Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National
People's Congress (NPC), delivers a report on the work of the Standing Committee
of the NPC during the third plenary meeting of the Fifth Session of the Tenth
NPC in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 11,
2007.[Xinhua]
BEIJING, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The following is the full text of the
Report on the Work of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
(NPC), delivered by NPC Standing Committee Chairman Wu Bangguo for deliberation
at the Fifth Session of the Tenth NPC here on Sunday:
REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE
NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS
Delivered at the Fifth Session of the Tenth
National People's Congress on March 11, 2007
Wu Bangguo
Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Fellow
Deputies
On behalf of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress
(NPC) I now present this report on its work for your deliberation and approval.
Main Accomplishments of Last Year
We thoroughly put into practice the Scientific Outlook on Development and got
off to a good start in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan in 2006. The Standing
Committee last year followed the guidelines set out at the Fourth Session of the
Tenth NPC in diligently carrying out its duties closely centered around the
overall work of the Party and the government, making new achievements in all its
work and making further contributions to the building of a moderately prosperous
society in all respects and building a harmonious socialist society.
I. Further progress was made in legislative work.
The Standing Committee made further progress in its legislative work last
year. It deliberated and approved 24 draft laws or decisions on legal issues, 14
of which were passed and 5 of which were submitted to this session for your
deliberation and approval. This marks a solid step toward achieving the goals
for this NPC's legislative work.
1. Appropriate solutions were found to some difficulties in legislation, the
Law on Oversight was promulgated and implemented, and the draft Law on Property
Rights was submitted to this session for deliberation and approval. The Law on
Oversight, which is strongly political in nature, is related to the country's
political system and system of government. Formulation of the Law on Oversight
was one of the major legislative acts of the NPC. Work actually began on this
law at the Sixth NPC and continued for the next two decades. The Central
Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) paid close attention to the
formulation of the Law on Oversight, listening to a number of special reports.
General Secretary Hu Jintao presided over a forum of non-Party dignitaries to
directly solicit opinions from the democratic parties, leaders of the All-China
Federation of Industry and Commerce and persons without party affiliation and
deliver an important speech. In his speech, he thoroughly elucidated the
importance of strengthening the oversight work of people's congresses, fully
analyzed the necessity of formulating the Law on Oversight, emphasized the major
principles that must be observed in the formulation work, and clarified the
orientation for formulating the law.
The Standing Committee showed a keen sense of responsibility to the Party and
the people in listening to a wide range of opinions and carrying out numerous
studies and discussions before making major revisions to the draft Law on
Oversight on the basis of a review of actual experience. First, the regulatory
scope of the Law on Oversight was clarified by changing the Law on Oversight by
the People's Congresses to the Law on Oversight by the Standing Committees of
the People's Congresses. Second, the form and procedures for oversight were
improved, focusing on standardizing the areas that the standing committees of
people's congresses at all levels showed most concern about and most hoped would
be standardized.
Two main points were taken into consideration in making this revision: The
first is that the Constitution already clearly defines the oversight functions
and powers of the NPC and local people's congresses at all levels and the form
and procedures for oversight. The other is that the Constitution categorically
stipulates that the standing committees of people's congresses are responsible
for exercising regular oversight over the people's governments, the people's
courts and the people's procuratorates.
Moreover, what local governments were exploring ways to standardize was
mainly the oversight work of the standing committees of people's congresses. It
should be pointed out here that local governments had been making valuable
explorations of the way to strengthen the oversight work of people's congresses
for years, providing actual experience to help in formulating the Law on
Oversight and making a positive contribution to the effort. The Law on Oversight
adopted by the Standing Committee fully embodies the organic unity of the
leadership of the Party, the position of the people as masters of the country
and the running of the government according to the rule of law; correctly
balances stronger oversight by people's congresses with the leadership of the
Party; correctly balances stronger oversight by people's congresses with support
for carrying out the work of the people's governments, the people's courts and
the people's procuratorates in accordance with the law; upholds the principles
of democratic centralism, collective exercise of functions and powers,
collective decision making and acting in accordance with the law and prescribed
procedures; and is in line with conditions in China and the actual work
situation of people's congresses. The promulgation and implementation of the Law
on Oversight reflects the collective wisdom of the NPC deputies, members of the
Standing Committee, the deputies to local people's congresses at all levels,
experts and scholars and is of great significance for standing committees of
people's congresses at all levels in the lawful exercise of their oversight
functions and powers, improving the oversight mechanism, strengthening and
improving oversight work, making oversight more effective, and giving more play
to the characteristics and strengths of the system of people's congresses.
People's congresses at all levels did a great deal of preparatory work for
implementing the Law on Oversight. First, we carefully studied the important
speech of General Secretary Hu Jintao through forums, seminars, study classes
and other means and gained a thorough understanding of the essence of the Law on
Oversight from the vantage point of adherence to the political development path
of socialism with Chinese characteristics, thereby laying a solid ideological
foundation for implementing the Law on Oversight. Second, local people's
congresses at all levels screened all relevant local laws, regulations and
decrees on compliance with provisions of the Law on Oversight to make those that
already comply with the stipulations of the new law stronger and more detailed
and to promptly revise those that are not. Third, the General Office of the
Standing Committee worked out Certain Opinions Concerning Implementation of the
Law on Oversight by Organs of the NPC, which sets out the division of labor and
responsibility for implementation.
The Law on Property Rights is a basic law for standardizing property
relationships, and has a supporting role in the socialist legal system with
Chinese characteristics. Formulating the Law on Property Rights to improve the
legal framework for the socialist property rights system with Chinese
characteristics has great significance for adhering to the basic socialist
economic system, developing the socialist market economy, safeguarding the vital
interests of the masses, and stimulating the creativity of the entire society.
In addition, the Law on Property Rights has so strong an economic, policy and
technical character that it has been very difficult to formulate and pass, and
it has attracted great interest throughout society. It has now been 13 years
since work on the first draft was begun. The Standing Committee attached great
importance to formulating this legislation, adopted a positive yet cautious
attitude and put a great deal of energy into the work.
First, the law was deliberated numerous times. It was deliberated a further
six times by the Standing Committee after it was deliberated by the Standing
Committee of the Ninth NPC for the first time, a situation rarely seen in the
history of Chinese legislation.
Second, opinions from a wide range of sources were solicited. We convened
about a hundred forums and a number of discussion meetings so we could directly
hear your opinions and those of people from all sectors of society, experts,
scholars, and leaders of relevant central government departments. We released
the full text of the draft law to obtain a wide range of opinions from all
sectors of society, especially from the general public. There have been very few
laws in Chinese history for which so many opinions have been sought from so many
people.
Third, major revisions were made to the law. We made major revisions in the
draft Law on Property Rights in accordance with the comments on it made by the
Standing Committee during deliberations and comments expressed at the forums and
discussion meetings and from other sources, and in line with the Constitution
and other relevant laws. The revisions were mainly made in the following four
areas:
1) The law was made to reflect the basic socialist economic system as fully
and accurately as possible, which was taken into consideration during the entire
legislation process.
2) Protection of state-owned assets was strengthened to address the current
concerns of the general public over erosion of these assets.
3) The law was made to fully and accurately embody the basic policy of the
Party for the countryside in the current stage to effectively safeguard the
interests of rural residents.
4) The focus of the law was on standardizing practical routine matters
urgently in need of standardization and issues of the greatest concern to the
public.
We consistently emphasized the political orientation and the Chinese
characteristics of the Law on Property Rights and the need to proceed from
reality during the entire revision process for the draft law. The members of the
Standing Committee and non-voting participants in meetings held by the Standing
Committee all believe that the revised draft Law on Property Rights fully
accords with the principles and policies of the Party introduced since the Third
Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, fully embodies the stand of
the Party and the will of the people, is in line with the conditions and
specific situation of the country and is now basically mature. At its
twenty-fifth meeting, the Standing Committee passed the draft Law on Property
Rights by a large margin, and it has now been submitted to this session for your
deliberation and approval.
