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New rule takes effect on January 1 and means the offences will no longer be attached to a person’s identity information
Records of minor offences will be sealed under a new regulation rather than linked to a person’s identity information – a move that is proving unpopular among the public though it has been welcomed by legal experts.
The new rule is part of the amended Public Security Administration Punishments Law, which was introduced in 2006 and includes minor offences such as drug use, soliciting prostitutes and minor brawls.
National People’s Congress lawmakers approved the revision in June and it will take effect from January 1.
The new regulation states that records of minor offences covered by the law “shall not be provided to any organisation or individual, nor disclosed publicly” except where required for “the investigation needs of relevant state authorities” or “queries by relevant units in accordance with national regulations”.
Violations of this law are not considered criminal offences and they typically result in fines and up to 15 days of administrative detention.
But the record of the offence follows the person around since it is attached to their ID details and can have an impact on their job prospects and lives.
With the new rule set to take effect in less than a month, there has been a public backlash over the move – particularly when it comes to drug users.
Legal experts, meanwhile, see it as a step forward for human rights and privacy in China.
In a popular social media post on Saturday, nationalist blogger “Triumphalism Zhang Beihai” wrote: “I fail to understand why experts studying human rights and humanitarianism are so concerned with the rights of criminals? Where is the fairness for law-abiding citizens like us?”
Another widely shared comment on Sunday read: “I simply cannot understand why, after years of zero tolerance, this loophole must be opened? Why this sudden leniency towards drug users?”
The work of narcotics officers was also praised in another post, reflecting the government’s extensive education and public awareness campaign aimed at stamping out drug use and promoting the dedication of the officers.
China has some of the strictest drug control rules in the world, with the manufacture, trafficking or transport of narcotics potentially leading to the death penalty.
While drug use is deemed an administrative rather than criminal offence, a person caught taking illegal drugs will have to undergo compulsory rehabilitation and police checks, and they will be barred from certain professions.
This can be particularly harsh for public figures in China. There have been cases of celebrities whose careers were effectively ended after their drug use was disclosed by police.
Some have raised concern that the new rule could give public figures a second chance.
On Friday, a commentary in official media outlet Jimu News, based in the central city of Wuhan, said the law “must ensure unwavering restrictions on the employment of drug-using artists”.
Another commentary, posted on The Utopia – a Maoist internet forum – on Tuesday called on lawmakers to take “an exceptionally cautious and candid approach in providing more comprehensive and thorough explanations to the entire society”. It also said the revision would “unleash a Pandora’s box”.
The focus of the debate has been drug users, but the revision covers far more offences.
Chinese police handled more than 40 million public order cases from 2019 to 2023, according to National Bureau of Statistics data. The average was 8.07 million such cases a year.
Meanwhile, there were some 747,000 registered drug users in China as of last year, according to figures from the Ministry of Public Security, the top policing body.
In contrast to the debate raging online, legal professionals and official media outlets widely regard the sealing of minor offence records as progress since it is a move to safeguard human rights and personal privacy.
One lawyer in Beijing called the move “a rare and welcome step forward in legislative and amendment efforts … yet one that has led to scholars having to uphold professionalism and rationality in the face of online abuse”.
The lawyer, who requested anonymity, was referring to law professors who have spoken out in support of the change in recent days.
Zhao Hong, an associate professor at the Peking University Law School and director of its Centre for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, told state broadcaster CCTV on Sunday that “sealing records does not imply legal leniency towards drug use, as if we were abandoning efforts to combat it”.
“Drug control measures must not be entangled with this matter,” she said.
In a social media post the following day, Lao Dongyan, a professor at the Tsinghua University School of Law, wrote that “individuals with records of administrative penalties face various forms of discrimination and restrictions in employment and other areas”.
“The severity of this punishment often far exceeds the administrative penalty itself,” she added.
Those comments prompted some social media users to label Zhao and Lao as “spokespersons for Western forces”. Others accused them of supporting the revision because they had family members who had broken the law.
That claim was also used against Zhu Zhengfu, a National People’s Congress deputy and partner at the Beijing-based Hylands Law Firm.
Before the legislation was revised, Zhu had repeatedly proposed sealing records of minor offences.
In the past week, social media users have accused him of pushing for the change because his son was a drug user.
Zhu denied that allegation and reported the matter to police on Monday, according to official newspaper Nanfang Daily, based in southern Guangdong province.
On Sunday, Bao Han, a professor with the national police academy in Beijing, the People’s Public Security University of China, told CCTV that the new rule did not mean drug use was being condoned.
“For an offender, being able to accept them, to welcome them back after punishment and rehabilitation, symbolises a mature society with heightened tolerance,” Bao said.
“In this society, any one of us might make mistakes. After making a mistake, can we still reintegrate into society? I believe the answer is self-evident.”
The state broadcaster on Sunday highlighted several cases where the records of minor offences had caused ongoing problems for people.
One was a 26-year-old woman who had been detained for three days when she was 22 after a physical altercation with her boyfriend. She said her ID had been flagged as problematic when she went through airports and train stations, meaning she had to undergo questioning each time.
In another case, a man said he was unable to become a firefighter because he had a record of a physical altercation with a neighbour over a minor dispute.
There have also been a number of commentaries in official media calling for rational public discourse on the matter, as well as understanding of public concerns.
On Sunday, CCTV emphasised that drug-free records were still required to be hired for certain jobs such as ride-hailing drivers, kindergarten teachers and security personnel.
Meanwhile, The Beijing News on Monday said authorities should respect the “emotional outpourings” of social media users and “promptly clarify the diversity of administrative offences and promote legal awareness regarding the record-keeping system”.
The draft revision to the Public Security Administration Punishment Law initially proposed sealing the records of offences committed only by minors. That was later extended to cover all age groups after a call from the top leadership to do so.
A previous draft also included a clause that would have punished anyone guilty of “hurting the feelings of the Chinese nation” – a proposal that sparked concern over potential abuse of power. The clause was later removed.
