Shen Chunyao on the Future of China's National Security Legislative System
In today’s edition, I am only covering an article by Shen Chunyao, Chairperson of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPCSC. This is published on Page 10. It discusses the strengthening of the national security legal system.
This is a really useful piece for the following reasons:
It tells us that among the 306 laws currently in force in China, there are more than 40 laws related to maintaining national security, and 19 laws clearly stipulate Xi Jinping’s overall national security concept.
There’s a listing of all major national security-related legislation that have been formulated or wherein amendments have been made over the past decade.
It points to some of the key domains where we are likely to see legislative interventions:
It is necessary to continuously consolidate the rule of law foundation for safeguarding security in the political field; improve the rule of law guarantee level for public safety governance; strengthen legislative protection for economic security, strengthening legislative protection for important supply chain systems, critical minerals, strategic resources and energy, finance, and economic and trade security; improve anti-sanctions, anti-interference, and anti-‘long-arm jurisdiction’ mechanisms…In emerging fields such as space, electromagnetic, and polar regions, as well as in the application of emerging technologies such as cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, and blockchain, how to properly coordinate development and security requires legislative organs to pay timely attention and follow up with research…it is also necessary to further enrich China’s legal ‘toolkit’ for external struggles…
Here’s the breakdown.
Shen writes:
“National security is the fundamental prerequisite and important guarantee for the survival and development of the country, and is the foundation for ensuring the steady and long-term advancement of national rejuvenation and Chinese-style modernisation. Our Party was born at a time when the nation was in danger, and has a deep understanding of the importance of national security. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: ‘Strengthening crisis consciousness and being prepared for danger in times of peace is a major principle that we must always adhere to when governing the Party and the country. For our Party to consolidate its ruling position, to unite and lead the people in persisting in and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics, ensuring national security is a matter of top priority’.” On April 15, 2014, General Secretary Xi Jinping creatively proposed the overall national security concept at the first meeting of the Central National Security Commission, providing a powerful ideological weapon for national security work in the new era. In July 2015, the 15th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 12th NPC passed the National Security Law and promulgated it for implementation. This is an important law that implements the comprehensive view of national security, responds to the new situations and requirements of safeguarding national security, and plays a leading and comprehensive role in the field of national security. In the ten years since the National Security Law was promulgated and implemented, under the guidance of the overall national security concept, the centralised and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee has been comprehensively strengthened, the national security system has been basically formed, the national security capacity has been significantly improved, the people’s defense line has been continuously consolidated, public awareness of national security has been significantly strengthened, the national sovereignty, security and development interests have been fully safeguarded, the overall social situation has maintained long-term stability, and the national security work in the new era has achieved historic achievements.” 国家安全是国家生存和发展的基本前提和重要保障，是民族复兴和中国式现代化行稳致远的根基。我们党诞生于民族危亡之时，对于国家安全的重要性有着刻骨铭心的认识。习近平总书记指出：“增强忧患意识，做到居安思危，是我们治党治国必须始终坚持的一个重大原则。我们党要巩固执政地位，要团结带领人民坚持和发展中国特色社会主义，保证国家安全是头等大事。”2014年4月15日，习近平总书记在中央国家安全委员会第一次会议上创造性提出总体国家安全观，为新时代国家安全工作提供了强大思想武器。2015年7月，十二届全国人大常委会第十五次会议通过国家安全法并公布施行，这是贯彻总体国家安全观、适应维护国家安全新形势新要求、在国家安全领域具有统领性地位和综合性作用的重要法律。国家安全法公布施行十年来，在总体国家安全观引领下，党中央集中统一领导全面加强，国家安全体系基本形成，国家安全能力显著提升，人民防线不断巩固，全民国家安全意识显著增强，国家主权、安全、发展利益得到全面维护，社会大局保持长期稳定，新时代国家安全工作取得历史性成就.
The first section of the article basically makes the point that the overall national security concept constitutes “the national security chapter of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.”
“Transforming the requirements of the overall national security concept into national legal provisions through legal procedures is one of the important measures to implement the overall national security concept. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee adopted the ‘Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Promoting the Rule of Law’, which explicitly proposed implementing the overall national security concept, accelerating the development of the legal system for national security, promptly introducing urgently needed laws such as anti-terrorism laws, promoting the legalization of public security, and constructing a legal system for national security. Among these, the most important task was to promptly formulate a National Security Law that fully implements the holistic view of national security and plays a leading role in the field of national security.” 将总体国家安全观的各项要求通过法定程序转化为国家法律规定，是贯彻落实总体国家安全观的重要举措之一。党的十八届四中全会通过《中共中央关于全面推进依法治国若干重大问题的决定》，明确提出贯彻落实总体国家安全观，加快国家安全法治建设，抓紧出台反恐怖等一批急需法律，推进公共安全法治化，构建国家安全法律制度体系。这其中最重要的工作，就是要尽快制定一部全面贯彻落实总体国家安全观、在国家安全领域起统领作用的国家安全法.
This law was promulgated in 2015, and for the first time clearly stipulated in law were the following:
adhere to the overall national security concept and follow the path of national security with Chinese characteristics
adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party of China over national security work and establish a centralised, unified, efficient and authoritative national security leadership system;
in upholding national security, one must abide by the Constitution and laws, adhere to the principles of socialist rule of law, respect and safeguard human rights, and protect the rights and freedoms of citizens in accordance with the law;
national security work should coordinate internal and external security, national security and national security, traditional security and non-traditional security, and self-security and common security.
It formed the basic framework of a national security legal system, with the overall requirements for national security work in the new era, tasks for safeguarding national security, responsibilities for safeguarding national security, national security institutions, national security guarantees, and the rights and obligations of citizens and organizations as its main content, laying a solid legal foundation for establishing and improving the rule of law in national security. 2015年出台的国家安全法以习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想为指导，根据宪法，首次在法律中明确规定：坚持总体国家安全观，走中国特色国家安全道路；坚持中国共产党对国家安全工作的领导，建立集中统一、高效权威的国家安全领导体制；维护国家安全，应当遵守宪法和法律，坚持社会主义法治原则，尊重和保障人权，依法保护公民的权利和自由；国家安全工作应当统筹内部安全和外部安全、国土安全和国民安全、传统安全和非传统安全、自身安全和共同安全。形成了以新时代国家安全工作总体要求、维护国家安全的任务、维护国家安全的职责、国家安全制度、国家安全保障、公民和组织的权利义务等为主要内容的国家安全法律制度体系基本架构，为建立健全国家安全法治体系奠定了坚实的法治基础.
The second section talks about the specific achievements over the past decade. It says:
“In the work report of the Standing Committee of the First Session of the 13th NPC in 2018, when reviewing the legislative work of the past five years, ‘accelerating the construction of the rule of law for national security’ was set out as a separate section, and it clearly called to implement the overall national security concept, maintain political stability, seize the opportunity of legislation, and successively issue a number of important laws such as the National Security Law, which provided a strong legal guarantee for safeguarding national security, core interests and major interests. In the work report of the Standing Committee of the First Session of the 14th NPC in 2023, summarising the legislative achievements of the past five years, ‘accelerating legislation in the field of national security’ was listed as the second section of the legislative work, clearly proposing to ‘place safeguarding national security in an important position within legislative work’.” 2018年十三届全国人大一次会议的常委会工作报告中，在回顾过去五年立法工作时将“加快国家安全法治建设”单独作为一部分，明确提出贯彻落实总体国家安全观，保持政治定力，把握立法时机，相继出台国家安全法等一批重要法律，为维护国家安全、核心利益和重大利益提供了有力法治保障。2023年十四届全国人大一次会议的常委会工作报告总结过去五年立法成就，将“加快国家安全领域立法”作为立法工作的第二部分，明确提出“把维护国家安全放在立法工作的重要位置”.
After this, there’s a full listing of key laws that were amended and/or drafted. The tasks are categorised based on different domains
First, legislation and amendments related to maintaining national security in the political field were strengthened. Formulated and amended the Counter-Espionage Law, formulated the Counter-Terrorism Law, the Law on the Management of Foreign Non-Governmental Organizations' Activities, the National Intelligence Law, the Cryptography Law, the Anti-organised Crime Law, revised the Law on Guarding State Secrets and the Emergency Response Law, thereby safeguarding national political security, regime security, and social security. Formulated the Coast Guard Law, the Reserve Personnel Law, the Military Personnel Status and Rights Protection Law, the Veterans Protection Law, revised the National Defense Law, the Military Service Law, and the Military Facilities Protection Law, providing powerful rule of law guarantee for strengthening national defense and military construction in the new era. Formulated the Heroes and Martyrs Protection Law and the Patriotic Education Law, revised the National Defense Education Law, safeguarding ideological security.” 一是加强政治领域维护国家安全相关立法修法。制定和修改反间谍法，制定反恐怖主义法、境外非政府组织境内活动管理法、国家情报法、密码法、反有组织犯罪法，修订保守国家秘密法、突发事件应对法，维护国家政治安全、政权安全和社会安全。制定海警法、预备役人员法、军人地位和权益保障法、退役军人保障法，修订国防法、兵役法、军事设施保护法，为新时代加强国防和军队建设提供有力法治保障。制定英雄烈士保护法、爱国主义教育法，修订国防教育法，维护意识形态安全.
Second, legislation and amendments related to maintaining national security in economic and ecological fields were strengthened. The Foreign Investment Law clearly stipulates that the state shall establish a security review system for foreign investment, and conduct security reviews for foreign investments that affect or may affect national security. Formulated the Cybersecurity Law, Biosafety Law, Data Security Law, Nuclear Safety Law, and the Law of the PRC on Exploration for and Exploitation of Resources in the Deep Seabed Area, establishing and improving the national security legal system for emerging fields. Formulated the Food Security Guarantee Law and Energy Law, revised the Surveying and Mapping Law, safeguarding national economic security. Formulated the Yangtze River Protection Law, Yellow River Protection Law, and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ecological Protection Law, safeguarding national ecological security. 二是加强经济、生态领域维护国家安全相关立法修法。在外商投资法中明确规定，国家建立外商投资安全审查制度，对影响或者可能影响国家安全的外商投资进行安全审查。制定网络安全法、生物安全法、数据安全法、核安全法、深海海底区域资源勘探开发法，建立健全新兴领域国家安全法律制度。制定粮食安全保障法、能源法，修订测绘法，维护国家经济安全。制定长江保护法、黄河保护法、青藏高原生态保护法，维护国家生态安全.
Third, legislation and amendments related to safeguarding national security in foreign affairs and foreign-related fields were strengthened. Formulated the Foreign Relations Law, Land Border Law, Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, Export Control Law, Tariff Law, International Criminal Judicial Assistance Law, and Foreign State Immunity Law; revised the Anti-Money Laundering Law, Maritime Traffic Safety Law, and Frontier Health and Quarantine Law; amended relevant provisions of the Civil Procedure Law concerning foreign-related civil litigation; persisted in coordinating domestic and international affairs, strengthening the construction of foreign-related legal system and safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests. 三是加强对外、涉外领域维护国家安全相关立法修法。制定对外关系法、陆地国界法、反外国制裁法、出口管制法、关税法、国际刑事司法协助法、外国国家豁免法，修订反洗钱法、海上交通安全法、国境卫生检疫法，修改民事诉讼法涉外民事诉讼相关规定，坚持统筹国内和国际，加强涉外法律制度体系建设，维护国家主权、安全、发展利益.
Fourth, creatively utilised the constitutional system and the people’s congress system to effectively respond to major national security risks and challenges encountered in governing the country. Under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the NPC passed the Decision on Establishing and Improving the Legal System and Implementation Mechanism for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to Safeguard National Security, and the Decision on Improving the Electoral System of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; the Standing Committee of the NPC passed the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region National Security Law, revised and passed Annex I and Annex II of the Hong Kong Basic Law, and made decisions and legal interpretations on relevant legal issues. These decisions and legislation, amendments, and interpretation of laws have powerfully and effectively promoted Hong Kong’s situation to achieve a major turning point from chaos to governance, having important significance for persisting in and improving the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ institutional framework under new circumstances and safeguarding Hong Kong’s long-term stability and long-term prosperity and stability.” 四是创造性运用宪法制度、人民代表大会制度，有效应对治国理政中遇到的国家安全重大风险挑战。在以习近平同志为核心的党中央坚强领导下，全国人大通过关于建立健全香港特别行政区维护国家安全的法律制度和执行机制的决定、关于完善香港特别行政区选举制度的决定；全国人大常委会通过香港特别行政区维护国家安全法，修订通过香港基本法附件一和香港基本法附件二，作出有关法律问题的决定和法律解释。这些决定和立法、修法、释法，有力有效地推动香港局势实现由乱到治的重大转折，对于新形势下坚持和完善“一国两制”制度体系、维护香港长治久安和长期繁荣稳定具有重要意义.
According to statistics, among the 306 laws currently in force in China, there are more than 40 laws related to maintaining national security, and 19 laws clearly stipulate the ‘overall national security concept’. Under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee, the legislative gaps in the field of national security in China have been effectively filled, and the ‘four beams and eight pillars’ of the national security legal system with Chinese characteristics have been basically formed, providing a legal basis and institutional guarantee for maintaining and shaping national security. 据统计，在我国现行有效的306件法律中，与维护国家安全相关的法律有40多件，有19件法律明确规定“总体国家安全观”。在党中央领导下，我国国家安全领域存在的立法空白得到有力填补，中国特色国家安全法律制度体系的“四梁八柱”基本形成，为维护和塑造国家安全提供了法律依据和制度保障.
The final section looks ahead. It says:
“Looking ahead, it is necessary to acknowledge that China’s development has entered a period where strategic opportunities coexist with risks and challenges, and uncertain and unpredictable factors are increasing. Various ‘black swan’ and ‘gray rhino’ events may occur at any time, and the complexity and difficulty of the national security problems we face have increased significantly. In this regard, the report of the 20th Party Congress, for the first time, put forward a general requirement for ‘promoting the modernisation of the national security system and capabilities, and resolutely safeguarding national security and social stability’ in a special section, emphasising ‘guaranteeing the new development pattern with a new security pattern’. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee proposed to build a safer China at a higher level, and further clarified the specific tasks of promoting the modernisation of the national security system and capabilities. In-depth implementation of the spirit of the 20th Party Congress and the Second and Third Plenary Sessions of the 20th Central Committee, adhering to the overall national security concept as the guidance, and deepening the construction of the national security legal system, requires continuous strengthening of the national security legal system.” 展望未来，我们也要看到，我国发展进入战略机遇和风险挑战并存、不确定难预料因素增多的时期，各种“黑天鹅”“灰犀牛”事件随时可能发生，面临的国家安全问题的复杂程度、艰巨程度明显加大。对此，党的二十大报告首次以专门一个部分，就“推进国家安全体系和能力现代化，坚决维护国家安全和社会稳定”提出总体要求，强调“以新安全格局保障新发展格局”。党的二十届三中全会提出建设更高水平平安中国，进一步明确了推进国家安全体系和能力现代化的具体任务。深入贯彻落实党的二十大和二十届二中、三中全会精神，坚持以总体国家安全观为指导，深入推进国家安全法治体系建设，需要持续加强国家安全法律制度体系建设.
“Under the centralised and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee, it is necessary to promptly incorporate important legislative and amendment projects in the national security field into relevant legislative planning and programs, enhancing the systematicness, comprehensiveness, coordination, and timeliness of legislation. It is necessary to integrate the safeguarding of national security into legislation in key areas, emerging fields, and foreign-related domains, closely focus on the urgent needs of major national strategic arrangements and security tasks across various domains, and strengthen legislation in both traditional and non-traditional security fields. It is necessary to continuously consolidate the rule of law foundation for safeguarding security in the political field; improve the rule of law guarantee level for public safety governance; strengthen legislative protection for economic security, strengthening legislative protection for important supply chain systems, critical minerals, strategic resources and energy, finance, and economic and trade security; improve anti-sanctions, anti-interference, and anti-‘long-arm jurisdiction’ mechanisms. Particularly in recent years, risks in emerging fields for safeguarding national security have been continuously highlighted, and the rapid development of new technologies and new applications poses risk challenges to traditional national security fields. In emerging fields such as space, electromagnetic, and polar regions, as well as in the application of emerging technologies such as cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, and blockchain, how to properly coordinate development and security requires legislative organs to pay timely attention and follow up with research. Facing the continuous escalation of external risks and challenges, it is also necessary to further enrich China’s legal ‘toolkit’ for external struggles, providing a solid rule of law guarantee for safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests.” 要在党中央集中统一领导下，及时将国家安全领域的重要立法修法项目纳入相关立法规划计划，增强立法系统性、整体性、协同性、时效性。要把维护国家安全融入重点领域、新兴领域、涉外领域立法，紧密围绕国家重大战略布局和维护各领域安全任务迫切需要，加强传统和非传统安全领域立法。要不断夯实维护政治领域安全的法治根基；提高公共安全治理法治化保障水平；加强经济安全立法保护，对重要供应链体系、关键矿产、战略资源能源、金融、经贸安全等加强立法保护；健全反制裁、反干涉、反“长臂管辖”机制。特别是近年来新兴领域维护国家安全的风险不断凸显，新技术新应用快速发展对于传统国家安全领域构成风险挑战。在太空、电磁、极地等新兴领域以及云计算、大数据、人工智能、区块链等新兴技术应用中，如何统筹好发展与安全，需要立法机关及时关注、跟进研究。面对外部风险挑战的持续提升，也需要进一步充实我国对外斗争法律“工具箱”，为维护国家主权、安全、发展利益提供坚实法治保障.
“Currently, among the 140 legislative projects listed in the legislative plan of the 14th NPCSC, quite a few are closely related to safeguarding national security. Among them, there are both laws involving traditional security fields, such as formulating and amending the Financial Stability Law, National Reserve Security Law, Exit and Entry Administration Law, Public Health Emergency Response Law, and Hazardous Chemical Safety Law; as well as national security legislative projects in emerging fields and foreign-related fields, such as formulating and amending the Marine Law, Atomic Energy Law, Space Law, Telecommunications Law, Cybercrime Prevention and Control Law, and Cybersecurity Law. In addition, the legislative plan also specifically stipulates that matters involving ‘safeguarding national security’ that require legislation, amendment, abolition, interpretation, or decisions shall be arranged for deliberation in a timely manner, creating a smooth ‘green channel’ for legislation.” 目前，十四届全国人大常委会立法规划中列明的140件立法项目中，不少都与维护国家安全密切相关，其中，既有制定修改金融稳定法、国家储备安全法、出境入境管理法、突发公共卫生事件应对法、危险化学品安全法等涉及传统领域安全的法律；也有制定修改海洋法、原子能法、航天法、电信法、网络犯罪防治法、网络安全法等新兴领域、涉外领域的国家安全立法项目。此外，立法规划还专门规定了涉及“维护国家安全”需要进行立、改、废、释或者作出决定的，适时安排审议，畅通了立法的“绿色通道”.
“In addition, it is necessary to fully utilise the important role of local legislation in the national security legal and regulatory system. The Standing Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Region People’s Congress passed a comprehensive local regulation implementing the National Security Law in 2024. The Standing Committee of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region People’s Congress passed the ‘Resolution of the Standing Committee of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region People’s Congress on Resolutely Opposing the Series of U.S. Xinjiang-Related Sanctions Laws and Supporting the Development of Sanctioned Enterprises and Related Industries’ in 2024. Other provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities have also issued a large number of local regulations safeguarding national security in various fields in recent years. It is necessary to fully utilise the institutional advantages of China’s unified, multi-level legislative system, using the multi-level norms of the legal system to form an overall rule of law synergy for safeguarding national security. It is necessary to strengthen the construction of supporting regulations, fill the gaps in supporting systems such as judicial interpretations and departmental regulations in national security-related fields, and ensure the comprehensive and effective implementation of laws.” 此外，要充分发挥地方立法在国家安全法律法规体系中的重要作用。西藏自治区人大常委会2024年通过了实施国家安全法的综合性地方性法规，新疆维吾尔自治区人大常委会2024年通过了《新疆维吾尔自治区人民代表大会常务委员会关于坚决反对美国涉疆制裁系列法 支持受制裁企业及相关产业发展的决议》，其他各个省、自治区、直辖市近年来也出台了大量维护各领域国家安全的地方性法规。要充分发挥我国统一、多层次立法体制的制度优势，运用法律体系多层次规范形成维护国家安全的整体法治合力。要加强配套规定建设，补齐国家安全相关领域司法解释、部门规章等配套制度短板，确保法律全面有效实施.