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STATE ORGANS | THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHINA | MULTI-PARTY COOPERATION AND THE POLITICAL CONSULTATIVE SYSTEM | JURISDICTION | HONG KONG | MACAO | TAIWAN | RELIGION | RELATIONS WITH FOREIGN COUNTRIES |
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National People's Congress |
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The Ninth NPC and Its Standing Committee The year 2000 was the third year in the tenure of the Ninth NPC and its Standing Committee. In it, the NPC and its Standing Committee accelerated the building of socialist democracy and a legal system in China by working in a democratic, practical and pioneering manner. Exercising State legislative power is the most important duty of the NPC and its Standing Committee as entrusted by the Constitution. In 2000, the NPC and its Standing Committee continued to give top priority to legislative work with the focus on national central tasks. They examined 26 draft laws and adopted 13 of them; examined and adopted two resolutions concerning legal matters; passed one item related to legal interpretation; and ratified 14 treaties concluded with other countries. In 2000, the legislative work of the NPC featured earnest implementation of the principles of democratic centralism, extensive solicitation of opinions from the people and endeavors to ensure democratic and scientific legislation. The Ninth NPC Standing Committee held its 19th Meeting in December 2000, during which a form of joint meeting was adopted for the examination of the amendments to the Marriage Law in accordance with the Legislative Law and the Rules of Procedure for the Standing Committee of the NPC. Through extensive debate, all participants fully elaborated their opinions. The news media reported the discussions through various means and forms, which helped raise the transparency of the legislative work and enabled the people to know about the NPC Standing Committee's work in a more specific and direct way. While listening to the opinions of various departments, localities and interested parties, the NPC Standing Committee promulgated the draft amendments to the Marriage Law in newspapers to solicit opinions from the masses of people. The NPC Standing Committee has attached equal importance to the formulation of new laws and revision of existing laws. In 2000, amended draft laws accounted for two-thirds of the total number of draft laws examined by the NPC Standing Committee. The formulation of laws is aimed at enforcement. China currently has more than 250 effective laws. It is impossible for the NPC Standing Committee to examine the enforcement of each law every year. Therefore, it has focused on examination of the enforcement of several laws each year in light of the actual national situation, with an aim of enhancing the enforcement of all laws. In 2000, the NPC Standing Committee examined the enforcement of the Law on Township Enterprises, the Land Administration Law, the Organic Law of the Urban Residents Committees and the Criminal Procedure Law. In the past year, the NPC Standing Committee conducted its supervisory work around the central tasks of the State and the problems about which the people were most concerned. It brought hearings to reports of relevant organs so as to oversee their work. It heard the reports of the State Council on the management of the cultural market, the progress of work for China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), the implementation of the strategy of revitalizing the country through science and education, the implementation of western development strategy, the treatment of major river valleys, and the use of funds raised from the long-term treasury bonds for construction. The duty performance capability of Standing Committee members has improved. At the suggestion of Chairman Li Peng, the NPC Standing Committee has formed a system of holding a legal affairs lecture every two months. Over the past three years, it has sponsored 18 such lectures, and the Ninth NPC Standing Committee plans to hold 30 lectures during its term of office. In 2000, in addition to the lectures on the NPC system, the work of the NPC and departmental legal system, the NPC Standing Committee also sponsored lectures on other topics in light of the legislative tasks for the year and in relation to major policy decisions. For instance, it held a lecture on the marriage legal system related to the need to revise the Marriage Law, and a lecture on the WTO and the required preparatory legislation for China’s accession to it. This helped improve the capability of NPC Standing Committee members in fulfilling their duties and promote the NPC Standing Committee work, while setting an example for local people's congresses. |
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