Grassroots stations to seek opinions

Initiative to cover all provincial regions to resolve problems through legislation

Ten more stations for soliciting legislative opinions from grassroots-level areas will soon be set up to further implement China's "whole-process people's democracy" and overall law-based governance, said an official with China's top legislature.

The new "grassroots legislation opinion collection stations" will be mainly built in northeastern and western areas of China, as well as regions inhabited by ethnic groups, such as in Liaoning province and the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, Yang Heqing, spokesman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee's Legislative Affairs Commission, told a news conference on Friday.

"Once those are built, there will be a station in every provincial region across the country," he said.

The establishment of such stations was part of an initiative launched by the commission in July 2015 to gather suggestions from residents and then resolve their problems through legislation.

The first stations were set up in Shanghai's Hongqiao subdistrict and in standing committees of local legislative bodies in Xiangyang, Hubei province; Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province; and Lintao county, Gansu province.

The success of these stations led the commission to build more in 2020 and 2021.

Such stations have played a key role in the implementation of "whole-process people's democracy", "as they provide a channel for people at the grassroots level to share their ideas on legislative issues and have a greater opportunity to get their voices heard by national lawmakers," Yang said.

The concept of "whole-process people's democracy" was first advanced by President Xi Jinping during a visit to Hongqiao in November 2019.

"With the stations, we'll increase exchanges between residents and lawmakers to improve the quality of legislation, contributing more to carrying out the 'whole-process people's democracy' and promoting governance by the rule of law in the new era," Yang added.

Recalling legislative efforts over the past decade, he said that they have always upheld the Constitution, with more focus on making and revising laws on national security, healthcare, environment, education and technology.

Meanwhile, a few laws regarding new industries, including those on internet data and biosecurity, and the legislation involving foreign affairs, have also been unveiled, "which means remarkable progress has been made in improving the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics," he said.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, the NPC and its standing committee have made 69 laws and 237 amendments, he said.

Although the country has seen achievements in legislation in the past 10 years, its optimization of the legal system has never stopped.

To effectively prevent the elderly and the youth from being defrauded, a draft law calls for all walks of life to share more knowledge and tips against fraud in communities, schools and villages, Yang said.

The draft on anti-telecom and online fraud will be submitted for a third review to a session of the NPC Standing Committee, which will convene from Aug 30 to Sept 2 in Beijing.

"Upon discovery of new types of fraud in the sector, related companies and organizations need to remind clients and members to be alert so that fraud can be fought from the start," Yang said, adding that the draft will also mete out heavier punishment for offenders and those who aid them.

In addition, the NPC Standing Committee is expected to review draft revisions to the Law on the Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products and the Wild Animal Protection Law during the upcoming session, along with bills on draft amendments to the Counter-Espionage Law and a draft law on the ecological conservation on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.