Full Text: Work report of NPC Standing Committee (14)

Major Tasks for the Coming Year

The coming year is of special importance to our national development because the Party will hold its Eighteenth National Congress, which will be of great and far-reaching significance. To ensure the success of the Eighteenth Congress, it is crucially important for us to firmly follow the general work principle of making progress while maintaining stability, do all our work for the year well, and consolidate and build on the sound momentum we achieved from the launch of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan. Against this background, the general requirements for the work of the NPC Standing Committee are as follows: To fully implement the guiding principles of the Seventeenth National Party Congress, the third through sixth plenary sessions of the Seventeenth Party Central Committee, and the Central Economic Work Conference; take Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of Three Represents as our guide; thoroughly apply the Scientific Outlook on Development; firmly take the socialist path of political development with Chinese characteristics; adhere to the organic integration of the Party's leadership, the people's position as masters of the country, and the rule of law; strengthen and improve legislative work; improve the socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics; strengthen and improve oversight; give impetus to implementing the major decisions and arrangements of the central leadership; strive to accomplish all the targets set for the Eleventh NPC; and make new contributions to promoting steady and robust economic development and maintaining social harmony and stability. We will build on past achievements, work tirelessly to fulfill our mission, and do all our work for this year to a higher standard.

I. Taking new steps to improve the socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics

In accordance with the general requirement of improving the socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics, legislative work this year will focus on the central tasks of the Party and the country; conform to the actual needs of economic and social development; ensure good coordination of legislative tasks; and make better use of the role of laws to regulate, guide, guarantee, and facilitate. First, we will advance legislation in the social arena. We will continue to deliberate the drafts of the Law on Mental Health, the Law on Entry and Exit Administration, the Law on Insurance for Military Personnel, and the draft amendment to the Civil Procedure Law, and amend the Law Guaranteeing the Rights and Interests of Senior Citizens and the Labor Contract Law with a view to improving and making innovations in social administration. Second, we will improve legislation in the economic field. We will continue to deliberate the draft amendment to the Budget Law and the draft of the Law on Asset Evaluation, and amend laws such as the Land Administration Law, the Law on Disseminating Agricultural Technology, the Environmental Protection Law, the Law on Securities Investment Funds, and the Trademark Law with a view to forging institutions and mechanisms conducive to scientific development. Third, we will strengthen the system of cultural laws. We will formulate a law on public libraries and promote development of cultural undertakings, improve the system of Internet-related laws and promote a healthy cyberspace culture, and safeguard public interests and national information security. We will continue to urge relevant parties to formulate accompanying regulations, strengthen the filing and examination of normative documents, and urge and guide the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate to complete their concentrated review of existing judicial interpretations this year.

I would like to emphasize that raising the quality of legislation is an eternal theme in our work to strengthen and improve legislation and an inherent requirement for improving the socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics. Following a review of our successful experiences and practices in recent years, we need to focus on the following points in our work:

First, we need to effectively strengthen coordination of legislative work, thoroughly verify the necessity and feasibility of legislative items, draw up our legislative agenda and annual plan scientifically, and vigorously urge relevant parties to solve major issues addressed in legislation so as to make our laws better suit the actual needs of economic and social development and satisfy the fervent aspirations of the people.

Second, we need to better integrate revising and improving laws with strengthening oversight work, and thoroughly analyze the issue of laws currently in effect being unsuitable and imperfect in the course of inspecting enforcement of laws and conducting investigations and studies on special topics in order to provide an important basis for revising and improving laws so that revision work is more targeted and legal provisions are more practicable.

Third, we will actively develop institutions, standards, and procedures for making legislation more scientific and democratic, further improve the methods for seeking public comments on draft laws, attach greater importance to conducting investigations and studies to understand actual conditions and the primary level, listen directly to the opinions of the general public, and correctly reflect and consider the interests of different sides. We will make people's participation in legislation a process of pooling wisdom and building consensus among the general public.