DECISION OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL PEOPLE’S CONGRESS ON AMENDING THE ARCHIVES LAW

    The 20th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People’s
Congress has decided to make the following amendments to the Archives Law of
the People’s Republic of China:

    1. The second paragraph of Article 16 is amended as: “Owners of the
archives prescribed in the preceding paragraph may deposit them with or sell
them to state archives centres. If they sell them to any other unit or
individual than state archives centres, such a sale shall be subject to the
approval of the administrative authorities for archives under the people’s
governments at or above the county level in accordance with the relevant
provisions. It shall be strictly forbidden to resell such archives for profit,
or sell them or present them as gifts to foreigners.”

    2. Add a new paragraph to Article 17 as its second paragraph: “The
detailed procedures for the transfer of archives of a state-owned enterprise
or institution at the time of the transfer of its assets shall be formulated
by the state administrative authority for archives.”

    3. The second paragraph of Article 19 is amended as: “Archives centres
shall periodically publish a catalogue of archives which are accessible to the
public, and shall create the conditions, simplify the procedures, and provide
conveniences for the use of archives.”

    4. Article 24 is amended as: “In the event of any of the following acts,
the administrative authorities for archives under the people’s governments at
or above the county level and the competent department shall impose
disciplinary sanctions upon the person in charge directly responsible or other
persons directly responsible; and he who commits an act which constitutes a
crime shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law:

    (1) damaging or losing state-owned archives;

    (2) supplying, copying, making public or destroying state-owned archives
without authorization;

    (3) altering or forging archives;

    (4) in violation of the provisions of Article 16 or 17 of this Law,
selling or transferring archives without authorization;

    (5) reselling archives for profit, or selling archives or presenting them
as gifts to foreigners;

    (6) in violation of the provisions of Article 10 or 11 of this Law,
failing to file archives according to provisions, or failing to hand over
archives on schedule;

    (7) taking no measures while fully aware of archives preserved being in
danger, thus causing losses to the archives; or

    (8) causing losses to archives as a result of neglect of duty on the part
of archivists.

    “If anyone who uses archives of archives centres commits any of the
unlawful acts prescribed in item 1, 2 or 3 of the preceding paragraph, the
administrative authorities for archives of the people’s governments at or
above the county level shall give him a warning and may concurrently impose a
fine; and he who causes losses shall be ordered to compensate for them.

    “If an enterprise, institution or individual commits any of the unlawful
acts prescribed in item 4 or 5 of the first paragraph, the administrative
authorities for archives of the people’s governments at or above the county
level shall give the violator a warning and may concurrently impose a fine;
the unlawful gains, if any, shall be confiscated; and archives sold and
presented as gifts may be requisitioned by purchase in accordance with the
provisions of Article 16 of this Law.”

    5. Add a new article as Article 25: “If anyone carries or transports out
of the country archives or their duplicates that are forbidden to be taken out
of the country, the Customs shall confiscate them and may concurrently impose
a fine; archives or their duplicates confiscated shall be handed over to the
administrative authorities for archives; and he who commits an act which
constitutes a crime shall be investigated for criminal responsibility
according to law.”

    This Decision comes into force on the date of promulgation.

    Chapter I    General Provisions

    Chapter II   Archives Institutions and Their Responsibilities

    Chapter III  Management of Archives

    Chapter IV   Using the Archives and Making Them Public

    Chapter V    Legal Responsibility

    Article 1  This Law is formulated with a view to strengthening the
management, collection and arrangement of archives and effectively protecting
and using archives in the service of socialist modernization.

    Article 2  For the purpose of this Law, the term “archives” means
historical records in various forms, including writings in different
languages, pictures, diagrams, audio-visuals, etc., whose preservation is of
value to the state and society and which have been or are being directly
formed by state organs, public organizations and individuals in their
political, military, economic, scientific, technological, cultural, religious
and other activities.

    Article 3  Every state organ, unit of the armed forces, political party,
public organization, enterprise and institution and every citizen shall have
the obligation to protect the archives.

    Article 4  The people’s governments at all levels shall strengthen their
leadership in the work on archives and incorporate the building of archives
into national economic and social development plans.

    Article 6  The state administrative authority for archives shall be
responsible for the work on archives throughout the country. It shall make an
overall plan, coordinate the organizations, unify the systems, and exercise
supervision and provide guidance with respect to the work on archives in the
whole country.

    The administrative authorities for archives under the local people’s
governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for the work on
archives within their respective administrative areas. They shall supervise
and direct the archives work of the state organs, public organizations,
enterprises, institutions and other organizations within their areas.

    The people’s governments of townships, nationality townships and towns
shall designate personnel to take charge of preserving the archives of their
own offices and to supervise and direct the archives work of their subordinate
units.

    Article 7  The archives institutions or archivists of state organs, public
organizations, enterprises, institutions and other organizations shall be
responsible for preserving the archives of their own units and supervise and
direct the archives work of their subordinate units.

    Article 8  The national archives centre and local archives centres of
various types at or above the county level shall be cultural institutions for
the centralized management of archives. They shall be responsible for
receiving, collecting, arranging and keeping archives within their respective
jurisdiction and making them available to users.

    Article 9  Archivists shall be devoted to their duty, observe discipline
and possess professional knowledge.

    Article 10  Materials of a unit that should be filed and kept as archives
pursuant to state provisions must, in accordance with the relevant
regulations, be handed over periodically to the archives division or
archivists of the unit for centralized management. Nobody may keep such
materials as his personal property.

    Materials that should not be kept as archives pursuant to state provisions
shall not be kept as archives without due authorization.

    Article 11  State organs, public organizations, enterprises, institutions
and other organizations must, in accordance with state provisions, hand over
archives periodically to the archives centres concerned.

    Article 12  The cultural relics, books and reference materials which are
kept in museums, libraries and memorial halls and are concurrently archives
may be managed by the above-mentioned units in accordance with the provisions
of laws and administrative rules and regulations.

    Archives centres shall cooperate with the above-mentioned units in the use
of archives.

    Article 13  Archives centres of all types and at all levels and archives
divisions of state organs, public organizations, enterprises, institutions and
other organizations shall establish a system of scientific management to
facilitate the use of archives. They shall be equipped with necessary
facilities to ensure the safety of the archives. They shall adopt advanced
technology to modernize the management of archives.

    Article 14  The management and use of confidential archives, changes in
their security classes, and the declassification of such archives must be
effected according to the provisions of the security laws and administrative
rules and regulations of the state regarding security.

    Article 15  The principles by which the value of archives for preservation
is appraised, the standards for determining the periods of preservation, and
the procedures and methods for destroying archives shall be formulated by the
state administrative authority for archives. Unauthorized destruction of
archives shall be prohibited.

    Article 16  Collectively-owned or individually-owned archives whose
preservation is of value to the state and society or which should be kept
confidential shall be properly taken care of by the owners. If the archives
are considered liable to serious damage or unsafe because of the adverse
conditions under which they are kept or because of any other reason, the state
administrative authority for archives shall have the right to take such
measures as may ensure the integrity and safety of the archives, such as by
keeping the archives on the owner’s behalf or, when necessary, by purchasing
such archives or requisitioning them by purchase.

    Owners of the archives prescribed in the preceding paragraph may deposit
them with or sell them to state archives centres. If they sell them to any
other unit or individual than state archives centres, such a sale shall be
subject to the approval of the administrative authorities for archives under
the people’s governments at or above the county level in accordance with the
relevant provisions. It shall be strictly forbidden to resell such archives
for profit, or sell them or present them as gifts to foreigners.

    Those who donate archives to the state shall be rewarded by the archives
centres concerned.

    Article 17  The sale of archives owned by the state shall be prohibited.

    The detailed procedures for the transfer of archives of a state-owned
enterprise or institution at the time of the transfer of its assets shall be
formulated by the state administrative authority for archives.

    The exchange, transfer and sale of duplicates of archives shall be handled
according to state regulations.

    Article 19  Archives kept by state archives centres shall in general be
opened to the public upon the expiration of 30 years from the date of their
formation. Archives in economic, scientific, technological and cultural fields
may be opened to the public in less than 30 years; archives involving the
security or vital interests of the state and other archives which remain
unsuitable for accessibility to the public upon the expiration of 30 years may
be opened to the public after more than 30 years. The specific time limits
shall be defined by the state administrative authority for archives and
submitted to the State Council for approval before they become effective.

    Archives centres shall periodically publish a catalogue of archives which
are accessible to the public, and shall create the conditions, simplify the
procedures, and provide conveniences for the use of archives.

    Citizens and organizations of the People’s Republic of China possessing
lawful identifications may use archives which are open to the public.

    Article 20  State organs, public organizations, enterprises, institutions,
other organizations and citizens may, according to needs in economic
construction, national defence construction, education, scientific research
and other work, and pursuant to the relevant provisions, use the archives
which are not yet open to the public and the archives which are preserved by
relevant state organs, public organizations, enterprises, institutions and
other organizations.

    Measures for using the archives that are not yet open to the public shall
be laid down by the state administrative authority for archives or by the
competent departments.

    Article 21  Units or individuals that have transferred or donated archives
to archives centres or deposited archives with them shall have priority in the
use of such archives and may propose restrictions on the use of parts of the
archives that are not suitable for accessibility to the public, and the
archives centres shall protect the lawful rights and interests of such units
or individuals.

    Article 22  State-owned archives shall be made public by archives centres
or state organs authorized by the state; no organization or individual shall
have the right to make public such archives without permission from such
archives centres or state organs.

    With respect to collectively-owned and individually-owned archives, the
owners shall have the right to make them public but they must abide by the
relevant state provisions, and may not endanger the security and interests of
the state or violate the lawful rights and interests of others.

    Article 24  In the event of any of the following acts, the administrative
authorities for archives under the people’s governments at or above the county
level and the competent department shall impose disciplinary sanctions upon
the person in charge directly responsible or other persons directly
responsible; and he who commits an act which constitutes a crime shall be
investigated for criminal responsibility according to law:

    (1) damaging or losing state-owned archives;

    (2) supplying, copying, making public or destroying state-owned archives
without authorization;

    (3) altering or forging archives;

    (4) in violation of the provisions of Article 16 or 17 of this Law,
selling or transferring archives without authorization;

    (5) reselling archives for profit, or selling archives or presenting them
as gifts to foreigners;

    (6) in violation of the provisions of Article 10 or 11 of this Law,
failing to file archives according to provisions, or failing to hand over
archives on schedule;

    (7) taking no measures while fully aware of archives preserved being in
danger, thus causing losses to the archives; or

    (8) causing losses to archives as a result of neglect of duty on the part
of archivists.

    If anyone who uses archives of archives centres commits any of the
unlawful acts prescribed in item 1, 2 or 3 of the preceding paragraph, the
administrative authorities for archives of the people’s governments at or
above the county level shall give him a warning and may concurrently impose a
fine; and he who causes losses shall be ordered to compensate for them.

    If an enterprise, institution or individual commits any of the unlawful
acts prescribed in item 4 or 5 of the first paragraph, the administrative
authorities for archives of the people’s governments at or above the county
level shall give the violator a warning and may concurrently impose a fine;
the unlawful gains, if any, shall be confiscated; and archives sold and
presented as gifts may be requisitioned by purchase in accordance with the
provisions of Article 16 of this Law.

    Article 26  Measures for the implementation of this Law shall be
formulated by the state administrative authority for archives and shall enter
into force after being submitted to and approved by the State Council.

    Article 27  This Law shall come into force as of January 1, 1988.