Chinese legal definition of cult

    China's criminal law article300The provisions: Organize and utilize the superstitious sects, cults or uses superstition to undermine the implementation of national laws, administrative regulations, department for more than three years of imprisonment less than seven years; if the circumstances are especially serious, department for more than seven years in prison.   Organize and utilize the superstitious sects, cults or uses superstition to cheat others, causing death, shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.   Organize and utilize the superstitious sects, cults or uses superstition to rape women, fraud, respectively, in accordance with the provisions of article 236th, article 266th convicted and punished.   

The Supreme People's court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate "explanation for the organization and of the application of law to the cult's criminal cases":

In order to punish the criminal activities of organized and conducted by the cult organization, according to the relevant provisions of the criminal law, the specific application of law for several problems of this kind of cases are interpreted as follows:

Article 1

    Article 300th of the criminal law"Cult", refers to the fraudulent use of religion, qigong or other name establishment, deified ringleader, use of manufacturing, spread superstitious fallacies and other means to confuse, deceive people, development, control members of illegal organizations, harm to society.

Article second

    Organize and use cults and has one of the following circumstances, in accordance with the provisions of article 300th of the criminal law of the provisions of the first paragraph of conviction and punishment:   (a) all the siege, the impact of state organs, enterprises and institutions, to disrupt the state organs, enterprises and institutions work, production, management, teaching and scientific research of the order;   (two) the illegal rally, parade, demonstration, incite, deception, organizing its members or other people mobbing, shock, seizure, or public places and places of religious activity, disrupting social order;   (three) against the relevant departments to ban or have been relevant departments to ban, restore or otherwise established a cult, or to proceed to a cult activities;   (four) inciting, deception, organizing its members or other people do not perform their statutory duties, if the case is serious;   (five) publishing, printing, copying, distribution and content about the cult of publications, printed cult label;   (six) conduct other breaking the national law, administrative regulations.The implementation of the acts mentioned in the preceding paragraph, and has one of the following cases, belong to"If the circumstances are especially serious":  1Provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government or the development of members of the organization;  2With overseas institutions, organizations, personnel in cult activities;  3Publishing, printing, copying, distribution about the cult of content of publications and printed cult identification number, or a huge amount of;  4Incite, deception, organizing its members or other damage to the state laws, administrative regulations, causing serious consequences.

Article third

    Article 300th of the criminal law provisions of the second paragraph of the organization and using a cult organization to deceive people, causing death, is refers to the organization and use cults manufacturing, spread superstitious fallacies, deceive the members or other people, self mutilation, torture and other acts of hunger strike, or prevent the normal treatment of patients, causing death case. Any of the following circumstances, belong to"If the circumstances are especially serious":  1Cause3People over the death of;  2The number of deaths caused by the dissatisfaction3People, but cause many people injured;  3Because once the cult activities of criminal or administrative punishment, and the organization and using a cult organization to deceive people, causing the death of;  4Causing other especially serious consequences.

Article fourth

    Organize and use cults manufacturing, spread superstitious fallacies, instigating, stress its members or other people implement the Dutch act, self injurious behavior, respectively, in accordance with the provisions of article 232nd of the criminal law, article 234Th, in order to murder or intentional injury crime.

Article fifth

    Organize and use cults, superstition and heresy to lure, coercion, deception or other means, to seduce women, young girls, in accordance with the provisions of article 236th of the criminal law on the crime of rape, conviction or punishment of crime of carnal knowledge of a child.

Article Sixth

    Organize and use cults by deceptive means, for other people's property, in accordance with the provisions of article 266th of the criminal law on the crime of fraud, conviction and punishment.

Article seventh

    Organize and utilize the cult organization, organization, planning, implementation, incite secession, undermining national unity or subversion of state power and overthrow the socialist system, respectively, in accordance with the provisions of article 103rd of the criminal law, article 105th, article 113rd convicted and punished.

Article eighth

    For the cult organizations and organizations, to undermine the implementation of law by the cult of the criminals, obtained by various means of illegal property, used for criminal tools, publicity materials, should be in accordance with the law, the confiscation.

Article ninth

    The organization and conduct of criminal activities using a cult organization, planning, command and incorrigible active participants, shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to the criminal law and the provisions of this interpretation; to surrender, meritorious service, shall be given a lighter, mitigated punishment or be exempted from punishment.   For the deceived, cheated, stress in the cult and has exited and no longer participate in cult activities of the staff, not as a crime.