Article 11 The measures taken by the relevant people's government and its departments in response to an emergency shall be commensurate with the nature, seriousness and extent of the social harm that may be caused by the emergency; and where there are more than one options available for choice, the one that is advantageous to protection of the rights and interests of citizens, legal persons and other organizations to the maximum extent shall be chosen.

Citizens, legal persons and other organizations shall be obligated to participate in responding to emergencies.

Article 12 To respond to an emergency, the relevant people's government and its departments may expropriate the property of units and individuals. After the use of the expropriated property or completion of the handling of the emergency, the property shall be returned to the owner in a timely manner. Where property is expropriated or the expropriated property is damaged or lost, compensation shall be made therefor.

Article 13 Where litigation, administrative reconsideration or arbitration cannot be conducted normally because of the adoption of emergency response measures, the provisions on suspension of limitation period or of proceedings shall apply, unless otherwise provided for by law.

Article 14 The Chinese People's Liberation Army, the Chinese People's Armed Police Force and the militia shall participate in emergency rescue, relief and handling in accordance with the provisions of this Law and of the relevant laws, administrative regulations and military regulations, as well as the orders issued by the State Council and the Central Military Commission.

Article 15 The Government of the People's Republic of China shall carry out cooperation and exchange with the governments of other countries and the international organizations concerned in matters of emergency prevention, monitoring, early warning, emergency handling, rescue and relief, and post-emergency rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Article 16 The decisions made and orders issued by the people's government at or above the county level in response to an emergency shall be submitted for the record to the standing committee of the people's congress at the corresponding level; and after handling of the emergency is completed, the said government shall make a special report on the work to the said standing committee.

Chapter II

Prevention of, and Preparation for Response to, Emergencies

Article 17 The State establishes a sound precautionary system for emergency response.

The State Council shall be responsible for making the overall precautionary plans in response to national emergencies and organizing the making of special precaution plans in response to specific national emergencies; and the relevant departments of the State Council shall, in compliance with their respective duties and the relevant precautionary plans made by the State Council, be responsible for making their departmental precautionary plans in response to national emergencies.

Local people's governments at all levels and the relevant departments of the local people's governments at or above the county level shall, in accordance with the relevant laws, regulations, rules, and the precautionary plans in response to emergencies made by the people’s governments at higher levels and their relevant departments and in light of the actual local conditions, make appropriate precautionary plans in response to emergencies.

The authority making precautionary plans in response to emergencies shall make timely modification of the same according to actual needs and changes in the situation. The procedures for making and modifying precautionary plans in response to emergencies shall be formulated by the State Council.

Article 18 In a precautionary plan in response to an emergency shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Law and the relevant laws and regulations and in light of the nature and characteristics of the emergency and the potential social harm it may caused, be specified the organizational setup of command in response to the emergency and the duties of administration, the mechanism for prevention and early warning, the procedure for emergency handling, the guarantee measures for emergency response, the measures for post-emergency rehabilitation and reconstruction, etc.

Article 19 Urban or rural planning shall meet the need for prevention and handling of an emergency, overall arrangement shall be made for the equipment and infrastructure necessitated for emergency response, and the sites of shelters for emergency shall be rationally located.

Article 20 The people's government at the county level shall, within its administrative area, check and register the sources of danger, which are liable to give rise to natural disasters, calamitous accidents and public health accidents, and the dangerous areas, assess the risks, regularly inspect and monitor such sources and areas, and order the units concerned to take safety and prevention measures.

The people's government of a province or of a city divided into districts shall, within its administrative area, check and register the sources of danger, which are liable to give rise to especially serious or serious emergencies, and the dangerous areas, and assess the risks, organize inspection and monitoring of such sources and areas, and order the units concerned to take safety and prevention measures.

The sources of danger and the dangerous areas registered according to the provisions of this Law by the local people's governments at or above the county level shall, in accordance with State regulations, be made known to the public in a timely manner.

Article 21 The people's governments at the county level and their relevant departments, the people's governments at the township level, the neighbourhood offices, the residents' committees and the villagers' committees shall, in a timely manner, mediate and handle the conflicts and disputes which may cause incidents endangering public security.