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Read in Chinese

Speakers:

Wang Tiemin, deputy secretary general of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC)

Song Rui, director general of the Research Office of the General Office of the Standing Committee of the NPC

Chairperson:

Xing Huina, spokesperson of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC)

Date: 

June 29, 2022

Xing Huina:

Friends from the press, good morning. Welcome to this press conference held by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee. Today, we are holding the 13th press conference under the theme of "China in the past decade" to brief you on the progress and achievements in upholding and improving the people's congress system in the new era. Joining us today are Mr. Wang Tiemin, deputy secretary general of the Standing Committee of the NPC, and Mr. Song Rui, director general of the Research Office of the General Office of the Standing Committee of the NPC.

Now, let's give the floor to Mr. Wang for his introduction.

Wang Tiemin:

Friends from the press, good morning. I'm happy to be invited to today's press conference. I want to express my thanks for your interest in and support for the work related to the people's congresses. First, let me make a brief introduction.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has carried out theoretical and practical innovations in the people's congress system from the strategic perspective of adhering to and improving the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and modernizing China's system and capacity for governance, developed General Secretary Xi Jinping's important thoughts on upholding and improving the people's congress system, and guided the people's congresses to make historic achievements in their work. The people's congress system has become more mature and well-defined.

First, the Party has strengthened its leadership over the work related to the people's congresses. The CPC Central Committee has strengthened its centralized and unified leadership over the development of the people's congress system and the work related to the people's congresses, convened the central conference on work related to the people's congresses, and improved the systems and mechanisms for the Party's leadership over the work related to the people's congresses. The NPC and its Standing Committee have regarded upholding the Party's overall leadership as the primary political principle and taken concrete actions to defend the establishment of both Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and to uphold Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and uphold the Central Committee's authority and its centralized, unified leadership. The NPC and its Standing Committee have stayed committed to the Party's leadership, the people's position as the masters of the country, and law-based governance, enforced the requirements of developing whole-process people's democracy and worked to ensure their work unswervingly adhere to, implement, and reflect the Party's leadership.

Second, we have taken the enforcement of the Constitution to a new level. In 2018, the NPC adopted the fifth amendment to the Constitution, consolidating the legal basis and gathering a mighty force for realizing national rejuvenation. We have boosted the implementation of the Constitution and oversight of constitutional compliance by enacting a national supervision law, a law protecting the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs, the National Anthem Law, and amending the National Flag Law and other laws related to the Constitution, and implementing the systems for granting medals, awards and amnesty stipulated in the Constitution. We have set up the Constitution and Law Committee. We have promoted constitutionality review in an orderly manner and improved the legislative recording and review system and capability building. We have established a system of pledging allegiance to the Constitution by adopting a related legal document and introduced the national Constitution Day. We have upheld the constitutional order of the special administrative region as prescribed by the Constitution and the Basic Law, promulgated the national security law in Hong Kong, and adopted more than 10 decisions on issues such as improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, thus providing a firmer assurance for the sound and sustained implementation of "one country, two systems."

Third, we have optimized the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, faced with heavy legislation tasks, the NPC and its Standing Committee have enacted high-quality laws covering a wide range of areas at a fast pace. We have enacted 69 laws, amended 237 laws, adopted 99 decisions on legal and major issues, and provided nine legal interpretations. So far, there are 292 laws in force.

We have accelerated legislation on the premise of ensuring quality, and successively promulgated or amended a number of laws urgently needed for national governance and in conformity with the people's ever-growing needs for a better life. We have formulated the Civil Code. We have formulated and amended more than 20 laws, including the National Security Law and the Law on Countering Foreign Sanctions, basically forming a legal system for national security. We have formulated and implemented a plan for making and amending laws on strengthening the legal protection of public health. We have formulated and amended laws on vaccine administration and the promotion of family education to address pressing problems of public attention. We have formulated and amended more than 20 laws, including those on Yangtze River protection, black soil protection, and forest, preliminarily forming an eco-environmental legal system and ensuring a legal basis for national development and major reforms. We have formulated the Foreign Investment Law and the Hainan Free Trade Port Law, and amended the Land Administration Law and the Anti-monopoly Law, acknowledging and consolidating reform achievements by means of lawmaking. We have made approximately 30 authorization and reform decisions, ensuring the orderly progress of reform measures, pushing forward lawmaking in a well-conceived and democratic way and in accordance with the law, and better leveraging the leading role of people's congresses in legislation.

Fourth, we have exercised oversight in a correct, effective, and law-based manner. Over the past decade, the Standing Committee of the NPC has listened to and deliberated more than 150 reports on oversight, inspected the implementation of more than 50 laws, and conducted 25 inquiries and 45 surveys on specific subjects to facilitate economic and social development and tackle key tasks of reform. The NPC's oversight focuses on the major decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the most pressing difficulties and problems that are of great concern to the people, and helps resolve prominent contradictions and problems constraining economic and social development. That is an outstanding feature of the oversight. The NPC Standing Committee has continuously carried out follow-up oversight in multiple forms in accordance with the law, contributing to poverty alleviation, pollution prevention, and financial risk prevention and defusing, among other aspects. With its oversight function expanded and work streams improved, people's congresses have been able to conduct more effective oversight.

Fifth, the role of deputies to people's congresses has been better leveraged. We have introduced 35 specific measures to strengthen and improve the work related to NPC deputies, improving institutions and standards of the work and the work as a regular practice. We have conscientiously handled deputies' proposals, drawn closer the bonds between standing committees and deputies and between deputies and the people, and engaged deputies more in the work of standing committees and special committees. We have established and put into operation an information platform for the work of NPC deputies.

Sixth, we have served China's diplomacy through the international engagement of people's congresses. We have regarded implementing the diplomatic achievements and consensuses of heads of state as the primary task, consolidated and deepened friendly exchanges with parliaments of other countries, and actively participated in the activities of multilateral parliamentary organizations. We have made use of bilateral and multilateral diplomatic platforms to promote Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and made vivid illustrations of China's path and system. We have leveraged the role of spokesmen of the NPC Standing Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the NPC, and the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee to refute rumors and clarify our positions on topics related to Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan, maritime territory, COVID-19, and human rights.

Seventh, we have made solid progress in developing people's congresses into a political organ that consciously adheres to the CPC's leadership, an organ of state power that ensures the people's status as masters of the country, a working organ that fully undertakes various duties entrusted by the Constitution and laws, and a representative organ that always maintains close contact with the people. We have adhered to the political building as the overarching principle and made continuous efforts to arm ourselves with innovative theories. We have improved work conduct and discipline observance, comprehensively promoted Party building at the NPC and its Standing Committee, made more efforts to enforce the work and the building of people's congresses, and built a team who is politically firm, serves the people, holds the rule of law in the highest esteem, promotes democratic practices, and diligently performs their duties. Thank you.

Xing Huina:

Thank you, Mr. Wang. Now the floor is open. Please identify your media outlet before raising your questions.

Xinhua: 

In 2018, the NPC held a symposium on studying and implementing General Secretary Xi Jinping's important ideas on upholding and improving the people's congress system for the first time. Since then, such symposiums have been held every year. Could you please give a brief introduction of the evolving process and substance of those important ideas and the efforts to study, publicize, and implement them?

Song Rui:

Thanks for your questions. The achievements in developing the people's congress system and in the work related to people's congresses are underpinned by the Party's sound theoretical guidance. General Secretary Xi Jinping's important ideas on upholding and improving the people's congress system derive from the great endeavors made since the 18th CPC National Congress to develop socialist democracy, practice the whole-process people's democracy, and uphold and improve the people's congress system. They are the embodiment of General Secretary Xi's profound thinking on the people's congress system, the work related to people's congresses, and socialist democracy and the rule of law. The evolution of those important ideas indicates that the Party has gained a deeper understanding of the people's congress system and the work related to people's congresses. As an important component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, those ideas have enriched and developed the Marxist theory of state and theories on socialist democracy, and provided sound guidance for upholding and improving the people's congress system, and for improving the work related to people's congresses. They constitute a scientific, systematic, and innovative theoretical framework, the gist of which has three dimensions. The first dimension is path and direction. General Secretary Xi has elaborated on a series of important principles for developing socialist democracy and put forward the concept of whole-process people's democracy and its development requirements. In particular, Xi has emphasized that we must follow the correct political direction and stick to the path of socialist political advancement with Chinese characteristics in upholding and improving the people's congress system. The second dimension is the people's congress system. General Secretary Xi has expounded the inevitability of China adopting the people's congress system and the system's features and advantages, thus enriching the system itself and expanding the requirements of practice. In particular, at the central conference on the work related to people's congresses last year, General Secretary Xi put forth the major principle of the "Six Musts." They include: we must uphold the overall leadership of the Party; we must provide institutional guarantee to ensure the people run the country; we must advance law-based governance in all fields; we must uphold democratic centralism; we must stick to the path of socialist political advancement with Chinese characteristics; and we must continue to modernize China's system and capacity for governance.

The third dimension is work related to people's congresses. General Secretary Xi has made many specific instructions on the work related to people's congresses. Also at last year's central conference, Xi proposed six major tasks for the work related to people's congresses in the new era. They include: we should implement the Constitution in all fields and safeguard its authority and dignity; we should step up efforts to improve the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics and apply good laws to advance social development and good governance; we should make better use of the power of oversight granted to people's congresses by the Constitution to deliver proper, effective, and legislative oversight; we should give full play to the role of deputies to people's congresses to ensure that they respond to people's concerns; we should enhance our awareness as political organs and strengthen self-improvement of people's congresses; and we should strengthen the Party's overall leadership over the work related to people's congresses. General Secretary Xi's important ideas and instructions have pointed the direction and provided guidance for developing the whole-process people's democracy, tapping into China's fundamental political system, and improving the work related to people's congresses in the new era. Over the years, the NPC and its Standing Committee, as well as the administrative bodies of the NPC, have made it a "compulsory course" to study and implement General Secretary Xi's important ideas on upholding and improving the people's congress system, and have held symposiums on this topic for four years in a row to spur the people's congresses at all levels to study, publicize, and implement those ideas. The NPC has formulated a five-year plan for studying and implementing General Secretary Xi's important ideas and actively put the plan into practice. In their daily work, the Standing Committee of the NPC has been using Xi's ideas as a guide to solving problems and has translated what they learned from their studies into the driving force behind their work. Thank you!

China Media Group:

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee has strengthened its leadership over the work related to people's congresses. Last October, a central conference on work related to people's congresses was convened for the first time, a milestone in the history of the people's congress system. In the aspect of adhering to the Party's overall leadership over the work related to people's congresses, what practices and progress have been made by the NPC and its Standing Committee in recent years? Thank you.

Wang Tiemin:

China's people's congress system was created by the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC, and only under the CPC's leadership can this system be more consolidated, refined, and full of vitality and vigor. The NPC and its Standing Committee have always taken upholding the CPC's leadership, in particular the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, as the primary political principle and the most important political rule. First, we have followed the Party's innovative theory to make overall arrangements and guide the work related to people's congresses. We have improved the systems for group study of the CPC leadership group of the Standing Committee and for Standing Committee seminars. We have regarded studying Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and implementing General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speeches, the CPC Central Committee's important documents, and the guiding principles of important meetings as the primary tasks of the group study. We have readily improved our minds with scientific theories to guide and push forward our work. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC leadership group of the NPC Standing Committee and the Chairperson's Council have convened more than 90 group study meetings, and the Standing Committee has held 61 seminars. Second, we have resolutely and fully implemented General Secretary Xi Jinping's guiding principles and the CPC Central Committee's decisions and deployment. The important legislative items and tasks deployed by the CPC Central Committee and General Secretary Xi have been fully implemented by the NPC Standing Committee. We have set up work ledgers to ensure their implementation, clarifying our duties and detailing relevant measures to push forward our work, ensuring each and every item is implemented and effective. Third, we have strictly implemented the system of seeking instructions from and reporting our work to the Party Central Committee. The CPC leadership group of the NPC Standing Committee has regularly reported its overall work to the CPC Central Committee and readily sought instructions from and reported its major issues and events to the Party Central Committee. Over the past decade, the NPC has reported around 450 such issues and events and carried out relevant work in accordance with the CPC Central Committee's deployment and requirements. Fourth, we have made greater efforts regarding ideological work. We celebrated the centenary of the CPC, the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up, the 60th anniversary of the NPC, and other major events. By marking these events, we actively publicized the achievements of China's democracy obtained under the leadership of the Party, the strength and efficacy of China's Constitution and the people's congress system, and new advancements in work related to people's congresses. We have made comprehensive and in-depth reports on the NPC sessions and the NPC Standing Committee meetings and made continuous reports on the work related to NPC legislation, supervision, and its deputies throughout the whole process of our work. For issues involving China's core interests and major concerns, we have carried out public opinion and legal campaigns to respond with effective steps. Thank You.

Guangming Daily:

The key concept of whole-process people's democracy was first raised by General Secretary Xi Jinping when he visited a local legislative information office of Hongqiao in Changning district, Shanghai. General Secretary Xi pointed out that the system of people's congresses is an important institutional support to whole-process people's democracy. Could you explain the system's role in implementing the key concept?

Song Rui:

Whole-process people's democracy is a creation of the CPC in leading the people to pursue, develop and realize democracy, embodying the significant innovation of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core in advancing China's democratic theories, systems, and practices. Whole-process people's democracy is socialist, involves all the Chinese people, and features "whole process" as an advantage. It has complete procedures and practices, ensuring the democratic election, consultation, decision-making, management, and oversight of the people according to law. It is a model of socialist democracy that covers all aspects of the democratic process and all sectors of society. It is a true democracy that works.

Just as you mentioned in your question, General Secretary Xi Jinping noted that the system of people's congresses is an important institutional support to whole-process people's democracy. On the one hand, it works to ensure complete procedures for whole-process people's democracy and, on the other hand, provides a platform for complete practices of whole-process people's democracy. In terms of procedures, the essential thing in ensuring the people's status as masters of the country is that they hold state power and exercise the power of administering the country. The system of people's congresses is a fundamental political system in China. It ensures the people's status as masters of the country. It can strongly and effectively ensure that the Chinese people exercise state power through people's congresses at various levels and manage affairs of the state, the economy, culture, and society according to law. In addition, the constitution and laws formulated and amended under the system of people's congresses provide a sound legal guarantee for whole-process people's democracy. China's constitution specifies citizens' basic rights and obligations comprehensively and systematically. All the systems, policies, and guidelines written into it are intended to realize, safeguard and advance the people's fundamental interests. In addition, the National People's Congress made a series of laws to guarantee, safeguard and develop the political, economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights and interests of citizens, among other areas, in a bid to guarantee people's democracy and increase people's wellbeing with complete laws. In terms of providing a platform for complete practices of whole-process people's democracy, the work related to the people's congresses covers all aspects of democratic election, consultation, decision-making, management, and oversight. I will give several examples here. The just-concluded election of new deputies to the county- and township-level people's congresses is a vivid illustration of whole-process people's democracy in practice, during which over 2.6 million new deputies were elected by over one billion voters casting one vote each. Democratic consultation is reflected in research, seminar, debate, deliberation, and solicitation of public opinions. The people's congresses widely solicit public opinions and fully build consensus before voting on any law, decision and resolution according to law. Supervision by people's congresses represents the people's will and has legal force. It prompts state organs to exercise power following the law and safeguard the legal rights and interests of the people. With whole-process people's democracy, the people's rights to know, to participate, to express views, and to supervise the exercise of power are ensured in all aspects, and the whole process of the work related to the people's congresses and public opinions of various sides are collected to ensure the interests of the majority of people. Thank you.

China Daily:  

As we know, legislation is an important task of the NPC. What has the NPC Standing Committee done over the past decade to promote sound, democratic, and law-based legislation?

Song Rui:

The CPC Central Committee and General Secretary Xi Jinping highly value and have repeatedly stressed the further advancing of the sound, democratic, and law-based legislation. This is also the foundation of and key to doing a good job in NPC's legislative work and improving the quality of legislative work. The core of sound legislation is to respect and reflect objective laws. For example, relying on the collection and demonstration of legislative projects, legislative plans have been formulated and implemented in a scientific way. Following the rules of legislative activities, we have improved legislative techniques. And third-party assessments have been introduced for important and more controversial legislative matters. As for democratic legislation, it mainly adheres to benefiting the people and relying on the people. We have implemented "open-door legislation" through various channels, extensively listened to opinions and suggestions from the people and all sectors of society, and gathered consensus and wisdom from all aspects. As for law-based legislation, we have enacted legislation in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the Constitution and other laws, strictly prevented and corrected violations of the Constitution and other laws, ensured that the legislative activities follow the rules, and safeguarded the unified authority and dignity of the rule of law.

In aiming for sound, democratic, and law-based legislation, a crucial task in recent years has been to give play to the leading role of the NPC in legislative work. The precondition has been to uphold the centralized and unified leadership of the Party over legislative work. We should improve legislative work patterns to ensure that legislative work is under the leadership of the Party Committee, guided by the NPC, and supported by the government, and has participation from all sides, bringing together the synergy of all aspects of legislative work. Specifically, the NPC has played a leading role mainly in the following aspects: First, formulating legislative plans. The NPC have made arrangements for legislative projects in a coordinated way and ensured the legislative work is well planned and implemented in a scientific way. Second, the special committees and working committees of the NPC have taken the lead and drafted important laws that are comprehensive, fundamental, and affect the overall picture. At the same time, for laws drafted by relevant departments, we need to be involved in advance, strengthen organization and coordination, and supervise and urge relevant departments to submit drafts for deliberation in accordance with plans. And we also need to coordinate and resolve major legislative issues and differences among departments and sectors. Third, we give play to the NPC's role as a gatekeeper for deliberation. We need to promote democracy, brainstorm ideas, and build consensus on legislation, especially for preventing departmental interests and local protectionism. Fourth, we need to give play to the important role of the NPC in expressing, balancing, and coordinating social interests. The NPC is the organ of state power. It has always exercised the power of the state on the behalf of the interests and the will of the people. Therefore, we need to safeguard the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people while taking into account the legitimate rights and interests of special groups in society. Thank you.

People.cn:

Powers of oversight that are granted to people's congresses are an important component of the Party and state oversight systems. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, what efforts has the NPC Standing Committee made to properly exercise the power of oversight that is granted by the Constitution and the law? What measures have been taken to improve the methods of oversight and the oversight system? Thank you.

Wang Tiemin:

In the past decade, with a view to serving the central task of economic development and the overall interest of the country, focusing on key issues and seeking substantive results, the NPC Standing Committee exercised proper, effective, and law-based oversight and delivered a sound performance to the satisfaction of the people. Focusing on prominent issues concerning the ecosystem and environment conservation, the Standing Committee of the 13th NPC took frequent and targeted actions and carried out inspections of law enforcement for five consecutive years. It has inspected the enforcement of five laws, namely the Law on the Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution, the Law on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, the Law on Prevention and Control of Soil Pollution, the Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution Caused by Solid Wastes, and the Environmental Protection Law. Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, has led teams and carried out site inspections covering 31 provinces and equivalent administrative units across the country. As inspections have been carried out in unison between people's congresses at all levels, our efforts in this regard have seen a sound performance. In the process of law enforcement inspections, we also continue to innovate inspection methods and improve relevant mechanisms. We have taken an integrated approach combining field inspections, random checks, questionnaires, and online surveys and paid both public and unannounced visits. In the meantime, third-party organizations were invited to evaluate law enforcement in a bid to make our inspections more scientific, objective, and authoritative. In addition, we also worked to strengthen the review and oversight of government budgets and final accounts and enhance the management of state-owned assets. These are the new duties assigned to the NPC's oversight work by the CPC Central Committee. The NPC Standing Committee has expedited efforts to improve the institutional arrangements concerning these two fields. We issued a decision on strengthening the oversight of the state-owned assets management, revised a decision on strengthening the review and oversight of central budgets, and introduced documents concerning the oversight of the rectification of pronounced problems discovered in auditing and the review and oversight of local government debt. We earnestly made solid progress in reforms of expanding the focus of budget review and oversight, and carried out reviews on all fronts and oversight on all procedures. We reviewed reports on the allocation and use of fiscal budgets in key areas for four consecutive years. We heard and deliberated reports on the rectification of problems discovered in auditing every year. We also worked to press ahead with the integrated online oversight of budgets. As of now, online budget oversight systems have been established in all provincial peoples' congresses, over 90% of people's congress of cities with subsidiary districts, and more than 80% of county-level peoples' congresses. We formulated and implemented a five-year plan for strengthening the management and supervision of state-owned assets. We have reviewed reports on state-owned assets management for four consecutive years, and developed a clear picture for the total amount of such assets on all fronts. The management of four major categories of state-owned assets is now under oversight. We also strengthened the oversight of supervision and judicial work and safeguarded social equity and justice. In 2018, the NPC Standing Committee conducted inquiries for the first time on the work of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate. In 2020, it heard and deliberated, for the first time, the report of the National Supervisory Commission on the pursuit of economic and corruption offenders globally. All of these demonstrate the new progress made in overseeing the work of the State Council, the National Supervisory Commission, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate. Thank you.

Red Star News:

As mentioned in the introduction speech just now, the Standing Committee of the NPC has issued norms such as specific measures to improve the work related to NPC deputies. What other measures has the Standing Committee of the NPC taken to strengthen the ability of deputies to perform their duties and better play their roles? Thank you.

Song Rui:

Supporting and guaranteeing deputies perform their duties in accordance with the law and giving full play to the role of deputies is the foundation for doing a good job in the work related to people's congresses in the new era. The past decade has seen the working mechanism of deputies become more complete, and leap-forward development has been achieved. First of all, solid steps have been taken to build the deputies working mechanism. In addition to the 35 specific measures just mentioned to strengthen and improve the work of NPC deputies, the NPC Standing Committee has also formulated opinions on improving the mechanism for members of the Standing Committee to have communication with NPC deputies, opinions on improving the system for deputies to communicate with the public, opinions on the implementation of the close contact between deputies and the public through online platforms, and opinions on strengthening and improving the study and training of NPC deputies, further promoting the institutionalization, standardization, and normalization of deputies work. For example, members of the Standing Committee communicate with deputies. At present, 156 members of the NPC Standing Committee have direct communication with 439 deputies to the National People's Congress. Various special committees and working committees have also established a mechanism for directly connecting with deputies, basically achieving full connection coverage of grassroots deputies. Second, the breadth and depth of deputies' participation are expanded in the work of the Standing Committee and special committees. NPC deputies are invited to observe meetings of the Standing Committee, and a system of observing deputies' symposium has been created for the 13th NPC Standing Committee, in which the chairman of the Standing Committee and vice-chairmen participate in the symposium, communicate face-to-face with the deputies, and listen to opinions and suggestions. Up to now, 16 symposiums have been held, and more than 730 deputies have participated in the symposiums. More than 530 opinions and suggestions put forward have also been handed over to relevant departments, and the deputies have received responses. Deputies were organized to participate in the Standing Committee's legislative research, law enforcement inspections, and other activities, while important draft laws, plans, and budgets were sent to the deputies for comments, and the opinions and suggestions of the deputies were carefully heard and adopted. Third, in accordance with the requirements of "high-quality content and high-quality handling," the Standing Committee handled 4,648 proposals and 84,028 suggestions put forward by deputies, which equals to the total number of proposals and suggestions made by deputies in the past five years since the debut of the 13th NPC Standing Committee. The Standing Committee has responded to and implemented every proposal and suggestion and has promoted the resolution of a number of outstanding issues of common concern for the people. Fourth, the Standing Committee organizes the NPC deputies to conduct research and inspections every year, supports the NPC deputies to participate in the activities of the deputies' stations and the deputies' liaison station nearby, closely communicates with the people, promotes the resolution of outstanding issues of concern to the people, and strives to ensure that it will respond to what the people are calling for. Fifth, the training of deputies has been further systematic, standardized, and professional. The Standing Committee carefully tailored a variety of training courses for deputies and vigorously promoted the construction of the NPC online academy. At present, more than 150 courses have been recorded and put online by the virtual academy, and more than 2,500 NPC deputies have participated in online learning. Over the past 10 years, 43 training sessions for NPC deputies have been held, and a total of more than 20,000 deputies have participated in the training, which has effectively improved the deputies' ability to perform their duties and boost their efficiency. Thank you.

Cnr.cn:

To improve platforms and approaches through which the people can express their opinions is the requirement set by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the central conference on work related to the people's congresses. What measures have been taken by the NPC Standing Committee in recent years to provide better channels for the people to express their opinions and demands? Thank you.

Song Rui:

The more extensive the practice of the people's democratic participation and the fuller the expression of the people's wishes, the more tangible the realization of the idea of the people being masters of the country and the more vigorous the whole-process people's democracy will be. Over the years, the NPC and its Standing Committee have upheld the principle of serving and relying on the people. They have done a lot of work in improving the democratic platforms and vehicles where the general public can express opinions and refining the working mechanisms for soliciting public comments and collecting ideas from the people. I will introduce the main work as follows:

First, the mechanisms for regularly soliciting public opinion for drafting laws and giving public feedback have been improved. The law drafts for the first and second deliberations of the NPC Standing Committee will be promptly made available to the public to solicit opinion. Over the past decade, public opinion has been solicited on 217 draft laws, receiving more than 3.8 million comments and suggestions from over 1.2 million people. Soliciting public opinion has become an important way for the people to participate in the national legislation directly.

Second, the establishment of the grass-roots legislation contact point has been steadily promoted. The Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee has established 22 grass-roots legislation contact points covering two-thirds of the provinces in China. It has led people's congresses of provinces and cities having subsidiary districts to establish over 5,500 grass-roots contact points. The Budgetary Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee has also set up grass-roots budget review contact points. These grass-roots contact points have effectively served as a "through train" which can take the public opinion directly to the top legislature, ensuring that the work of the people's congresses would better engage with the people, observe public sentiment, gather the people's ideas, and benefit people's lives.

Third, the role as the platform for handling public complaints has been leveraged. The NPC Standing Committee has built and made good use of the NPC's petition window, which provides a reception place to listen to the opinions of the people face-to-face and receive letters and visits of the people. Since 2020, the online petition platform of the NPC administrative bodies has been established, promoting the practice of the mass line through the internet. The current NPC Standing Committee has handled 381,800 public complaints, over 40,000 of which have been submitted through the online petition platform. Furthermore, 780 letters from the people's congress deputies have been handed over to local people's congresses or transmitted to other organs to handle. Issues that concern the people most in their letters and visits have been resolved and responded to in the relevant legislative and oversight work.

Fourth, the NPC Standing Committee has established the information platform for recording and reviewing normative documents, a national database for laws and regulations, and an information platform for the work of people's congress deputies. These platforms and vehicles have made it possible for the opinions and suggestions from the people and all sectors of society to be heard. In addition to these essential platforms and vehicles, in practice, the NPC Standing Committee has also established and refined a series of working mechanisms for soliciting public opinions and collecting ideas from the people, including investigations, workshops, seminars, hearings, questionnaires, and other forms, to widely and deeply heed the aspirations and voices of the people and improve the quality of the NPC's work through various channels and in multiple means. At the local level, people's congresses have generally set up "Deputies' Homes" and deputy contact stations, which have become an important platform for people's congress deputies to listen to the opinions of the people and perform their duties. That is the most important manifestation of the democratic platforms and vehicles of people's congresses through which the general public can express opinions at the local level. Currently, there are over 220,000 deputies' homes (stations) nationwide, which have become fixed, convenient, and effective service platforms for deputies to contact the people, strengthen learning and carry out their duties. Thank you.

Southern Metropolis Daily:

In the past two years, the organic law and procedural rules of the NPC and the Organic Law of the Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments have been amended. The procedural rules of the NPC Standing Committee were revised again during the session that concluded a few days ago. What is the significance of these amendments to improving the system of people's congresses?

Wang Tiemin:

I will answer your question. Although the people's congress system has incomparable advantages, it still embraces changes. It has been continuously developed and improved in practice, showing that the system has been moving forward and advancing with the times. The organizational systems and work mechanisms have been improved to make them more dynamic and better suit the characteristics of organs of state power, which is an essential epitome of advancing with the times of the system of people's congresses. The NPC and its Standing Committee amended the organic law and procedural rules of the NPC for the first time, amended the procedural rules of the NPC Standing Committee for the second time, and revised the Electoral Law of the National People's Congress and Local People's Congresses and the Organic Law of the Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments twice, during which plans and requirements of the CPC Central Committee, the concept of China's whole-process people's democracy and mature and efficient practices have been incorporated. 

In terms of improving organizational structures, the 13th National People's Congress set up the Social Development Affairs Committee, the Supervisory and Judicial Affairs Committee, and the Constitution and Law Committee. The organic law of the NPC was revised in 2021, increasing the functions of its special committees from five to 12 to leverage their strengths better. The Organic Law of the Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments was also revised, according to which, the number of deputies to standing committees of local people's congresses was increased; people's congresses at the county level will set up special committees and their standing committees will set up working bodies in sub-districts; the responsibilities and positioning of presidiums of township people's congresses when the congresses are not in session were clarified. All these efforts have fundamentally laid a solid foundation and strengthened the force for improving the work of local people's congresses. 

In terms of optimizing session organization procedures, to meet the requirements of regular epidemic response, the procedural rules of the NPC were revised based on the practice over the past several years, clarifying that the Standing Committee of the NPC can appropriately advance or postpone sessions of the NPC. Furthermore, provisions were made regarding attending sessions via video link. The NPC's work has been getting heavier in recent years, and it has become customary to hold extra meetings of the Standing Committee of the NPC. The amendment of the procedural rules of the Standing Committee of the NPC stipulates that additional meetings can be held when necessary. Based on the two amendments to procedural rules, several new measures have been rolled out to streamline meeting procedures, improve voting methods and regulate group and joint-group meetings to improve the quality and efficiency of deliberations at the NPC. Thank you. 

Xing Huina:

Today's news conference is concluded. Thank you for the two speakers and friends from the media. Goodbye. 

Translated and edited by Zhang Jiaqi, Zhou Jing, Liu Qiang, Zhang Junmian, Zhang Rui, Yuan Fang, Yan Xiaoqing, Liu Sitong, Xu Kailin, Wang Qian, Zhang Liying, Li Huiru, Yang Xi, Zhu Bochen, Tom Arnsten, and Jay Birbeck. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.