Fellow Deputies,

The Standing Committee's achievements and progress last year were made under the correct leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as General Secretary and are the result of the joint efforts and hard work of NPC deputies, members of the NPC Standing Committee and special committees, and the staff of the bodies of the NPC; the active help and close cooperation of the State Council, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the local people's congresses at all levels and their standing committees; and the full trust and support of the people of all of China's ethnic groups. On behalf of the NPC Standing Committee, I would like to express sincere gratitude to you all.

We are keenly aware that the Standing Committee's work still leaves a lot to be desired in terms of the requirement for developing the cause of the Party and the country and in terms of the expectations of the deputies and the Chinese people. Some laws are not practical or effective enough to solve real problems; in some cases, oversight work is either not complete or not conducted effectively; and the scope of work related to deputies needs to be expanded while the way we carry out this work needs to be diversified. We will willingly accept the oversight of deputies and the general public, seek comments and suggestions from all sectors of society with an open mind, and constantly strengthen and improve the work of the NPC so that we better perform our functions and powers and carry out our work in accordance with the law.



Major Tasks for This Year


In 2015, the overall requirements for the work of the NPC Standing Committee are as follows: comprehensively implement the guidelines of the 18th National Party Congress and the third and fourth plenary sessions of the 18th CPC Central Committee; hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics; follow the guidance of Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development; put into practice the guiding principles from General Secretary Xi Jinping's major speeches; remain committed to integrating leadership by the Party, the position of the people as masters of the country, and the law-based governance of the country; and focus on the strategic goals of finishing building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, comprehensively deepening reform, fully advancing law-based governance of China, and promoting all-round strengthening of Party self-conduct as we perform our functions and powers and carry out our work in accordance with the law. We also need to give full play to the NPC's role as the highest organ of state power in building China into a socialist rule of law country; uphold the authority of the Constitution and other laws; promote socialist rule of law; and make new contributions toward achieving the Two Centenary Goals* and realizing the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

I. Improving the socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics, at the heart of which is the Constitution

As we implement the guidelines of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, we need to begin with legislation, focusing on the key task of improving the quality of legislation. We will coordinate our legislative work with the country's decisions on reform to make sure that all of the country's major reforms have a legal basis, and that legislative work is carried out proactively to meet the needs of reform as well as economic and social development, thereby letting legislation play its role of guiding and driving reform and development.

1. We will improve the systems for enforcing the Constitution and for overseeing its enforcement.

Enforcing the Constitution is a priority and a fundamental task in building China into a socialist rule of law country. Spreading knowledge about the Constitution and establishing and safeguarding its authority among the public must be viewed as major tasks in fully advancing the law-based governance of the country, which should be carried out properly and without delay. We will improve the mechanism by which the NPC and its Standing Committee oversee the enforcement of the Constitution, put in place sound procedures and mechanisms to interpret the Constitution, and develop a system of pledging allegiance to the Constitution for officials assuming office. We will work hard to ensure proper record-keeping and review of normative documents, and to see that, in accordance with legal procedures, any normative document that conflicts with the Constitution or other laws is rescinded or corrected.

2. We will advance legislation in key areas.

Keeping closely in mind the practical needs in the country's economic and social development, we will adopt a coordinated approach with clear priorities and establish legislative tasks in a well-conceived way.

First, we will improve the system of laws for the socialist market economy. We will make revisions to the following laws: the Securities Law, the Law on Promoting the Application of Scientific and Technological Advances, the Seed Law, the Law on the Contracting of Rural Land, and the Advertising Law; we will intensify our efforts to research and begin work on developing a civil code.

Second, we will improve legislation on democracy. We will revise the Electoral Law for the National People's Congress and Local People's Congresses, the Organic Law of the Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments, the Law on Deputies to the National People's Congress and Deputies to Local People's Congresses, and the Law on Administrative Review. We will develop national legislation to fight corruption and work out revisions to the Law on Administrative Supervision.

Third, we will push forward with legislation concerning social issues. We will work on a community correction law, an anti-domestic violence law, a law on traditional Chinese medicine, and a charity law. We will revise the Food Safety Law and the Law on the Red Cross Society, and pass Amendment IX to the Criminal Law. (More)

Note:
* The Two Centenary Goals are to finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by the time the CPC celebrates its centenary in 2021; and to turn China into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, and harmonious by the time the People's Republic of China celebrates its centenary in 2049.


Full Text: Work report of NPC Standing Committee (11)