Editing Secret police (section)

==== China ====
In [[East Asia]], the [[Embroidered Uniform Guard]] ({{zh|t=錦衣衞|p=Jǐnyīwèi}}) of the [[Ming dynasty]] was founded in the 1360s by the [[Hongwu Emperor]] and served as the dynasty's secret police until the [[Transition from Ming to Qing|collapse of Ming rule]] in 1644. Originally, their main functions were to serve as the emperor's bodyguard and to spy on his subjects and report any plots of rebellion or regicide directly to the emperor. Over time, the organization took on law enforcement and judicial functions and grew to be immensely powerful, with the power to overrule ordinary judicial rulings and to investigate, interrogate, and punish anyone, including members of the imperial family. In 1420, a second secret police organization run by eunuchs, known as the [[Eastern Depot]] ({{zhi|t=東廠|p=Dōng Chǎng}}), was formed to suppress suspected political opposition to the usurpation of the throne by the [[Yongle Emperor]]. Combined, these two organizations made the Ming dynasty one of the world's first [[police state]]s.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Beyond Suffering: Recounting War in Modern China|date=2011|publisher=UBC Press|author1=James A. Flath |author2=Norman Smith |isbn=9780774819558|location=Vancouver|oclc=758370695}}</ref>

The [[Ministry of State Security (China)|Ministry of State Security]] ({{zhi|s=国家安全部|p=Guójiā Ānquán Bù}}) in modern China controls a network of provincial and local State Security Bureaus, integrated with local [[Public security bureau (China)|Public Security Bureaus]] which make up part of the policing system of China. The MSS has its own branch of the People's Police, known as the [[State Security Police]], with officers which have the dual tasks of law enforcement and repressing political dissent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Crime and Policing in China {{!}} Office of Justice Programs |url=https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/crime-and-policing-china |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=www.ojp.gov}}</ref> State security bureaus and public security bureaus are functionally co-located within the same buildings as each other.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bishop |first=Bill |title=MSS goes with "People's Leader 人民领袖"; Dual circulation; US South China Sanctions; Missile tests; TikTok |url=https://sinocism.com/p/mss-goes-with-peoples-leader-dual |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=sinocism.com |language=en|url-access=subscription}}{{Self-published source|date=November 2024|expert=y|reason=This Substack appears to be written by a recognized China specialist}} </ref> The MSS and the [[Ministry of Public Security (China)|Ministry of Public Security]] control the overall national police network of China and the two agencies share resources and closely coordinate with each other.<ref>{{Cite web |last=greatcharlie |date=2020-11-23 |title=Commentary: Maintaining the Harmony between the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of State Security in an Apparent Totalitarian China |url=https://greatcharlie.com/2020/11/23/commentary-maintaining-the-harmony-between-the-ministry-of-public-security-and-the-ministry-of-state-security-in-an-apparent-totalitarian-china/ |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=greatcharlie |language=en}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=December 2023}}