T
(保衛處) which all
According to an official of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, with whom I spoke recently in Beijing, the non-governmental security units
factories, schools, and
obliged to establish do
arrest beyond those held
Criminal Procedure
Law.
other major institutions are
not have any powers to detain or
by common citizens under the
Nevertheless, Chinese press
reports which indicate that these civilian official
security personnel often exceed their authority in detaining and interrogating suspects.
for
Not surprisingly, there is a strong link between the Communist Party and the public security organs. It is, example, very common in China at the provincial, prefectural and county levels for the head of the public security department also to hold one of the deputy leader (Vice Secretary) positions of the governing party committee
of that administrative area.
As a result of this systematic linkage of the party and police leadership, some critics have described the public security forces as belong ing to the Communist Party rather than to the Chinese
State.
: m
3. Administrative Penalty Regulations
The non-criminal police powers of detention most
clearly defined by statute are contained in the Regulations
on Administrative Penalties for Public Security {the
Regulations"},
"Administrative
Penalties
治安管理處罰條例
). These regulations
authorise public security departments at the city or county level to warn, fine or place in detention for no more than 15 days, any person who disturbs social order, endangers
public safety, infringes upon a citizen's rights of the person or encroaches upon public or private property, if