The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, has strengthened and improved its legislative as well as supervisory roles in the past year, said top lawmaker Li Peng.
Li, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, made the remark in his report on the work of the NPC Standing Committee delivered Saturday at the current session of the NPC.
Li said that over the past year, the NPC Standing Committee has examined 30 bills and enacted 16 laws and one explanation and three resolutions on relevant laws.
The top legislator said that to meet the requirements of China' s accession to the World Trade Organization, the NPC Standing Committee formulated the Trust Law, and revised the laws on trademarks and copyrights, respectively. So far, China has amended of the basic laws related to the WTO entry, he noted.
Over the past year, the NPC Standing Committee promulgated the Law on Population and Family Planning, legalizing the basic state policy of family planning; revised the Law on Trade Unions, further confirming the status of the working class as masters in China's political and social life; approved the laws on combating desertification and management of the use of marine areas, respectively. Also enacted were amendments to and explanations for the Criminal Law, he said.
Last year, the NPC Standing Committee also amended the laws governing judges, procurators and lawyers, and enacted the Law on Education on National Defense, according to the top lawmaker.
He hailed the top legislature's approval of the amendments to the Marriage Law, stressing it will play a positive role in adhering to monogamy, ensuring gender equality, and promoting harmonious marital and family relations.
In the past year, the NPC Standing Committee has approved 10 treaties and international conventions, including the Sino-Russian Good-Neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, the Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism, and the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombing.
Last year, the NPC Standing Committee approved China's accession to the WTO, marking that the country's reform and opening has entered a new stage, he said.
On the issue of strengthening the legislature's supervision, Li said that the top legislature has given top priority to this function, by organizing a series of investigations on the implementation of laws and examining State Council's reports on budgets and plans, and special reports on a number of important issues including the work to increase farmers' incomes, the improvement of the social security system, the implementation of the monetary policy, and cracking down on the production and marketing of shoddy goods.
The top legislature has strengthened its supervision on central budgets as well as extra-budgetary funds, Li said.
(Xinhua News Agency March 9, 2002)
