China will work on publicizing the Constitution among society, in particular government functionaries, a top legislator said Wednesday.

Education is in great need to help citizens, especially government officials, fully understand the fundamental role of the Constitution in the legal system, said Wang Zhaoguo, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature, at a meeting on disseminating legal knowledge Wednesday.

People should improve their awareness of abiding by the Constitution and safeguarding the Constitution's authority and dignity, he added.

The education and publicity work are of great significance to public servants like administrative and judicial officials to improve their administration and supervision in line with law, Wang said.

To improve people's knowledge of laws, China should first push education of the Constitution to build understanding in society, especially among government leaders, said Prof. Han Dayuan from People's University.

Despite the efforts made, he said, problems have existed in implementation of the Constitution and are expected to be solved gradually while China is developing its legal system.

China promulgated its first Constitution in 1954. The existing Constitution was formulated in 1982 and was later amended three times, in 1988, 1993 and 1999.

The third plenary session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) proposed to revise the Constitution last October and the current Constitution is expected to be amended next year.

(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2003)