|
China has actively promoted the building of democracy and the
legal system, constantly perfected the people's congress system
and the multi-party cooperation and political consultation system
under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and
made great efforts to strengthen the building of democracy at the
grass-roots level and earnestly safeguard citizens' political rights.
The people's congress system is China's fundamental political system.
All power in China belongs to the people. The organs through which
the people exercise state power are the National People's Congress
(NPC) and the local people's congresses. The NPC is the supreme
organ of state power. It decides state policies and principles,
and exercises the state legislative power. Since the Third Session
of the Ninth NPC, the NPC and its Standing Committee have examined
30 proposed laws, of which 18 have been approved. The Legislation
Law of the People's Republic of China, promulgated for implementation
in 2000, is an important law concerning the state legislation system,
and is of great significance in perfecting that system, safeguarding
its unification, setting up and improving the law system with Chinese
characteristics and promoting the building of democracy and the
legal system.
The NPC and its Standing Committee have vigorously reinforced the
implementation of the laws and the supervision over the administrative,
judicial and procuratorial organs, and notable results have been
achieved. In 2000, the NPC Standing Committee organized a law-enforcement
inspection group, which has checked the implementation of four laws,
such as the Criminal Procedure Law and the Organic Law of the Urban
Neighborhood Committees, thus effectively supervising the implementation
of these laws. The NPC Standing Committee supervises the work of
the State Council, Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate
by various means, such as inspection, law-enforcement examination,
and hearing and deliberating work reports. To strengthen the supervision
of the budget and economic work, the NPC Standing Committee adopted
the Resolution on Strengthening the Examination and Supervision
of the Central Budget in February 1999, and the Resolution on Strengthening
the Supervision of Economic Work in March 2000. In addition, the
NPC Standing Committee is working out a Supervision Law. Deputies
to the NPC have increased their enthusiasm for participating in
the exercise of state power. At the Fourth Session of the Ninth
NPC held in March 2001, the deputies raised 1,040 proposals, a record
number since the Sixth NPC.
The multi-party cooperation and political consultation system under
the leadership of the CPC is an important component of China 's
democratic political system. The Chinese People's Political Consultative
Conference (CPPCC) consists of representatives of the CPC, democratic
parties, personages without party affiliation, people's organizations,
ethnic minorities and other walks of life, as well as representatives
of compatriots from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, returned overseas
Chinese and specially invited individuals. Hence, the CPPCC has
extensive representation. The committees of the CPPCC at all levels
and the democratic parties are playing a more and more important
role in political consultation, democratic supervision, and participation
in the deliberation and administration of state affairs. Now the
chairmen of the central committees of the eight democratic parties,
the chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce
and 13 other people from the democratic parties, personages without
party affiliation and non-Party personages from all walks of life,
totaling 22, serve as vice-chairmen of the NPC Standing Committee
or vice-chairmen of the CPPCC National Committee. Twenty-seven democratic
party personages and personages without party affiliation serve
as vice-governors, vice-chairmen, vice-mayors or assistants in the
country's 31 provinces, autonomous regions and centrally administered
municipalities; nearly 10,000 democratic party personages and personages
without party affiliation hold leading posts in the governments,
government departments and judicial organs at or above the county
level; more than 140,000 democratic party personages and personages
without party affiliation have been elected deputies to the people's
congresses at different levels; and more than 220,000 democratic
party personages and personages without party affiliation are members
of the CPPCC committees at different levels.
In 2000, the CPPCC National Committee actively participated in
the deliberation and administration of state affairs, offered advice
and suggestions, organized CPPCC National Committee members to make
special investigations and inspections of a number of important
issues concerning economic and social development during the 10th
Five-Year Plan period (2001-2005), held special forums and symposiums,
and submitted to the CPC Central Committee more than 10 reports,
such as Opinions on Promoting the Readjustment of the Economic Structure
During the 10th Five-Year Plan Period, and the Proposal on the Need
for the 10th Five-Year Plan to Embody Systems Innovation, thus providing
important reference material for the state's formulation of the
Outline of the 10th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social
Development. On the basis of special research, the CPPCC National
Committee has raised many opinions and suggestions to the CPC Central
Committee and the State Council on implementing the strategy for
the all-out development of the western region, speeding up the project
to divert water from the south to the north, perfecting the social
security system, quickening the reform of the distribution system,
promoting the building of communities, deepening the reform of the
judicial system, and guaranteeing judicial fairness and social stability.
The channels for the CPPCC committees at all levels, all democratic
parties and all personages without party affiliation to engage in
democratic supervision have been further widened. Now, tens of thousands
of democratic party personages and personages without party affiliation
serve as special advisors to the people' s procuratorates, and to
supervision, auditing, education, land resources, taxation, personnel
and public security departments, participating in legal and administrative
supervision. Members of CPPCC committees at all levels reflect the
opinions and demands of the masses of all walks of life and exercise
their right to democratic supervision through discussing significant
issues, criticizing the work of state organs and their work personnel,
making suggestions and other means. In 2000, members of CPPCC committees
throughout the country attended the symposiums on strict, fair and
civilized law enforcement held by the public security organs, more
than 130,000 person-times, and inspected public security organs
11,000 person-times, thus playing a powerful supervision role in
impartial law enforcement.
Building democratic politics at the grass-roots level in rural
areas with democratic election, decision-making, administration
and supervision as the basic contents has been promoted in an all-
round way, and developed steadily. Since the implementation of the
Organic Law of the Villagers' Committees, which was revised in November
1998, the building of the systems of democratic election, discussion
of village affairs by the villagers themselves, and making village
affairs public has been constantly improved. Twenty- three provinces,
autonomous regions and municipalities in China have worked out the
new electoral procedures for the villagers' committees; 17 provinces,
autonomous regions and municipalities have adopted the measures
for implementation of the Organic Law of the Villagers' Committees;
many cities and counties have worked out the implementation guidelines
for villagers' self-government work; and almost all villages have
formulated or revised their village regulations and agreements,
and regulations on villagers' self-government. The villagers' committees
in 27 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have been
re-elected with some 600 million farmers participating directly
in the elections, representing an attendance rate of more then 80
percent. The villagers' self-government level as a whole has markedly
improved. Meanwhile, making township political affairs public has
been promoted in an all-round way. Since 2000, 35,000 townships
throughout the country have made their political affairs public,
making up well over 80 percent of the total number of townships.
Thus, remarkable progress has been made in the building of democratic
politics at the township level.
|