1) We introduced a system of pledging allegiance to the Constitution.

The Standing Committee examined and adopted the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Implementing the System of Pledging Allegiance to the Constitution, thereby establishing the system into national law. The decision stipulates, "All those who are elected or appointed to public office by people's congresses at all levels or by the standing committees of people's congresses at and above the county level as well as by people's governments, people's courts, and people's procuratorates at all levels shall make a public pledge of allegiance to the Constitution when they officially assume office." This is a major measure for promoting governance of the country based on the Constitution and other laws. The words of the pledge embody the sense of loyalty, responsibility, and commitment that public servants are expected to have toward their country and people. The practice of pledging allegiance to the Constitution will play an important role in urging public servants to remain loyal to, comply with, and safeguard the Constitution, which in turn will help us in our efforts to ensure and oversee the enforcement of the Constitution.

2) We exercised constitutional stipulations on amnesty.

In commemorating the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and in the Global War against Fascism, and acting in line with the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee, the NPC Standing Committee, in compliance with the relevant provisions of the Constitution, adopted a decision on granting amnesty to certain prisoners. The President of China issued an order, granting amnesty to prisoners falling into four categories, with one category being those who fought in the War of Resistance and those who fought in the War of Liberation. This marks the eighth time since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the first time since the introduction of the reform and opening up policy, that amnesty has been granted in China. The granting of amnesty represents a new step that has been taken to implement the system of amnesty as stipulated in the Constitution, advance the law-based governance of China in all areas, and apply the spirit of humanitarianism, and therefore has major political and legal implications.

3) We enacted the Law on National Medals and Titles of Honor.

The system of national awards and honors is an important system stipulated in the Constitution. In order to commend and award those who have made outstanding contributions to our country, foster and promote the core socialist values, and enhance the cohesiveness and appeal of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the Standing Committee, in accordance with Paragraph 16 under Article 67 of the Constitution and on the basis of a review of the past experience in granting medals and awards, drafted and then deliberated and passed the Law on National Medals and Titles of Honor. This law has defined the most important and fundamental provisions concerning national medals and honorary titles, such as the establishment of such medals and titles, eligible recipients, and awarding procedures, thereby laying down an important legal basis for establishing and improving relevant systems of Party and state awards and honors.

4) We improved the recording and review system for normative documents.

The recording and review of normative documents constitutes an important system for safeguarding the authority of the Constitution and ensuring legislative consistency. Seizing on the opportunity provided by the implementation of the revised Legislation Law, the Standing Committee took steps not only to improve the system of recording and reviewing normative documents, but also to enhance its capacity to implement this system. The working bodies of the Standing Committee, working in collaboration with relevant departments, established a mechanism for coordinating the recording and review of regulations, rules, and other normative documents. Thanks to years of efforts, all types of regulations, rules, judicial interpretations, and other normative documents have been brought under the scope of recording and review, and we have worked to see to it that any normative document that is found to, through review, conflict with the Constitution or any other law is rescinded or corrected in accordance with the law and relevant regulations. Our policy in this regard is to ensure that all normative documents are kept on record, all documents on record are examined, and all mistakes discovered in these documents are rectified. Over the past year, the working bodies of the Standing Committee reviewed over 30 administrative regulations and judicial interpretations submitted by the State Council, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate. They have also taken the initiative to review certain local regulations, studying over 200 suggestions from various departments. In doing so, they have ensured proper recording and review of normative documents.

1) We granted authorization to support trial reforms.

For proposed reforms that come into conflict with existing laws, and for which the conditions for revising the relevant laws do not exist and trials are required first, the Standing Committee may act in accordance with the prescribed legal procedures to grant authorization for preliminary reform trials to be conducted, thereby providing the necessary legal basis and support for trial reforms in certain regions or particular sectors. Over the past year, we have issued authorization decisions on a series of initiatives, including the trial reform of the system of people's assessors, the trials for filing public interest litigation, the pilot program of a marketing authorization holder system for drugs and relevant issues, the trials to allow the mortgaging of contracted rural land-use rights and farmers' home property rights, and the adjustment to the applicability of certain stipulations in the Securities Law in order to implement the reform to introduce an IPO registration system. These decisions have been made with clear definition to the scope, content, and period of validity of the relevant authorizations. At the same time, we urged relevant government departments to carry out these trial reforms in accordance with the law, promptly sum up experience gained in practice, and report their progress to the Standing Committee.

2) We carried out a coordinated effort to revise similar or related stipulations across certain laws.

In a continued effort to help the government streamline administration, delegate more powers, improve regulation, and provide better services, we found it imperative to act promptly to revise or rescind any laws or regulations that are no longer suited to the current conditions. The Standing Committee, on the basis of thoroughly reviewing relevant motions put forward by the State Council, and in view of different circumstances, decided to adopt a comprehensive approach to the revision of the laws in question. We approved six decisions on the revision of existing laws which involved 24 laws and one decision on legal issues, making consistent revisions to certain articles therein concerning government review and price regulation. In addition, certain revisions were made to the Law on Commercial Banks, such as the deletion of a provision stipulating that the loan-to-deposit ratio of commercial banks was not to exceed 75%. This revision enables commercial banks to increase their credit supply by an appropriate margin and better support the development of the real economy.

3) We heard and reviewed reports on the progress of reforms from the State Council, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Over the last several years, the Standing Committee has made authorization decisions on a number of pilot initiatives in reform and opening up. In April 2015, the Standing Committee heard and reviewed the State Council's work report on pilot free trade zones, giving a positive appraisal of the progress made in the development of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone and in the establishment of three more pilot free trade zones in Guangdong, Tianjin, and Fujian. The Standing Committee also proposed several improvements with regard to the active yet prudent development of pilot free trade zones. In August, during its review of the mid-term report of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on the implementation of the pilot projects of accelerated procedures for certain criminal cases, the Standing Committee emphasized the need to enhance the organization, guidance, monitoring, and inspection of the pilot projects and conduct timely reviews and assessments, so that a reliable source of reference could be provided for improving criminal litigation procedures. In December, when the authorization allowing the State Council to make provisional adjustments on a trial basis to items requiring government review as prescribed by certain laws in Guangdong Province was about to expire, the Standing Committee reviewed the State Council's report on the implementation of this pilot practice and made a decision regarding the handling of subsequent matters following the expiration of the authorization in view of actual conditions.

1) We intensified our efforts to inspect compliance with laws.

Inspecting compliance with laws is a major statutory means by which the NPC exercises oversight. Over the past year, the Standing Committee inspected compliance with six laws, specifically the Law on Vocational Education, the Law on the Protection of Consumers' Rights and Interests, the Agriculture Law, the Law on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, the Law on Guaranteeing the Rights and Interests of Senior Citizens, and the Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy. Vice chairpersons of the Standing Committee, as well as myself as Chairman, headed inspection groups to localities to oversee and inspect compliance with these laws and on this basis, delivered reports on the findings at meetings of the Standing Committee and chaired inquiries on related specific issues. In addition, the Standing Committee strengthened follow-up oversight. Following our inspection of compliance with the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law and our deliberation on the inspection report in 2014, we made arrangements last year to hear and deliberate the State Council's feedback report on how it had responded to our 2014 report and our comments. We also heard and deliberated a report from the State Council on the work it did in response to our compliance inspection report for the Law on Vocational Education and our comments. Our efforts in this regard have contributed to the improvement of relevant government work.

2) We strengthened the review and oversight of government budgets and final accounts.

In performing this legally prescribed duty, the Standing Committee heard and deliberated government reports on final accounts, auditing work, and the implementation of budgets, and reviewed and approved the central government's final accounts for 2014. We required governments at all levels and related departments to conscientiously observe the revised Budget Law, deepen the reform of fiscal and tax systems, follow standard procedures in compiling and managing budgets and final accounts, and make overall plans for the use of government funds so as to ensure that these funds are used more effectively.

3) We helped to promote sustained, sound economic development.

The Standing Committee heard and deliberated reports by the State Council on development, including a report on the implementation of the 2014 plan for national economic and social development. We fully endorsed the work of the State Council and its relevant departments, remarking that the steady and positive performance of China's economy in 2014 had not come easily. At the same time, we proposed that the State Council continue to faithfully implement the decisions and plans of the Party Central Committee; understand, adapt to, and guide the new normal in China's economic development; focus on improving the quality and efficacy of economic development; maintain a proper balance between ensuring steady growth, promoting reform, making structural adjustments, improving living standards, and guarding against risks; and work to promote sustained, sound economic development and social stability.

4) We helped to guarantee and improve living standards.

Safeguarding and improving the people's wellbeing and promoting social equity and justice represent priorities in the Standing Committee's oversight work. After hearing and deliberating the State Council's report on its efforts to develop the system of public cultural services, the Standing Committee proposed that the relevant government departments intensify the construction of public cultural and sports facilities; build a stronger contingent of personnel in the cultural and sports sectors; increase the supply of public cultural products and services; and make innovations in systems and mechanisms for the management and operation of public cultural programs, so that the people can benefit more from cultural development. After hearing and deliberating the State Council's report on the progress in deepening the reform of the medical and health care systems, the Standing Committee fully affirmed the notable achievements that had been registered, while also emphasizing that the government should continue to push the reform forward in line with China's realities, with strong confidence and the courage to overcome any difficulty that may emerge on the road ahead. We iterated that the government should do everything it can within reasonable limits to ensure basic medical and health care services for the people, improve the services provided at the community level, and establish sound supporting mechanisms. We also stated that it should strengthen top-level design, improve systems and mechanisms, and work energetically to find a Chinese solution to medical reform -- a difficult problem for all countries around the world -- with a view to making progress in building a Healthy China.

5) We continued to strengthen oversight of judicial work.

We heard and deliberated the report of the Supreme People's Court on the hearing of administrative cases and the report of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on the oversight over the enforcement of penal decisions. On this basis, we commented that the courts should fully observe the revised Administrative Procedures Law and improve the hearing of administrative cases, and that the procuratorates should standardize and improve oversight over the enforcement of penal decisions and ensure strict application of sentence commutation, parole, and medical bail. The Supreme People's Court held a teleconference for courts throughout the country, during which it laid out dedicated plans for strengthening and improving the hearing of administrative cases under new circumstances. The Supreme People's Procuratorate also earnestly considered our comments, formulating the decision on comprehensively strengthening and standardizing inspections of the enforcement of penal decisions.