Adoption Law of the People's Republic of China

(Adopted at the 23rd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress on December 29, 1991 and revised in accordance with the Decision on Revising the Adoption Law of the People's Republic of China adopted at the Fifth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on November 4, 1998)

Contents

Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Establishment of an Adoptive Relationship
Chapter III Validity of Adoption
Chapter IV Termination of an Adoptive Relationship
Chapter V Legal Responsibility
Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is enacted to protect the lawful adoptive relationship and to safeguard the rights of parties involved in the adoptive relationship.

Article 2 Adoption shall be in the interest of the upbringing and growth of adopted minors, with the lawful rights and interests of both adoptees and adopters safeguarded, in adherence to the principles of equality and voluntariness, and not in contravention of social morality.

Article 3 Adoption shall not contravene laws and regulations on family planning.

Chapter II Establishment of an Adoptive Relationship

Article 4 Minors under the age of 14, as enumerated below, may be adopted:
(1) orphans bereaved of parents;
(2) abandoned infants or children whose parents cannot be ascertained or found; or
(3) children whose parents are unable to rear them due to unusual difficulties.

Article 5 The following citizens or institutions shall be entitled to place out children for adoption:
(1) guardians of an orphan;
(2) social welfare institutions; or
(3) parents unable to rear their children due to unusual difficulties.

Article 6 Adopters shall meet simultaneously the following requirements:
(1) childless;
(2) capable of rearing and educating the adoptee;
(3) suffering no such disease as in medically regarded as unfit for adopting a child; and
(4) having reached the age of 30.

Article 7 A person may adopt a child belonging to a collateral relative by blood of the same generation and up to the third degree of kinship, irrespective of the restrictions specified in Item (3), Article 4; Item (3), Article 5 and Article 9 of this Law as well as the restriction that the adoptee shall be under the age of 14. An overseas Chinese, in adopting a child belonging to a collateral relative by blood of the same generation and up to the third degree of kinship, may even be not subject to the adopter's childless status.

Article 8 The adopter may adopt one child only, male or female. Orphans, disabled children, or abandoned infants and children whose parents cannot be ascertained or found and who are under the care of a social welfare institution may be adopted irrespective of the restrictions that the adopter shall be childless and that he or she may adopt one child only.

Article 9 Where a male person without spouse adopts a female child, the age difference between the adopter and the adoptee shall be no less than 40 years.

Article 10 Where the parents intend to place out their child for adoption, they shall act in concert. If one parent cannot be ascertained or found, the other parent may place out the child for adoption alone. Where a person with spouse adopts a child, the husband and wife shall adopt the child in concert.

Article 11 Adoption of a child and the placing out of the child for the adoption shall both take place on a voluntary basis. Where the adoption involves a minor aged 10 or more, the consent of the adoptee shall be obtained.

Article 12 If the parents of a minor are both persons without full civil capacity, the guardian(s) of the minor may not place out him (her) for adoption, except when the parents may do serious harm to the minor.

Article 13 Where a guardian intends to place out an orphaned minor for adoption, the guardian shall obtain the consent of the person who has obligations to support the orphan. Where the person who has obligations to support the orphan disagrees to place out the orphan for adoption, and the guardian is unwilling to continue the performance of his guardianship, it is necessary to change the guardian in accordance with the General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China.

Article 14 A stepfather or stepmother may, with the consent of the father or mother of a child, adopt the child as his or her stepson or stepdaughter, and may be subject to no restrictions specified in Item (3), Article 4; Item (3), Article 5 and Article 6 of this Law, nor the restrictions that the adoptee shall be under the age of 14 and that only one child may be adopted.

Article 15 The adoption shall be registered with the civil affairs department of the people's government at or above the county level. The adoptive relationship shall be established as of the date of registration.
Where an abandoned infant or child whose biological parents cannot be ascertained or found is adopted, the civil affairs department in charge of registration shall make an announcement prior to the registration. If the parties involved in the adoptive relationship wish to enter into an agreement on adoption, they may conclude such an agreement.
If the parties or one party involved in the adoptive relationship wishes that the adoption be notarized, it shall be done accordingly.

Article 16 After the adoptive relationship is established, the public security organ shall, in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State, carry out registration of residence for the adoptee.


Article 17 Orphans or children whose parents are unable to rear them may be supported by relatives or friends of their parents. The adoptive relationship shall not apply to the relationship between the supporter and the supported.

Article 19 Persons having placed out a child for adoption may not bear any more child, in violation of the regulations on family planning, on the ground of having placed out their child for adoption.

Article 20 It is strictly forbidden to buy or sell a child or to do so under the cloak of adoption.

Article 21 A foreigner may, in accordance with this Law, adopt a child (male or female) in the People's Republic of China.
Where a foreigner wishes to adopt a child in the People's Republic of China, the matter shall be subject to examination and approval of the competent authorities of the adopter's resident country in accordance with the law of that country. The adopter shall provide papers certifying such particulars of the adopter as age, marital status, profession, property, health and whether ever subjected to criminal punishment, which are issued by the competent agencies of the country to which the adopter belongs. Such certifying papers shall be authenticated by a foreign affairs institution of the country to which the adopter belongs or by an agency authorized by the said institution, and by the embassy or consulate of the People's Republic of China stationed in that country concerned. The adopter shall conclude a written agreement with the person who places out the child for adoption and register in person the adoption with a civil affairs department of the people's government at the provincial level.
If the parties or one party involved in the adoptive relationship wishes that the adoption be notarized, it shall be done with a notary agency that is qualified to handle foreign-related notarization and is designated by the administrative department of justice under the State Council.

Article 22 When the adopter and the person placing out the child for adoption wish to make a secret of the adoption, others shall respect their wish and shall not make a disclosure thereof.

Chapter III Validity of Adoption

Article 23 As of the date of establishment of the adoptive rela-tionship, the legal provisions governing the relationship between parents and children shall apply to the rights and duties in the relationship between adoptive parents and adopted children; the legal provisions governing the relationship between children and close relatives of their parents shall apply to the rights and duties in the relationship between adopted children and close relatives of the adoptive parents.
The rights and duties in the relationship between an adopted child and his or her parents and other close relatives shall terminate with the establishment of the adoptive relationship.

Article 24 An adopted child may adopt his or her adoptive father's or adoptive mother's surname, and may also retain his or her original surname, if so agreed through consultation between the parties concerned.

Article 25 Any act of adoption contravening the provisions of Article 55 of the General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China and those of this Law shall be of no legal validity. Any act of adoption ruled to be invalid by a people's court shall be of no legal validity from the very start of the act.

Chapter IV Termination of an Adoptive Relationship

Article 26 No adopter may terminate the adoptive relationship before the adoptee comes of age, except when the adopter and the person having placed out the child for the adoption agree to terminate such relationship. If the adopted child involved reaches the age of 10 or more, his or her consent shall be obtained.
Where an adopter fails to perform the duty of rearing the adoptee or commits maltreatment, abandonment, or other acts of encroachment upon the lawful rights of the minor adopted child, the person having placed out the child for adoption shall have the right to demand termination of the adoptive relationship. Where the adopter and the person having placed out the child for adoption fail to reach an agreement thereon, a suit may be brought in a people's court.

Article 27 Where the relationship between the adoptive parents and an adult adopted child deteriorates to such a degree that their living together in a same household becomes impossible, they may terminate their adoptive relationship by agreement. In the absence of an agreement, they may bring a suit in a people's court.

Article 28 Where the parties agree to terminate the adoptive relationship, they shall register the termination of the adoptive relationship with a civil affairs department.

Article 29 Upon termination of an adoptive relationship, the rights and duties in the relationship between an adopted child and his or her adoptive parents and their close relatives shall also terminate, and the rights and duties in the relationship between the child and his or her parents and their close relatives shall be restored automatically. However, with respect to the rights and duties in the relationship between an adult adopted child and his or her parents and their close relatives, it may be decided through consultation as to whether to restore them.

Article 30 Upon termination of an adoptive relationship, an adult adopted child who has been reared by the adoptive parents shall provide an amount of money to support the adoptive parents who have lost ability to work and are short of any source of income. If the adoptive relationship is terminated on account of the maltreatment or desertion of the adoptive parents by the grown-up adopted child, the adoptive parents may demand a compensation from the adopted child for the living and education expenses paid during the period of adoption.
If the parents of an adopted child request the termination of the adoptive relationship, the adoptive parents may demand an appropriate compensation from the parents for the living and education expenses paid during the period of adoption, except if the adoptive relationship is terminated on account of the maltreatment or desertion of the adopted child by the adoptive parents.

Chapter V Legal Responsibility

Article 31 Whoever abducts and traffics in a child under the cloak of adoption shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with law.
Whoever abandons an infant shall be fined by a public security organ; if the act constitutes a crime, the offender shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with law.
Whoever sells his or her own child, his or her illegal gains shall be confiscated by a public security organ and he or she shall also be fined; if the act constitutes a crime, the offender shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with law.

Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions

Article 32 The people's congress and its standing committee in a national autonomous area may, on the basis of the principles of this Law and in the light of the local conditions, formulate adaptive or supplementary provisions. The relevant regulations of a national autonomous region shall be submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for the record. The relevant regulations of an autonomous prefecture or autonomous county shall be submitted to the standing committee of the provincial or autonomous region's people's congress for approval before coming into effect, and shall also be submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for the record.

Article 33 The State Council may, in accordance with this Law, formulate measures for its implementation.

Article 34 This Law shall go into effect as of April 1, 1992.

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Compulsory Education Law of the People's Republic of China

(Adopted at the Fourth Session of the Sixth National People's Congress, and effective as of July 1, 1986)

Article 1 This Law is formulated, in accordance with the Constitution and the actual conditions in China, for the purpose of promoting elementary education and the building of a socialist society that is advanced culturally and ideologically as well as materially.

Article 2 The State shall institute a system of nine-year compulsory education. The authorities of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall decide on measures to promote compulsory education, in accordance with the degree of economic and cultural development in their own localities.

Article 3 In compulsory education, the state policy on education must be implemented to improve the quality of instruction and enable children and adolescents to achieve all-round development - morally, intellectually and physically, so as to lay the foundation for improving the quality of the entire nation and for cultivating well-educated and self-disciplined builders of socialism with high ideals and moral integrity.

Article 4 The State, the community, schools and families shall, in accordance with the Law, safeguard the right to compulsory education of school-age children and adolescents.

Article 5 All children who have reached the age of six shall enrol in school and receive compulsory education for the prescribed number of years, regardless of sex, nationality or race. In areas where that is not possible, the beginning of schooling may be postponed to the age of seven.

Article 6 Schools shall promote the use of putonghua (common speech based on Beijing pronunciation), which is in common use throughout the nation.
Schools in which the majority of students are of minority nationalities may use the spoken and written languages of those nationalities in instruction.

Article 7 Compulsory education shall be divided into two stages: primary school education and junior middle school education. Once primary education has been made universal, junior middle school education shall follow. The department in charge of education under the State Council shall decide on the duration of each stage.

Article 8 Under the leadership of the State Council, local authorities shall assume responsibility for compulsory education, and it shall be administered at different levels.
The department in charge of education under the State Council shall, in accordance with the needs of the socialist modernization and with the physical and mental development of children and adolescents, decide on the teaching methods, the courses to be offered and their content, and the selection of textbooks for compulsory education.

Article 9 Local people's governments at various levels shall establish primary schools and junior middle schools at such locations that children and adolescents can attend schools near their homes. Local people's governments shall establish special schools (or classes) for children and adolescents who are blind, deaf-mute or retarded. The State shall encourage enterprises, institutions and other segments of society to establish schools of the types prescribed by this Law, under unified administration by local people's governments and in compliance with the basic requirements of the State.
Appropriate facilities for compulsory education must be included in the plans for construction and development of both urban and rural areas.

Article 10 The State shall not charge tuition for students receiving compulsory education.
The State shall establish a system of grants-in-aid to support the school attendance of poor students.

Article11 When children have reached school age, their parents or guardians shall send them to school to receive compulsory education for the prescribed number of years.
If, on account of illness or other special circumstances, school-age children or adolescents need to postpone enrollment or be exempted from schooling, their parents or guardians shall submit an application to that effect to the local people's government for approval.
No organization or individual shall employ school-age children or adolescents who should receive compulsory education.

Article 12 The State Council and the local people's governments at various levels shall be responsible for raising funds for the operating expenses and capital construction investment needed for the implementation of compulsory education, and the funds must be fully guaranteed.

State appropriations for compulsory education shall increase at a faster rate than regular state revenues, and the average expenditure on education per student shall also increase steadily.

In accordance with the provisions of the State Council, the local people's governments at various levels shall levy a surtax for education, which shall be used mainly for compulsory education.

The State shall subsidize those areas that are unable to introduce compulsory education because of financial difficulties.
The State shall encourage individuals and all segments of society to make donations to help develop education.
The State shall assist areas inhabited by minority nationalities to implement compulsory education by providing them with teachers and funds.

Article 13 The State shall take measures to strengthen and develop normal schools and colleges in order to accelerate the training of teachers, so as to ensure, in a planned way, that all primary school teachers have received at least secondary normal school education and that all junior middle school teachers have received at least higher normal school education.
The State shall establish a system to test the qualifications of teachers and shall issue qualification certificates to those who pass the test. All graduates of normal schools and colleges must engage in educational work, as required by the relevant regulations. The State shall encourage teachers to make education their long-term career.

Article 14 Teachers should be respected by the public. The State shall safeguard the teachers' lawful rights and interests, and take measures to raise their social status and improve their material benefits. It shall reward outstanding educational workers.
Teachers should be committed to the cause of socialist education, endeavour to raise their own ideological and cultural levels as well as professional competence, show concern for their students and be devoted to their duties.

Article 15 The local people's governments at various levels must create conditions for all school-age children and adolescents to enrol in schools and receive compulsory education. In cases where school-age children or adolescents do not enrol in school and receive compulsory education, with the exception of those who, on account of illness or other special circumstances, are allowed by the local people's governments not to go to school, the local people's governments shall admonish and criticize the parents or guardians of those children or adolescents, and adopt effective measures to order them to send the children or wards to school.
In cases where organizations or individuals employ school-age children or adolescents for work, the local people's governments shall admonish and criticize them and shall order them to stop such employment. In serious cases, the offenders may be fined, ordered to suspend their business operations or have their business licences revoked.

Article 16 No organization or individual may appropriate, withhold or misuse funds earmarked for compulsory education, disrupt order in education, or occupy or damage school buildings, grounds or facilities. It shall be forbidden to insult or assault teachers. It shall be forbidden to inflict physical punishment on students.
No one may make use of religion to engage in activities which interfere with the implementation of compulsory education.
Persons who violate the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs shall be subject to administrative sanctions or penalties depending on the circumstances. In case damage is caused, the offender shall be ordered to make compensation. If the circumstances are serious and a crime is committed, criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with the Law.

Article 17 The department in charge of education under the State Council shall, in accordance with this Law, formulate rules for its implementation, which shall come into force after being submitted to and approved by the State Council.
The standing committees of the people's congresses of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government may formulate specific measures for implementation in accordance with this Law and their local conditions.

Article 18 This Law shall go into effect as of July 1, 1986.

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Trade Union Law of the People's Republic of China (Excerpts)

(Adopted at the Fifth Session of the Seventh National People's Congress on April 3, 1992, revised in accordance with the Decision on Amending the Trade Union Law of the People's Republic of China made at the 24th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on October 27, 2001)

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 3 All manual and mental workers in enterprises, institutions and government departments within the territory of China who rely on wages or salaries as their main source of income, irrespective of their nationality, race, sex, occupation, religious belief or educational background have the right to organize or join trade unions according to law. No organizations or individuals shall obstruct or restrict them.

Chapter II Trade Union Organization

Article 10 A basic-level trade union committee shall be set up in an enterprise, an institution or a government department with a membership of twenty-five or more; where the membership is less than twenty-five, a basic-level trade union committee may be separately set up, or a basic-level trade union committee may be set up jointly by the members in two or more work units, or an organizer may be elected, to organize the members in various activities. Where female workers and staff members are relatively large in number, a trade union committee for female workers and staff members may be set up, which shall carry out its work under the leadership of the trade union at the corresponding level; where they are relatively small in number, there may be a member in charge of the female workers and staff members on a trade union committee.

In townships, towns or in urban neighborhoods, where workers and staff members of enterprises are relatively large in number, joint basic-level trade union federations may be set up.

Local trade union federations shall be established in places at or above the county level.

Industrial trade unions may be formed, when needed, at national or local levels for a single industry or several industries of a similar nature. The All-China Federation of Trade Unions shall be established as the unified national organization.

Chapter III Rights and Obligations of Trade Unions

Article 22 If an enterprise or institution, in violation of laws and regulations on labour, infringes upon the labour rights and interests of the workers and staff members in any of the following ways, the trade union shall, on behalf of the workers and staff members, make representations to the enterprise or institution and demand that it take measures for rectification; the enterprise or institution shall review and handle the matter, and give a reply to the trade union; if the enterprise or institution refuses to make rectification, the trade union may apply to the local people's government for a decision according to law:
(1) embezzling part of the wages of the workers and staff members;
(2) failing to provide occupational safety and health conditions;
(3) arbitrarily extending working hours;
(4) infringing upon the special rights and interests of female workers and staff members as well as the minor workers; or
(5) seriously infringing upon other labour rights and interests of the workers and staff members.