(Selected from the translated work titled The Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, authored by Robert Zhang and Steve Li, criminal defense lawyers registered in Shanghai, China.)
Article 20 [Justifiable Defense] An act committed to protect the national or public interests or the personal, property, or other rights of the actor or others from ongoing damage shall constitute a justifiable defense, for which the actor shall not be held criminally liable notwithstanding any damage to the perpetrator. Where justifiable defense apparently exceeds the necessary extent and causes significant damage, the actor shall be held criminally liable; provided, however, that punishment shall be mitigated or exempted.
A defensive act against an on-going assault, murder, robbery, rape, kidnap, or other violent crimes that seriously endanger personal safety does not constitute excessive defense notwithstanding any injury or death to the perpetrator, for which the actor shall not be held criminally liable.
