In the draft constitutional amendments that passed preliminary
review by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
(NPC)
last month, one term is worth noting: state of emergency.
If approved by the full session of NPC, the country's
legislature, in March, the term "state of emergency" will be
written into the Constitution. But there is presently no explicit
definition of the term in Chinese law.
Experts are working to outline a draft of emergency law and fill
in that blank.
Though its formal title is still to be decided, the law will
certainly become the country's first legal text outlining a
specific explanation of the term and stipulating the rights and
responsibility of government, business and individuals and other
related issues in a case of emergency.
"The outbreak of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) last
spring served as a warning to the country about the importance of
crisis management,'' said Xue Lan, a professor with the School of
Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua
University.
The alert made many people realize our society lacks the
experience and mechanism to deal with emergencies like a public
health crisis, terrorist attacks or large scale natural
disasters.
As reforms deepen, different groups see a reallocation of
resources and interests, producing seeds of instability.
Like all societies, ours has had its own way of dealing with
emergencies. But it also has problems that may endanger future
efficiency, Peng Zongchao, a colleague of Xue's, pointed out.
Measures against urgent occasions are often taken after problems
occur. No high-level arrangements or prior strategies are in place
as precautions.
Different government offices are in charge of different kinds of
emergencies, and communication between those offices is often
inadequate. There are no government organs or consultation
mechanisms that could control the situation as a whole.
In most instances the government handles crises on its own
rather than involving resources and support from people across the
country.
To some extent, the successful fight against SARS offers
convincing proof of Peng's points. After a high-profile committee
was put in command, coordinating different government offices and
mobilizing the public to take part in prevention and control
efforts, the epidemic was rebuffed.
Now that a nation-wide mechanism to report and treat SARS is in
place, the disease is not nearly the national threat it was a year
ago.
China has already had several laws involving emergency
preparedness, for such things as natural disasters, war and riots.
But there is no fundamental legislation outlining a national policy
to deal with emergencies.
The law under discussion will fill that need.
Besides defining a "state of emergency'' and laying a legal
basis for a national system to deal with emergent issues, the law
will stipulate the roles of government, business and ordinary
people.
Jiang Mingan, a professor with the School of Law of Peking University,
said the state of emergency is actually an "abnormal'' state of
society versus its "normal'' state.
When something unusual and dangerous happens, the government
must motivate all resources to ease the shock, prevent it from
worsening, alleviate the damage and so on. It will definitely need
some extra special power.
The law of emergency will define the government's tasks in
tackling the crises and the extra power it will have during the
period. At the same time, the law will also draw a line of
individual rights, which the State cannot surpass.
Just as Yu An, a professor of law in the same school with Xue
and Peng, observed, the practice of putting people under quarantine
was over-stressed by some localities during the SARS outbreak, and
came close to violating individual rights.
"The law will set out a legal framework for the government and
individuals about their responsibilities and rights. With such a
framework, they will be better able to enjoy their constitutional
rights,'' Yu said.
Gu Linsheng, a researcher with the Development Research Academy
for 21st Century affiliated with Tsinghua University, stressed the
importance enlisting businesses in dealing with emergencies.
With the help of the business sector, equipment and materials
needed in emergent issues can be quickly produced and delivered.
And businesses can offer proper training to their employees on a
daily basis, helping them better prepare for emergencies as
individual citizens.
The law will also have clauses about information gathering and
release, limits on transportation and communication, everyday
education and training for citizens and judicial practices during
the state of emergency.
(China Daily February 4, 2004)