Chapter IV The People's Courts and People's Procuratorates of National Autonomous Areas

Article 46 The People's Courts and People's Procuratorates of national autonomous areas shall be responsible to the people's congresses at corresponding levels and their standing committees. The People's Procuratorates of national autonomous areas shall also be responsible to the People's Procuratorates at higher levels.

The administration of justice by the People's Courts of national autonomous areas shall be supervised by the Supreme People's Court and by People's Courts at higher levels. The work of the People's Procuratorates of national autonomous areas shall be directed by the Supreme People's Procuratorate and by the People's Procuratorates at higher levels.

Members of the leadership and of the staff of the People's Court and of the People's Procuratorate of a national autonomous area shall include people from the nationality exercising regional autonomy in that area.

Article 47 In the prosecution and trial of cases, the People's Courts and People's Procuratorates in national autonomous areas shall use the language commonly used in the locality, and they shall rationally be manned with persons who are familiar with the spoken and written languages of minority nationalities commonly used in the locality. The People's Courts and People's Procuratorates shall provide translation and interpretation for any party to the court proceedings who is not familiar with the spoken or written languages commonly used in the locality. Legal documents shall be prepared, in the light of actual needs, in the language or languages commonly used in the locality. The right of citizens of the various nationalities to use the spoken and written languages of their own nationalities in court proceedings shall be safeguarded.

Chapter V Relations Among Nationalities Within a National Autonomous Area

Article 48 The organ of self-government of a national autonomous area shall guarantee equal rights for the various nationalities in the area.

The organ of self-government of a national autonomous area shall unite the cadres and masses of the various nationalities and give full play to their initiative in a joint effort to develop the area.

Article 49 The organ of self-government of a national autonomous area shall persuade and encourage cadres of the various nationalities to learn each other's spoken and written languages. Cadres of Han nationality should learn the spoken and written languages of the local minority nationalities. While learning and using the spoken and written languages of their own nationalities, cadres of minority nationalities should also learn putonghua and the standard written Chinese (Han) language commonly used throughout the country.

Awards should be given to State functionaries in national autonomous areas who can use skillfully two or more spoken or written languages that are commonly used in the locality.

Article 50 The organ of self-government of a national autonomous area shall help other minority nationalities living in concentrated communities in the area establish appropriate autonomous areas or nationality townships.

The organ of self-government of a national autonomous area shall help the various nationalities in the area develop their economic, educational, scientific and technological, cultural, public health and physical culture affairs.

The organ of self-government of a national autonomous area shall give consideration to the characteristics and needs of nationalities living in settlements scattered over the area.

Article 51 In dealing with special issues concerning the various nationalities within its area, the organ of self-government of a national autonomous area must conduct full consultation with their representatives and respect their opinions.

Article 52 The organ of self-government of a national autonomous area shall guarantee that citizens of the various nationalities in the area enjoy the rights of citizens prescribed in the Constitution and shall educate them in the need to perform their duties as citizens.

Article 53 The organ of self-government of a national autonomous area shall promote the civic virtues of love of the motherland, of the people, of labor, of science and of socialism and conduct education among the citizens of the various nationalities in the area in patriotism, communism and State policies concerning the nationalities. The cadres and masses of the various nationalities must be educated to trust, learn from and help one another and to respect the spoken and written languages, folkways and customs and religious beliefs of one another in a joint effort to safeguard the unification of the country and the unity of all the nationalities.

Chapter VI Responsibilities of State Organs at Higher Levels

Article 54 The resolutions, decisions, orders and instructions concerning national autonomous areas adopted by the State organs at higher levels should suit the conditions in these areas.

Article 55 State organs at higher levels shall give assistance and guidance to national autonomous areas in research, formulation and implementation of their economic development strategy, and provide financial, monetary, material and technical assistance and skilled people to them to help accelerate the development of their economic, educational, scientific and technological, cultural, public health and physical culture affairs.

The State shall formulate preferential policy to guide and encourage investment of domestic and foreign capital in national autonomous areas.

In making plans for national economic and social development, State organs at higher levels should take into consideration the characteristics and needs of national autonomous areas.

Article 56 The State shall, in accordance with unified planning and market demand, give first priority to national autonomous areas when making rational arrangements for resource development projects and infrastructure projects. The State shall appropriately increase the proportion of investment and the proportion of policy-oriented bank loans in the investment in major infrastructure projects.

Where counterpart funding is required of national autonomous areas for infrastructure projects arranged by the State there, the State may give them preferential treatment by reducing or exempting the counterpart funding, as the case may be.

The State shall help national autonomous areas to speed up the development of applied science and technology and the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, vigorously spread the use of applied technology and develop new and high technology, where conditions permit, and actively guide the rational flow of talented scientists and technologists into national autonomous areas. When transferred construction projects are provided to national autonomous areas, the State shall, in the light of local conditions, provide advanced and suitable equipment and techniques to them.

Article 57 The State shall, in the light of the characteristics and needs of economic development in national autonomous areas, make comprehensive use of the monetary market and the capital market to increase its monetary support to the areas. Banking institutions shall focus their support on the projects of investment in fixed assets and the enterprises conforming to State industrial policy in national autonomous areas by meeting their rational need of funds in the fields of resource exploitation and diversified economic development.

The State shall encourage commercial banks to increase their credit input to national autonomous areas and actively satisfy the rational need for funds by local enterprises.

Article 58 State organs at higher levels shall help the enterprises in national autonomous areas to make technical innovation and upgrade their industrial structure in the financial, monetary and skilled personnel fields.

State organs at higher levels shall make arrangements for and encourage the managerial and technical personnel of enterprises in national autonomous areas to go to the economically developed areas and learn from them, and at the same time guide and encourage the managerial and technical personnel of enterprises in the economically developed areas to go and work in enterprises in national autonomous areas.

Article 59 The State shall set aside special funds to help national autonomous areas develop their economy and culture.

The special funds set aside by the State and its provisional grants to the nationalities shall not be deducted, withheld or misappropriated by any State organs, nor shall they be used to substitute for the normal budgetary revenues of national autonomous areas.

Article 60 In accordance with the State policy for trade with the minority nationalities and in the light of the need of national autonomous areas, State organs at higher levels shall support the commercial, supply and marketing, and medical and pharmaceutical enterprises in national autonomous areas in the fields of investment, finance and taxation.

Article 61 The State shall formulate preferential policies to support national autonomous areas in their efforts to develop economic relations and trade with foreign countries, extend decision-making power of the manufacturing enterprises of national autonomous areas in the management of foreign trade, encourage them to develop their local superstandard products for export, and carry out the preferential policy for border trade.

Article 62 As the national economy grows and financial revenues increase, governments at higher levels shall gradually increase the financial transfer payment with regard to national autonomous areas. Through general financial transfer payment, special financial transfer payment, financial transfer payment governed by preferential policy towards minority nationalities, and through other means adopted by the State, more funds shall be put into national autonomous areas, to be used for speeding up economic development and social progress in the said areas, so as to gradually narrow the gap between such areas and the economically developed areas.

Article 63 In matters of investment, finance, taxation, etc., State organs at higher levels shall support national autonomous areas in their efforts to improve the production conditions of agriculture, animal husbandry and forestry as well as infrastructure such as water conservancy, transportation, energy and communications; they shall help national autonomous areas in the rational exploitation of local resources to develop local industry, town and township enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises as well as the production of goods specially needed by minority nationalities and of their traditional handicrafts.

Article 64 State organs at higher levels shall enlist the efforts of, support and encourage the economically developed areas in pursuing economic and technological cooperation with national autonomous areas and giving assistance to their counterparts there at different levels and in many-sided ways, so as to help promote the development of the economic, educational, scientific and technological, cultural, public health and physical culture affairs there.

Article 65 While exploiting resources and undertaking construction in national autonomous areas, the State shall give consideration to the interests of these areas, make arrangements favorable to the economic development there and pay proper attention to the productive pursuits and the life of the minority nationalities there. The State shall take measures to give due benefit compensation to the national autonomous areas from which the natural resources are transported out.

The State shall guide and encourage enterprises in the economically developed areas to make investment in national autonomous areas and carry out economic cooperation in various forms on the principle of reciprocity and mutual benefit.

Article 66 State organs at higher levels shall incorporate major construction projects designed to maintain ecological balance and protect the environment in an all-round way in national autonomous areas into the national economic and social development plan for the benefit of unified arrangements.

Where national autonomous areas make contribution to the ecological balance and environmental protection of the State, the State shall give them due benefit compensation.

While exploiting resources and undertaking construction in national autonomous areas, the organizations or individuals shall take effective measures to protect and improve local living and ecological environment and to prevent and control pollution and other public hazards.

Article 67 Enterprises and institutions affiliated to State organs at higher levels but located in national autonomous areas shall give priority to local minority nationalities when recruiting personnel in accordance with the regulations of the State.

Enterprises and institutions in national autonomous areas shall respect the power of autonomy of local organs of self-government, observe the local regulations on the exercise of autonomy and separate regulations as well as the local rules and regulations, and subject themselves to supervision by such organs.

Article 68 Without the consent of the organ of self-government of a national autonomous area, no State organ at a higher level may change the affiliation of an enterprise under the administration of the local government.

Article 69 The State and the people's governments at higher levels shall provide greater support to the poverty-stricken areas in national autonomous areas in the financial, monetary, material, technological and trained personnel fields so as to help the poor population there to shake off poverty as soon as possible and to become well off.

Article 70 State organs at higher levels shall help national autonomous areas train, from among local nationalities, large numbers of cadres at various levels and specialized personnel and skilled workers of different professions and trades; in accordance with local needs and in various forms, they shall send appropriate numbers of teachers, doctors, scientists and technicians as well as managerial executives to work in national autonomous areas and provide them with proper benefits.

Article 71 The State shall increase its input to education in national autonomous areas and take special measures to help them speed up the popularization of nine-year compulsory education and develop other educational undertakings, in order to raise the scientific and cultural levels of the people of local nationalities.

The State shall set up institutes of nationalities and, in other institutions of higher education, nationality-oriented classes and preparatory classes that exclusively or mainly enroll students from minority nationalities. Preferred enrollment and preferred assignment of jobs may also be introduced. In enrollment, institutions of higher education and secondary technical schools shall appropriately set lower standards and requirements for the admission of students from minority nationalities, and special consideration shall be given to the admission of students from minority nationalities with thin populations. People's governments at various levels and schools shall take various measures to help the minority nationality students from families in financial difficulties to accomplish their schooling.

The State shall set up secondary schools of nationalities or nationality-oriented classes in regular secondary schools in the economically developed areas to enroll students from minority nationalities and provide them with secondary education.

The State shall help national autonomous areas to cultivate and train teachers of all nationalities. The State shall make arrangements for and encourage teachers of all nationalities and graduates of all nationalities who are qualified for such jobs to be engaged in educational and teaching work in national autonomous areas, and shall afford them appropriate preferential treatment.

Article 72 State organs at higher levels shall intensify education among cadres and masses of the various nationalities in the government's policies concerning nationalities and frequently review the observance and implementation of these policies and relevant laws.

Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions

Article 73 The State Council and the relevant departments under it shall, within the limits of their functions and powers, respectively formulate administrative rules and regulations, specific measures and methods for the implementation of this Law.

The people's congresses and their standing committees of autonomous regions, and of provinces and municipalities directly under the Central Government with autonomous prefectures or autonomous counties under them shall, in the light of the actual local circumstances, formulate specific methods for the implementation of this Law.

Article 74 This Law has been adopted by the National People's Congress and shall go into effect on October 1, 1984.