(Adopted at the 15th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on April 29, 2000)

When the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress discussed whether members of a villagers committee or of other rural organizations at the grassroots level engaging in certain work may be regarded as "the other persons who perform public service according to law" as provided for in the second paragraph of Article 93 of the Criminal Law, it made the following explanations:

The members of the a villagers committee or of other rural organizations at the grassroots level who are engaged in the following administrative work shall be regarded as "the other persons who perform public service according to law" as provided for in the second paragraph of Article 93 of the Criminal Law:

(1) administration of funds or materials allocated for disaster relief, emergency rescue, flood prevention and control, special care for disabled servicemen and the families of revolutionary martyrs and servicemen, aid to the poor, migration and social relief;

(2) administration of funds or materials donated for public welfare;

(3) management and administration of State-owned land;

(4) administration of compensation for requisitioned land;

(5) withholding and tax payment affairs;

(6) administration of birth control, household register and conscription; and

(7) assisting the people's governments in such other administrative work.

When the members of a villagers committee or of other rural organizations at the grassroots level perform the public service provided in the preceding paragraph, if they illegally take possession of public property, misappropriate public funds, extort money or property from another person or illegally accept another person's money or property and thus committed a crime, they shall be punished according to the provisions of Articles 382 and 383 on the crime of embezzlement, provisions of Article 384 on the crime of misappropriating public funds, and provisions of Articles 385 and 386 on the crime of accepting bribes in the Criminal Law.

This Interpretation is hereby announced.

(Source:npc.gov.cn)