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Order No. 10 of the People’s Republic of China: The Amendment (VII) to the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China was adopted at the 7th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China on February 28, 2009. It is hereby promulgated and shall come into force as of the date of promulgation. People’s Republic of China *** February 28, 2009 Amendment (VII) to the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China (adopted at the 7th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People’s Congress on February 29, 2009) Article 151, Paragraph 3 of the Criminal Law is amended to read: “Those who smuggle rare plants and their products, as well as other goods and items whose import and export are prohibited, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention, and shall also, or shall only, be fined.” ； In serious cases, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years and shall also be fined. ” II. Paragraph 1 of Article 180 of the Criminal Law shall be amended to read as follows: “Any person who is aware of insider information regarding securities or futures transactions, or who obtains such insider information illegally, buys or sells such securities before information related to the issuance of securities, securities or futures transactions, or other information that has a significant impact on the prices of securities or futures transactions is made public, engages in futures transactions related to such insider information, discloses such information, or explicitly or implicitly advises others to engage in the aforementioned transaction activities, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention, and shall also, or shall only, be fined not less than one time but not more than five times the amount of illegal gains.” ； In cases of particularly serious circumstances, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than ten years, and shall also be fined not less than one time but not more than five times the amount of illegal gains. ” Add a new paragraph as the fourth one: \"Employees of financial institutions such as stock exchanges, futures exchanges, securities companies, futures brokerage firms, fund management companies, commercial banks, and insurance companies, as well as staff from relevant regulatory authorities or industry associations, who, taking advantage of the inside information they obtain through their positions, along with other undisclosed information, engage in securities or futures trading activities related to such information in violation of regulations, or who explicitly or implicitly urge others to carry out such trading activities, shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph if the circumstances are serious.\" ” III. Article 201 of the Criminal Law shall be amended to read: “If a taxpayer uses deceptive or concealment tactics to file false tax returns or fails to file such returns, thereby evading payment of taxes in an amount that is significant and constitutes more than 10 percent of the tax due, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention, and shall also be fined.” ； If the amount is substantial and accounts for more than 30% of the tax payable, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years, and shall also be fined. “If a withholding agent uses the methods listed in the preceding paragraph to fail to pay or underpay the taxes that have been withheld or collected, and the amount involved is significant, it shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph. “If the acts mentioned in the preceding two paragraphs are committed multiple times without being dealt with, the amount shall be calculated on a cumulative basis. “In the case of the first type of behavior, after the tax authority issues a notice requiring payment in accordance with the law, the taxpayer shall pay the outstanding taxes and any late fees; if administrative penalties have already been imposed, criminal liability will not be pursued ； However, this does not apply to those who have been subject to criminal penalties for tax evasion within five years, or who have received more than two administrative penalties from the tax authorities. ” IV. After Article 224 of the Criminal Law, an additional article shall be added as Article 224-1: “Whoever organizes or leads a pyramid scheme that, under the pretext of business activities such as selling goods or providing services, requires participants to pay fees or purchase goods or services in order to obtain membership, forms hierarchical structures in a certain order, and directly or indirectly uses the number of recruits as the basis for determining compensation or rebates, thereby luring or coercing participants to recruit others, defrauding property, and disrupting economic and social order, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention, and shall also be fined.” ； In serious cases, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years and shall also be fined. ” V. Amend Item 3 of Article 225 of the Criminal Law to read: “Those who engage in securities, futures, or insurance business illegally without the approval of the **relevant competent authorities, or those who engage in fund payment and settlement services illegally” ； ” VI. Article 239 of the Criminal Law shall be amended to read: “Whoever abducts another person for the purpose of extorting property, or abducts another person as a hostage, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years or life imprisonment, and shall also be fined or have his property confiscated.” ； For less serious cases, the penalty is fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than ten years, along with a fine. “Whoever commits the crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph, resulting in the death of the abducted person or the murder of such person, shall be sentenced to death and have their property confiscated. “Those who steal infants and toddlers for the purpose of extorting property shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs. ” VII. An article shall be added after Article 253 of the Criminal Law as Article 253-1: “**Employees of government agencies or financial, telecommunications, transportation, educational, medical, and other institutions who, in violation of relevant regulations, sell or illegally provide to others the personal information of citizens obtained by their institutions in the course of performing their duties or providing services, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention, and shall also, or shall only, be fined.**” “Whoever steals or otherwise obtains such information illegally, if the circumstances are serious, shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph. “Where a unit commits the crimes mentioned in the preceding two paragraphs, it shall be fined, and the persons in charge who are directly responsible for it as well as other persons directly responsible shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of those respective paragraphs. ” VIII. An article shall be added after Article 262-1 of the Criminal Law as Article 262-2: “Whoever organizes minors to engage in activities such as theft, fraud, robbery, extortion, or other activities that violate public order management shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention, and shall also be fined.” ； In serious cases, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years and shall also be fined. ” IX. Add two paragraphs as Paragraph 2 and Paragraph 3 to Article 285 of the Criminal Law: “Whoever, in violation of **provisions, intrudes into a computer information system other than those specified in the preceding paragraph or uses other technical means to obtain data stored, processed, or transmitted in such a computer information system, or exercises illegal control over such a computer information system, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention, and shall also, or shall only, be fined” ； In cases of particularly serious circumstances, the penalty is fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years, along with a fine. “Those who provide programs or tools specifically designed for intruding into or illegally taking control of computer information systems, or who provide such programs or tools to others knowing that they are going to use them to carry out illegal acts of intruding into or illegally controlling computer information systems, and where the circumstances are serious, shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph. ” 10. Add a paragraph as Paragraph 2 to Article 312 of the Criminal Law: “Where a unit commits the crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph, it shall be fined, and the persons in charge who are directly responsible for it as well as other persons directly responsible shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.” ” 11. Paragraph 1 of Article 337 of the Criminal Law shall be amended to read: “Whoever violates the **provisions regarding the prevention and quarantine of animals and plants, thereby causing a serious epidemic among animals and plants, or poses a risk of causing such an epidemic and the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention, and shall also, or shall only, be fined.” ” 12. Amendment to Paragraph 2 of Article 375 of the Criminal Law: “Those who illegally produce or trade in standard uniforms for armed forces, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance, and shall also be fined or solely fined.” ” Add a new clause as the third one: \"Those who forge, steal, buy, sell, or illegally provide or use special identifiers such as vehicle license plates of armed forces, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance, and shall also be fined or solely fined\" ； In cases of particularly serious circumstances, the penalty is fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years, along with a fine. ” The original third paragraph shall become the fourth paragraph, and shall be revised to read: “Where a unit commits the crimes specified in the second or third paragraphs, it shall be fined, and the persons in charge who are directly responsible for such crimes as well as other persons directly liable shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of those respective paragraphs.” ” 13. After Article 388 of the Criminal Law, an additional article shall be added as Article 388-1: “**Close relatives of a public official or other persons who have a close relationship with such official, by taking advantage of the official’s duties, or by utilizing the advantages resulting from the official’s powers or position, and through the actions of other public officials, seek improper benefits for the person who requests such favors, by demanding or accepting property from that person; if the amount involved is significant or there are other serious circumstances, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention, and shall also be fined.**” ； If the amount involved is huge or there are other serious circumstances, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years and shall also be fined ； If the amount involved is especially large or there are other especially serious circumstances, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than seven years, and shall also be fined or have their property confiscated. “If the **former employee, or their close relatives or other persons with a close relationship to them, take advantage of the advantages resulting from the former employee’s former powers or position to commit the acts mentioned in the preceding paragraph, they shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of that paragraph. ” 14. Amendment to Paragraph 1 of Article 395 of the Criminal Law: \"If a **public official’s assets and expenses significantly exceed his lawful income, with a large discrepancy, such official may be ordered to explain the source of the funds. If he is unable to do so, the discrepancy shall be regarded as illegal income, and he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention.\" ； If the difference is particularly large, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than ten years. The difference in the property value shall be recovered. ” 15. This amendment shall come into force as of the date of its publication.