This article is about the secret police agency of the People's Republic of China; for other agencies with similar names see Ministry for State Security.

The Ministry of State Security (MSS) (py: Guojia Anquan Bu (Guoanbu)) is the security agency and probable secret police of the People's Republic of China. It is headquartered near the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing.

History

The Ministry was established in 1983 by the merger of the Central Investigation Department with the counter-intelligence elements of the Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China.

Mission

According to Liu Fuzhi , Secretary-General of the Political Bureau (Politburo) of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Minister of Public Security, the mission of the MSS is to ensure "the security of the state through effective measures against enemy agents, spies, and counter-revolutionary activities designed to sabotage or overthrow China's socialist system."

Organization

The MSS is divided into several bureaus:

• First bureau - Domestic Affairs
• Second Bureau - Foreign Affairs
• Third Bureau - Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan
• Fourth Bureau - Technology
• Fifth Bureau - Local Intelligence
• Sixth Bureau - Counter-intelligence
• Seventh Bureau - Circulation
• Eighth Bureau - Research
• Ninth Bureau - Anti-defection and Counter-surveillance
• Tenth Bureau - Scientific and Technological Information
• Personnel and Education Bureau
• Supervision and Auditing Bureau

And other Offices:

• General Office
• Political Department
• Party Committee