If you are a criminal suspect, PSB questioning is interrogation — ask for counsel, do not invent a US Fifth-Amendment script.
Public security interrogation of a criminal suspect is governed by Criminal Procedure Law rules on time, recording, and counsel access. ‘Just clarifying’ language does not make it an HR interview. Foreign nationals need language support and consular notification paths. Silence and self-incrimination rules are not a carbon copy of US Miranda. Do not sign Chinese transcripts you do not understand. This page is the questioning moment. Right-to-a-lawyer and foreign-detained pages are related pages. Long rights blogs stay linked, not rewritten.
4 questions before you choose the route.
This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.
Am I a witness or a suspect?
Status changes the room.
StatusCounsel requested?
Meeting rights.
CounselLanguage understood?
Interpreter, not a colleague.
LanguageTranscript accurate before signing?
Read every page.
SignWorking rule: Map the regulated role before marketing or launch in China.
The signal ledger.
These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.
Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.
Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.
Questions people ask before they build.
Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.
Must I answer every question?
You must not make false statements; strategy on silence and admissions is counsel-grade and fact-specific.
Where are investigation-rights deep dives?
Criminal investigations china rights accused and foreign-national rights guides.
Primary authorities
Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.