postal marks, postal vans and postal staff shall begiven priority in entering and departing ports and crossing on ferries.Postal vehicles with special postal marks which need to pass through alane closed to traffic or to stop in no-parking sections of the road shallbe verified and approved by the competent department concerned for passingor parking.Article 29When transported by sea, postal materials shall not be included inarrangements for sharing common sea losses.Article 30Postal enterprises shall not post or deliver international postal articlesthat are not examined and allowed to pass by the Customs. The Customsshall supervise the entry and exit, opening, sealing and dispatching ofinternational mailbags. Postal enterprises shall inform the Customs oftheir business hours in advance, and the Customs shall promptly sendofficials to supervise on-the-spot checking and examination.Article 31Postal materials that are subject to health and quarantine inspections oranimal and plant quarantine inspections according to law shall be sortedout and quarantined under the charge of quarantine offices; notransportation and delivery shall be conducted by postal enterpriseswithout a permit from a quarantine office.
【章名】Chapter VI Compensation for Losses
Article 32Users may present receipts and inquire, within one year counting from thedate of the posting or remitting, about vouchered postal materials andremittances which they handed in for posting or remitting at the postalenterprises or their branch offices that took in the postal materials oraccepted the remittances. Postal enterprises or branch offices shallinform inquirers of the results of inquiry within the time limit set bythe competent department of postal services under the State Council.If no result is found within the time limit for responding to the inquiry,postal enterprises shall make compensation first or take remedialmeasures. Within a year counting from the date of making suchcompensation, if it is ascertained that the circumstance for which thecompensation was made conforms with either Item (2) or Item (3) of Article34 of this Law, the postal enterprises shall have the right to recall thecompensation.Article 33For loss, damage, destruction or missing contents of vouchered postalmaterials, postal enterprises shall make compensation or take remedialmeasures according to the following stipulations:(1) For registered mail, compensation shall be made according to standardamounts formulated by the competent department of postal services underthe State Council.(2) For insured postal materials which are lost or totally damaged ordestroyed, compensation shall be made according to the insurance coverage.For missing contents or partial damage or destruction of insured postalmaterials, compensation shall be made according to the actual losses ofthe postal materials, based on the ratio between the insurance coverageand the whole value of the postal materials.(3) For uninsured postal parcels, compensation shall be made according tothe actual damage due to loss of such postal parcels, but the maximumcompensation shall not exceed the amount formulated by the competentdepartment of postal services under the State Council.(4) For other types of vouchered postal materials, compensation shall bemade or remedial measures taken according to the measures provided for bythe competent department of postal services under the State Council.Article 34Postal enterprises shall not be held liable for compensation if one of thefollowing situations occurs:(1) losses of ordinary postal materials;(2) losses of vouchered postal materials caused by the user or due to somecharacteristic of the posted articles per se;(3) losses of vouchered postal materials, other than postal remittancesand insured postal materials, caused by force majeure; and(4) users failing to inquire about or demand compensation at the end ofone year, counting from the date of handing in or posting the voucheredpostal materials or making the remittance.
Article 35If disputes over compensation for losses occur between users and postalenterprises, users may request the competent department of postal servicesat higher levels to settle; users who refuse to accept the settlementthereof may file lawsuits with the people's court; users may also filelawsuits with the people's court directly.
【章名】Chapter VII Penalty Provisions
Article 36Persons who infringe upon the citizens' right to freedom of correspondenceby concealing, destroying, discarding or illegally opening mail of anotherperson, where circumstances are serious, shall be investigated forcriminal liability according to the provisions of Article 149 of theCriminal Law of the People's Republic of China; those whose acts are notserious enough for criminal punishment shall be punished according to theprovisions of Article 22 of Regulations of the People's Republic of Chinaon Administrative Penalties for Public Security.Article 37Postal personnel who without permission open or conceal, destroy ordiscard postal materials shall be investigated for criminal liability inaccordance with Paragraph 1 in Article 191 of the Criminal Law of thePeople's Republic of China.Those who commit the crime specified in the preceding provision and alsosteal property therein shall be given a heavier punishment for the crimeof embezzlement in accordance with Paragraph 2 in Article 191 of theCriminal Law of the People's Republic of China.Article 38Persons who intentionally damage or destroy public postal facilities suchas mailboxes, where such acts are not serious enough for criminalpunishment, shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of Article25 of Regulations of the People's Republic of China on AdministrativePenalties for Public Security; where circumstances are serious, suchpersons shall be investigated for criminal liability in accordance withthe provisions of Article 156 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republicof China.Article 39Postal personnel who refuse to handle postal business which should behandled according to law or who intentionally delay the delivery of postalmaterials shall be given administrative disciplinary sanction. Postalpersonnel who are derelict in their duties and bring about great loss topublic property and the interests of the state and the people shall beinvestigated for criminal liability in accordance with the provisions ofArticle 187 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China.Article 40Persons who, in violation of provisions of Article 8 of this Law, handlethe business of posting and delivering mail or articles withcharacteristics of mail shall be ordered by industrial and commercialadministrative authorities to return the mail and other articles and thepostal fees they have obtained from the senders, and a fine shall beimposed on them.Parties concerned who refuse to obey the decision of punishment may bringsuit to the people's court within 15 days of receiving the penalty notice.If parties concerned neither bring suit to the people's court norimplement the decision before the time limit expires, the industrial andcommercial administrative authorities shall apply to the people's courtfor mandatory enforcement.
【章名】Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions
Article 41The meanings of the following terms used in this Law are:(1) postal materials: referring to mail, printed matter, postal parcels,money orders, newspapers, periodicals, etc., posted and delivered bypostal enterprises.(2) mail: referring to letters and postcards.(3) ordinary postal materials: referring to the postal materials thatpostal enterprises and their branch offices do not issue receipts for uponacceptance and posting, and do not request recipients to sign for ondelivery.(4) vouchered postal materials: referring to postal materials such asregistered mail, postal parcels, insured postal materials, etc., that thepostal ente