CONTENTS CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS CHAPTER II ESTABLISHMENT OF POSTAL ENTERPRISES AND POSTAL FACILITIES CHAPTER III CLASSIFICATION OF POSTAL BUSINESSES AND POSTAL RATES CHAPTER IV POSTING AND DELIVERING OF POSTAL MATERIALS CHAPTER V TRANSPORTATION,CUSTOMS EXAMINATION AND QUARANTINE INSPECTION OF POSTAL MATERIALS CHAPTER VI COMPENSATION FOR LOSSES CHAPTER VII PENALTY PROVISIONS CHAPTER VIII SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS
CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1. This Law is formulated in accordance with the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, with a view to protecting Article 2. The competent department of postal services under the State Council shall administer postal services throughout the country. The competent department of postal services under the State Council shall set up regional administrative organs of postal Article 3. The postal enterprises attached to the competent department of postal services under the State Council are public enterprises, According to stipulations of the competent department of postal services under the State Council, postal enterprises Article 4. Freedom and privacy of correspondence shall be protected by law. No organization or individual shall infringe upon Article 5. Postal materials handed in or posted, remittances made and savings deposited by users shall be protected by law, and Article 6. Postal enterprises shall provide users with fast, accurate, safe and convenient postal services. Postal enterprises and postal staff shall not provide information to any organization or individual about users’ Article 7. Postal materials and remittances shall be owned by senders and remitters before they are delivered to recipients and remittees. Article 8. Posting and delivering services of mail and other articles with characteristics of mail shall be exclusively operated Postal enterprises may, according to needs, entrust other units or individuals as agents to run businesses Article 9. No unit or individual shall produce false copies or make fraudulent use of special postal marks, postal uniforms and special
CHAPTER II ESTABLISHMENT OF POSTAL ENTERPRISES AND POSTAL FACILITIES Article 10. Standards for establishment of postal enterprises and their branch offices shall be formulated by the competent Article 11. Postal enterprises shall establish branch offices, postal kiosks, newspaper and periodical stands, mail boxes, etc., in Residents’ mailboxes for receiving letters and newspapers shall be installed in residential buildings in cities. Places shall be provided for handling postal business in larger railway stations, airports, ports and guest houses.
CHAPTER III CLASSIFICATION OF POSTAL BUSINESSES AND POSTAL RATES Article 12. Postal enterprises operate the following businesses: (1) posting and delivering of domestic and international postal materials; (2) distributing domestic newspapers and periodicals; (3) postal savings and postal remittances; and (4) other suitable businesses stipulated by the competent department of postal services under the State Council. Article 13. Postal enterprises and their branch offices shall not arbitrarily close down those postal businesses that must Owing to force majeure or special reasons, if postal enterprises and their branch offices need to close down temporarily Article 14. Postal enterprises shall strengthen distribution work of newspapers and periodicals. If publishing units entrust postal Article 15. The basic postal rates of postal services shall be set by the competent department in charge of pricing under the State Council Article 16. The payment of postage on various postal materials shall be indicated by postage certificates or by postmarks showing postage Article 17. Postage stamps, stamped envelopes, stamped postcards, stamped aerogrammes and other postage certificates shall be The administrative measures on making facsimiles of stamp patterns shall be formulated by the competent department of Article 18. Postage certificates sold shall not be cashed in postal enterprises or their branch offices. Postage certificates to be withdrawn from circulation shall be announced to the public, and sales will be stopped Article 19. The following postage certificates shall not be used: (1) those which the competent department of postal services under the State Council has announced as withdrawn from usage; (2) those that have been postmarked or cancelled; (3) those that are contaminated, incomplete or illegible due to fading or decolouring; and (4) stamp patterns cut off from stamped envelopes, stamped postcards and stamped aerogrammes.
CHAPTER IV POSTING AND DELIVERING OF POSTAL MATERIALS Article 20. In handing in or posting postal materials, users must abide by the provisions formulated by the relevant competent Article 21. The contents of postal materials, other than letters, to be handed in or posted by users, shall be checked on the Mail handed in or posted by users must be in line with the stipulations concerning the content allowed to be Article 22. Postal enterprises and their branch offices shall deliver postal materials within the time limits laid down by the Article 23. Undeliverable postal materials shall be returned to the senders. Mail that is both undeliverable and unreturnable, and unclaimed within the time limit stipulated by the competent The incoming international postal articles that are undeliverable and unreturnable, and unclaimed within Disposal measures for other undeliverable and unreturnable postal materials shall be formulated by the competent department Article 24. The remittees of postal remittances shall cash the postal remittances with valid documents at postal enterprises or branch Article 25. In posting and delivering postal materials, postal codes shall be adopted gradually, and specific pertinent CHAPTER V TRANSPORTATION, CUSTOMS EXAMINATION AND QUARANTINE INSPECTION OF POSTAL MATERIALS Article 26. Transportation units operating railways, highways, waterways and airlines shall all have the responsibility of Article 27. When postal enterprises transfer postal materials in railway stations, airports and ports, transportation units Article 28. Ships with special postal marks, postal vans and postal staff shall be given priority in entering and departing ports and Article 29. When transported by sea, postal materials shall not be included in arrangements for sharing common sea losses. Article 30. Postal enterprises shall not post or deliver international postal articles that are not examined and allowed to pass Article 31. Postal materials that are subject to health and quarantine inspections or animal and plant quarantine inspections according
CHAPTER VI COMPENSATION FOR LOSSES Article 32. Users may present receipts and inquire, within one year counting from the date of the posting or remitting, about vouchered If no result is found within the time limit for responding to the inquiry, postal enterprises shall make compensation Article 33. For losses, damage, destruction or missing contents of vouchered postal materials, postal enterprises shall make (1) For registered mail, compensation shall be made according to standard amounts formulated by the competent department (2) For insured postal materials which are lost or totally damaged or destroyed, compensation shall be made (3) For uninsured postal parcels, compensation shall be made according to the actual damages due to loss (4) For other types of vouchered postal materials, compensation shall be made or remedial measures taken according Article 34. Postal enterprises shall not be held liable for compensation, if one of the following situations occurs: (1) losses of ordinary postal materials; (2) losses of vouchered postal materials caused by the user or due to some characteristic of the posted articles per se; (3) losses of vouchered postal materials, other than postal remittances and insured postal materials caused by force (4) users failing to inquire about or demand compensation at the end of one year, counting from the date of handing in Article 35. If disputes over compensation for losses occur between users and postal enterprises, users may request the competent department
CHAPTER VII PENALTY PROVISIONS Article 36. Persons who infringe upon the citizens’ right to freedom of correspondence by concealing, destroying, discarding or illegally Article 37. Postal personnel who without permission open or conceal, destroy or discard postal materials shall be investigated Those who commit the crime specified in the preceding provision and also steal property therein shall be given a heavier Article 38. Persons who intentionally damage or destroy public postal facilities such as mailboxes, where such acts are not serious Article 39. Postal personnel who refuse to handle the postal businesses which should be handled according to law or who intentionally Article 40. Persons who, in violation of provisions of Article 8 of this Law, handle the business of posting and delivering Parties concerned who refuse to obey the decision of punishment may bring suits to the people’s court within 15 days
CHAPTER VIII SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS Article 41. The meanings of the following terms used in this Law are: (1) postal materials: referring to mail, printed matter, postal parcels, money orders, newspapers, periodicals, etc. (2) mail: referring to letters and postcards. (3) ordinary postal materials: referring to the postal materials that postal enterprises and their branch (4) vouchered postal materials: referring to postal materials such as registered mail, postal parcels, insured postal (5) international postal articles: referring to printed matter and postal parcels posted and delivered between users (6) special postal articles: referring to postal date-marks, postal tongs for lead sealing and postal bags. Article 42. If provisions of this Law contravene those of the international treaties concerning international postal affairs Article 43. The competent department of postal services under the State Council shall, in accordance with this Law, formulate Article 44. This Law shall go into effect on January 1, 1987.
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