China's Law on Heretical Cults, 1999

Explanations of the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate concerning laws applicable to handeling cases of organizations and employing heretical cult organizations to committ crimes

(Adopted at the 1079th Meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court on October 9, 1999 and at the 47th Meeting of the Ninth Procuratorial Committee of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on October 8, 1999)

SUBJECT: RELIGION; CULTS

ISSUING-DEPT: SUPREME PEOPLE'S COURT

ISSUE-DATE: 10/08/1999

IMPLEMENT-DATE: 10/08/1999

LENGTH: 1525 words

TEXT:

(Adopted at the 1079th Meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court on October 9, 1999 and at the 47th Meeting of the Ninth Procuratorial Committee of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on October 8, 1999)

To punish according to law the crimes of organizing and employing heretical cult organizations to engage in criminal activities, and in line with related regulations of the Criminal Law, the following explanations on several issues in relation to specific laws applicable to handling such cases are hereby made:

1: "Heretical cult organizations" in Article 300 of the Criminal Law refer to those illegal organizations that have been established under the guise of religion, qigong or other forms, deifying their leading members, enchanting and deceiving others by concocting and spreading superstitious fallacies, recruiting and controlling their members, and endangering the society.

2: Punishment shall be determined and meted out to those who organize and employ heretical cult organizations and have engaged in any of the following activities according to Article 300, Item 1 of the Criminal Law:

1. assembling crowds to besiege and charge State organs, enterprises or institutions, and disrupt their work, production, operation, teaching or research activities;

2. holding illegal assemblies, parades and demonstrations, or inciting, deceiving and organizing their members or others to gather together to besiege, charge, seize or disrupt public places or venues for religious activities, or disrupt social order;

3. resisting departments concerned to ban their organizations, or resuming the banned organizations or establishing other heretical cult organizations, or continuing their heretical cult activities;

4. instigating, deceiving and organizing their members or others to refuse to fulfill their legal obligations, with the case being serious;

5. publishing, printing, duplicating and distributing publications spreading cult fallacies, and printing symbols of heretical cult organizations;

6. other activities that violate State laws and administrative regulations.

A case shall be regarded as "especially serious" if it involves any of the following while conducting the above-mentioned activities:

1. setting up organizations or recruiting members across provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government;

2. collaborating with overseas agencies, organizations or individuals to engage in heretical cult activities;

3. publishing, printing, duplicating and distributing publications spreading cult fallacies, and printing symbols of heretical cult organizations, involving a huge amount of copies and sales values;

4. instigating, deceiving and organizing their members or others to violate State laws and administrative regulations, resulting in serious consequences.

3: Cases of setting up and employing heretical cult organizations to deceive others and cause deaths in Article 300, Item 2 in the Criminal Law refer to cases of establishing and using heretical cult organizations to concoct and spread superstitious fallacies, deceive their members or others into practicing fasts and inflicting wounds and ill?treatment on themselves, or prevent patients from taking normal medical treatment, resulting in deaths.

A case shall be regarded as "especially serious" if it involves any of the following:

1. causing three or more deaths;

2. causing fewer than three deaths are caused, but serious injuries to many people;

3. reestablishing and using heretical cult organizations to deceive others and cause deaths after having already received criminal or administrative penalties for engaging in heretical cult activities;

4. causing other especially serious consequences.

4: Those who establish and use cult organizations to concoct and spread superstitious fallacies, and instigate and coerce their members or others to commit suicide or inflict wounds on themselves, shall be deemed to have committed intentional homicide or intentional harming and be punished according to the provisions in Articles 232 and 234 of the Criminal Law.

5: Those who organize and use heretical cult organizations to sexually exploit women or young girls by seducing, coercing, deceiving or other ways using superstitious fallacies, shall be deemed to have committed rape or raping underage girls and be punished according to the provisions in Article 236 of the Criminal Law.

6: Those who organize and use heretical cult organizations and swindle money and property from others by various deceiving means, shall be deemed to have committed swindle and be punished according to the provisions in Article 266 of the Criminal Law.

7: Those who establish and use heretical cult organizations to organize, plot, carry out and instigate activities to split the country, endanger national unification, or subvert State power and overthrow the socialist system, shall be convicted of crimes and be punished according to the provisions in Articles 103, 105 and 113 of the Criminal Law.

8: All the money and property collected through various means by heretical cult organizations and the criminal offenders who establish and use heretical cult organizations to disrupt the implementation of laws, and tools and publicity materials used for criminal activities shall be confiscated according to law.

9: Organizers, plotters and leaders who establish and use cult organizations for criminal activities and the enthusiastic participants who refuse to mend their ways despite repeated admonition shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to the provisions in the Criminal Law and these Explanations. Those who have confessed their crimes or made contributions to the investigations, may be dealt with leniently, given reduced terms of a sentence or exempted from punishment in accordance with the law.

3. publishing, printing, duplicating and distributing publications spreading cult fallacies, and printing symbols of heretical cult organizations, involving a huge amount of copies and sales values;

4. instigating, deceiving and organizing their members or others to violate State laws and administrative regulations, resulting in serious consequences.

3: Cases of setting up and employing heretical cult organizations to deceive others and cause deaths in Article 300, Item 2 in the Criminal Law refer to cases of establishing and using heretical cult organizations to concoct and spread superstitious fallacies, deceive their members or others into practicing fasts and inflicting wounds and ill?treatment on themselves, or prevent patients from taking normal medical treatment, resulting in deaths.

A case shall be regarded as "especially serious" if it involves any of the following:

1. causing three or more deaths;

2. causing fewer than three deaths are caused, but serious injuries to many people;

3. reestablishing and using heretical cult organizations to deceive others and cause deaths after having already received criminal or administrative penalties for engaging in heretical cult activities;

4. causing other especially serious consequences.

4: Those who establish and use cult organizations to concoct and spread superstitious fallacies, and instigate and coerce their members or others to commit suicide or inflict wounds on themselves, shall be deemed to have committed intentional homicide or intentional harming and be punished according to the provisions in Articles 232 and 234 of the Criminal Law.

5: Those who organize and use heretical cult organizations to sexually exploit women or young girls by seducing, coercing, deceiving or other ways using superstitious fallacies, shall be deemed to have committed rape or raping underage girls and be punished according to the provisions in Article 236 of the Criminal Law.

6: Those who organize and use heretical cult organizations and swindle money and property from others by various deceiving means, shall be deemed to have committed swindle and be punished according to the provisions in Article 266 of the Criminal Law.

7: Those who establish and use heretical cult organizations to organize, plot, carry out and instigate activities to split the country, endanger national unification, or subvert State power and overthrow the socialist system, shall be convicted of crimes and be punished according to the provisions in Articles 103, 105 and 113 of the Criminal Law.

8: All the money and property collected through various means by heretical cult organizations and the criminal offenders who establish and use heretical cult organizations to disrupt the implementation of laws, and tools and publicity materials used for criminal activities shall be confiscated according to law.

9: Organizers, plotters and leaders who establish and use cult organizations for criminal activities and the enthusiastic participants who refuse to mend their ways despite repeated admonition shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to the provisions in the Criminal Law and these Explanations. Those who have confessed their crimes or made contributions to the investigations, may be dealt with leniently, given reduced terms of a sentence or exempted from punishment in accordance with the law.

Those who were deceived or coerced into heretical cult organizations and have already withdrawn from such organizations and no longer participate in heretical cult activities shall not be dealt with as offenders.