On January 19, a standing committee member of Anhui's provincial People's Congress (PC), proposed his resignation at their 14th plenary annual session. Two days later, his resignation was accepted.

Gao Minglun submitted a brief report, saying he hoped to focus on his full time job as a university professor and technical expert. He added that he was not qualified for standing committee membership, which he said required legal expertise.

"It's not rare for local lawmakers to resign, but Gao is the first who did so because of self-claimed limitations in energy and competence," sources with the provincial legislature said.

Some view Gao's resignation as evidence of the need for full time lawmakers with more expertise in the country's legislatures.

China has long aimed to incorporate people from all walks of life into its legislative bodies. But this also limits their specific knowledge and experience of law. The majority of standing committee members at various levels of government are part time.

"Going full time might prevent committee membership from being merely honorary or symbolic," said Hua Guoqing, member of Anhui's PC standing committee.

Some experts, however, said the significance of individual cases should not be overstated.

"Overemphasis on legal expertise would offset the general public's voice in the legislative process. Professionals can give their ideas on drafting laws, but PC deputies are the only channel for public opinion to be heard," said a member of the National PC Standing Committee.

Yu Junbo, chairman of the standing committee of Beijing's municipal PC, also said last week that they currently had no plans to introduce more legal professionals as lawmakers.

It was reported that some local legislatures, e.g. in Shenzhen in south China, have tried to improve lawmakers' competence by providing them legislative assistants. Some legislators have also solicited public views on legislation through personal websites, newspapers or TV advertisements.

"All these efforts will help lawmakers improve their knowledge and skills on legislation. The enrollment of more legal professionals is not the only way to improve the country's legislation," said the analysts.

Experts also said that the debate itself reflected the increasing role of PCs and higher expectations upon lawmakers.

Meanwhile, Gao said he would continue to perform his duty as a provincial PC delegate.

(Xinhua News Agency February 3, 2005)