Law on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language of the People’s Republic of China

（2000年10月31日第九届全国人民代表大会常务委员会第十八次会议通过2000年10月31日中华人民共和国主席令第37号公布自2001年1月1日起施行）

第一章　总则

　　第一条　为推动国家通用语言文字的规范化、标准化及其健康发展，使国家通用语言文字在社会生活中更好地发挥作用，促进各民族、各地区经济文化交流，根据宪法，制定本法。　

　　第二条　本法所称的国家通用语言文字是普通话和规范汉字。

(Adopted at the 18th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China on October 31, 2000, promulgated by Order No. 37 of the President of the People’s Republic of China on October 31, 2000, and effective as of January 1, 2001)

Contents

Chapter I General Provisions

Chapter II Use of the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language

Chapter III Administration and Supervision

Chapter IV Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is enacted in accordance with the Constitution for the purpose of promoting the normalization and standardization of the standard spoken and written Chinese language and its sound development, making it play a better role in public activities, and promoting economic and cultural exchange among all the Chinese ethnic groups and regions.

Article 2 For purposes of this Law, the standard spoken and written Chinese language means Putonghua (a common speech with pronunciation based on the Beijing dialect) and the standardized Chinese characters.