the significant controversy surrounding the draft,the State Council ultimately postponed the approval of the draft amendment. Subsequently,there were continuous calls for improving and revising the Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security. [7]
In June 2023,the State Council executive meeting approved in principle the Draft Amendment to the Law of the People's Republic of China on Penalties for Administration of Public Security and submitted it to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation. [7] On 28 August 2023,the fifth session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress submitted the Draft Amendment to the Law of the People's Republic of China on Penalties for Administration of Public Security for deliberation. Minister of Justice He Rong stated in her explanation that the draft amendment is based on timely and effective resolution of conflicts and disputes and maintenance of social order. It includes newly emerging behaviors that affect social order within the scope of management and adds corresponding penalties. She said that in response to the hot social issues that have emerged in recent years,the draft amendment adds several behaviors that should be punished,including cheating in examinations,organizing and leading pyramid schemes,obstructing the driving of public transportation vehicles by grabbing the steering wheel,releasing sky lanterns with open flames,throwing objects from high altitudes,"black flight" of drones,and illegal use of eavesdropping and photographing equipment. At the same time,it imposes heavier penalties on behaviors that infringe on the rights and interests of minors and adds provisions for sealing up records of minors who violate public security management,and administrative detention can be imposed on minors who are 14 years old but under 16 years old for more than two violations within one year. In addition,the draft revision is coordinated with other laws such as the newly revised Administrative Penalty Law,further rationally setting penalty measures and ranges,and optimizing penalty procedures. [7] [8] [9]
On September 1,the draft revision of the Public Security Administration Punishment Law was open for public comment until September 30. According to the official website of the National People's Congress,in the eight days since the draft revision was opened for public comment,70,161 comments have been received from 59,302 people,which is the most among the five draft laws that were open for public comment during the same period. After two years and three deliberations,the revised Public Security Administration Punishment Law was passed on 27 June 2025,and will come into effect on 1 January 2026. In addition to including penalties for newly emerging behaviors that affect public security,the revised law also increased the penalties for minors. [10] [11] For example,minors who commit two violations within a year or whose circumstances are serious,or who organize or coerce minors to engage in paid companionship in bars or karaoke rooms,will be subject to administrative penalties. Furthermore,student bullying behaviors such as beatings and intimidation will be dealt with according to law,and a mechanism for holding schools accountable will be established in conjunction with the law. The revised law also established a system for sealing records of violations of public security. [12] [13] Except for inquiries by relevant state organs for case handling or by relevant units in accordance with national regulations,records of citizens' violations of public security management shall be sealed and shall not be provided or disclosed to any unit or individual. [14]
In September 2023,a draft revision of the Public Security Administration Punishment Law was released,with Article 34 for the first time including acts that "damage the spirit of the Chinese nation or hurt the feelings of the Chinese nation" within the scope of punishment. This revision sparked controversy,with some legal scholars publicly expressing their opposition. [15] [10] [16] Most people generally believe that the draft revision does not provide a specific definition of acts that "hurt the feelings of the Chinese nation" or "damage the spirit of the Chinese nation," leading legal professionals and netizens to question whether it could become a new catch-all crime. In addition,Article 59 of the draft has also raised concerns among scholars. [17] On September 11,a spokesperson for the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress responded that the Legislative Affairs Commission will carefully review and study the matter and propose suggestions for revision or proper handling. The Constitution and Law Committee of the National People's Congress,based on the opinions of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress,the relevant special committees,and the opinions put forward by various parties,conducts a unified review of the draft law,submits a report on the revisions or a report on the review results and a revised draft law,and submits it to the Standing Committee for review in accordance with legal procedures. [18]
Ultimately,after receiving widespread criticism,the second draft of the revised Public Security Administration Punishment Law,published by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in June 2024,no longer included words such as hurting national feelings and specific illegal matters. [19] [15] In Article 35,Paragraph 5 of the Public Security Administration Punishment Law,which was revised and adopted on June 27,2025,"hurting national feelings" was clearly defined as "wearing or displaying clothing or symbols that promote or glorify wars of aggression or acts of aggression in public places or forcing others to wear or display such clothing or symbols in public places,refusing to listen to advice,and causing adverse social impact",which will be subject to public security punishment. [20] In June 2025,the Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security was promulgated and will take effect on 1 January 2026. [21] Among the new provisions,a system of sealing up penalty records for violations of public security administration (including drug use,prostitution,drunk driving,etc.) is implemented. These records shall not be disclosed to units or the public and shall only be allowed to be accessed by state organs in handling cases or in special circumstances as stipulated by law. Since drug use penalty records are also included in the scope of sealing,it has sparked heated discussions. [22]
