Abstract:

The name and connotation of the legal term “personal information” in The Civil Code of PRC can be clarified only after a comparative study of the Chinese synonymous terms “personal xinxi”, “personal shuju” and “personal ziliao”, all meaning personal information or personal data. The connotation of “personal information” can be found in its various definitions in corresponding legislative texts, so it is necessary to analyze attributes of personal information right and interest, the structure and components of its definitions, and the content of subject rights of personal information. As for the interchangeable use of personal xinxi/shuju/ziliao in dictionaries, legislative texts as well as Chinese legal works and journal papers, it can be found that xinxi/shuju/ziliao are used according to certain rules in The Civil Code, and there is little confusion among definitions of xinxi/shuju/ziliao in popular Chinese dictionaries. Personal xinxi/shuju/ziliao are not often interchangeably used but applied according to some rules in legislative texts of China. Much confusion, however, has resulted from the interchangeable use of personal xinxi/shuju/ziliao in Chinese legal works and journal papers. This paper puts forward that there are three major reasons leading to such confusion, and suggests rules guiding the use of personal xinxi/shuju/ziliao in Chinese legislative texts as guiding principles for selecting personal information related terms in local legislation in China and citation of overseas laws by scholars in China.

Key words: Chinese variations, personal shuju, personal ziliao, attributes of right, right and interest of personal xinxi