Public security bureau (China)

A public security bureau (PSB; Chinese: 公安局; pinyin: gōng'ānjú) in China refers to a government office essentially acting as a police station or a local or provincial police; the smallest police stations are called police posts (Chinese: 派出所; pinyin: pàichūsuǒ). The PSB system is similar in concept to the Japanese Kōban system, and is present in each province and municipality. Typically, a PSB handles policing, public security, and social order. Other duties include residence registration ("hukou") and internal and external migration matters, such as the registration of temporary residents (including both foreign and domestic visitors).

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The system of public security bureaus is administered by the Ministry of Public Security, which co-ordinates the work of provincial public security bureaus that are also answerable to the local governments and branches of the Communist Party of China. Provincial public security bureaus in turn administer county or district level public security sub-bureaus and branch bureaus, which perform a role similar to larger police stations.[1] The lowest level outposts are police posts, which perform a role similar to small local police stations.

The network of public security bureaus and the Ministry of Public Security should not be confused with the separate but parallel network of state security bureaus, administered at the national level by the Ministry of State Security, which is responsible for external and internal intelligence, and performs a "secret police" role. The two systems are administratively separate, although at local levels they co-operate to a large extent and often share resources.

Most major Chinese cities will have a PSB assigned to deal with local security needs. Each province, municipality and autonomous region (excluding the special administrative regions of Macau and Hong Kong, which have their own police forces, the Hong Kong Police Force and the Public Security Police Force of Macau) has a provincial-level Public Security Department (Chinese: 公安厅; pinyin: Gōng'āntīng) or municipal PSB to deal with provincial security issues.

In 2016, the Xinjiang PSB signed a partnership agreement with Huawei.[2] In 2019, the same PSB and of its subordinate municipal PSBs were sanctioned by the U.S. Government for their role in human rights abuses against the Uyghurs.[3]

Roles and responsibilities

  • Fire Services
  • Traffic
  • VIP Protection
  • Immigration and Visitor Affairs
  • Public security
  • Crime Control
  • Public Safety and Information

See also

References

  1. Wang, Xiaohai (2015-04-23). Empowerment on Chinese Police Force's Role in Social Service. Springer. p. 171. ISBN 978-3-662-45614-9.
  2. "Mapping more of China's tech giants: AI and surveillance". Australian Strategic Policy Institute. 28 November 2019. Archived from the original on 21 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  3. Shepardson, David (2019-10-07). "U.S. puts Hikvision, Chinese security bureaus on economic blacklist". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2019-10-07. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
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