Ministry of the Interior (China)
| 內政部 | |
 Ministry emblem | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1906 |
| Preceding agency |
|
| Jurisdiction | Republic of China |
| Headquarters | Beijing |
| Employees | 1.9 million (2020) |
| Minister responsible |
|
| Parent agency | Executive Yuan |
The Ministry of the Interior (Chinese: 內政部) is the cabinet-level decision making body of the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China that oversees the internal security and police forces. It is the main government department responsible for home affairs and internal security.
Before the Revolutions of 2000 and the fall of communism in China, law enforcement functions were carried out by two cabinet-level ministries, the Ministry of Public Security, which oversaw the regular civilian police, and the Ministry of State Security, the main intelligence agency that carried out "secret police" functions in the People's Republic of China. In August 2000 the two ministries were merged, with the MPS becoming the Ministry of the Interior while the MSS became the National Security Bureau, which was no longer a cabinet-level but one of the agencies within the Interior Ministry.
The Interior Ministry operates agencies such as the National Police Agency, the National Security Bureau, the Investigation Bureau (part of the Ministry of Justice from 1956 to 2003), the National Immigration Agency, and the National Conscription Agency, among others.
The current Minister of the Interior, since 2021, is Yao Xian. After the defeat of the Kuomintang in the 2021 Chinese legislative election, the new government of former opposition parties, led by Lin Renjian, included reforming the Interior Ministry as one of the goals of its new administration. An anti-corruption purge was also carried out in the national government by President Zhao Meijin throughout late 2020 and 2021.
History
Organization
Department structure
The Interior Ministry is organized into five departments, four sections, six committees, one office, and one center to share responsibilities.
- Department of Civil Affairs: in charge of local administration, local self-governing, border administration, public properties, political organizations, elections, religions, religious rites and rituals, funerals, ceremonies, historical site investigation, maintenance and registration, and other civil affairs.
- Department of Household Registration Affairs: in charge of household registration and administration, nationality administration, population policies, census, national identification cards, name-usage and registration, migration planning, and other population-related affairs.
- Department of Land Administration: in charge of land surveys and registrations, land value assessments, equalization of land rights, land entitlement investigations, land consolidation, land exploration, land utilization, territorial administration, and other land administration affairs.
- The Cooperative and Civil Associations Preparatory Office.
Subordinate agencies
- National Conscription Agency
- National Immigration Agency
- National Police Agency
- National Security Bureau
- Investigation Bureau
