II. Further achievements were made in oversight work.
There were two prominent features in last year's oversight work of the
Standing Committee. First, the Standing Committee focused its oversight on the
major issues that have a bearing on the overall interests of reform, development
and stability, elicit widespread concern in society, or affect social harmony.
Second, the Standing Committee carried out thorough oversight through various
means including the hearing and deliberation of work reports on special subjects
as well as investigations of compliance with the law. Last year the 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. The State Council,
the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate attached great
importance to the comments and suggestions of the Standing Committee, actively
adopted measures to improve their work and made new achievements.
Oversight work was centered on efforts to build a new socialist countryside.
Solving the problems related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers and
building a new socialist countryside is a long, arduous historic task. The
Standing Committee has always been concerned about work related to agriculture,
rural areas and farmers. On the basis of three consecutive years of oversight in
this area, the Standing Committee last year followed up compliance with the
Agriculture Law, the Land Administration Law and the Law on Rural Land
Contracts. Three suggestions were consequently made concerning major problems in
work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers.
First, while continuing to increase budgetary support, we need to make a very
strong effort to solve financing problems in rural areas.
Second, we need to shift the focus of infrastructure development toward rural
areas to concentrate on solving pressing problems such as the need for more
roads, methane facilities and water supplies.
Third, we need to shift the focus of social programs toward rural areas to
resolve the practical difficulties that rural residents have obtaining proper
medical treatment, sending their children to school and receiving social
security benefits.
The State Council carefully considered the comments and suggestions of the
Standing Committee. Thanks to the concerted efforts of all sides, China's grain
output steadily increased and rural per capita net income grew more than 6
percent per annum three years in a row. Rural infrastructure and rural working
and living conditions also continued to improve. The building of a new socialist
countryside is now well underway.
Oversight work was also focused on efforts to make China an innovative
country. The Central Committee attaches great importance to scientific and
technological progress and independent innovation. The State Council formulated
the Outline of the National Long- and Medium-Term Program for Scientific and
Technological Development. The Central Committee and the State Council held the
National Conference on Science and Technology last year and introduced the goal
of making China an innovative country by 2020. The Standing Committee
investigated compliance with the Patent Law and heard, deliberated and approved
work reports by the State Council on special subjects such as increasing the
country's capacity for independent innovation and strengthening protection of
intellectual property rights. Members of the Standing Committee made three
proposals to address the problems of the weak contribution domestic advances in
science and technology make to economic growth, the high reliance on foreign
technology and the inadequate level of funding for R&D.
First, we need to integrate resources. We need to speed up development of a
system for technological innovation in which enterprises play the leading role,
the market plays a guiding role and enterprises, universities and research
institutes work together. We need to initiate a beneficial cycle of capital and
technology and accelerate the conversion of advances in science and technology
into actual production to constantly increase the contribution domestic advances
make to economic growth.
กก Second, we need to identify key areas. We need to focus on the main
battleground of economic development, carefully decide which battles to fight
and which not to fight, concentrate resources and increase funding for major
projects of strategic importance to the overall situation, and encourage
technological innovation through government policy to make breakthroughs in key
areas and achieve leapfrog development.
Third, we should attach great importance to development of human resources.
We need to create an excellent environment in which outstanding personnel can
rise to the top and all personnel can fully play their parts by improving
mechanisms and systems for developing and concentrating human resources and
encouraging outstanding personnel. The State Council last year introduced
fiscal, tax, financial and government procurement policies to encourage
independent innovation and launched a group of key state science and technology
projects affecting overall development. The Supreme People's Court reinforced
judicial protection for intellectual property rights.
Oversight work was focused on building a conservation-minded and
environmentally friendly society. On the basis of work carried out over the past
few years, the Standing Committee strengthened follow-up and oversight work
concerning resource and environmental issues.
First, while investigating compliance with the Law on the Prevention and
Control of Air Pollution, the Standing Committee followed up and investigated
compliance with the Law on the Prevention and Control of Solid Waste
Environmental Pollution and the Law on the Prevention and Control of Water
Pollution. The Committee listened to, deliberated and approved the reports of
the State Council on the current state of China's waters and efforts to prevent
and control water pollution. It also followed up and reported on progress in
improving environmental conditions in key localities and enterprises through
activities such as the China Environmental Protection Program.
Second, the Standing Committee investigated compliance with the Energy
Conservation Law and listened to, deliberated and approved the report of the
State Council on the work of rationally utilizing, protecting and managing
mineral resources, focusing on improving energy conservation in industry and
construction. Members of the Standing Committee pointed out that although the
State Council and local governments adopted a series of measures and did a great
deal of work, it is difficult to fundamentally solve the longstanding problems
of an inefficient pattern of economic growth and an unfavorable economic
structure in the short-term, that it would be extremely difficult to meet the
targets of reducing energy consumption per unit of GDP in 2006 by 4 percent and
reducing the emission of major pollutants by 2 percent, and that the task of
building a conservation-minded and environmentally friendly society is daunting.
We must truly change our approach to development, make innovations in our
development model, improve the quality of development, make changing the pattern
of economic growth a strategic focus, accelerate economic restructuring, put the
focus of work on improving reserves, launch technological upgrading that gives
high priority to saving energy, reducing consumption and protecting the
environment, develop a circular economy, promote independent innovation and
truly make economic and social development more scientific.
The Standing Committee sent the group investigating compliance with the Law
on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Returned Overseas Chinese and
Their Relatives to six provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly
under the central government. There they held forums for returned overseas
Chinese and their relatives, overseas Chinese nationals, returned overseas
Chinese deputies to people's congresses, members of the Returned Overseas
Chinese Federation in the CPPCC and leaders of departments concerned with
overseas Chinese affairs. They also visited some farms run by overseas Chinese,
enterprises funded by overseas Chinese and the homes of some returned overseas
Chinese, where they gathered a great deal of firsthand information. Through this
investigation they learned that farms run by overseas Chinese face two types of
difficulties.
First, many of the farms are running in the red and are not able to pay
wages, pensions, medical bills and social security contributions, and their
employee wages are lower than the net incomes of local farmers. Second, a great
number of structures are dilapidated and badly in need of repair, and there is a
fair amount of outstanding debt owed on infrastructure such as transportation,
water supply and electricity supply. In addressing these problems, the
investigating group worked out a report and recommended, "All employee wages,
pension payments, medical bills and social security contributions in arrears
owed by farms run by overseas Chinese should be cleared up within two years. The
problems of dilapidated structures, infrastructure development and land-use
rights on these farms should be solved in three to five years." The State
Council views this as an important issue, and set up a special study on
promoting reform and development of such farms. Concerned departments of the
State Council carefully carried out investigations and studies, took vigorous
measures and diligently acted on the comments and suggestions of the Standing
Committee, with good results.
One important power of the Standing Committee is the duty to oversee
budgetary and economic work. The Standing Committee listened to, deliberated and
approved the final budget of the central government, the auditing work report
and the report on implementing the plan, and deliberated and approved the 2005
central government final budget. It also heard, deliberated and approved the
report of the State Council on reforming state-owned commercial banks to convert
them into stock companies and deepening reform of the financial system. Everyone
on the Standing Committee expressed satisfaction with the implementation of the
plan for national economic and social development and affirmed the public
finance, banking and accounting work. In addition, a number of suggestions were
introduced on how to standardize budget compilation work, improve the system of
government transfer payments, strictly implement the budget, strengthen auditing
oversight, resolutely curb overheated growth of investment, intensify efforts to
save energy, lower consumption and protect the environment, and pay more
attention to social development and solving problems to improve people's
well-being. The State Council sent a report to the Standing Committee last
December on the use of surplus revenue over the budget target and on progress in
correcting problems uncovered in auditing.
The filing and inspection of regulatory documents is an important aspect of
the oversight work of the Standing Committee. We carefully handle the
suggestions of individuals and organizations that are made during inspection and
conduct focused inspections on our own initiative to safeguard consistency in
the country's legal system. 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. For problems that occurred frequently, such as legal and
judicial issues, land expropriation and requisition, relocation of people to
build reservoirs, housing demolition, medical care, education, social security
and environmental protection, we increased efforts to refer problems to
concerned organizations for them to address and followed up on how they were
handled, urged these organizations to handle problems in accordance with the law
and government policy, and helped solve some of the problems reflected in the
letters and visits, thus playing a positive role in solving problems in society
and promoting social harmony.
