inspectedand withheld by any organization or individual except as otherwiseprovided by law.Article 6Postal enterprises shall provide users with fast, accurate, safe andconvenient postal services.Postal enterprises and postal staff shall not provide information to anyorganization or individual about users' dealings with postal servicesexcept as otherwise provided for by law.Article 7Postal materials and remittances shall be owned by senders and remittersbefore they are delivered to recipients and remittees.
Article 8Posting and delivery services of mail and other articles withcharacteristics of mail shall be exclusively operated by postalenterprises, except as otherwise provided by the State Council.Postal enterprises may, according to needs, entrust other units orindividuals as agents to run businesses exclusively operated by postalenterprises. The provisions on postal personnel specified in this Lawshall apply to agents when they handle postal businesses.Article 9No unit or individual shall produce false copies or make fraudulent use ofspecial postal marks, postal uniforms and special postal articles.
【章名】Chapter II Establishment of Postal Enterprises and Postal Faci- lities
Article 10Standards for establishment of postal enterprises and their branch officesshall be formulated by the competent department of postal services underthe State Council.Article 11Postal enterprises shall establish branch offices, postal kiosks,newspaper and periodical stands, mailboxes, etc., in places convenient tothe masses, or provide mobile services. Residents' mailboxes for receivingletters and newspapers shall be installed in residential buildings incities.Places shall be provided for handling postal business in larger railwaystations, airports, ports and guest houses.
【章名】Chapter III Classification of Postal Businesses and Postal Rates
Article 12Postal enterprises operate the following businesses:(1) posting and delivery of domestic and international postal materials;(2) distributing domestic newspapers and periodicals;(3) postal savings and postal remittances; and(4) other suitable businesses stipulated by the competent department ofpostal services under the State Council.Article 13Postal enterprises and their branch offices shall not arbitrarily closedown postal businesses that must be handled according to the stipulationsmade by the competent department of postal services under the StateCouncil and the regional administrative organ of postal services.Owing to force majeure or special reasons, if postal enterprises and theirbranch offices need to close down temporarily or restrict the handling ofsome postal businesses, they must obtain approval of the competentdepartment of postal services under the State Council or of regionalpostal administrative organs.Article 14Postal enterprises shall strengthen distribution work of newspapers andperiodicals. If publishing units entrust postal enterprises withdistribution of newspapers and periodicals, they must make distributioncontracts with postal enterprises.Article 15The basic postal rates of postal services shall be set by the competentdepartment in charge of pricing under the State Council and shall bereported to the State Council for approval. Non-basic postal rates shallbe formulated by the competent department of postal services under theState Council.Article 16The payment of postage on various postal materials shall be indicated bypostage certificates or by postmarks showing postage paid.Article 17Postage stamps, stamped envelopes, stamped postcards, stamped aerogrammesand other postage certificates shall be issued by the competent departmentof postal services under the State Council, and no unit or individualshall be allowed to produce false copies. The administrative measures onmaking facsimiles of stamp patterns shall be formulated by the competentdepartment of postal services under the State Council.Article 18Postage certificates sold shall not be cashed in postal enterprises ortheir branch offices. Postage certificates to be withdrawn fromcirculation shall be announced to the public, and sales will be stoppedone month in advance by the competent department of postal services underthe State Council. Holders of such postage certificates may exchange themfor valid postage certificates at postal enterprises and their branchoffices within six months from the date of the announcement.
Article 19The following postage certificates shall not be used:(1) those which the competent department of postal services under theState Council has announced as withdrawn from usage;(2) those that have been postmarked or cancelled;(3) those that are contaminated, incomplete or illegible due to fading ordiscolouring; and(4) stamp patterns cut from stamped envelopes, stamped postcards andstamped aerogrammes.
【章名】Chapter IV Posting and Delivery of Postal Materials
Article 20In handing in or posting postal materials, users must abide by theprovisions formulated by the relevant competent department under the StateCouncil on articles forbidden to post or deliver and articles to be postedor delivered in limited amounts.Article 21The contents of postal materials, other than letters, to be handed in orposted by users, shall be checked on the spot by postal enterprises orbranch offices, and if such examination is refused, the postal materialshall not be accepted and posted. Mail handed in or posted by users mustbe in line with the stipulations concerning the content allowed to beposted; postal enterprises and their branch offices have the right torequest users to take out the contents for examination, when necessary.Article 22Postal enterprises and their branch offices shall deliver postal materialswithin the time limits laid down by the competent department of postalservices under the State Council.Article 23Undeliverable postal materials shall be returned to the senders.Mail that is both undeliverable and unreturnable, and unclaimed within thetime limit stipulated by the competent department of postal services underthe State Council, shall be destroyed on the authority of regionaladministrative organs of postal services. Incoming international postalarticles that are undeliverable and unreturnable, and unclaimed within thetime limit stipulated by the competent department of postal offices underthe State Council, shall be handled by the Customs in accordance with thelaw. Disposal measures for other undeliverable and unreturnable postalmaterials shall be formulated by the competent department of postalservices under the State Council.Article 24The remittees of postal remittances shall cash the postal remittances withvalid documents at postal enterprises or branch offices within two monthsof receiving notice of a postal remittance. Remittances unclaimed when thetime period expires shall be returned to the remitters by postalenterprises or branch offices. Returned remittances which are unclaimedfor a period of ten months, counting from the date of delivering thereturn-remittance notice to the remitter, shall be turned over to thestate treasury.Article 25In posting and delivering postal materials, postal codes shall be adoptedgradually, and specific pertinent measures shall be formulated by thecompetent department of postal services under the State Council.
【章名】Chapter V Transportation, Customs Examination and Quarantine Ins- pection of Postal Materials
Article 26Transportation units operating railways, highways, waterways and airlinesshall all have the responsibility of carrying and transporting postalmaterials, and shall ensure priority to transporting postal materials atpreferential freight charges.Article 27When postal enterprises transfer postal materials in railway stations,airports and ports, transportation units concerned shall make coordinatedarrangement of space and in-and-out passageways for loading and unloadingpostal materials.Article 28Ships with special