Editor”s notice: This yr marks the fifth anniversary of the introduction of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law. China Daily will publish a collection of tales exploring its implementation throughout the nation.
Upon studying that China’s Science and Technology Popularization Law was set for revision final yr, Liu Ersheng, a 71-year-old Shanghai native, visited the Hongqiao subdistrict in town and submitted his solutions to the nation’s prime legislature through a “direct line”.
With a long time of expertise in selling agricultural planting applied sciences, Liu acknowledged the important want to interact younger folks in scientific and technological training, so he proposed rising reductions for them at science museums and associated locations.
To his shock, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the nation’s prime legislature, adopted his recommendation. Now, beneath the revised regulation, which took impact in December final yr, kids can take pleasure in free or discounted entry to those venues.
The “direct line” that carried Liu’s proposal to the very best legislative physique is an outreach workplace established by the NPC Standing Committee’s Legislative Affairs Commission in Hongqiao. To date, the quantity of such workplaces has reached 54 nationwide and these have gathered over 66,000 legislative solutions from the public, with greater than 3,500 integrated into laws.
Shi Hongli, an official from the fee, highlighted the essential function that these outreach workplaces play in facilitating legislative participation, saying that they’ve employed numerous strategies reminiscent of inspection excursions, symposiums, video talks and questionnaires to interact folks from all walks of life.
“Public involvement demonstrates that legislation is by the people and for the people,” Shi mentioned, including that the workplaces are designed to successfully deal with public considerations and challenges.
This people-centered strategy aligns with Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, which was launched in November 2020 at a central convention in Beijing on work associated to total law-based governance.
The thought underscores the importance of assembly folks’s demand, defending their rights and continually enhancing their sense of achievement, happiness and safety by advancing total law-based governance.
It stresses that laws must be superior in a scientific method, with a larger give attention to key areas, reminiscent of nationwide safety, public well being, technological innovation and environmental safety.
Strong participation
The legislative outreach workplaces have been pivotal in implementing this thought, as they bridge the hole between nationwide laws and the public.
“They provide us with rich experiences and wisdom from grassroots communities,” mentioned Gao Lina, one other official from the fee.
Students from the affiliated highschool of East China University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai shared their concepts on stopping home violence and college bullying with the Hongqiao outreach workplace when the Law on the Protection of Minors was positioned beneath revision in 2020.
At that point, the draft acknowledged that public safety departments concern warnings and require a toddler’s guardian to pay a safety deposit to the police if they’re discovered to have dedicated home violence towards the kid.
“The students suggested removing that security deposit, expressing concern that the payment could place a financial burden on some families and might not effectively protect minors — in fact, it could even be harmful to their growth,” Gao mentioned. “We took their advice into account and ultimately accepted it. The students told me they felt a strong sense of participation, fulfillment and pride in contributing to the national lawmaking process after learning that their opinions had been adopted.”
In Tianjin, Zhang Guixia, a retired instructor, prompt to the very best legislative physique that the previous residences of historic figures and historic buildings be successfully utilized, by an outreach workplace situated in town’s Xiaobailou subdistrict.
“Fully leveraging the value of these sites will help residents better remember history and inspire patriotic enthusiasm,” Zhang mentioned when the Cultural Relics Protection Law was receiving modification in 2023.
The amended regulation, which got here into impact in March, integrated her opinion. It clarifies that the nation encourages analysis on the utilization of cultural relics and successfully makes use of cultural relic sources, with numerous and multilevel cultural services offered.
Ongoing efforts
Following these achievements, Shen Chunyao, head of the fee, mentioned it’s essential to increase the features of these outreach workplaces and burdened the necessity to leverage every workplace’s personal traits to strengthen public participation, guaranteeing that laws are made and modified in a scientific, democratic and authorized approach.
For instance, because the fee established an outreach workplace in Beijing’s Chaoyang district — the capital’s most populous and largest space — in July 2021, it has gathered 4,657 solutions. Most of them middle on stimulating the economic system, advancing city building and boosting worldwide exchanges, which align with the district’s benefits and growth objectives, in response to Bao Yuefeng, deputy head of the standing committee of the Chaoyang District People’s Congress.
“With over 300,000 registered businesses, we’ve prioritized economic laws, like the Company Law, Anti-Monopoly Law and Arbitration Law,” Bao mentioned. “For the Company Law alone, we gathered 421 public suggestions.”
She revealed that the district now has legislative data assortment websites in each neighborhood. “This initiative aims to ensure people’s voices on legal matters affecting their daily lives and work are heard clearly, and to more broadly solicit their suggestions,” she added.
The amended Legislation Law, which got here into impact in March 2023, requires upholding a people-centered strategy in lawmaking. Shen mentioned, “This is a way to ensure, from an institutional perspective, that legislation is for the people, relies on the people, benefits the people and protects the people.”
To attain the aim, the fee is planning to construct extra outreach workplaces nationwide to satisfy the rising demand for public participation in lawmaking. While making use of digital platforms for extra environment friendly opinion solicitation, the fee mentioned that the workplaces can even promote authorized training and foster a stronger sense of nationwide neighborhood.
Focusing on key areas
In addition to adhering to a people-centered strategy in the legislative course of, China has accelerated its legislative efforts in key areas over the previous 5 years, together with nationwide safety, technological innovation, public well being, organic safety, environmental safety and threat prevention.
Notable achievements embody the Data Security Law and Foreign Relations Law, alongside amendments to the Criminal Law and Counter-Espionage Law, offering sturdy authorized assist for nationwide safety and social stability, Shen mentioned.
China now has over 40 objects of laws on nationwide safety, with related provisions in practically 200 laws and administrative rules, in response to People’s Daily.
The nation has practically accomplished its authorized framework for foreign-related issues, with over 50 laws enacted by the top of final yr, in response to a report from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Significant efforts have additionally been made in formulating the Yellow River Protection Law, Wetland Protection Law, and Noise Pollution Prevention and Control Law, in addition to revising the Marine Environment Protection Law and Wildlife Protection Law.
The fee is soliciting public solutions and opinions on a draft environmental code, the nation’s first-ever code in this subject.