Regulations of Jiangsu Province on Letters and Visits

· Document Number：Announcement No. 115 of the Standing Committee of the Tenth People’s Congress of Jiangsu Province

· Area of Law： Government Affairs

· Level of Authority： Provincial Local Regulations

· Date issued：05-30-2006

· Effective Date：10-01-2006

· Status： Effective

· Issuing Authority： Jiangsu Province People's Congress (incl. Standing Committee)

Regulations of Jiangsu Province on Letters and Visits (2006)

(Adopted at the Twenty-third Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Tenth People's Congress of Jiangsu Province on May 30, 2006)

Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 These Regulations are enacted in accordance with the Constitution and other relevant laws and administrative regulations, in light of the specific situation of this Province, and for the purposes of safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of letter-visit makers, regulating letter-visit work and activities, maintaining letter-visit order, establishing close contact between state organs and the people, and creating a harmonious society.
Article 2 The term “letters and visits” as used in these Regulations refers to the activities of citizens, legal persons or other organizations, through letters, emails, faxes, phones or visits, to report situations or submit proposals, opinions or appeals to the state organs at various levels for the relevant state organs to deal with according to law.
The term “letter-visit maker” as used in these Regulations refers to a citizen, legal person or other organization that reports a situation or submits a proposal, an opinion or appeal by such means as prescribed in the preceding paragraph.
The term “state organs at various levels” as used in these Regulations refers to the local organs of state power, administrative organs, judicial organs and procuratorial organs at various levels within this Province.
Article 3 The state organs at various levels shall make decisions in a scientific and democratic way, perform their duties according to law and prevent at source the contradictions and disputes that may give rise to letters and visits.
The state organs at various levels shall establish, improve and make known to the public the letter-visit work system, keep the letter-visit channels free-flowing, and create convenience for letter-visit makers to present their letter-or-visit matters.
Article 4 The standing committees of the local people's congresses, the people's governments, the people's courts and the people's procuratorates at or above the county level within this Province shall establish letter-visit working offices.
The departments under the local people's governments at or above the county level, the town (township) people's governments and the neighborhood offices shall, according to the principle of conduciveness to work and convenience for letter-visit makers, designate organs or personnel in charge of the letter-visit work.
The letter-visit working offices of state organs at various levels are the special purpose organs to handle letter-visit matters on behalf of the state organs at various levels. Their main functions and duties are:
(1) accepting, transferring or assigning letter-visit matters presented by letter-visit makers;
(2) undertaking to handle the letter--visit matters assigned by the organs at higher or corresponding levels;
(3) coordinating efforts in handling important letter-or-visit matters and supervising the examination and handling of such letter-visit matters;
(4) conducting researches, making overall analysis on letter-visit situations, and providing the leading organs in time with information, opinions and proposals;
(5) directing, promoting and inspecting the letter-visit work within their own regions and systems;
(6) providing letter-visit makers with counseling on relevant laws, regulations and policies;
(7) other functions and duties as provided by laws and regulations.
Article 5 The following principles shall be observed in handling letter-visit matters:
(1) handling the matters in accordance with the Constitution, laws, regulations, rules and policies;
(2) management according to territoriality, responsibilities assumed at different levels, and the department in charge being the department responsible;
(3) convenience for letter-visit makers and emphasis on work efficiency;
(4) seeking truth from facts and attaching importance to evidences, investigation and researches;
(5) combination of actual problem resolution with education and persuasion.
Article 6 The state organs at various levels shall take the handling of letter-or-visit matters in time and on the spot according to law as an important reference for evaluation of the work efficiency of the unit and for assessment of the performance of the working personnel.
Persons in charge of the state organs shall read and give instructions on important letters, receive important visitors, listen to the reports on letter-visit work, and discuss and tackle prominent problems. The fulfillment of duties on letter-visit work by the persons in charge of the state organs shall be listed into the important contents for the assessment of their performance.
Article 7 The state organs at various levels shall incorporate the special fund needed for handling letter-or-visit matters into the administration budget of the organs to be guaranteed by the government finance.
The state organs at various levels shall establish mechanism for training and exchanging letter-visit staff members, increase their quality and work level, and provide work place and other necessary work facilities for the letter-visit working offices and their staff members.
Article 8 A letter-visit maker has the right to present letter-visit matters according to law and has the following rights in the letter-visit activities:
(1) to learn about the letter-visit work system and the procedures for handling letter-visit matters;
(2) to request a letter-visit staff member to provide counseling on laws, regulations and policies relevant to the letter-visit matter;
(3) to make application for the withdrawal of a letter-visit staff member who has direct interests with the letter-visit matter;
(4) to inquire the accepting organ or handling organ about the progress of handling the relevant letter-visit matter and the result thereof, and to be given reply;
(5) to apply for re-examination, review or hearing according to law.
The letter-visit activities conducted by a letter-visit maker according to law shall be protected by law. No organization or individual may impose suppression or retaliation against him.
The letter-visit activities shall be conducted according to law and in good order, shall not impair the interests of the State, the society and the collective, and the lawful rights and interests of other citizens, and shall not disturb social orders.
Article 9 Letter-visit makers who, by reporting situations and putting forward proposals and opinions, make contributions to national economy and social development, improvement of the work of state organs or protection of social and public interests, shall be commended or rewarded by the relevant state organs or units.
Units or individuals that make excellent achievements in the letter-visit work shall be commended or rewarded by the relevant state organs.
Chapter II Scopes and Channels of Acceptance
Article 10 The local people's congresses at various levels and their standing committees shall accept the following letter-visit matters:
(1) proposals and opinions to the resolutions and decisions adopted and the local regulations enacted or approved by the people's congresses at the corresponding level and their standing committees;
(2) proposals and opinions to the work of the people's congresses at the corresponding level and their standing committees;
(3) exposures of and accusations against discipline or law breaching acts of the persons elected or appointed by the people's congresses at the corresponding level and their standing committees and the staff members of the standing committees;
(4) proposals and opinions to the performance of deputy duties by the deputies of the people's congresses at the corresponding level;
(5) appeals against and opinions to the work of the people's governments, the people's courts and the people's procuratorates at the corresponding level;
(6) proposals and opinions to the inappropriate resolutions and decisions made by the people's congresses at the next lower level and their standing committees;
(7) other letter-visit matters that shall be accepted according to law by the people's congresses at the corresponding level and their standing committees.
Article 11 The local people's governments at various levels and their working departments shall accept the following letter-visit matters:
(1) proposals and opinions to the economic, cultural and social undertakings within their regions of jurisdiction;
(2) proposals and opinions to such regulative documents as rules, decisions, and orders of the people's governments at the corresponding level or the people's governments at lower levels;
(3) exposures of and accusations against the discipline or law breaching acts of the staff members of the people's governments at the corresponding level, their working departments or the people's governments at lower levels;
(4) protests against specific administrative acts conducted by the people's governments at the corresponding level, their working departments or the people's governments at lower levels;
(5) claims for compensations for the loss of legitimate rights and interests due to the infringement conducted by the people's governments at the corresponding level, their working departments, the staff members thereof or the people's governments at lower levels through the illegal performance of their duties;
(6) applications for lawful and appropriate requests which should be solved by the people's governments and their working departments within their functions and powers;
(7) other letter-visit matters that shall be accepted according to law by the people's governments at the corresponding level and their working departments.
Article 12 The local people's courts at various levels shall accept the following letter-visit matters:
(1) appeals or applications for re-trial against validated decisions and judgments made on criminal, civil or administrative cases by the people's courts at the corresponding level or the people's courts at lower levels;
(2) appeals and accusations against the execution work conducted by the people's courts at the corresponding level and the people's courts at lower levels;
(3) appeals against the non-acceptance of private-prosecution criminal cases, civil cases or administrative cases that should have been accepted;
(4) claims for compensations for the loss of legitimate rights and interests due to the infringement conducted by the people's courts at the corresponding level, the people's courts at lower levels and their staff members through illegal performance of their duties;
(5) proposals and opinions to the work of the people's courts at the corresponding level or the people's courts at lower levels;
(6) exposures of and accusations against the discipline or law breaching acts of the staff members of the people's courts at the corresponding level or the people's courts at lower levels;
(7) other letter-visit matters that shall be accepted according to law by the people's courts at the corresponding level.
Article 13 The local people's procuratorates at various levels shall accept the following letter-visit matters:
(1) appeals against the disposition decisions made by the people's procuratorates at the corresponding level or the people's procuratorates at lower levels;
(2) accusations or reports against such criminal cases as duty crimes that should be filed for investigation according to law by the people's procuratorates;
(3) appeals against validated decisions and judgments made on criminal, civil or administrative cases by the people's courts at the corresponding level or at lower levels;
(4) appeals by victims against decisions of public security organs not to file cases for investigation as they should;
(5) claims for compensations for the loss of legitimate rights and interests due to the infringement conducted by the people's procuratorates at the corresponding level, the people's procuratorates at lower levels and their staff members through illegal performance of their duties;
(6) proposals and opinions to the work of the people's procuratorates at the corresponding level or the people's procuratorates at lower levels;
(7) accusations or reports against the discipline or law breaching acts of the staff members of the people's procuratorates at the corresponding level or the people's procuratorates at lower levels;
(8) other letter-visit matters that shall be accepted according to law by the people's procuratorates at the corresponding level.
Article 14 The state organs at various levels shall make known to the public, by means of bulletins or internet, the addresses, post codes, email addresses, reception places, hours and phones of their letter-visit working offices, the methods to inquire about the progress and results of handling letter-visit matters and the laws, regulations and rules relevant to letter-visit work and other relevant matters concerning conveniences provided to letter-visit makers.
The state organs at various levels shall make full use of internet resources and establish inter-related letter-visit information system so as to realize the sharing of letter-visit work resources among state organs.
Article 15 Persons in charge of state organs at various levels and the relevant staff members shall go into the grass-roots masses of the people to listen to their proposals, opinions and demands, help them to solve problems arising from life and production, and resolve contradictions and disputes in a timely manner.
Article 16 The state organs at various levels shall establish responsible person letter-visit reception day system for coordination of letter-visit handling. The person in charge of a state organ or the staff member designated by him may make an appointment with a letter-visit maker to discuss the prominent problem reported by him, or may go to the letter-visit maker's residential place to have a face-to-face talk with him.
Article 17 The local people's government at or above the county level shall establish a working mechanism which is led by the letter-visit working office of the relevant people's government, attended by the functional departments, inter-reacted with social circles and conducive to the rapid letter-visit handling, consolidate letter-visit work resources, and handle letter-visit matters in a lawful, timely and rational manner.
The local people's government at or above the county level may establish a people's visits reception center in light of the actual need of the letter-visit work to provide convenience for letter-visit makers to present their matters. The people's visits reception center shall be led by the letter-visit working office of the relevant people's government and participated by relevant departments for joint reception, and shall register letter-visit matters in a unified manner and handle through different channels; for letter-visit matters of major complexity, the people's government may organize relevant departments to handle them jointly.
Chapter III Presentation of Letter-Visit Matters
Article 18 It is encouraged to present letter-visit matters by means such as letters, emails and faxes, use real names and provide clear contact information.
The letter-visit matter shall be presented by means such as letters, emails and faxes where the letter-visit maker demands a written notification or reply.
Article 19 Where a letter-visit maker choose to present his letter-visit matter by making a visit, he shall present the matter to the relevant organ at the corresponding level which by law has the authority to the matter or to the organ at the next higher level, and the visitor shall go to the reception site established or appointed by the state organ within the publicized reception time, and produce his valid identification certificate.
Where a group of people wish to present a common letter-visit matter by making a visit, they shall elect delegates, and the number of the delegates shall not be more than five.
Article 20 For a letter-visit matter that has been accepted but has not been finished for handling, if the letter-visit maker presents the same matter within the prescribed handling period to the organ superior to the organ that has accepted and is handling the matter, the superior organ shall not accept the matter.
For complaint petition that shall be settled through legal means such as litigation, arbitration and administrative review according to law, the letter-visit maker shall, in accordance with the legal procedures, submit such petition to the relevant organ.
Article 21 In case a person with mental illness or infectious illness or without self-care ability wants to make a visit, his guardian or attorney shall present his letter-visit matter on his behalf.
Chapter IV Handling of Letter-Visit Matters
Article 22 The state organs at various levels and their staff members shall, when dealing with letter-visit matters, be scrupulous in the discharge of their duties and impartial in handling matters, ascertain the truth, identify liabilities, publicize legal knowledge, conduct education and persuasion, promptly and appropriately settle matters and may not shift responsibilities to others or do their work in a delayed or perfunctory manner.
Where the situations reported or proposals and opinions submitted by letter-visit makers are conducive to the improvement of work by state organs and the promotion of national economic and social development, the relevant organs shall conduct a serious study and adopt actively such proposals and opinions.
Article 23 The state organs at various levels shall register letter-visit matters upon receiving them, make entries for them in the letter-visit information system, differentiate the situation and handle them within 15 days in the following ways:
(1) directly handle the matter which, according to law, should be handled by the relevant organ at the corresponding level;
(2) assign the matter to a lower organ for handling if, according to law, it should be handled by that organ; a higher organ may handle the matter directly where it regards it as necessary;
(3) transfer the matter to another organ for handling if, according to law, it should be handled by that organ;
(4) notify a letter-visit maker to present his matter to a relevant organ in accordance with the legal procedures if his matter has been or should be handled through such legal means as litigation, arbitration or administrative review according to law.
Article 24 Upon receipt of a letter-visit matter, the organ with the authority to directly handle the matter shall make a reply in writing on the spot on whether or not to accept the matter if it is able to do so; if it is unable to do so, it shall notify the letter-visit maker in writing within 15 days after it receives the matter of whether or not to accept the matter, and explanation in writing shall be made in case it refuses to accept the matter. Repeated letters and visits or unclear names and contact information of letter-visit makers shall be exceptions to this provision.
Article 25 The state organs at various levels and their staff members may not release or transfer any material concerning accusations or expositions provided by the letter-visit maker or any relevant information to the persons or organizations accused or exposed.
Article 26 When investigating into or handling a letter-visit matter, the state organs at various levels shall listen to the statement about facts or reasons made by the letter-visit maker; where necessary, they may ask the letter-visit maker to explain the situation or provide relevant proofing materials; where further verification needs to be done on relevant situations, they may investigate or seek evidences from relevant organizations or persons according to law.
Where a letter-visit matter of major importance, great complexity or difficulty is concerned, a hearing may be held when necessary. The hearing shall be held in open, and truth shall be ascertained and liabilities be identified through such means as inquiry, debate, deliberation or panel hearing. The letter-visit maker and the relevant state organs shall attend the hearing to make statements about their opinions and to submit evidences.
Article 27 The state organ with the authority to handle the letter-visit matters shall, based on the investigation and verification it has conducted, handle the letter-visit matters respectively in the following ways and make replies to the letter-visit makers in writing in accordance with the relevant laws, regulations and rules and other relevant provisions
(1) support the request that is based on clear facts and is in compliance with laws, regulations, rules or other relevant provisions;
(2) make adequate explanation to the letter-visit maker if the request is based on a reasonable cause but lacks basis in laws, regulations, rules or other relevant provisions;
(3) deny the request that is neither based on facts nor in compliance with laws, regulations and rules or other relevant provisions.
Where the state organ with the authority to handle the matters makes a decision to support a letter-visit request according to the provisions in sub-paragraph (1) of the preceding paragraph, it shall urge the relevant organ or unit to execute the decision within a prescribed period of time.
Article 28 A letter-visit matter shall be handled in completion within 60 days after the date of acceptance, and the result shall be given to the letter-visit maker in writing; where the matter is complicated, the handling period may be extended properly with the approval of the person in charge of the organ, but the period extended may not exceed 30 days, and the letter-visit maker shall be informed of the reason for the extension. Where laws and regulations provide otherwise, those provisions shall prevail.
Article 29 If a staff member engaged in handling letters and visits has direct interests with the letter-visit matter or the letter-visit maker, he shall withdraw from the handling.
Article 30 Where a letter-visit maker rejects the decision made by the administrative organ on the letter-visit matter, he may apply for a review or reconsideration in accordance with the relevant provisions in the Regulations on Letters and Visits promulgated by the State Council.
Where the letter-visit maker rejects the review decision, and continues to raise petitions based on the same facts and reasons, the disposition of his case shall be terminated, and the administrative organs at various levels may not accept such a case any more. The people's government or the relevant organs of the residential place of the letter-visit maker shall conduct persuasion and education and do well their work in maintaining stabilization according to law.
Article 31 The relevant organs shall carefully handle letter-visit matters assigned to them by the local organ of state power and report back the results within the prescribed period of time. The organ of state power may supervise the handling process and urge the relevant organs to satisfy reasonable requests brought forth in the letters and visits by the masses of the people.
Article 32 The letter-visit working offices of various state organs at or above the county level may supervise the handling of letter-visit matters transferred or assigned by them according to law. The supervision may be conducted through such means as examining the case documents, listening to reports or making direct investigations.
The supervision organs at various levels of the State shall carry out supervision on the handling of letter-visit matters of major importance conducted by the relevant organs according to law.
Article 33 The letter-visit working offices of various state organs at or above the county level may make proposals for improvement of the handling of the letter-visit matters under their supervision. The organ that receives an improvement proposal shall make report back with the information concerning the improvement it has made within 30 days in writing.
The letter-visit working offices of various state organs at or above the county level shall report in time to the relevant state organs issues brought forth by letter-visit makers concerning legality and major policies, and submit proposals for resolving these issues.
The letter-visit working offices of various state organs at or above the county level may make proposals to the relevant state organs to impose administrative or disciplinary sanctions on the persons in charge of the state organs and the staff members of the state organs who cause serious consequences by shifting responsibilities to others, doing their work in a delayed or perfunctory manner, hiding relevant information, or committing falsification, malfeasance or dereliction of duty in the letter-visit work.
Article 34 The letter-visit working offices of various state organs at or above the county level shall notify on regular basis the letter-visit working offices of the organs at the next lower lever of the information concerning the transfer, assignment and supervision of letter-visit matters; the letter-visit working offices of the organs at the next lower level shall report on regular basis to the letter-visit working offices of the organs at the next higher level information concerning the handling of letter-visit matters transferred or assigned to them or supervised by the higher organs; the relevant state organs shall notify each other of the information concerning acceptance of letter-visit matters.
Article 35 For letter-visit matters or any letter-visit information of major importance or great emergency, citizens, legal persons and other organizations may report to the nearest relevant state organs.
Upon receipt of such a report, the relevant state organ shall report to the higher organs immediately, take measures promptly within its scope of functions and powers according to law and handle the situation in a resolute and proper manner so as to prevent occurrence or expansion of adverse social repercussions.
Chapter V Letter-Visit Order
Article 36 The letter-visit maker shall not commit any of the following acts in his letter-visit activities:
(1) assembling or staying without authorization around the office areas of the state organs or in public places, surrounding or breaking into the state organs or other important venues, forcefully crashing into the security belts or security zones set up by the public security organs, obstructing the staff members of the state organs in their lawful performance of official duties, or disturbing the normal operation of the state organs;
(2) harassing the staff members of the state organs, restricting their personal freedom, molesting their normal life, insulting, reviling, threatening them or beating them up;
(3) gathering a crowd to make trouble, or plotting illegal assemblies, processions or demonstrations;
(4) intercepting vehicles, or obstructing traffic or disturbing social order by holding sit-ins;
(5) fabricating documents, creating rumors to mislead people, or falsely accusing or framing other persons;
(6) carrying dangerous Articles, controlled devices or other Articles that are likely to imperil the safety of other people's lives and property, mailing or throwing in unclear substance, creating atmosphere of terror, or threatening with suicide, self-mutilation or infectious diseases;
(7) staying or stirring up fights and causing troubles in the letter-visit reception sites, or abandoning a person without self-care ability in a letter-visit reception site;
(8) instigating, colluding, coercing by threat, enticing by promise of gain or manipulating from behind the scenes other persons to make letters and visits, or using letter-visit making as a pretext for accumulating wealth;
(9) other illegal acts.
Article 37 The public security organ shall maintain the letter-visit order according to law. The letter-visit order at the office areas of various state organs and their proximities shall be maintained by the public security organs in the locality.
Article 38 Where the letter-visit working office discovers any sufferer from mental disease among visitors, it shall notify his unit, guardian or the people's government of his residential place of the responsibility to take him back for custody and treatment; if the mental sufferer is incapable of controlling his acts and disturbs the letter-visit order, the public security organ in the locality of the letter-visit working office shall take him away from the letter-visit reception site and make disposal according to the relevant provisions of the State.
Article 39 Where the letter-visit working office discovers any sufferer or suspect of sufferer from infectious illness among the visitors, the public health administration department at the same level as the letter-visit working office shall handle the situation according to the relevant provisions of the State. The letter-visit working office may notify his unit, guardian or the people's government of his residential place to take him back.
Article 40 Where a person without self-care ability is abandoned at the reception site, the letter-visit working office shall notify his unit, guardian or the people's government of his residential place to take him back.
Article 41 Articles that may endanger public security such as dangerous Articles and controlled devices carried into the reception site by the letter-visit maker shall be seized according to law.
Article 42 Where a letter-visit maker threatens to commit suicide or self-mutilation or threatens to spread infectious diseases, the letter-visit working office shall stop him immediately and notify the public security organ, health department and medical institution to handle the situation in time.
Article 43 The letter-visit maker shall promptly leave the letter-visit reception site when the reception is over. In the event that a letter-visit maker overstays his reception, obstructs the operation of the relevant organ or causes adverse repercussions, the public security organ in the locality of the letter-visit working office shall force him to leave if persuasion and education fail on him.
Chapter VI Legal Liabilities
Article 44 Where the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, legal persons or other organizations are infringed due to any of the following circumstances and this leads to occurrence of letter-visit matters and causes serious consequences, the person directly in charge and other persons directly responsible shall be given administrative sanctions according to law; where a crime is constituted, the criminal liabilities shall be investigated according to law:
(1) overstepping or abusing power;
(2) failing to perform statutory duties;
(3) making errors in application of laws and regulations, or breaching legal procedures.
Article 45 Where the letter-visit working office of a state organ that bears the responsibility of handling letter-visit matters, in violation of the provisions in these Regulations, falls into one of the following circumstances in the process of letter-visit handling, it shall be ordered by the relevant organ to make correction; where serious consequences are caused, the person directly in charge and other persons directly responsible shall be given administrative sanctions according to law:
(1) failing to register, transfer or assign letters and visits received in accordance with the provisions;
(2) refusing to accept letter-visit matters that fall within its statutory power and responsibility;
(3) failing to notify the letter-visit maker in writing within the prescribed time limit of whether or not to accept his case;
(4) failing to perform its duty on inspection and supervision as it should.
Article 46 Where a state organ with the authority to handle letter-visit matters commits one of the following acts in the process of letter-visit handling, it shall be ordered by the relevant organ to make correction; where serious consequences are caused, the person directly in charge and other persons directly responsible shall be given administrative sanctions according to law:
(1) shifting its responsibilities to others, handling letter-visit matters in a delayed or perfunctory manner, or failing to handle in completion the letter-visit matters within the statutory time limit;
(2) failing to support a request that is based on clear facts and conforms to the relevant laws, regulations, rules or other relevant provisions.
Article 47 The staff member of the state organ who, in violation of the provisions in these Regulations, commits one of the following acts, shall be given administrative sanctions according to law; where a crime is constituted, the criminal liabilities shall be investigated according to law.
(1) concealing, falsely reporting, or delaying in reporting the letter-visit matters or information of major importance and great emergency that may cause social repercussions , or inciting others to do so;
(2) discarding, concealing, damaging or tampering with letter-visit materials;
(3) intensifying contradictions due to rude manners in the course of letter-visit handling;
(4) releasing or transferring letter-visit material of accusation or charge or the relevant information to the person or organization accused or charged;
(5) retaliating against letter-visit makers;
(6) refusing to execute the decision made by the state organ with authority in support of the letter-visit request.
Article 48 Where letter-visit makers violate the provisions in the second paragraph of Article 19 or provisions in Article 36 of these Regulations, the staff members of the relevant state organ shall conduct dissuasion, criticism, persuasion or education.
If such dissuasion, criticism, persuasion or education fails, the public security organ of the place where the action takes place shall give warning and admonition, stops the act, and take the persons concerned away from the spot; for any act in violation of the laws or regulations concerning assemblies, processions and demonstrations, or any act against public security administration, the public security organ of the place where the act takes place shall take disposal measures on the spot and impose penalties for breaking public security administration, and when necessary, the public security organ of the residential place of the law-breaking person may grant assistance; where a crime is constituted, the criminal liabilities shall be investigated according to law.
Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions
Article 49 The letter-visit work of the people's organizations within the administrative region of this Province such as the trade unions, communist youth leagues, and women's federations shall be conducted by reference to these Regulations.
Article 50 Letter-visit matters concerning foreigners, stateless persons or foreign organizations shall be handled by reference to these Regulations.
Article 51 These Regulations shall enter into effect as of October 1, 2006. The Regulations of Jiangsu Province on Letters and Visits adopted at the Thirty-first Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eighth People's Congress of Jiangsu Province on October 17, 1997 shall be repealed at the same time.