The Ministry of Public Security was among the first government organs established in the PRC. It superseded the Ministry of Public Security of the CCP'sCentral Military Commission (CMC), a transitional body created in July 1949 by removing the security service remit from the CCP'sCentral Social Affairs Department (SAD). The MPS began operations on 1 November 1949, at the end of a two-week-long National Conference of Senior Public Security Cadres. Most of its initial staff of less than 500 cadres came from the (former) regional CCP North China Department of Social Affairs. At the national level, its creation signaled the formal abolition of the SAD. The ministry moved to its present location, in the heart of the one-time foreign legation quarters inBeijing, in the spring of 1950.[2]
The MPS's Guangzhou office historically handled foreign spies such asLarry Wu-tai Chin.[10]
With the creation of theMinistry of State Security (MSS) in July 1983, MPS lost much of its counterintelligence personnel and remit.[10] Scholars Jichang Lulu and Filip Jirouš have argued that the establishment of the MSS "may have contributed to the illusion that the MPS is simply a law-enforcement police body, separate from intelligence agencies."[11] According to analystAlex Joske, "the MPS lost much of its foreign intelligence remit after the MSS's creation, but has established new units for cross-border clandestine operations since then."[10] The MPS remains a commonly used cover by MSS officers.[12]
MPS has at times been involved in security diplomacy between China and other countries.[20]: 219–220 For example, between 1997 and 2020, it organized 11 bilateral police diplomacy meetings with African countries.[20]: 220 UnderXi Jinping'sgeneral secretaryship, the MPS has increased its training of police officers from other countries.[20]: 241
In 2022, it was reported that the MPS had established numerousoverseas police service stations, which sparked investigations by law enforcement organs in multiple countries.[21][22][23] In 2023, theUnited States Department of Justice stated that the MPS engages in covert "intelligence and national security operations far beyond China's borders," including "illicit,transnational repression schemes".[24] It charged 34 MPS officers with using fake social media accounts to harass overseas dissidents.[25]
In 2022, disinformation operations known asSpamouflage or "Dragonbridge" were linked to the MPS.[26] In February 2024, files fromI-Soon, an MPS contractor used for hacking, were leaked publicly.[27] In the run-up to the2024 United States elections, Spamouflage was identified as having used fake social media accounts in an attempt to amplify divisions in US society.[28]
The Ministry of Public security is the main police agency of China. It manages the vast majority of thePeople's Police.[29] The ministry's functions and responsibilities include criminal investigations, managing detention centers, counterterrorism, counternarcotics, transport security, traffic safety, anti-smuggling intelligence gathering and maintainingpublic security.[29][30]: 40 Additionally, conductingcounterintelligence and maintaining the political security of theChinese Communist Party (CCP) remain its core functions.[31] It has the primary authority for preventingcyberattacks and it operates theGolden Shield Project.[30]: 143
The ministry is headed by theminister of public security.Wang Xiaohong has been the minister in charge since June 2022.[32] The MPS is organized into functional departments (see below). Subordinate to the MPS are the provincial- and municipal-level PSB's (Public Security Bureau) and sub-bureaus at the county and urban district levels. At the grassroots level, finally, there are police stations (Chinese:派出所;pinyin:Pàichūsuǒ) which serve as the direct point of contact between police and ordinary citizens.[29] While public security considerations have weighed heavily at all levels of administration since the founding of the PRC, the police are perceived by some outside observers to wield progressively greater influence at lower levels of government. Provincial public security bureaus are subject to dual supervision by both local provincial governments and the central government.[33] The ministry is also closely associated with the development of surveillance technologies used by police in China through the Third Research Institute (Chinese:第三研究所;pinyin:Dì-sān Yánjiūsuǒ;lit. 'No. 3 Research Institute') focused on the development of AI based “smart surveillance,” and censorship technologies.[34]
On 5 March 1989, the MPS issued the "Notice on Issuing the 'Three Rules' Program of the Ministry of Public Security." In order to facilitate the work, the bureaus and departments of the MPS were re-numbered into the first, second, third bureau model. These serial numbers are only used for the public security functional organs. Offices, services, research centers, political departments, etc. do not use serial numbers.[35][36][37]
According to the July 2019 "Provisions on the Functions, Internal Structure, and Staffing of the Ministry of Public Security" (Chinese:公安部职能配置、内设机构和人员编制规定), the MPS is organized into the following institutions:[38]
Eachprovincial-level unit has aPublic Security Department (公安厅), or for direct-rule Municipalities a Public Security Bureau with provincial department rank, whose head is appointed by the local People's Government and approved by the MPS.[95]
The journalPublic Security Construction （Chinese:公安建设;pinyin:Gōng'ān jiànshè) was a classified serial publication for internal purposes.[4] During the disastrousGreat Leap Forward between 1958 and 1961, the circularPublic Security Work Bulletin (Chinese:公安工作简报;pinyin:Gōng'ān gōngzuò jiǎnbào) was atop-secret serial which often described China's serious food shortages, social unrest and famine directly contradictingMao Zedong's claims of "bountiful economic fruit".[98][4]
MPS also produces another journal,People's Public Security News (Chinese:人民公安报;pinyin:Rénmín gōng'ān Bào), and a website, China Police Daily (Chinese:中国警察网;pinyin:Zhōngguó Jǐngchá Wǎng), for both internal communication and external publicity.[4][99]
^Wang Zhongfang, "Gonganbu shi zemyang chenglide," in Zhu Chunlin (ed.)Lishi shunjian (Beijing: Qunzhong chubanshe, 1999), Vol. 1, pp. 3–16.
^abGuo, Xuezhi (2012). "From the Social Affairs Department to Ministry of Public Security".China's Security State: Philosophy, Evolution, and Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 64–105.doi:10.1017/cbo9781139150897.003.ISBN978-1-139-15089-7.OCLC1277069527.
^"公安部启动儿童失踪信息紧急发布平台，信息精准推送相关人群" [The Ministry of Public Security has launched an emergency platform for releasing information on missing children, accurately pushing information to relevant groups].The Paper (in Chinese).
^Zhang, Haihua (March 6, 2016)."武警部队历史沿革" [History of the People's Armed Police].Chinese Military. Archived fromthe original on November 30, 2024. RetrievedApril 2, 2025.
^abcdeLulu, Jichang; Jirouš, Filip (February 21, 2022)."Back to the Cheka: The Ministry of Public Security's political protection work"(PDF).Sinopsis.Archived(PDF) from the original on February 21, 2022. RetrievedMarch 2, 2022.The CCP security apparatus exploits foreign perceptions of the MPS as equivalent to their own police to further its state security mission. Foreign judiciaries and law enforcement agencies cooperating with the MPS and other organs in the CCP political and legal system become ancillary to the protection of the party's political security.
^abcdeChang [張起厚], Chi-Hou (March 1, 2022)."中共公安部的序列號職能局" [The Study of Mainland China’s MPS Organization](PDF).展望與探索 (Prospect and Exploration).9–3 (99):99–121.Archived(PDF) from the original on September 23, 2020. RetrievedMarch 21, 2025 – via Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau of the Republic of China (法務部調查局).
^"全国公安情报指挥部门——心系"国之大者" 全天候指挥中枢"耳聪目明"" [The National public security intelligence command departments - the core system of the "important matters of the country", all-weather command hubs with "sharp ears and keen eyes"].Ministry of Public Security. May 10, 2022. RetrievedMarch 21, 2025.
^"全国公安离退休干部服务部门——用心用力用情 为老同志办实事办好事" [National Public Security Retired Cadres Service Department - Do practical and good things for old comrades with heart, effort and affection].Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China (in Chinese). May 11, 2022. RetrievedMarch 21, 2025.
^"交通部长江航运公安局".www.gov.cn.Archived from the original on May 9, 2015. RetrievedMarch 21, 2025.
^"中央人民政府驻香港特别行政区联络办公室".Liaison Office of the Central People's Government at the Hong Kong S.A.R.Archived from the original on November 25, 2024. RetrievedMarch 21, 2025.
^"机构职能_中央政府驻澳门联络办公室".Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao S.A.R. RetrievedMarch 21, 2025.
^"啄木鸟杂志社".www.e-woodpecker.com.Archived from the original on February 6, 2025. RetrievedMarch 21, 2025.
^"公安部道路交通安全研究中心".China Road Safety Association (中国道路交通安全协会). December 24, 2021.Archived from the original on February 7, 2025. RetrievedMarch 21, 2025.
^"中心概况-公安部警用装备采购中心".Procurement Center for Police Equipment of the Ministry of Public Security.Archived from the original on November 11, 2024. RetrievedMarch 21, 2025.
^"农村中心到南京公安部警犬研究所调研服务类动物繁育科研现状" [The Rural Center arrives at Nanjing's Ministry of Public Security Police Dog Research Institute to investigate the status of research on the breeding of service animals].China Rural Technology Development Center. RetrievedMarch 22, 2025.
^"警犬技术学院（公安部沈阳警犬基地）简介".Criminal Investigation Police University of China 中国刑事警察学院. October 28, 2024.Archived from the original on September 10, 2024. RetrievedMarch 22, 2025.
^"公安部北戴河招待所".xunbiaobao.baidu.com. June 25, 2024. RetrievedMarch 22, 2025.
^"应急管理部大数据中心2024年度第一批次公开招聘工作人员公告".Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of the People's Republic of China [中华人民共和国人力资源和社会保障部]. December 5, 2023. RetrievedMarch 22, 2025.
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