ABSTRACT
In China, as a planned economy has been changed to a socialist market economy, the means for the state to intervene in the economy and citizen's lives have also changed. The Chinese National People's Congress passed the Administrative Penalty Law of the People's Republic of China in March 1996. This chapter examines the characteristics of the law and analyse its problems compared with the administrative penalty system in other countries in East Asia. The economic and legal reforms have been carried out quickly and smoothly on a larger scale than has been seen in the world to date. During the process of such huge reforms, administrative penalties have played an important role in maintaining social order and ensuring the implementation of administrative duties. The Chinese administrative penalty system was built up during the 1980s, when a traditional theory of administrative jurisprudence dominated the studies of administrative law.
