According to an article that Voice of America published, the People’s Congress recently posted the “National Intelligence Law” on its official website and welcomed members of the general public to voice their opinions. The Intelligence Law states that the intelligence agencies can interrogate or conduct searches, including searching in restricted areas, as long as they obtain approval and display their identification. However, the law does not specify who would issue the approval. The speculation is that the new law will grant expanded powers to intelligence agencies.
The article also stated that the Ministry of State Security could be split into two agencies: the National Counterintelligence and the National Intelligence Agencies. The article said that, since Xi Jinping attained power, the Ministry of State Security has gone through a series of restructurings and has removed a number of key members from their posts including Zhou Yongkang, former Secretary of the Central Political and Legislative Affairs Commission; Ma Jian, former Vice Minister of State Security; and Liang Ke, former director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of State Security. Currently the Ministry of State Security is under the National Security Commission which is chaired by Xi Jinping.
The article stated that, since 2014, China has passed a series of national security laws including the Internet security law in 2016, the national security law in 2015, and the counterintelligence law in 2014.
Source: Voice of America, May 16, 2017
http://www.voachinese.com/a/news-china-intelligence-20170516/3853042.html