What is the duty to abide by the Constitution and the laws?

Article 53 of the Constitution of China provides that: “Citizens of the People's Republic of China must abide by the constitution and the law, keep state secrets, protect public property, observe labor discipline and public order and respect social ethics.”

The following contents are specifically included:

To perform the duties prescribed by the Constitution and the law

To protect public property

To respect social ethics

To observe public order

To observe labor discipline

To keep state secrets

1 To perform the duties prescribed by the Constitution and the law.

Constitution is the fundamental law of the state. In terms of contents, it provides on the most fundamental and important issues of the state, and has the significance of the general regulation of the country. In terms of the force of law, the Constitution has the highest legal effect. Laws are formulated by the National People's Congress and the Standing Committee of National People's Congress and their effects are lower than that of the Constitution but higher than that of other legal documents. Only when the implementation of the Constitution and the laws is guaranteed can the unity and dignity of the socialist rule of law be safeguarded.

2 Duty to keep State secrets

1 Classified matters involved in the key policy decisions on state affairs

2 Classified matters involved in the national defense construction and armed force activities

3 Classified matters involved in the diplomatic and foreign affair activities and classified matters involved in the state's international obligation of secrecy

4 Classified matters involved in the national economic and social development

5 Classified matters involved in science and technology

6 Classified matters involved in the activities of maintaining national security and investigating criminal offenses

7 Others classified matters as determined by the state secrecy administrative department

3 Duty to protect public property

Article 12 of the Constitution of China provides that: “Socialist public property is inviolable… Appropriation or damaging of state or collective property by any organization or individual by whatever means is prohibited.”

Collective property includes the state-owned property of and collective property.

4 Duty to observe labor discipline

Labor discipline refers to the rules and regulations that laborers must abide by when they do social productive labor.

To observe labor discipline is an important guarantee for the protection of laborer’s safety.

5 Duty to observe public order

Consciously to observe public order is a legal obligation and moral requirement. For the severe disruption of public order behavior, penalties and sanctions should be enforced depending on their specific circumstances according to the law.

6 Duty to respect social ethics

Article 24 of the Constitution of China provides that: “The state advocates the civic virtues of love of the motherland, of the people, of labor, of science and of socialism.”

At the time of respecting the socialist morality, we should establish a socialist concept of honor, handle the relationship among personal, collective, and the nation, and advocate noble morality with the correct attitude towards life.