rumors, insulting heroes and martyrs, watching but not reposting content from abroad, spreading pornography, part-time money laundering, forging documents to get loans, faking accidents to cheat on insurance claims, throwing objects from height, replica guns, drones, secret filming, the line between legally placing a child for adoption when you can't raise them and trafficking or abandonment, gambling, wild game, selling organs and finding donors for others; Items 24 and 25 are on copyright: unofficial Chinese localization, reposting and sharing cloud-drive files infringe even if you charge nothing, and running ads or charging membership fees can lead to a criminal sentence, and get permission first before publishing and selling fan fiction; the end of the section is that carrying a telescopic baton, stun gun or dagger when you go out, for self-defense, will get you penalized. Outcome type: personal freedom/money.
A 24B 2C 0
Money 1Personal freedom 25
This section tallies two accounts: your personal freedom, and your money. Ordinary people often think the things below are “no big deal,” but in fact they get you detained or fined, and the serious ones even get you sentenced. Each item gives the specific numbers in the statutes, along with cases published through official channels. The Public Security Administration Punishments Law (治安管理处罚法) cited in this section is the 2025 revision, in force from January 1, 2026; its article numbers differ from the old law's. For the Criminal Law (刑法), this section cites the consolidated text “as amended by Amendment XI to the Criminal Law” (根据刑法修正案（十一）修正) reposted by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Traffic Management Bureau, and the body text notes the corresponding amendment. The items are ordered from high to low by “easiest to cross by accident” plus “most severe consequences.”
The items in this section fall into the groups below by topic; the numbers in parentheses are item numbers.
Posting and reposting online: don't repost disaster news you can't verify (Item 1), don't repost content insulting heroes and martyrs (Item 2), close content on overseas websites once you've seen it (Item 3), don't post porn videos to group chats (Item 4).
Collecting money for others, loan fraud and insurance fraud: part-time jobs that use your own card to collect money (Item 5), dressing up paperwork to get loans (Item 6), don't withdraw money with a bank card you found (Item 7), claim promotions under your real identity (Item 8), don't lend out your ID card (Item 16), faking accidents to claim insurance (Item 21).
Small things in daily life: don't throw things out from balconies or windows (Item 9), don't buy replica guns online (Item 10), register a drone under your real name first (Item 11), when playing cards, don't take a cut or organize games (Item 13), don't eat wild animals (Item 14).
Conflicts and the police: don't hold people to collect a debt (Item 15), cooperate when the police stop you (Item 17), do the math before you hit someone (Item 19), don't carry a telescopic baton or a stun device for self-defense (Item 26).
Sex, children and the body: don't secretly photograph others (Item 12), no sexual relations with anyone under 14 (Item 18), if you can't raise a child, go through civil affairs registration (Item 20), don't sell your own organs (Item 22), soliciting prostitution means detention by default (Item 23).
Copyright and fan works: fan translations, reuploads and pirated e-books (Item 24), if you write fan fiction to sell, get permission first (Item 25).
Sources are reproduced exactly as they appear in the Chinese original, including Chinese titles of laws and quoted statutory text. Original Chinese text of this section at upstream commit bb25081, on GitHub.
In group chats, don't repost unverified news about disasters, epidemics or police incidents; don't photoshop images or use AI to fake scene photos
Value for cost High
In plain terms
If you know a message about a disaster, epidemic or police incident is false and pass it on anyway, the penalty is as heavy as if you had made it up yourself. It is the same even if you didn't make it up: detention of 5 to 10 days, plus a fine of 1000 yuan. If it throws social order into disarray, the sentence is up to 3 years; if it causes serious consequences, 3 to 7 years. Photoshopped images and AI-made fake scene photos both count as making it up yourself.
Cost
Costs nothing. Before reposting, take a look to see whether it is an official notice. If you're not sure, don't repost it, and don't edit the image or add “reportedly.” The hard part is holding back the urge to be the first to spread the news.
No moneyDone in passingSome willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Deliberately spreading rumors, or falsely reporting a dangerous situation, epidemic, disaster or police incident, and disrupting public order: detention of 5 to 10 days. A fine of up to 1000 yuan may be added. The less serious tier is detention of up to 5 days, or a fine of up to 1000 yuan. Fabricating a false dangerous situation, epidemic, disaster or police incident and spreading it online: a sentence of up to 3 years. Knowingly and deliberately spreading such false information falls in the same tier. The precondition is that it badly disrupts social order; the statute's wording is “seriously disrupting social order” (严重扰乱社会秩序). Where it causes serious consequences: 3 to 7 years (nationwide)
Evidence grade
A
Notes
Reposting something you know is false and making it up yourself fall under the same article the police apply. “I only reposted it” does not get you off. Photoshopped images and AI-generated fake scene photos count just the same as making it up yourself. In 2025 the Ministry of Public Security published several batches of typical cases of online rumors about disasters and dangerous situations. When this section was written the Ministry of Public Security website could not be reached, so no specific case is cited.
Don't post or repost images, memes or comments that insult heroes and martyrs; don't joke about the national flag or national anthem
Value for cost High
In plain terms
Joking about heroes and martyrs, the national flag or the national anthem: in lighter cases, detention of 5 to 10 days or a fine of 1000 to 3000 yuan. In more serious cases, detention of 10 to 15 days. Where it constitutes a crime, a sentence of up to 3 years. One person posted 2 messages disparaging Yuan Longping in a 499-member village WeChat group and was sentenced to 6 months of public surveillance; the person was not locked up, but their freedom of movement was restricted.
Cost
Costs nothing. On content involving heroes and martyrs, the national flag, the national emblem or the national anthem: no comments, no image edits, no reposts. The hard part is holding back from adding a line when someone in the group chat runs with a joke.
No moneyDone in passingSome willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Infringing on the name, likeness, reputation or honor of heroes and martyrs by means such as insults or fabricated facts, and harming the public interest, is penalized at the following tier: detention of 5 to 10 days, or a fine of 1000 to 3000 yuan. Desecrating or denying the deeds and spirit of heroes and martyrs, or making and spreading speech, images, audio or video that glorify wars of aggression, and disrupting public order, is also at this tier. The more serious tier is detention of 10 to 15 days, and a fine of up to 5000 yuan may be added. At the “serious circumstances” tier it becomes a crime: a sentence of up to 3 years. Insulting the national flag or national emblem in public, or altering the lyrics or music of the national anthem or singing it in a distorted or disparaging way, also carries up to 3 years where circumstances are serious. Official cases: Xiao X posted 2 messages disparaging and insulting Yuan Longping in a 499-member village WeChat group and was sentenced to 6 months of public surveillance (管制, a penalty that does not put you in prison but restricts your freedom of movement). Qiu X, using a Weibo account with more than 2.5 million followers, posted 2 items distorting the deeds of the officers and soldiers who defend the country's borders, and was sentenced to 8 months and ordered to apologize publicly in national media (nationwide)
Evidence grade
A
Notes
This article of the Public Security Administration Punishments Law (治安管理处罚法) was only added in the 2025 revision. Before that, such conduct could only be handled under the Criminal Law, or through a civil public-interest lawsuit brought by the procuratorate. In the courts' eyes, a WeChat group of several hundred people counts as a public place.
Close content on overseas websites once you've seen it; don't screenshot it, repost it or move it into group chats, and don't chime in in the comments
Value for cost High
In plain terms
These statutes punish spreading, not viewing. Reposting, moving it into a group chat, or chiming in in the comments all count as spreading when a case is handled. If what you spread reaches the level of inciting subversion or inciting secession, the sentence is up to 5 years, and 5 years or more for those who lead it. Books and audio or video promoting terrorism or extremism are the exception: knowingly keeping them, where circumstances are serious, gets you a sentence of up to 3 years.
Cost
Costs nothing. Close the page and the matter ends there. Don't archive it, don't repost it, don't move it onto domestic platforms. Don't use an account that can be matched to your identity to post political content on overseas platforms over a long period. Don't accept writing fees or funding from overseas institutions, organizations or individuals either. The hard part is holding back from screenshotting and sharing when you see something eye-catching.
No moneyDone in passingSome willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Inciting others, by spreading rumors, slander or other means, to subvert state power or overthrow the socialist system: a sentence of up to 5 years. Those who lead it (the statute says “ringleaders,” 首要分子) or whose crimes are grave: 5 years or more, with a fixed-term prison sentence of at most 15 years. Inciting secession or undermining national unity carries the same sentences as above. Doing either of these in collusion with overseas institutions, organizations or individuals is punished more heavily. Where an institution, organization or individual inside or outside the country pays to fund others to do so, the person directly responsible gets up to 5 years, and 5 years or more where circumstances are serious. Stealing, spying out, buying or illegally providing state secrets or intelligence for overseas institutions, organizations or persons: 5 to 10 years. Within this offense, especially serious circumstances bring 10 years or more or life imprisonment, and less serious circumstances up to 5 years. Crimes endangering national security all carry an additional deprivation of political rights for 1 to 5 years; during those years the right to vote and eligibility to serve as a public official are both taken away. Confiscation of property may also be imposed, turning personal property over to the state. There are administrative penalty provisions too. No individual or organization may use the internet to engage in activities that endanger national security, honor or interests. Nor may they incite subversion of state power or the overthrow of the socialist system. Nor may they incite secession or undermine national unity. Publishing or transmitting such information is punished under the relevant laws and administrative regulations (nationwide). One further category is an offense even without spreading. Illegally holding material you know promotes terrorism or extremism is enough for a sentence where circumstances are serious. The material here includes books, audio and video materials, or other items. The sentence is a fixed-term prison sentence of up to 3 years, short-term detention (拘役) or public surveillance (管制, no confinement but restricted movement). A fine is imposed in addition or on its own: a fine along with the sentence, or possibly only a fine. The basis is Article 120-6 of the Criminal Law (刑法), added by Amendment IX to the Criminal Law (刑法修正案九).
Evidence grade
A
Notes
The legal provisions cited in this item punish inciting others, spreading, and providing to others; merely viewing is not among them. Terrorist and extremist material is an exception written into the statute: merely keeping it yourself can lead to conviction (Article 120-6), so never archive this category. If you see it, stop there: no screenshots saved, no reposting, no comments, no pulling others into reposting. Reposting and chiming in in the comments both count as spreading when a case is handled, and “I only reposted it” does not get you off. Content that comes from an overseas platform may also bring a heavier penalty. All the more, don't repost things you can't verify; see Item 1 of this section (don't repost unverified news). For how firewall-circumvention tools themselves are penalized, see Section 11, Item 11. Reposting this kind of content brings no real benefit at all, while the cost is prison time, deprivation of political rights and confiscation of property. Publicly findable cases of this kind appear only in overseas media and in documents released by family members; for example, a blogger who had long posted political commentary on overseas platforms was sentenced to 7 years in 2023. This book has not obtained a judgment that can be verified through official channels, so this item is written from the statutes only, with no case attached.
Watching porn videos yourself is your own business; don't post them to group chats, don't sell “resources,” don't start groups
Value for cost Very high
In plain terms
Watching them yourself is not in the penalty provisions. Posting them to a group once counts as spreading them to the whole group: detention of 10 to 15 days plus a fine of up to 5000 yuan, and a sentence of up to 2 years where circumstances are serious. Selling “resources” for money: up to 3 years, and at most life imprisonment. If you start a spreading group of 30 or more people, the creator, the admins and the main posters are all treated as committing a crime.
Cost
Costs nothing. Don't repost, don't save them to group files, and don't become the owner or admin of such a group.
No moneyDone in passingNo willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Spreading obscene information online: detention of 10 to 15 days, and a fine of up to 5000 yuan may be added. The less serious tier is detention of up to 5 days, or a fine of 1000 to 3000 yuan. Where the content involves minors, the penalty is heavier. Spreading obscene material at the “serious circumstances” tier: a sentence of up to 2 years. Selling or spreading it to make money: up to 3 years plus a fine. Within this offense, serious circumstances bring 3 to 10 years, and especially serious circumstances 10 years or more or life imprisonment. Setting up a group used mainly to spread obscene electronic information, with 30 or more members, is handled as a crime. So is one that causes serious consequences. The creator, the admins and the main posters are all convicted of the crime of spreading obscene material (nationwide)
Evidence grade
A
Notes
Both laws punish “spreading”; watching privately on your own is not in the provisions. But posting to a group once counts as spreading to the whole group. Exactly what quantity counts as “serious circumstances” is set by judicial interpretation; this section has not verified the specific figures.
If a “part-time job” wants you to use your own card to receive money, withdraw cash or make transfers, don't do it, however big the kickback
Value for cost Very high
In plain terms
What this kind of part-time job pays is a few hundred yuan; the cost is a record on file. One person took his ID card and 1 bank card to a designated place and helped with transfers and withdrawals, earning more than 500 yuan. The procuratorate did not prosecute him, but the police still detained him for 10 days and fined him 1000 yuan. Another person handed their own and other people's bank cards and phone SIM cards to a gang to collect money and withdraw cash, and was sentenced to 2 years 3 months and fined 22,000 yuan.
Cost
Costs nothing. Turn down this kind of “a few hundred paid daily, bring your card to the bank” work.
No moneyDone in passingNo willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Knowing that money or property came from a crime and still helping transfer, buy or sell it, or helping conceal it by other means: a sentence of up to 3 years, with a fine in addition or on its own (a fine along with the sentence, or possibly only a fine). Official cases: following instructions, Wang XX took his ID card and 1 bank card to a designated place and helped with transfers and withdrawals, earning more than 500 yuan. The procuratorate did not prosecute him; the police, under the Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud Law (反电信网络诈骗法), detained him for 10 days and fined him 1000 yuan. Man XX handed their own and other people's bank cards and phone SIM cards to a gang to collect money, transfer it and withdraw cash, and was sentenced to 2 years 3 months and fined 22,000 yuan (nationwide). It is the same if the money is converted into virtual currency and moved on: An XX and two others, following a telecom fraud gang's instructions, received money on their own bank cards, bought virtual currency with it on a trading platform, then transferred it to accounts the other side designated, taking a percentage commission. It was established that this included more than 500,000 yuan defrauded from victims. The three were convicted of concealing and disguising proceeds of crime and sentenced to between 2 years 8 months and 3 years 3 months, and each fined 30,000 to 40,000 yuan (Tongzhou, Beijing)
Evidence grade
A
Notes
For the consequences of lending your bank card to others or helping people “move money through their accounts” (跑分), see Section 8, Item 8 (lending your bank card). This item is about doing the withdrawals and transfers yourself. Receiving money, converting it into a virtual currency such as Tether and sending it on is the same thing. For why you can't get your money back when you lose it buying coins yourself, see Section 5, Item 45 (don't buy virtual currency). “I didn't know where the money came from” is not necessarily accepted when a case is handled. Absurdly high pay, being asked to do face verification for them, transactions that look abnormal any way you look at them: these alone can be enough to find that you actually knew. Even the lightest outcome is 10 days of detention plus a record on file.
If someone recruits you to take out loans with “dressed-up paperwork” for a kickback based on the loan amount, don't do any of it
Value for cost Very high
In plain terms
Helping people “dress up paperwork” to get loans and taking a cut is handled as fraud. One 126-person gang dressed up unemployed people as “high-quality customers” and obtained more than 30 million yuan in fraudulent loans from more than 80 banks. Those who signed in person got a kickback of 30% of the loan amount, and of the 80 already sentenced, 76 got 1 year 4 months to 6 years 6 months. Whoever's name the loan is in, the debt is theirs.
Cost
Costs nothing. Refuse outright. Don't lend your ID card or your own credit record for others to use, don't sign loan contracts you haven't read, and don't go to the bank to sign in person on someone else's behalf.
No moneyDone in passingNo willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Obtaining loans, bill acceptances, letters of credit, letters of guarantee and the like from a bank or other financial institution by deception, where this causes major losses to the bank or other financial institution: a sentence of up to 3 years. A fine is also imposed in addition or on its own: a fine along with the sentence, or possibly only a fine. Where it causes especially major losses or there are other especially serious circumstances: 3 to 7 years plus a fine. The threshold for the police to open a case and pursue it is a direct economic loss of 500,000 yuan or more. Never intending to repay, and obtaining a loan by deception with made-up reasons about bringing in funds or projects, fake business contracts, fake supporting documents or fake proof of property rights, is the crime of loan fraud. Under this offense a case is opened once 50,000 yuan is obtained, and the sentence is up to 5 years plus a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 yuan. A huge amount or other serious circumstances bring 5 to 10 years; an especially huge amount, 10 years or more, up to life imprisonment. Forging, altering, or buying or selling official documents, certificates or seals of state organs: up to 3 years, and 3 to 10 years where circumstances are serious. Official case: a 126-person gang, across 16 provinces and cities, dressed up unemployed people as “high-quality customers” and obtained more than 30 million yuan in fraudulent loans at more than 80 bank branches. The “credit-blank” people (白户) who fronted the loans got a kickback of 30% of the loan amount. The procuratorate prosecuted 105 “credit-blank” people. Of the 80 sentenced at first instance in 2026, 76 were convicted of loan fraud and sentenced to 1 year 4 months to 6 years 6 months plus fines. Another 4, because they withdrew cash for the gang, were convicted of both loan fraud and money laundering with combined punishment (the sentences for the two crimes counted together). These 4 were sentenced to 2 years 4 months to 7 years 6 months (nationwide). The crime of obtaining loans by deception in this item follows the text in force from March 2021 under Amendment XI to the Criminal Law (刑法修正案（十一）).
Evidence grade
A
Notes
“I meant to pay it back at the time” was not accepted in that case. The prosecutors established that these people had no jobs and no fixed assets, could not possibly repay, and had spent the money they received, and on that basis found that they had never intended to repay. Those who withdrew the money for the gang may also face an additional money-laundering charge. Whoever the loan is in the name of and whoever signed the contract is the borrower. Even if it isn't a crime, the debt and the entry on your credit record are still yours. Taking the money and fleeing abroad doesn't settle it either: if you hide after a case has been opened, you can still be pursued no matter how many years pass. People who have been sentenced and have not finished serving, and people currently being treated as a criminal suspect or defendant, are not allowed to leave the country. If a civil case has not been concluded, the court can bar you from leaving the country; if a judgment debtor does not comply, the court can also restrict their exit. For withdrawing cash and making transfers for others, see Item 5 of this section (a “part-time job” wants you to collect money on your own card); for how to find out whether someone has taken out a loan in your name, see Section 8, Item 9.
If you find a bank card, don't withdraw money with it; if you find a phone or wallet, contact the owner or hand it to the police, and don't pocket it
Value for cost Very high
In plain terms
If you keep something you found for your own use, the amount reaches “relatively large,” and you refuse to hand it over, the sentence is up to 2 years, and 2 to 5 years if the amount is huge. Using a found bank card to withdraw money at an ATM is more serious: it counts as fraudulently using someone else's credit card, and a relatively large amount brings up to 5 years plus a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 yuan. For withdrawals, the police open a case directly, without the owner having to file a complaint.
Cost
Costs nothing; a matter of a few minutes. Make a call to find the owner, or take the item to the police station.
No moneyDone in passingNo willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
If you find something someone else lost, you must return it to the owner, promptly notify them to come and collect it, or hand it over to the public security authorities or another such department. Keeping something another person left behind for your own use, where the amount reaches “relatively large” and you refuse to hand it over, constitutes the crime of unlawful appropriation (侵占罪): up to 2 years. A huge amount brings 2 to 5 years. Taking someone else's credit card that you found and using it at an ATM is “fraudulently using another person's credit card.” Where it amounts to a crime, it is handled as credit card fraud: a relatively large amount brings up to 5 years plus a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 yuan. A huge amount or other serious circumstances bring 5 to 10 years plus a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 yuan (nationwide)
Evidence grade
A
Notes
Unlawful appropriation is an offense “handled only upon complaint”: the owner has to sue in court themselves, and the police do not step in on their own. But withdrawing money with a found card is different: the owner doesn't need to complain, and the police open a case directly. Exactly how much money counts as “relatively large” is set by judicial interpretation; this section has not verified it. After the item has been handed over to the relevant department, the owner has to pay the safekeeping costs when collecting it (Article 317 of the Civil Code, 民法典).
Claim promotions under your own real identity; don't buy virtual numbers to register alt accounts in bulk, and don't exploit loopholes to claim repeatedly
Value for cost High
In plain terms
Using your own real identity to claim a coupon once per account is not within the scope of penalties. Registering fake users in bulk, or placing orders and accepting them yourself, to claim more is handled as fraud: obtaining 3000 yuan can bring a sentence of up to 3 years, and from 30,000 yuan, 3 to 10 years. One delivery rider farmed coupons with virtual numbers bought at 0.1 yuan each and cashed out more than 90,000 yuan; all 12 people in the case were sentenced.
Cost
Costs nothing. Give up the jobs in “freebie-hunting task groups” (羊毛任务群). If you find a loophole in a platform, don't touch it. The hard part is resisting treating promotions as income you can copy in bulk.
No moneyDone in passingSome willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Defrauding other people or public bodies of money or property: a relatively large amount brings up to 3 years, with a fine in addition or on its own (a fine along with the sentence, or possibly only a fine). A huge amount or other serious circumstances bring 3 to 10 years plus a fine. An especially huge amount or other especially serious circumstances bring 10 years or more or life imprisonment, plus a fine or confiscation of property. For the three tiers of relatively large, huge and especially huge, each province sets its local standard within the ranges below. Relatively large is 3000 yuan to 10,000 yuan or more. Huge is 30,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan or more, and especially huge is 500,000 yuan or more. Teaching the method to others or selling “tutorials” is sentenced as the crime of imparting criminal methods: up to 5 years, 5 to 10 years where circumstances are serious, and 10 years or more or life imprisonment where especially serious. Those upstream and downstream who buy and sell phone numbers and verification codes are sentenced for infringing citizens' personal information: up to 3 years, and 3 to 7 years where especially serious. Using bulk accounts, systems that switch network addresses automatically, and code-receiving platforms that receive SMS verification codes in bulk is in itself expressly prohibited by Article 14 of the Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud Law (反电信网络诈骗法). Illegally buying, selling, renting out or lending phone cards and internet accounts, and helping others pass real-name verification, are covered by Article 31. Violating Article 14: all the money earned is confiscated, plus a fine of 1 to 10 times the money earned. If nothing was earned, or less than 50,000 yuan, the fine is up to 500,000 yuan, and where circumstances are serious, detention of up to 15 days as well. Violating Article 31: the fine is likewise 1 to 10 times; if nothing was earned or less than 20,000 yuan, the fine is up to 200,000 yuan, and where circumstances are serious there is also detention of up to 15 days. Taking part in telecom and online fraud without enough for a criminal sentence: detention of 10 to 15 days. The money earned is confiscated, plus a fine of 1 to 10 times. If nothing was earned or less than 10,000 yuan, the fine is up to 100,000 yuan. Official case one: food-delivery rider Liu XX bought virtual phone numbers at 0.1 yuan each and registered them as new users on a platform. He claimed “15 off 29” new-user coupons to place orders, then resold the goods to small shops for cash. He also used the virtual numbers to invite one another, collecting rewards of 2 yuan to 20 yuan. He and fellow rider Tan XX obtained more than 90,000 yuan and more than 70,000 yuan respectively. The Yangpu District Procuratorate in Shanghai prosecuted 12 people for fraud, and the court handed down sentences ranging from 3 years 6 months to 3 months of short-term detention. Official case two: Wang X exploited the time gap between an online shop's refunds and its clawback of virtual lottery coins. He made 1156 refunds and took away 224 figurines, worth more than 249,000 yuan. He also turned them into cash on second-hand platforms; the court convicted him of fraud and sentenced him to 3 years suspended for 4 years, with a fine of 30,000 yuan. During the trial he returned the illicit gains and paid the fine in advance, 330,000 yuan in total. Official case three: a ride-hailing platform's new-user coupons and driver subsidies were taken through fake trips in which people “hailed a ride and accepted the order themselves,” across more than 70 cities in 19 provinces, amounting to more than 2 million yuan. The Longcheng District Procuratorate in Chaoyang, Liaoning prosecuted 163 people, all of whom were found guilty. The principal offenders, Huang X and Cai X, received combined punishment for fraud, infringing citizens' personal information and imparting criminal methods (the sentences for several crimes counted together), and were each sentenced to 3 years 6 months. Another 34 accessories whose circumstances were minor were not prosecuted by decision of the procuratorate, but were still referred to the police for administrative penalties (nationwide)
Evidence grade
A
Notes
The line is not “how much you sheared” but whether you made anything up. Taking part in a promotion under your own real identity, claiming once per account, and using the coupon on yourself: that is a discount the platform gives you. Registering fake users, fabricating transactions, or hiding that you have already been refunded, in order to claim more, means getting the other side to hand things over by making them believe it is real; that is found to be fraud, and the amount only decides how long the sentence is. Some people have sheared carmakers' free charging this way too. In August 2026 Kankanews reported that two people in Shanghai bought a large number of virtual phone numbers and took turns binding them as sub-accounts in a new-energy carmaker's app. Each number was used for two “charge first, pay later” charging sessions and then unbound, so no one paid for the electricity, and the charging sessions were resold to truck drivers. The Pudong New Area Procuratorate considered this fraud, not theft, and has approved arrest. This case has media reports only, with no judgment or official notice. Amounts too small for a sentence still have consequences: the platform can ban your account, claw back the discounts, and demand repayment on the principle that “money you weren't entitled to must be returned.” Taking part in telecom fraud without reaching the level of a crime still carries the detention-and-fine tier. “Someone in the group led it and paid me per order” does not change the nature of your own share. Teaching the method to others and reselling accounts and phone numbers are separate crimes, and the several crimes are reckoned together. The beneficiary is you yourself. For writing or selling scripts yourself, see Section 11, Item 3; for selling cards and accounts, see Section 8, Item 8 (lending your bank card) and Item 16 of this section (don't lend out your ID card).
Don't throw anything out of balconies or windows; cigarette butts, garbage bags and liquor bottles all count
Value for cost Very high
In plain terms
Throwing things down from a building can get you detained for 5 days and fined 1000 yuan even if no one is hit, and detained for 10 to 15 days where circumstances are serious. If you hit someone, the charge changes: someone on the 21st floor, after drinking, threw empty liquor bottles and glasses onto the playground below, hitting a 13-year-old student and causing serious injury, and was sentenced to 10 years. Another person threw 8 bricks from the 32nd floor and killed 1 person; the death sentence was approved in 2024.
Cost
Costs nothing and takes no time. Take cigarette butts, garbage bags and liquor bottles to the trash can indoors; don't toss them out of windows or off balconies.
No moneyDone in passingNo willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Throwing things down from a building or another height, so long as there is a danger of injuring people, damaging property or endangering public safety, can bring detention of up to 5 days or a fine of up to 1000 yuan. Where circumstances are serious: detention of 10 to 15 days, and a fine of up to 1000 yuan may be added. Where circumstances are serious enough to constitute the crime of throwing objects from height: a sentence of up to 1 year, with a fine in addition or on its own (a fine along with the sentence, or possibly only a fine). Injuring or killing someone is handled under a heavier charge. Official cases: Li Xchen, after drinking, threw empty liquor bottles and glasses from the 21st floor onto the playground below, hitting a 13-year-old student and causing a grade-two serious injury, and was sentenced to 10 years for endangering public safety by dangerous means. Zhou X threw 8 bricks into a crowd from the 32nd floor, killing 1 person; in 2024 the Supreme People's Court approved the death sentence (nationwide)
Evidence grade
A
Notes
You can be detained even if no one is hit; the provision only requires that there be “a danger.” The Civil Code (民法典) has a separate civil-compensation provision on throwing objects from height (Article 1254). The original text could not be opened when this section was written, so it is not cited.
Don't buy replica guns, steel BB guns or air guns online, and don't buy “toy guns” of unknown origin
Value for cost Very high
In plain terms
Steel BB guns and air guns bought online are classified as firearms once their muzzle specific kinetic energy reaches 1.8 joules per square centimeter. Holding one without a license brings a sentence of up to 3 years, and 3 to 7 years where circumstances are serious. One couple sold “toy guns”; 18 of 43 were assessed to be guns, and the couple escaped prosecution only because it could not be proven that they knew.
Cost
Costs nothing. If you want to shoot, go to a legitimate shooting range.
No moneyDone in passingNo willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Possessing or hiding a firearm without a license: a sentence of up to 3 years, and 3 to 7 years where circumstances are serious. A non-standard gun that cannot fire standard-issue ammunition is classified as a firearm without exception whenever its muzzle specific kinetic energy is greater than or equal to 1.8 joules per square centimeter. Muzzle specific kinetic energy means the energy per square centimeter the projectile carries as it leaves the barrel. Quite a few steel BB guns and air guns bought online exceed this figure. Since 2018 the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate have required that, for air guns with relatively low specific kinetic energy, the decision whether to convict be made only after an overall assessment of appearance, material, price, purpose, whether the person knew, and so on. Official case: the couple Zhao XX sold “toy guns” at a market; 43 were seized, and 18 of them were assessed as meeting the firearm standard. Because there was insufficient evidence that they knew these were firearms, they were not prosecuted on grounds of doubtful evidence (nationwide)
Evidence grade
A
Notes
The key to non-prosecution in that case was the finding that they “did not know.” An adult who deliberately goes online to buy a steel BB gun or air gun and afterward says they didn't know it was a gun will have a hard time making that stand. For the penalties for carrying crossbows and controlled knives, see Item 26 of this section (don't buy a telescopic baton, stun device or dagger for self-defense).
When you buy a drone, register it under your real name first; don't fly at airports, in military zones or in urban controlled airspace, and don't hack the altitude limit
Value for cost High
In plain terms
Flying without real-name registration: a fine of up to 200 yuan, or 2000 to 20,000 yuan where circumstances are serious. Flying in controlled airspace without approval: a fine of up to 500 yuan; where circumstances are serious, the drone is confiscated and there is a further fine of 1000 to 10,000 yuan. In more serious cases there can also be detention of 5 to 10 days. One person paid to have the altitude limit hacked, flew to nearly 3000 meters to film clouds and posted it online, and was detained for 5 days.
Cost
Real-name registration costs nothing and takes a few minutes. Before every takeoff, use an official channel to check whether the area you want to fly over is controlled airspace.
No moneyDone in passingNo willpowerBenefit size medium
Benefit
Flying without real-name registration: you are ordered to correct it, and may also be fined up to 200 yuan; where circumstances are serious, 2000 to 20,000 yuan. Flying a micro, light or small drone in controlled airspace without approval: you are ordered to stop flying, and may also be fined up to 500 yuan. Within this offense, where circumstances are serious, the drone is confiscated plus a fine of 1000 to 10,000 yuan. Flying in violation of airspace management rules, where circumstances are more serious: detention of 5 to 10 days. Official cases: Li XX paid to have the altitude limit hacked, flew the drone to nearly 3000 meters to film clouds and posted it, and was detained for 5 days. Zhang XX hacked altitude limits and no-fly-zone restrictions for other people more than 20 times (counted per drone), earning more than 15,000 yuan. He was convicted of providing programs and tools for intruding into and illegally controlling computer information systems. He was sentenced to 6 months, suspended for 1 year, plus a fine (nationwide, from January 2024)
Evidence grade
A
Notes
Micro and light drones flying in open airspace (适飞空域) do not need approval. Micro means an empty weight of less than 0.25 kg. Open airspace is anywhere outside controlled airspace, and the areas around airports, military facilities and government offices are mostly controlled airspace. The Ministry of Public Security's original page could not be opened when this section was written, so the repost by the Hubei Provincial Public Security Department is cited.
Don't secretly photograph or film others, and don't install cameras in rental rooms, homestays or hotel rooms
Value for cost Very high
In plain terms
Secretly filming, peeping on, or spreading other people's private matters: detention of up to 5 days or a fine of up to 1000 yuan, and detention of 5 to 10 days in more serious cases. Using dedicated covert filming equipment and causing serious consequences: a sentence of up to 2 years. Two people installed equipment in rooms at three hotels to film remotely and were sentenced to 1 year 3 months and 1 year respectively. Installing surveillance cameras at home doesn't count; installing them in a room someone else lives in does.
Cost
Costs nothing and takes no time. Don't secretly photograph or film others, and don't install cameras in rental rooms, homestays or hotel rooms.
No moneyDone in passingNo willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Peeping on, secretly filming, eavesdropping on or spreading other people's private matters: detention of up to 5 days, or a fine of up to 1000 yuan. In more serious cases, detention of 5 to 10 days, and a fine of up to 1000 yuan may be added. Illegally using dedicated eavesdropping or covert photography equipment and causing serious consequences: a sentence of up to 2 years. Dedicated eavesdropping or covert photography equipment means devices made specifically for secretly listening or filming. Official case: Yan Xping and Yan Xjian bought covert photography equipment online, installed it in multiple rooms at three hotels to film remotely, and were sentenced to 1 year 3 months and 1 year respectively (nationwide)
Evidence grade
A
Notes
Once covertly filmed material is sold or spread, it is handled separately under crimes such as producing and selling obscene material for profit; in the same batch of cases, someone was sentenced to 10 years. Installing surveillance in your own home doesn't count; installing it in a room other people use does.
Mahjong and poker are fine; don't take a cut, don't act as the bank, don't organize games for money, and don't gamble online
Value for cost High
In plain terms
The law doesn't concern itself with small-stakes card games among family and friends. Taking a cut from the game, acting as the bank, or organizing games and collecting money changes the nature of it: taking part in gambling with relatively large stakes brings detention of up to 5 days or a fine of up to 1000 yuan. Gathering people to gamble, or making a living from gambling, brings a sentence of up to 3 years; running a gambling house, up to 5 years. How much counts as “relatively large stakes” is set by each locality; there is no uniform national figure.
Cost
Costs nothing. Small-stakes games for fun among family and friends go on as usual. Don't take a cut from the game, don't act as the bank, don't organize games and collect money. The hard part is holding back from taking it on when someone is getting a game together.
No moneyDone in passingSome willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Providing facilities for gambling to make money, or taking part in gambling with relatively large stakes: detention of up to 5 days, or a fine of up to 1000 yuan. Where circumstances are serious: detention of 10 to 15 days plus a fine of 1000 to 5000 yuan. Gathering people to gamble to make money, or making a living from gambling: a sentence of up to 3 years plus a fine. Running a gambling house: up to 5 years plus a fine, and 5 to 10 years where circumstances are serious (nationwide)
Evidence grade
B
Notes
There is no uniform national figure for how much counts as “relatively large stakes”; each locality sets its own, so this item gets only grade B. Taking a cut from games and collecting bets on behalf of online gambling platforms are often treated as running a gambling house when a case is handled. This section has not verified the original text of the relevant judicial interpretations. No official case was found either.
Don't eat wild game, and don't buy, sell or keep protected animals as pets
Value for cost Very high
In plain terms
Eating animals under state key protection: the items are confiscated, plus a fine of 2 to 20 times their value. Purchasing, transporting or selling precious and endangered animals: a sentence of up to 5 years, and 5 to 10 years where circumstances are serious. Captive-bred animals bought and sold as pets are usually not treated as a crime: someone sold more than 40 captive-bred parrots and was not prosecuted. Animals caught in the wild or of unknown origin are not covered by this.
Cost
Costs nothing. For pets, only buy legally sourced, captive-bred species.
No moneyDone in passingNo willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Eating wild animals under state key protection, or buying them in order to eat them: the items are confiscated, plus a fine of 2 to 20 times their value. Breeding wild animals under state key protection without a permit: confiscation, plus a fine of 1 to 10 times. Illegally purchasing, transporting or selling precious and endangered wild animals under state key protection, or products made from them: a sentence of up to 5 years plus a fine. Within this offense, serious circumstances bring 5 to 10 years, and especially serious circumstances 10 years or more. Hunting, purchasing, transporting or selling other terrestrial wild animals for food, where circumstances are serious: up to 3 years. Official case: breeder Wang X and others, 3 people in all, sold more than 40 captive-bred Fischer's lovebirds (state second-class protection) for a total of under 400 yuan; in 2021 the procuratorate decided not to prosecute. Since 2022 the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate have made clear that animals whose captive-breeding techniques are mature and already practiced at scale, and which are bought, sold or transported as pets, are usually not treated as a crime (nationwide)
Evidence grade
A
Notes
“Usually not treated as a crime” refers only to the kind that is captive-bred and kept as pets. It does not apply to animals caught in the wild or of unknown origin. Which animals are under state key protection is determined by the official list. Checking the list before you buy is less trouble than explaining after something goes wrong.
When collecting a debt, don't hold people, don't lock them up, and don't follow them home and hang around refusing to let them leave
Value for cost High
In plain terms
Even if the money really is owed to you, you can't hold or lock someone up. The statute says so specifically: holding or locking someone up to collect a debt is still handled as unlawful confinement. Lighter cases: detention of 10 to 15 days plus a fine of 1000 to 2000 yuan. If it constitutes the crime of unlawful confinement, a sentence of up to 3 years; causing serious injury, 3 to 10 years; causing death, 10 years or more. To collect a debt, sue in court.
Cost
Costs nothing. If the other party owes money and won't repay, sue in court. For how to write an IOU, see Section 8, Item 18 (IOUs). The hard part is holding back from getting physical or following them home when they refuse to pay.
No moneyDone in passingSome willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Unlawfully restricting another person's personal freedom, entering someone's home without permission, or unlawfully searching someone's person: detention of 10 to 15 days plus a fine of 1000 to 2000 yuan. In less serious cases, detention of 5 to 10 days plus a fine of up to 1000 yuan. Unlawful confinement: a fixed-term prison sentence of up to 3 years, short-term detention (拘役), public surveillance (管制, no confinement but restricted movement) or deprivation of political rights. Causing serious injury: 3 to 10 years; causing death: 10 years or more. Holding or locking someone up to collect a debt is punished under this same set of provisions, even if the debt is real (nationwide)
Evidence grade
A
Notes
“He really does owe me money” doesn't help under this item. The statute says specifically that holding or locking someone up to collect a debt is also handled as unlawful confinement. China Court Network (中国法院网) carries several cases in which people locked someone up to collect a lawful debt and were sentenced to 7 months to 1 year. That website could not be opened when this section was written, so they are not cited.
Don't lend out your ID card, don't use anyone else's, and don't use other people's documents to register, open cards or buy tickets
Value for cost Very high
In plain terms
Lending, renting or transferring your ID card to someone else: a warning plus a fine of up to 200 yuan. Using someone else's ID card as if it were yours, or using one obtained by deception: a fine of 200 to 1000 yuan, or detention of up to 10 days. Using a fake document or someone else's document where real names are required, such as buying train tickets or checking into a hotel: where circumstances are serious, a sentence of short-term detention or public surveillance.
Cost
Costs nothing. If someone asks to borrow it, just say no. Where a photocopy is required, write on the copy the one matter it may be used for.
No moneyDone in passingNo willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Renting out, lending or transferring your own resident ID card to someone else: a warning plus a fine of up to 200 yuan. Using someone else's ID card as if it were yours, or using an ID card obtained by deception: a fine of 200 to 1000 yuan, or detention of up to 10 days. Buying, selling or using a forged or altered ID card is at the same tier. In some settings, national rules require you to show proof of identity. Using forged or altered documents, or misappropriating someone else's documents, in these settings brings a criminal sentence where circumstances are serious. Documents include ID cards, passports, social insurance cards, driver's licenses and the like. The penalty is short-term detention (拘役) or public surveillance (管制, no confinement but restricted movement), with a fine in addition or on its own: a fine along with the sentence, or possibly only a fine (nationwide)
Evidence grade
A
Notes
An ID card you lend out may be used to register a company or open a bank card. For the consequences of these two, see Section 8, Items 28 and 8 (don't be a nominal legal representative; don't lend out your bank card). Using someone else's ID card to buy train tickets or check into a hotel falls under what the statute calls “activities in which proof of identity must be provided.” No official case was found for this item. At an internet café, likewise use your own ID. Internet cafés must check and register ID cards and keep the registration details and internet-use records for at least 60 days, and the public security and culture departments can retrieve them at any time. Whoever's ID is used to get online, what is done on that machine during that time is recorded against them.
When the police stop you or take you away, cooperate: don't push, don't hit, don't grab the body camera, and hold back all the more if you've been drinking
Value for cost High
In plain terms
Obstructing enforcement on the spot: a warning or a fine of up to 500 yuan, and detention of 5 to 10 days where circumstances are serious. Laying hands on a police officer is a different tier: biting, slapping, kicking and punching, body-slamming or throwing objects that causes a slight injury or worse counts as violently assaulting a police officer, with a sentence of up to 3 years. Using a firearm or a controlled knife, or ramming with a vehicle: 3 to 7 years. Ordinary resistance such as shaking off a hand or pulling free does not count.
Cost
Costs nothing. Don't get physical on the spot. Raise any objections afterward: file a complaint, apply for administrative reconsideration, or sue in court. The hard part is keeping your temper during those few minutes after you're stopped, especially if you've been drinking.
No moneyDone in passingSome willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Obstructing state functionaries carrying out official duties according to law: a warning or a fine of up to 500 yuan. Where circumstances are serious: detention of 5 to 10 days, and a fine of up to 1000 yuan may be added. If the person obstructed is a people's police officer, the penalty is heavier. Violently assaulting a people's police officer who is performing duties according to law: a sentence of up to 3 years. Seriously endangering an officer's personal safety, such as by using a firearm or a controlled knife or ramming with a vehicle: 3 to 7 years. Biting, slapping, kicking and punching, body-slamming or throwing objects counts as “violent assault” only when it causes a slight injury or worse. Ordinary resistance such as shaking off a hand, pulling free or kicking out does not count (nationwide)
Evidence grade
A
Notes
The Supreme People's Procuratorate reported in 2021 that in the first month after assaulting a police officer became a separate crime, 405 people were approved for arrest. Of 42 cases in Jiangsu, 47.6% arose from drunken trouble-making. In Hubei, 12 of 16 cases went no further than punching, kicking and biting. Laying hands on an auxiliary police officer is handled as the crime of obstructing official duties. No official case describing an individual's circumstances was found for this item.
No sexual relations with anyone under 14; “she agreed” is no excuse
Value for cost Very high
In plain terms
If the other person is under 14, whether or not she agrees, it is handled as rape with a heavier penalty, and the base sentence is 3 to 10 years. If she is under 12, it is found in every case that you “should have known.” For ages 12 to 14, if her development, behavior or clothing showed she might be a young girl and you went ahead anyway, you are found to have “known.” Courts are very strict about claims that you truly didn't know.
Cost
Costs nothing. If you aren't sure of the other person's age, don't have sex.
No moneyDone in passingNo willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Having sexual relations with a young girl under 14 full years of age is handled as rape and punished more heavily; the base sentence is 3 to 10 years. The Supreme People's Court's position is this: where force, coercion or other compulsion is used, it is rape whether or not the person knew she was a young girl. Where no compulsion is used, for a girl under 12 full years it is found in every case that the person “should have known.” For ages 12 to 14 full years, if her physical development, speech and behavior, clothing and so on showed she might be a young girl and the person went ahead anyway, the person is found to have “known.” The “truly did not know” exception is applied very strictly (nationwide)
Evidence grade
A
Notes
The original text of the opinions of the two supreme judicial bodies and two ministries (两高两部) on handling criminal cases of sexual assault against minors, and the page of the Supreme People's Court's 2003 reply, could not be opened when this section was written. So for the standard for finding “knowing,” the reply on the Supreme People's Court's official website is cited. The statute's term is “young girl” (幼女). This item does not distinguish whether the person who does it is male or female.
Before you hit someone, do the math: detention, compensation, a sentence
Value for cost High
In plain terms
The bill for hitting someone once: detention of 5 to 10 days, plus a fine of 500 to 1000 yuan. Causing a minor injury makes it a criminal case, with a sentence of up to 3 years; causing a serious injury, 3 to 10 years. Money comes on top: someone broke three of the other person's ribs and avoided prosecution only after paying 113,000 yuan to settle. Another person broke the other person's radius, didn't pay, and was sentenced to 10 months.
Cost
Costs nothing and takes no time. The hard part is those few seconds before you strike.
No moneyDone in passingSome willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Hitting someone or intentionally injuring them: detention of 5 to 10 days plus a fine of 500 to 1000 yuan. Hitting someone as a group; hitting a person with a disability, a pregnant woman, an elderly person or a child; hitting repeatedly; or hitting several people at once: detention of 10 to 15 days plus a fine of 1000 to 2000 yuan. Causing a minor injury is the crime of intentional injury: a fixed-term prison sentence of up to 3 years, short-term detention (拘役) or public surveillance (管制, no confinement but restricted movement). Causing a serious injury: 3 to 10 years. On the civil side you also have to pay medical costs, lost-work pay (income lost from missing work), nursing costs, transportation costs, a hospital meal allowance and nutrition costs. If you leave someone disabled, you also pay disability compensation. Disability compensation is calculated as the previous year's per capita disposable income of urban residents in the place where the trial court sits, multiplied by 20 years. For an injured person aged 60 or over, one year is deducted for each additional year of age, and for those aged 75 or over it is calculated as 5 years. In 2022 procuratorates nationwide accepted more than 70,000 minor-injury cases, most of them arising from marital, family or neighbor disputes or from chance incidents. Typical cases from the Supreme People's Procuratorate: Lu X broke three of the other person's ribs (grade-two minor injury) and was granted non-prosecution only after paying 113,000 yuan to reach a settlement. Shi X broke the other person's radius (grade-two minor injury), didn't pay, and was sentenced to ten months in prison (nationwide; the Public Security Administration Punishments Law, 治安管理处罚法, in force from January 1, 2026)
Evidence grade
A
Notes
For how to avoid conflict, why striking first puts you at a disadvantage, and where the limits of self-defense lie, see Section 8, Item 10 (conflict and self-defense). For the bill for attacking someone to vent anger, see Section 8, Items 11 to 14. For fights that arise from everyday disputes between people and are less serious, the police can mediate. If you caused a minor injury, agreeing on compensation with the other side and actually paying it can bring a lighter penalty, or even non-prosecution, but you won't pay a cent less. How bad an injury has to be to count as a minor injury is set by forensic assessment standards; this section has not verified them. Lost-work pay and nursing costs are calculated from actual income and days lost; there is no uniform figure.
If you can't raise a child after it is born, civil affairs registration is the only legal way out: giving the child away for money may be sentenced as trafficking, and leaving it behind is the crime of abandonment
Value for cost High
In plain terms
There is a way out if you can't raise the child, but only one legal one: adoption registration at the civil affairs department, and the adoption relationship exists only from the day of registration. Giving the child to someone privately, especially if you take money, may turn “placing for adoption” into the crime of child trafficking, for which the sentence starts at 5 years or more. Leaving the child and refusing to raise it, where circumstances are egregious, is the crime of abandonment, with a sentence of up to 5 years.
Cost
Costs nothing. You do adoption registration at a civil affairs department at county level or above; you have to submit documents and wait for review and an adoption assessment, which takes some time from start to finish.
No moneyA few hoursNo willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Article 240 of the Criminal Law (刑法): “Whoever abducts and traffics in women or children shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than ten years, and shall also be fined.” Where there are aggravating circumstances, the sentence is fixed-term imprisonment of ten years or more or life imprisonment, plus a fine or confiscation of property. “Where the circumstances are especially serious, the sentence shall be death, with confiscation of property.” Article 17 of the Opinions on Punishing Crimes of Trafficking in Women and Children According to Law (关于依法惩治拐卖妇女儿童犯罪的意见) addresses how to distinguish selling one's own child from informal placement for adoption. The test is that “the key lies in whether the actor has the purpose of illegal profit.” That is, whether they wanted to make money from it. Three situations can be found to be selling one's own children and convicted as the crime of trafficking in women and children. The first is “using childbirth as a means of illegal profit and selling the child right after birth.” The second is “knowing that the other party has no purpose of raising the child, or not considering at all whether the other party has such a purpose, and ‘giving’ the child to another person in order to collect money.” The third is “‘giving’ the child to another person in order to collect a huge sum of money that clearly is not a ‘nutrition fee’ or ‘thank-you fee.’” Conversely, privately placing a child for adoption not to make money but genuinely because of hardship in life, and taking only a small nutrition fee or thank-you fee, is informal placement for adoption and is not convicted as trafficking. Next, Article 261 of the Criminal Law. “Whoever has a duty to support a person who is elderly, young, ill or otherwise unable to live independently and refuses to provide support, where the circumstances are egregious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years, short-term detention or public surveillance.” Article 1094 of the Civil Code (民法典) provides that only three kinds of party can place a child for adoption: the guardian of an orphan, a child welfare institution, and birth parents who have special difficulties and are unable to raise their child. Article 1105: “An adoption shall be registered with the civil affairs department of a people's government at or above the county level. The adoption relationship is established from the date of registration.”
Evidence grade
A
Notes
Whether to have the child is not discussed here. Once the child is born, following this order is the least trouble. Step one: give birth in a hospital; for prenatal checkups and hospital delivery, see Section 27. The Medical Certificate of Birth (出生医学证明) is the prerequisite for every later procedure. Step two: if you are placing the child for adoption, go directly to a civil affairs department at county level or above, not through an intermediary. Once money changes hands, the nature of it may change. Within one year after giving birth, if “thoughts of harming yourself or harming the child” appear, treat it as an emergency. For the list of situations in pregnancy and after birth that require going to the hospital immediately, see Section 27, Item 7. The 42-day postpartum checkup is also a postpartum depression screening; see Section 27, Item 16. If you have suicidal thoughts, call the 12356 mental-health hotline; see Section 1, Item 25. No case is attached to this item: the official typical cases of trafficking one's own children were not checked case by case in this round, so only the statutory text and the original text of the opinions are cited.
Don't fake accidents or exaggerate losses to cheat on insurance claims: this is the crime of insurance fraud, and the people who testify for you, repair your car or do your assessment are counted along with you
Value for cost Very high
In plain terms
Making up an accident or exaggerating losses to cheat on a claim is the crime of insurance fraud: a relatively large amount brings a sentence of up to 5 years, plus a fine of 10,000 to 100,000 yuan. People who testify, do assessments or value property for you and deliberately issue false certificates are convicted together with you as accomplices. In one case in Xuancheng, Anhui, 8 people were sentenced to 2 to 4 years and each fined 10,000 yuan.
Cost
Costs nothing and takes no time; just don't do it.
No moneyDone in passingNo willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Article 198 of the Criminal Law (刑法) lists five situations. (1) The policyholder deliberately fabricates the subject matter of insurance, making up an insured object that doesn't exist at all. (2) The policyholder, the insured or the beneficiary fabricates a false cause for an insured event that did occur, or exaggerates the extent of the loss. (3) Fabricating an insured event that never happened. (4) The policyholder or the insured deliberately causes an insured event involving property loss. (5) The policyholder or the beneficiary deliberately causes the death, disability or illness of the insured. Where the amount is relatively large: a fixed-term prison sentence of up to 5 years or short-term detention, plus a fine of 10,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan. Where the amount is huge or there are other serious circumstances: 5 to 10 years, plus a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 yuan. Where the amount is especially huge or there are other especially serious circumstances: 10 years or more, plus a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 yuan or confiscation of property. The last paragraph of this article covers the helpers: assessors, certifiers and property valuers for insured events. If they deliberately issue false certifying documents and create the conditions for others to commit insurance fraud, they are treated as accomplices to insurance fraud and convicted together with the fraudsters. Article 27 of the Insurance Law (保险法): if no insured event occurred but one is falsely claimed, the insurer has the right to terminate the contract and does not refund the premiums. Where forged or altered supporting materials are used, or a false cause of the accident is fabricated or the extent of the loss exaggerated, the insurer does not pay for the overstated part, and anything already paid out must be returned or compensated. Case: in the Zhang Xsong case in Xuancheng, Anhui, Wang Xxin and others, 8 people in all, were sentenced for insurance fraud to prison terms ranging from 4 years to 2 years, and each was also fined 10,000 yuan. In a sham lawsuit uncovered through this case, the insurer had assessed the loss at 20,000 yuan; the party obtained standing to sue with a forged vehicle transfer agreement and went to court, and the court awarded more than 70,000 yuan. This civil judgment, which had already taken effect, was overturned on retrial on September 26, 2019. The Measures for Anti-Insurance-Fraud Work (反保险欺诈工作办法) require that risk information be verified at both ends, selling policies and paying claims (the underwriting end and the claims end). They also call for exploring the establishment of industry anti-fraud information platforms covering multiple lines of insurance, and anti-fraud intelligence centers. These platforms centrally screen data on suspected fraud, and leads are passed to industry associations, anti-fraud organizations and insurance institutions to check. Suspected crimes are promptly reported to the public security authorities. The National Financial Regulatory Administration and its local offices are to build and improve mechanisms linking administrative enforcement with criminal justice, together with the public security authorities, the people's procuratorates and the people's courts (nationwide, issued July 31, 2024)
Evidence grade
A
Notes
The following practices that people think are harmless all fall within these five situations: after a minor accident, getting the repair shop to “report a bit extra”; counting old injuries or old damage as part of this incident; bumping cars with a friend and then reporting it; making up an accident when nothing happened. For how to buy car insurance, see Section 5, Item 26 (buy enough third-party liability cover). Insuring a family member and then deliberately causing their death is explicitly subject to combined punishment for multiple crimes under the statute; see Section 8, Item 38 (insuring family members). Medical insurance (医保) follows a separate set of rules: swiping a medical insurance card with no real treatment, or cashing out a medical insurance personal account, is handled as fraud; see the notes to Section 5, Item 13
Don't sell your own organs, and don't help anyone find donors: a kidney nets you more than 20,000 yuan, the same kidney is resold for 200,000, and the money is confiscated with a fine of 10 to 20 times the transaction amount
Value for cost Very high
In plain terms
Living organs can only be donated to a spouse, a lineal blood relative, or a collateral blood relative within three generations; buying and selling are both illegal. In one Beijing case, the people who sold kidneys got only 20,000-odd yuan, while the same kidney cost a patient 180,000 to 220,000 yuan. The money from the sale is confiscated, plus a fine of 10 to 20 times the transaction amount. For the cost to your body after a kidney is removed, see Section 1, Item 35 (the remaining kidney does the work of two).
Cost
Costs nothing and takes no time; just don't do it.
No moneyDone in passingNo willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Article 5 of the Regulations on Human Organ Donation and Transplantation (人体器官捐献和移植条例): “No organization or individual may buy or sell human organs in any form, or engage in activities related to buying or selling human organs.” Article 10: “No organization or individual may obtain living organs from citizens under 18 full years of age for transplantation.” Article 11: “Recipients of living organs are limited to the living organ donor's spouse, lineal blood relatives, or collateral blood relatives within three generations.” Article 37 sets out how buying and selling human organs is punished. Buying or selling human organs, or engaging in activities related to buying or selling human organs, is investigated and dealt with by the health departments of local people's governments at county level or above. First the illegal gains are confiscated, taking away all the money obtained from the transaction. Then a fine of not less than 10 times and not more than 20 times the transaction amount is imposed. Medical staff who take part have their practicing certificates revoked and are banned for life from providing medical and health services. Where it constitutes a crime, criminal liability is pursued according to law (nationwide, in force from May 1, 2024, with the former Regulations on Human Organ Transplantation, 人体器官移植条例, repealed at the same time). Article 234-1 of the Criminal Law (刑法): “Whoever organizes others to sell human organs shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years and shall also be fined; where the circumstances are serious, to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years, and shall also be fined or have property confiscated.” Three further situations are convicted and punished under Articles 234 and 232 of the Criminal Law. First, removing a person's organs without their consent. Second, removing organs from a person under eighteen full years of age. Third, forcing or deceiving others into donating organs. These are handled as intentional injury or intentional homicide. Case one: the case of Zheng Wei and others, 15 people, decided on final appeal by the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court on August 20, 2014, involved 51 kidneys and more than 10.34 million yuan. The people who sold kidneys (the donors) “received in exchange only payments ranging from 20,000 to 25,000 yuan.” The price paid by the side of the patients waiting for kidneys (the recipient side) “used to be 180,000 or 190,000 per kidney, and later 210,000 or 220,000.” The kidney-removal site was a small four-story building rented for 7500 yuan a month; the gang's head nurse stated that the place was “filthy and chaotic, without even resuscitation equipment.” The organizer, Zheng Wei, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for organizing the sale of human organs, and the other 14 to between 3 and a half years and 9 years. Case two: the “teenager sells kidney to buy an iPhone” case published by the Supreme People's Procuratorate. On the evening of April 28, 2011, 17-year-old Wang X had his right kidney removed in Chenzhou. The operating venue was provided by a department in a hospital without transplant qualifications, which someone had taken over under contract. When he was discharged on May 2 he received 22,000 yuan; the recipient side paid the intermediaries 150,000 yuan and 10,000 US dollars, and the principal offender made a profit of more than 56,000 yuan. After the operation Wang X had renal insufficiency, and “the injury constitutes a serious injury, grade-three disability”
Evidence grade
A
Notes
The beneficiary is you yourself. On the surface the deal is “twenty thousand in one go”; in reality it is an organ traded for a phone. The forensic finding in the teenager's kidney case was serious injury, grade-three disability, which a few months of rest won't fix. In that case the prosecution found that the 5 defendants had violated Article 234, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Law, and charged them with intentional injury. One reason was that the medical staff removed the right kidney without verifying before the operation whether the “donor” was a minor. If the same thing happened today, the recruiters would be dealt with under the crime of organizing the sale of human organs, and removing organs from a person under eighteen full years of age would still be convicted and punished as intentional injury under Article 234. Black-market brokers' operations are done in rented rooms or borrowed venues, with no assessment beyond tissue matching and no postoperative follow-up; if complications arise, there is no one to answer for it. If you really want to donate to a relative, take the Article 11 route: done at a medical institution with transplant qualifications, reviewed by an ethics committee, with no money taken at any stage. Posthumous organ donation is unpaid and is outside the scope of this item. For the cost to your body after a kidney is removed, see Section 1, Item 35 (the remaining kidney does the work of two). When you are so short of money that you are considering selling an organ, first look at the assistance channels in Section 7 (unemployment insurance, temporary assistance, minimum living allowance (dibao, 低保)). For the traps of online loans and “dressed-up paperwork” loans, see Item 6 of this section.
Don't solicit prostitution: the default tier is detention of 10 to 15 days, not just paying a small fine
Value for cost Standard
In plain terms
If you're caught, it doesn't end with paying a small fine. The default tier in the statute is detention of 10 to 15 days, and a fine of up to 5000 yuan may be added. Only less serious cases get detention of up to 5 days or a fine of up to 1000 yuan. Also, soliciting prostitution while knowing you have syphilis or gonorrhea is a crime, with a sentence of up to 5 years.
Cost
Costs nothing and takes no time; just don't do it.
No moneyDone in passingSome willpowerBenefit size medium
Benefit
Article 78 of the Public Security Administration Punishments Law (治安管理处罚法): selling sex or soliciting prostitution is punished with detention of not less than ten and not more than fifteen days, and a fine of up to five thousand yuan may be added. In less serious cases: detention of up to five days or a fine of up to one thousand yuan. Soliciting customers for prostitution in public places: detention of up to five days or a fine of up to one thousand yuan. Article 79: luring others into prostitution, providing them a place for it, or introducing them to it: detention of not less than ten and not more than fifteen days, and a fine of up to five thousand yuan may be added. In less serious cases: detention of up to five days or a fine of not less than one thousand and not more than two thousand yuan. Article 87: staff of businesses in the hotel, food and beverage, cultural and entertainment, taxi and similar industries who tip off offenders when the public security authorities are cracking down on prostitution and soliciting, or who provide conditions for those activities in other ways: detention of not less than ten and not more than fifteen days. Article 360 of the Criminal Law (刑法) is the crime of spreading sexually transmitted disease: selling sex or soliciting prostitution while knowing you have a serious sexually transmitted disease such as syphilis or gonorrhea is punished with fixed-term imprisonment of up to five years, short-term detention or public surveillance, plus a fine (nationwide; the Public Security Administration Punishments Law in force from January 1, 2026)
Evidence grade
A
Notes
The detention here is administrative detention: you go into a detention center; you don't just pay the fine and leave. Arranging introductions or providing a venue for others is punished as heavily as soliciting yourself; that is exactly what the Article 79 tier covers. People working in hotels or KTVs who tip off customers are likewise detained for 10 to 15 days under Article 87. Article 360 of the Criminal Law used to have a second paragraph, the crime of “sex with an underage prostitute” (嫖宿幼女罪); Amendment IX to the Criminal Law (刑法修正案（九）) deleted it in 2015, and now such conduct is punished directly as rape with a heavier penalty; see Item 18 of this section (no sexual relations with anyone under 14). Signboards such as “home health services” or “massage” don't change the nature; it is judged by what actually happened. For the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS, see Section 1, Item 30 (use a condom throughout sex) and Section 13, Item 38 (get post-exposure prophylaxis within 72 hours). For what to watch out for in entertainment venues themselves, see Section 22.
Fan-translating manga, reuploading films and TV series, and sharing cloud-drive resources and pirated e-books is infringement even if you charge nothing; running ads or charging membership fees can get you sentenced
Value for cost High
In plain terms
Translating someone else's work without permission and posting it, or uploading it online, is infringement even if you charge nothing: you have to take it down and pay damages. Once you run ads or charge membership fees, it counts as being for profit. Earning 30,000 yuan, distributing 500 titles, or reaching 1000 members is enough for a criminal sentence, with at most 10 years. The boss of the YYeTs (人人影视) subtitle group was sentenced to 3 years 6 months.
Cost
Costs nothing. What you have bought or downloaded you can read yourself and translate for fun yourself; just don't put it online for everyone to see. Don't run resource sites or resource groups with ads or membership fees, and don't sell cloud-drive links. The hard part is holding back from joining in as a reuploader when “everyone is sharing it.”
No moneyDone in passingSome willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
First, the civil side. Among the rights the Copyright Law (著作权法) gives authors is the right of translation, the right to turn a work from one language into another. There is also the right of communication through information networks, the right to put a work online so the public can access it at a time and place of their choosing. Translating someone else's work without permission is infringement. Uploading a work online without permission is also infringement. An infringer must stop the infringement and compensate for losses. Only when you use someone else's already published work for personal study, research or appreciation do you need no permission and no payment. Damages are first calculated from the rights holder's actual losses or the money you made. If neither can be determined, the court sets an amount between 500 yuan and 5 million yuan. For intentional infringement with serious circumstances, 1 to 5 times may be awarded. You also have to pay the reasonable expenses the rights holder incurred to stop the infringement. Now the criminal side. Article 217 of the Criminal Law (刑法) presupposes “for the purpose of making a profit.” Putting someone else's work online for the public without permission, to make money, is the crime of copyright infringement once the threshold is met. The sentence is up to 3 years with a fine, or a fine only. Where the amount is huge or the circumstances especially serious: 3 to 10 years plus a fine. What counts as making money: besides selling, running paid ads on web pages counts, and charging registration or other fees through a membership system also counts. Service fees, membership fees and advertising fees collected all count as illegal gains. For the criminal threshold, reaching any one of the following is enough. Illegal gains of 30,000 yuan or more. Illegal business volume of 50,000 yuan or more; in the YYeTs case this was the total income from membership fees, advertising fees and hard-drive sales. Distributing other people's works online totaling 500 items (titles) or more. Being downloaded 10,000 times or more, or clicked 100,000 times or more. Distributing through a membership system with 1000 or more registered members. If none of these is reached but two of them each reach half or more, that also counts. At 10 times these figures, it moves into the 3-to-10-year tier. The fine is usually 1 to 10 times the illegal gains. Official case one: Liang Yongping and others downloaded unlicensed films and TV series from overseas websites, organized people to translate and subtitle them, and uploaded them. These were put on the “YYeTs subtitle group” (人人影视字幕组) website and client apps for people to watch online and download. The site had 32824 unlicensed film and TV works and more than 6.83 million members. From January 2018 to January 2021 it collected more than 2.7 million yuan in membership fees and more than 8.8 million yuan in advertising fees. Selling portable hard drives loaded with films and TV series earned more than another 1 million yuan. The site displayed a “donation” QR code, and donating earned member benefits. The prosecutors found that this was simply collecting membership fees under another name. On November 22, 2021, Liang Yongping was sentenced to 3 years 6 months and fined 1.5 million yuan. The other 14 were sentenced to 1 year 6 months to 3 years, all suspended, and fined 40,000 to 350,000 yuan. Official case two: Ke XX used crawler software to scrape the playback addresses of more than 50,000 films and TV series and put them on his own website and app for people to watch free. He placed ads on the splash screen, was paid by impressions, and made more than 350,000 yuan. In 2023 he was sentenced to 3 years suspended for 4 years and fined 400,000 yuan. Official case three: Huang X rented servers in his own home and set up a music download forum. He uploaded more than 100,000 songs to 18 cloud drives and posted the links on the forum. Members had to top up to exchange for forum coins before they could get the links and extraction codes. Member top-ups totaled more than 500,000 yuan. In 2023 he was sentenced to 3 years suspended for 4 years and fined 550,000 yuan (nationwide; the judicial interpretation in force from April 26, 2025)
Evidence grade
A
Notes
The beneficiary is you yourself. Buying something to read yourself, or translating it for yourself to read, is within what the statute allows. The line is “putting it online for everyone to see.” Subtitle groups and fan translation groups that charge nothing don't meet the crime of copyright infringement, because this crime requires the aim of making money. But civil infringement still stands, and the rights holder can demand takedown and damages. In Japan, it may be illegal even if you charge nothing. In February 2018 several Chinese citizens in Japan were arrested on suspicion of violating Japan's copyright law, and the Chinese Consulate General in Nagasaki then issued a reminder: translating, publishing or distributing works without authorization may be illegal even when not for profit. Once you run ads, open memberships, or exchange “donations” for member benefits, you fall into the for-profit tier. In the YYeTs case, the people who only translated or proofread had a low degree of involvement, and the police took their evidence as witnesses. The Supreme People's Procuratorate wrote in this case that those who started it, split the money and ran the platform are to be pursued strictly. Accessories who were hired to work can be treated leniently, and those recruited temporarily whose circumstances are minor may be exempted from criminal liability. The three old judicial interpretations on intellectual property crimes, from 2004, 2007 and 2020, were repealed from April 26, 2025. The 2011 opinions of the three departments were not expressly repealed; where they conflict with the new interpretation, the new interpretation prevails. For example, the click threshold changed from 50,000 to 100,000. For another risk, publishing fan fiction or derivative works, see Item 25 of this section (writing fan fiction). For printing other people's images on merchandise to sell, see Section 12, Item 21 (buy a license for designs). For what to do if you run a platform yourself and receive an infringement notice from a rights holder, see Section 26, Item 9 (receiving an infringement notice).
If you publish or sell fan fiction or derivative works, first get permission from the original's rights holder, or replace the borrowed character names and relationships with your own
Value for cost High
In plain terms
Even fan fiction that borrows only character names, personalities and relationships can be found infringing if published. Jiang Nan's The Young Ones Here (此间的少年) borrowed more than 60 of Jin Yong's characters; the second-instance judgment ordered him to pay 1.68 million yuan, plus 200,000 yuan in expenses. The lawsuit went on for 9 years and finally ended in mediation, with him agreeing not to reprint the book in its original form. As for how fan fiction written for fun and for free is treated, the court said it has to be analyzed case by case.
Cost
Costs nothing. Before publishing or selling, approach the rights holder of the original work to negotiate a license. If that fails, replace the borrowed character names, personalities and relationships with your own. In the title, subtitle and promotional copy, don't trade on the original's name either.
No moneyDone in passingSome willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
Jiang Nan's novel The Young Ones Here (此间的少年) used the names of characters from Jin Yong's novels, such as Guo Jing, Huang Rong, Qiao Feng and Linghu Chong. The book tells the story of these people on a university campus. When it was published in 2002, its subtitle was “The College Years of the Condor Heroes” (射雕英雄的大学生涯). By the time of the lawsuit the book had come out in several editions, with more than a million copies distributed. In 2016 Jin Yong sued Jiang Nan and the publishers, claiming 5 million yuan. The first-instance court held that it was not copyright infringement. The reasoning was that, apart from specific plot, character names, relationships and personalities alone can hardly count as protected concrete expression. But the first-instance court found that Jiang Nan's use of the original's fame to attract readers constituted unfair competition. It awarded 1.68 million yuan, 30% of 5.6 million yuan in royalties over the years, plus 200,000 yuan in lawyer's fees. The second instance was heard by the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court, which revised the judgment and found copyright infringement. The second-instance court held that the plots of the two books were not substantially similar, that is, the plot was not copied. But the “ensemble of characters” formed by the more than 60 characters together, with their names, personalities, relationships and backgrounds, reflected Jin Yong's selection and arrangement. This is expression protected by the Copyright Law (著作权法), and Jiang Nan infringed the copyright in four of Jin Yong's novels. The subtitle deliberately tied itself to The Legend of the Condor Heroes (射雕英雄传), which separately constituted unfair competition. The second-instance judgment ordered Jiang Nan to stop the unfair competition and publish a statement in the press to eliminate its effects, and to pay 1.68 million yuan plus 200,000 yuan in reasonable expenses. Two publishing and distribution companies were held jointly and severally liable for 330,000 yuan of this, meaning that part had to be paid by them together with him. The second instance did not order the infringement to stop, but required that any future reprint pay 30% of the reprint royalty income to the rights holder of the original. After the second instance, both sides applied to the Guangdong Provincial High People's Court for retrial. On September 19, 2025, the parties reached a settlement under the auspices of the Guangdong High Court. In the settlement, the parties agreed not to characterize the matter as “plagiarism.” Jiang Nan acknowledged that when writing he lacked knowledge of copyright law, did not obtain Jin Yong's permission to adapt in advance, and caused Jin Yong harm. Jiang Nan agreed not to reprint the book in its original form. Future reprints will no longer use the original character names and related content from Jin Yong's works. The parties confirmed that the subtitle constituted unfair competition. Jiang Nan had already paid the compensation awarded at second instance. Once the mediation document was signed for, the original first- and second-instance judgments ceased to have legal effect. The defendant in another case was Zhang Muye, author of Ghost Blows Out the Light (鬼吹灯), pen name Tianxia Bachang. In 2006 he transferred all the economic rights in the copyright of this series of novels to Shanghai Xuanting Entertainment Information Technology Co., Ltd. Later he authorized publication of a new book, Mojin Captain (摸金校尉), which used the character names, character relationships and tomb-raiding rules of Ghost Blows Out the Light. The new book's cover used the movie poster for Mojin: The Lost Legend (寻龙诀), a film adapted from Ghost Blows Out the Light. Xuanting sued, claiming 20 million yuan. The Shanghai Pudong court held that the new book had its own independent plot and did not infringe copyright. But the cover led readers to mistakenly believe the book was connected to the original work of Mojin: The Lost Legend, which constituted false advertising. The court ordered two publishing and distribution companies to pay 900,000 yuan, with the publishing house jointly and severally liable for 600,000 yuan of it; the second instance upheld this. In the statute, the right of adaptation is the right to change a work and create an original new work. Using a work by adaptation, translation, annotation or similar means without the copyright owner's permission brings civil liability such as stopping the infringement and compensating for losses (nationwide)
Evidence grade
B
Notes
The beneficiary is you yourself. It is graded B because the legal boundaries of fan fiction are not yet settled. The two instances in this case reached different conclusions, and it finally ended in mediation, with neither judgment still in effect. The judge handling the case at the Guangdong High Court said in a Q&A that the settlement agreement binds only the parties to this case. Whether fan fiction infringes “must be analyzed according to the specific circumstances and cannot be generalized.” The judge gave a three-step order of analysis. First, whether what the two works share is an abstract idea or concrete expression. Next, whether that expression is original to the original author. Finally, whether it falls into a non-infringing situation such as fair use. So borrowing just a theme or a setting carries a different risk from borrowing a whole set of character names, personalities and relationships. For fan fiction posted online for free, this book found no official case in which a court ruled. Nor does the Copyright Law contain an exception that “it isn't infringement if you charge nothing.” Count the cost of the process: this case ran from the lawsuit in July 2016 to the settlement in September 2025, 9 years in all. Along the way it went through first instance, second instance and retrial review, and Jin Yong himself died during the second instance. After an original author sells the copyright, writing a sequel themselves can still get them sued by the buyer, as happened to Tianxia Bachang. In copyright lawsuits, the reasonable expenses the winning side spent to stop the infringement can be included in damages; the 200,000 yuan awarded at first instance in this case was lawyer's fees. For the risks of fan-translating, reuploading and sharing other people's works, see Item 24 of this section (fan-translating manga, reuploading films and TV series).
Don't buy a telescopic baton, stun device, dagger or pepper spray to carry for self-defense; keeping it in your car also counts as carrying
Value for cost Very high
In plain terms
Daggers, switchblades, police batons, stun devices and the like, if found on you when you go out, can bring detention of up to 5 days. Taking them into stations, malls or buses: detention of 5 to 10 days. Actually using them can easily go against you too: someone was punched once by a person with bare hands, stabbed them with a knife hidden in advance, and was sentenced to 4 years for excessive self-defense.
Cost
Costs nothing. If you've already bought one, leave it at home: don't take it out, and don't put it in your car. If something really happens, first back away and call the police, and fight back only if you can't get away.
No moneyDone in passingNo willpowerBenefit size large
Benefit
First, Article 38 of the Public Security Administration Punishments Law (治安管理处罚法). Illegally carrying crossbows, daggers or other controlled implements as specified by the state: detention of up to 5 days, and a fine of up to 1000 yuan may be added. In less serious cases, a warning or a fine of up to 500 yuan. Taking them into public places or onto public transport: detention of 5 to 10 days, and a fine of up to 1000 yuan may be added. Article 130 of the Criminal Law (刑法) is heavier. Illegally carrying controlled knives into public places or onto public transport, endangering public safety, where circumstances are serious: a sentence of up to 3 years. As for which knives count as controlled knives, the Ministry of Public Security's 2007 identification standard lists five categories. The first is daggers: with a handle, a guard and a blood groove, and a tip angle of less than 60 degrees. The second is three-edged scrapers. The third is spring knives with a self-locking mechanism, commonly called switchblades. The fourth is knives with a tip angle of less than 60 degrees and a blade longer than 150 mm. The fifth is knives with a tip angle greater than 60 degrees and a blade longer than 220 mm. Martial arts knives and craft gift knives that are unsharpened and have rounded tips don't count. Police batons are police equipment. The People's Police Law (人民警察法) provides that only the police may possess and use police equipment. If anyone else possesses it: confiscation, detention of up to 15 days or a warning, and a fine of up to 5 times the illegal gains may be added. The railway list of prohibited items classifies police batons, tear-gas devices, stun devices and self-defense devices all as controlled implements. When taking the train, these may not be carried on you or checked as baggage. Keeping one in your car will be caught just the same: someone drove through a checkpoint with a controlled knife, was caught by police officers, and got administrative detention. For the bill when you actually use it, see the guiding opinions on self-defense. They list “whether a weapon was used or prepared for use” as one of the factors distinguishing self-defense from mutual fighting. Official case: Yang X quarreled with someone, the other person threatened to get people to take revenge, and Yang went home and hid two knives on his person. The other person came back and punched him in the face once with bare hands; he stabbed the other person in the chest and abdomen with a knife, and the other person died. The court found that his act was defensive in nature, but since the other person was only hitting with bare hands and he stabbed vital areas, it was excessive self-defense. He was sentenced to 4 years for intentional injury (nationwide; the Public Security Administration Punishments Law in force from January 1, 2026)
Evidence grade
A
Notes
The beneficiary is you yourself. Carrying a knife does not automatically rule out self-defense. In Procuratorate Guiding Case No. 45 (检例第 45 号), the student Chen X was surrounded and beaten by 9 people, pulled out the fruit knife he carried and fought back, and was still found to have acted in self-defense. The procuratorate wrote that what affects the finding is not whether a tool was carried but whether there was an intent to fight each other. The disadvantage falls in two places. First, the item itself is illegal: if it is found on you in ordinary times you are penalized, whether or not you used it. Second, with a knife at hand, it is easy to stab even in response to a punch or a shove, and causing a serious injury or worse can turn it into excessive self-defense. For pepper spray, this book found no national-level text prohibiting individuals from possessing it; all that is known is that it can't be taken on trains. Nor did this book find a uniform national text determining whether telescopic batons sold online count as police batons. If something really happens, first see Section 8, Item 10 (in a conflict, call the police first and don't get physical). When there is nowhere left to retreat, see Section 8, Item 11 (you may fight back against an attack you can't escape). If you are cornered in the wild by someone demanding money, see Section 13, Item 36 (strangers demanding money in remote areas).
