Besides, 12 bills are being reviewed, he said.

Reporting the work of the NPC Standing Committee to the on-going annual session of the Ninth National People's Congress, Li Peng said that the NPC Standing Committee revised the Law on Regional Autonomy of Minority Nationalities, revised laws on Chinese-foreign cooperative ventures, and foreign investment enterprises, customs and patents.

The committee also made laws on seeds and revised the laws on product quality, air pollution control, and fisheries, adopted laws on the national common written and spoken language, extradition, protection of the rights and interests of the families of returned overseas Chinese, drug administration and regulations on officers in active service and took a decision on safeguarding Internet security.

The laws were revised based on the changes that have taken place in the course of the development of the socialist market economy, Li said.

In the past year, the NPC Standing Committee rectified 12 treaties or important agreements signed with foreign countries, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Li said that China is a country always honoring its commitments. It will perform the obligations of all international treaties and agreements it signed with foreign countries and ensure their implementation, he declared

The NPC Standing Committee also organized checks on the enforcement of the township enterprise law, land management law, the organic law of urban neighborhood committees and criminal procedure law.

On the supervision side, Li said, the NPC Standing Committee held hearings on a number of hot spot problems and on central tasks of the country, including WTO accession, implementation of the Western China Development Drive and reform of state-owned enterprises.It also strengthened oversight over the handling of the major problems raised in the auditing report.

Li also reviewed the achievements in foreign exchange and cooperation and the handling of motions, proposals and criticism raised in the last annual session.

China to Enact More Laws This Year

In 2001, China will complete amending the Marriage Law and work on new laws including a Civil Code, laws governing some sorts of administrative activities, and a number of economic laws on fighting monopoly, dumping of foreign goods, and social security.

China's legislative work has made enormous achievements in the past decades, but some laws that should constitute a major component of a socialist legal system are yet to be enacted, said the top legislator.

He pledged to lose no time in working out the laws.

He said, "To strengthen supervision by law is one of the main jobs of the NPC."

The NPC Standing Committee has put the enactment of a supervision law on its agenda this year, in response to strong calls to the effect made by lawmakers at previous sessions, Li said. Once the law is drafted, it will be handed over to the standing committee for discussion.

This year, the standing committee will also bring an end to the much-debated amending of the Marriage Law, work on a law on material rights, and start working on a Civil Code, according to the top legislator.

At the same time, the standing committee will work on a law on administrative compsulsory measures, a law on administrative licensing, and a law on administrative charges, to pave the way to work out a unified administrative procedural law, he noted.

The proposed enactment of an anti-monopoly law and an anti- dumping law will fill up a blank in the country's financial legislation, while the enactment of a social security law will help improve the social security system in China to ensure social stability, according to Li.

When all these laws are enacted, a socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics will take shape, he said. In the coming two years, the standing committee will work on the above laws and laws that aim to promote socialist democracy, building a clean government, development of a socialist market economy, and joining the World Trade Organization (WTO).

He pledged to bring democracy into full play in legislative work.

Power Without Control, Supervision Leads to Corruption

Li Peng said Friday the NPC will take practical measures to strengthen supervision over and ensure law enforcement.

It is necessary to establish supervision over the exercise of power to prevent power abuse, Li said in his report on the Standing Committee's work at the fourth plenary meeting of the annual NPC session.

"Historical experience shows that power free from control and supervision will lead inevitably to corruption," the top legislator said, adding: "If we fail to do a good job of fighting corruption and building a clean government, we'll risk the future of the Party and the state."

He appealed for efforts to prevent and curb corruption from the source. In the fight against corruption, education is the foundation for success, a well-functioning legal system is a guarantee and supervision plays a key role, he said.

Li said the NPC Standing Committee will take into consideration the campaign against corruption when it enacts laws in the future.

In the new year, he said, the NPC Standing Committee will organize inspections on law enforcement and hear reports on specific work relating to major social and economic issues concerning the implementation of the country's 10th Five-Year Plan.

The committee will also continue its fight against the Falun Gong cult, he said.

(People’s Daily 03/09/2001)