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National People's Congress

Work of the 10th NPC Standing Committee

The Second Session of the 10th NPC adopted an amendment to the Constitution with an overwhelming majority of votes in favor in March 2004. The amendment establishes the guiding role of the important thought of the "Three Represents" in national political and social life and constitutionalizes the major theoretical viewpoints, guidelines and policies put forth at the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC). It is a landmark in China's legislative work. After the amendment was approved, the NPC Standing Committee, in line with its provisions, amended the Organic Law of Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments to extend the term of people's congresses at county and township levels from three years to five years. It also made decisions on the timing of elections of deputies to people's congresses at county and township levels, laying a legal basis for their synchronized reelections. In addition, relevant articles in the Land Administration Law were revised to conform to the provisions in the constitutional amendment on land requisition.

The Standing Committee amended the Election Law, completed an overall revision of the Foreign Trade Law and the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, and gave major modifications to the Law on Prevention of Environmental Pollution Caused by Solid Wastes. To adapt to the implementation of the Administrative Licensing Law, the committee followed the principle of "priority on demand" to timely revise relevant provisions in the Highway Law, the Company Law, the Securities Law, the Bill Law, the Auction Law, the Law on Protection of Wildlife, the Fishery Law, the Seed Law and the Regulations on Academic Degrees. In the year, the committee also deliberated and adopted the Law on Electronic Signature, the Law on Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization, the Law on Renewable Resources and Amendment V to the Criminal Law.

In early April 2004, the Standing Committee gave interpretations for two clauses of annex of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in accordance with the law. Later in the same month, the committee adopted a decision on methods for selecting Hong Kong's chief executive in 2007 and forming the Legislative Council in 2008. The 13th Meeting of the committee unanimously adopted a motion on the draft Anti-Secession Law and decided to submit the draft law to the 2005 Session of the 10th NPC for deliberation.

Supervisory role

In 2004, the Standing Committee carried out nationwide inspections on the enforcement of six laws, and heard and deliberated 11 special-topic work reports from the State Council, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, effectively supporting and promoting their administration by law and safeguarding people's interests.

The Standing Committee organized three panels respectively for inspection on the enforcement of the Land Administration Law and research of agricultural policies and financial aids to farmers, each headed by a vice chairperson, to inspect the enforcement of relevant laws in 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

Also, the Standing Committee organized inspections on the enforcement of the Trade Union Law, which facilitated organizational construction of grassroots trade union organizations and enhanced their role in safeguarding interests of the working population according to law. In 2004, membership of trade union organizations nationwide increased by 13.5 million, or 11 percent, over 2003. The number of trade union organizations in non-state enterprises also registered a 7.2 percent growth of more than 100,000.

Deputies' motions and suggestions

During the Second Session of the 10th NPC, its presidium assigned 641 motions raised by various delegations and groups of deputies to seven NPC special committees, including the Legal Affairs Committee, for examination. In the process of handling those motions, eight laws involved in 53 motions were adopted by the Standing Committee, drafts of other eight laws involved in 34 motions were submitted to the Standing Committee for deliberation, and 51 legislations involved in 357 motions were put into the Standing Committee's legislative timetable or annual legislative plan.

In terms of the 6,005 suggestions, complaints and ideas raised by deputies during the Second Session of the 10th NPC, relevant departments have put them into practice and notified concerned deputies of the developments case by case.

External relations

In 2004, the NPC received 60 parliamentary delegations from 42 countries. Meanwhile, members of the meeting of the chairperson and vice chairpersons of the Standing Committee headed delegations to visit 23 countries.

The establishment of mechanisms of regular exchange with foreign parliaments was an important achievement of the NPC in strengthening external relations in 2004. In addition to the U.S. House of Representatives and French and Italian parliaments, the NPC formally launched the mechanism with the U.S. Senate in 2004, followed by the inauguration of similar arrangements with Russian, Japanese and German legislative branches in the first half of 2005. The NPC's communication with parliaments of EU members and East European countries and the European Parliament were deepened. Its exchanges with parliaments of neighboring countries developed continuously. Cooperation between the NPC and parliaments of African countries and other developing countries increased remarkably. The NPC actively participated in multilateral activities sponsored by international and regional organizations such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace, played a role in the formulation of rules of procedures of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO, and became a permanent observer of the Latin American Parliament.