Full Text: Work report of NPC Standing Committee
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Major Tasks for 2011
In 2011, the first year of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan period and the year that we will celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, the general requirements for the work of the NPC Standing Committee are: We must fully implement the guiding principles of the Seventeenth National Congress of the CPC, the Fifth Plenary Session of the Seventeenth CPC Central Committee and the Fourth Session of the Eleventh NPC; take Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of Three Represents as our guide; thoroughly apply the Scientific Outlook on Development; intimately integrate the Party's leadership, the people's position as masters of the country and the rule of law; focus on the overall work of the Party and the country in carrying out our functions and powers in accordance with the law; make full use of the role of deputies; maintain close contact with the people; further strengthen and improve our legislative work from a new starting point; constantly improve the socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics; further strengthen and improve our oversight work in the new circumstances; give impetus to the implementation of the major decisions and arrangements of the Central Committee; strive to initiate a new phase in the work of the NPC; and make new contributions to ensuring that economic and social development in the Twelfth Five-Year Plan period is off to a good start and ensuring social harmony and stability.
I. Continuing to strengthen our legislative work from a new starting point
The formation of a socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics marks a new starting point for China's legislative work. Social praxis is the foundation of laws, and laws encapsulate practical experience. Social praxis is endless and legislative work should also constantly move forward. Building socialism with Chinese characteristics is a long-term historic task. Improving the socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics is also a long-term historic task, and it must develop as the praxis of socialism with Chinese characteristics develops. Furthermore, the socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics is not static, closed or fixed, but rather, dynamic, open and developing. We must also note that, although our system of laws has already been formed, it is not perfect or flawless: some existing laws need to be revised, some accompanying regulations urgently need to be enacted, and a few laws have yet to be introduced. The main reasons for this are that the legislative conditions for these laws are not ripe and no consensus on the relevant matters has been reached, so we must continue to explore and accumulate more experiences through praxis. In short, new changes in the domestic and international situations, new praxis of reform and opening up, new tasks of economic and social development, and new expectations of the people constantly present new tasks and requirements for our legislative work. Our legislative tasks are still painstaking and arduous, and legislative work can only get stronger and not weaker. For some time to come, we will devote more energy to revising and improving laws, and enacting accompanying regulations. At the same time, we still need to enact a number of new laws in order to ensure that the socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics keeps up with the times, develops and improves. The NPC and its Standing Committee need to fully play their role as the country's highest organs of state power, exercise state legislative power in accordance with the law, make legislative work more organized and coordinated, urge relevant departments to earnestly study and solve major problems involved in legislation, improve the mechanisms of legislative work, strengthen legislative bodies and improve the competence of legislators, and initiate a new phase of our legislative work from a new starting point.
The legislative work of the Standing Committee this year is to promptly revise laws that are not compatible with economic and social development, and enact in a timely manner laws that are vital for pushing forward scientific development and promoting social harmony in accordance with the overall requirements for improving the socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics. First, we will revise the Budget Law, the Law Concerning the Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases, the Criminal Procedure Law, the Civil Procedure Law, the Organic Law of Local Governments, and the Military Service Law. Second, we will enact the Law on Mental Health, the Law on Administrative Coercion, and the Law on Entry and Exit Administration. Third, we will urge relevant departments to promptly enact accompanying regulations, and do the follow-up work of reviewing laws and regulations well, with the focus on urging and guiding the Supreme People' s Court and the Supreme People' s Procuratorate to complete the concentrated review of judicial interpretations currently in force.
We will enact legislation in a thoroughly scientific and democratic manner. We will use the evaluation of enacted legislation as a new measure to strengthen and improve legislative work, carry out such evaluations in an orderly manner and in various ways based on a review of the experiences gained through pilot programs, and objectively evaluate how scientific the system of laws is, how practicable laws and regulations are, and how effectively laws are implemented in order to provide an important basis for revising and improving laws and improving legislative work. We will improve the work mechanism by means of which deputies participate in legislation, integrate the work of handling bills and proposals from deputies with the work of enacting and revising laws, invite deputies to participate in the Standing Committee's activities for improving the quality of the drafting of laws and the quality of deliberation, conscientiously study and absorb comments and suggestions from deputies, and have them fully play their role in legislative work. We will actively explore ways and means for the orderly participation of citizens in legislation; widely solicit opinions from all sectors of society, particularly from the masses at the primary level; earnestly solicit the suggestions of experts and scholars; establish a sound feedback mechanism for recommendations from the general public; actively respond to social concerns; and take new steps in making legislation scientific and democratic.
II. Continuing to strengthen oversight work in the new circumstances
During the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period, enormous new achievements were made in reform, opening up and socialist modernization. China's economic strength and overall strength and the people's standard of living all reached new heights, marking a new starting point for all of China's undertakings. At the Fifth Plenary Session of the Seventeenth Central Committee, the Central Committee thoroughly analyzed the international and domestic situations in the coming period, and made the important judgment that our country's development is still in an important period of strategic opportunities during which China can accomplish much. The Central Committee also decided upon the guiding thought, general philosophy, objectives, tasks and major measures for economic and social development in the coming five years. It also emphasized the need to make scientific development our theme and accelerating the transformation of the pattern of economic development our main thread, make significant progress in promoting scientific development, and make substantial progress in transforming the pattern of economic development. This has set new and higher requirements for doing the NPC's oversight work well in the new circumstances.
This year, the Standing Committee's oversight work will firmly focus on the implementation of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan approved at this session, continue to strengthen the oversight of law enforcement and work performance in accordance with the provisions of the Oversight Law, carry out oversight in a variety of ways, concentrate oversight more on matters concerning the country's overall interests and the people's wellbeing, and obtain more tangible results from the NPC's oversight work. First, we will listen to and deliberate the reports on the implementation of the plan and budgets as well as on the central government' s final accounts and auditing work, and examine and approve the 2010 final accounts of the central government; focus on examining the implementation of a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy as well as the efforts to stabilize prices and curb the excessively rapid rise of housing prices in some cities; conduct research on how to guard against local government debt risks and how to set up a sound mechanism for ensuring basic funding for county-level governments; and press ahead with implementation of the central government's macro-control policies as well as measures for reforming key sectors in order to promote steady and rapid economic development. Second, we will listen to and deliberate the State Council's reports on its work concerning accelerating the transformation of the pattern of economic development, environmental protection, reform of the tenure of collective forests and developing the tourism industry; investigate compliance with the Law on Rural Land Contracts; carry out investigations and studies on promoting economic and social development in ethnic minority areas; and urge relevant parties to implement the Scientific Outlook on Development with specific measures in practical work. Third, we will listen to and deliberate the State Council's reports on building low-income housing, implementing the National Medium- and Long-Term Plan for Education Reform and Development, and fire prevention; investigate compliance with the Law on Food Safety, the Labor Contract Law, the Law Guaranteeing the Rights and Interests of Senior Citizens and other laws; and urge relevant parties to effectively solve problems of the utmost concern to ordinary people such as adequate housing, schooling for children, employment, and the protection of workers' rights and interests. Fourth, we will listen to and deliberate reports of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on strengthening primary-level work in order to solve prominent problems restricting improvement of judicial competence at the primary level, strengthen their management and competence, and promote judicial justice. Fifth, we will listen to and deliberate the State Council's report on the implementation of the fifth five-year plan for spreading general knowledge of the law among the people, adopt a resolution for implementing the sixth five-year plan for this purpose, identify the priorities in this effort and promote the formation of a good social environment in which the people conscientiously study, abide by and apply the law.
Appropriately adjusting income distribution is a problem of common concern to the people and NPC deputies, and it is also a problem we must solve in order to transform the pattern of economic development. As this problem involves both the primary distribution and redistribution of national income, it is a task that is both arduous and urgent. The Standing Committee will address this issue with its focus on intensifying investigations and studies on raising the proportion of national income that goes to individuals, raising the proportion of workers' wages in the primary distribution, standardizing income distribution, strengthening the role of taxation in adjusting incomes, and reversing the widening income disparity. When conditions are ripe, we will make arrangements to listen to and deliberate the State Council's work report on this issue. We will continue to carry out special inquiries in accordance with the law on low-income housing, government budgets, education reform, and strengthening primary-level courts and procuratorates; deliberate the work reports of the State Council, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate; and give impetus to relevant departments to improve their work.
III. Making new progress in fully utilizing the role of deputies, developing foreign contacts and intensifying self-improvement efforts
We need to take advantage of the opportunity created by implementing the revised Law on Deputies to People's Congress, take upholding and improving the system of people's congresses as our starting point, steadfastly respect the principal position of deputies, maintain an attitude of serving them, and strive to improve the level of our work for them. We will diligently handle bills and proposals submitted to this session by deputies; further improve the quality of the handling of them, strengthen deputies' investigations and studies of special issues and their inspection tours; improve the way they carry out activities; well organize studies for them on matters relating to their duties; invite them to participate in activities of the Standing Committee and special committees; and get them to better play their role in supervising state affairs.
With the focus on consolidating and improving the NPC's mechanisms for regular exchanges with foreign congresses and parliaments, we need to extensively develop friendly contacts with them; actively participate in the activities of international and regional parliamentary organizations; make full use of the unique role of the NPC's foreign contacts in enhancing mutual political trust, deepening friendship with other peoples, developing pragmatic cooperation, and promoting the development of state-to-state relations; and make new contributions to safeguarding the important period of strategic opportunities for China's development.
We need to concentrate on adhering to the correct political orientation, further intensify the Standing Committee's self-development, and unswervingly uphold the leadership of the Party, the socialist system and the socialist path of political development with Chinese characteristics. We will improve our organizational and work systems, become better able to fulfill our duties, conscientiously present lectures on special topics, carry out thorough investigations and studies, and forge close ties with the people. We will make full use of the special committees' capable personnel, dense knowledge, wealth of experience and other features and strengths, and further improve the overall quality and level of the Standing Committee's work. We will widely publicize the great significance and basic experience of forming a socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics, strengthen and improve publicity and reportage work, increase the transparency of the NPC's work, and willingly accept oversight by deputies and the people. We will strengthen our relationship with standing committees of local people's congresses, learn from their good work methods and work experiences, and push forward the socialist democratic legal system together. Agencies of the NPC should intensify the campaign to encourage their Party members to excel in their work, improve the overall quality and capabilities of their cadres and other employees, provide good services, and serve as good advisors and assistants.
Fellow Deputies,
According to the Decision on Revising the Electoral Law of the National People's Congress and Local People's Congresses, passed at the Third Session of the Eleventh NPC, deputies to people's congresses are to be elected based on the same population ratio in both urban and rural areas. This more fully embodies the principle that all people, regions and ethnic groups are equal. This year, elections of new county and township people's congresses will take place across the country. These will be the first elections carried out in accordance with the revised Electoral Law, and there will be new changes to deputy quotas, the organization of election work and other areas. All of this imposes new requirements for doing election work well. Based on careful investigations and studies, the Standing Committee put forward guidelines on doing a good job in the election of new county and township people's congresses across the country and on deputy quotas. We will resolutely implement the unified arrangements of the central leadership; intimately integrate the leadership of the Party, the position of the people as masters of the country, and the rule of law; give full play to democracy; act strictly in accordance with the law; and ensure that the election of the new county and township people's congresses proceeds smoothly and that outstanding people who strictly obey the Constitution and laws, forge close ties with the masses, strive to serve the people, and are trusted by the masses are selected to be members of agencies of state power. In this way, we will provide a firm organizational guarantee for upholding and improving the system of people's congresses and developing socialist democratic politics. Fellow Deputies,
The mission that history has assigned to us is glorious yet arduous, and the people have high and ardent expectations of us. Let us rally closely around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary, hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, fully implement the Scientific Outlook on Development, work energetically, press ahead resolutely, work diligently, greet the 90th anniversary of the founding of the CPC with outstanding achievements, and strive to get economic and social development off to a good start in the Twelfth Five-Year Plan period and achieve new successes in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
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