Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC), is to deliver a report Sunday afternoon on the work of the Committee for deliberation at the ongoing annual NPC full session.

The following are the highlights of the 27-page report, distributed prior to the opening of a plenary meeting of the lawmakers in the Great Hall of the People:

Legislative work

-- The NPC Standing Committee deliberated and approved 24 draft laws or decisions on legal issues, 14 of which were passed and 5 of which were submitted to the ongoing annual session for deliberation and approval.

-- The NPC Standing Committee in 2006 adopted the Law on Oversight, the formulation of which began at the Sixth NPC and lasted for two decades.

-- The NPC Standing Committee deliberated the draft Law on Property Rights for six times and decided to submit the draft to the ongoing NPC full session for deliberation, 13 years after the beginning of the work on drafting the law.

-- Over the last four years, the Tenth NPC Standing Committee passed amendments to the Constitution, promulgated and implemented the Anti-Secession Law, formulated or revised 70 laws, and made interpretations of or legal decisions on legal issues.

-- The main legislative tasks the NPC Standing Committee plans to accomplish in 2007 include enactment of the Law on Labor Contracts, the Employment Promotion Law, the Social Security Law, the Law on Mediation and Arbitration of Labor Disputes, the Law on Administrative Decrees, the Law on Response to Emergencies, the Antitrust Law, the Law on State-Owned Assets, the Law to Combat Illegal Drugs, the Law to Curb Illegal Activities, the Law on Urban and Rural Planning, and the Circular Economy Law. The Committee also plans to make revisions to the Law on Scientific and Technological Progress, the Civil Procedure Law, the Criminal Procedure Law, the Law on Food Hygiene, the Law on Energy Conservation and the Law on Attorneys.

Supervisory work

-- In 2006 the Tenth NPC Standing Committee heard, deliberated and approved eight work reports on special subjects from the State Council, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and investigated the implementation of 12 laws.

-- To solve problems related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers and the building of a new socialist countryside, the NPC Standing Committee in 2006 followed up compliance with the Agriculture Law, the Land Administration Law and the Law on Rural Land Contracts.

-- The Standing Committee pays close attention to petitions submitted through letters and visits from the general public. More than 150,000 letters were received from the public in 2006 and over 75,000 visits were recorded.

-- The Standing Committee, over the last four years, listened to, deliberated and approved 44 special reports on the work of the central government, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and investigated compliance with 21 laws.

-- In 2007 the Standing Committee plans to investigate compliance with the law in three areas, and listen to and deliberate nine special work reports.

Work related to NPC lawmakers

-- During the Fourth Session of the Tenth NPC last year, the deputies submitted 1,006 bills and the presidium referred them to seven special committees for deliberation. Many of the 1,006 bills aided in formulation of legislation. Ten laws were deliberated and passed by the Standing Committee related to 100 of the bills, 7 draft laws related to 26 bills were submitted to the Standing Committee for deliberation, and another 51 legislative items related to 358 bills were included in the schedule for legislation work or the annual plan.

-- During the Fourth Session of the Tenth NPC, the deputies submitted 6,511 suggestions, and these were referred to 174 organizations to study and process. A total of 1,810 or 28 percent of the problems reflected in the suggestions have already been solved or are being addressed, and solutions have been found or work plans drawn up for 3,148 problems, or 48 percent of the total.

-- Over the past few years, the NPC Standing Committee has handled 2,976 bills and 23,232 proposals from deputies, issued more than 2,000 invitations to deputies to attend meetings of the Standing Committee, organized inspection tours and special research projects involving nearly ten thousand of deputies, and prepared 12 work-related documents.

Development in NPC's external exchange

-- In 2006 the NPC received 90 delegations from 56 countries, and missions headed by members of the NPC Chairperson's Council visited 30 countries and regions.

-- The NPC in 2006 set up mechanisms for regular exchanges with the parliaments or congresses of South Africa, the Republic of Korea, India, Australia, Egypt, Brazil and Chile as well as the Japanese Diet, on the basis of the mechanisms with eight other countries, including Russia and the United States, as well as with the European Parliament over the previous few years.

-- The NPC Standing Committee in 2006 ratified 18 treaties and agreements China concluded with foreign states, and approved the country's accession into 3 international conventions.

(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2007)