Highlights of NPC Standing Committee work report

BEIJING - China's top legislator Wu Bangguo is delivering a report on the work of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) to the annual parliamentary session on Friday.

Following are the highlights of Wu's report distributed to the media before the opening of the session:

Overall work in 2011

-- The Standing Committee deliberated 24 bills, legal interpretations and draft decisions on legal issues, passed 14 of them, and has presented four of them to this session for deliberation and approval.

-- It listened to and deliberated 14 work reports by the State Council, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate; investigated implementation of four laws; ratified four treaties and accords China concluded with foreign countries and its accession to one international convention; made decisions on and approved the appointment or removal of a number of employees in state bodies; and made an important contribution to upholding and improving the system of people's congresses and carrying out reform, opening up, and socialist modernization.

Legislative work in 2011

-- The NPC Standing Committee has submitted the draft revision of the Criminal Procedure Law to this session for deliberation and approval after two readings.

-- The NPC Standing Committee amended the Law on Personal Income Tax and the Law Concerning the Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases.

-- It passed the Law on Administrative Enforcement after deliberating it on five occasions.

-- It examined and approved the interpretations of Article 13, paragraph 1, and Article 19 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the interpretations of Annex I, Article 7, and Annex II, Article 3, of the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region.

-- The NPC Standing Committee worked to make legislation more scientific and democratic, such as expanding the orderly participation of citizens in legislation, actively responding to social concerns and launching a pilot project for evaluating laws after they are passed.

Oversight work in 2011

-- The NPC Standing Committee heard and deliberated reports on accelerating transformation of the pattern of economic development.

-- It heard and deliberated reports related to people's wellbeing.

-- It intensified oversight of government budgets and strengthened oversight of judicial work.

Legislative work in 2012

-- The NPC Standing Committee will advance legislation in the social arena. It will continue to deliberate the drafts of the Law on Mental Health, the Law on Entry and Exit Administration, the Law on Insurance for Military Personnel, and the draft amendment to the Civil Procedure Law, and amend the Law Guaranteeing the Rights and Interests of Senior Citizens and the Labor Contract Law.

-- It will improve legislation in the economic field. It will continue to deliberate the draft amendment to the Budget Law and the draft of the Law on Asset Evaluation, and amend laws such as the Land Administration Law, the Law on Disseminating Agricultural Technology, the Environmental Protection Law, the Law on Securities Investment Funds, and the Trademark Law.

-- It will strengthen the system of cultural laws. It will formulate a law on public libraries and improve the system of Internet-related laws.

Oversight work in 2012

-- The NPC Standing Committee will listen to and deliberate the reports of the State Council on adjusting national income distribution, reform and development of state-owned enterprises, as well as the mechanism for funding county governments, water conservation, land use and mineral resources.

-- It will listen to and deliberate the State Council's reports on ensuring safe drinking water and providing social aid, inspect enforcement of the Law on the Protection of Disabled Persons.

-- It will listen to and deliberate reports on the implementation of China's annual plan and budgets and on the central government's final accounts and auditing work, examine and approve the 2011 final accounts of the central government.

-- It will listen to and deliberate the supreme court's report on intellectual property rights adjudication and the supreme procuratorate's report on the handling of civil and administrative cases.

Election of new lawmakers

-- Cities divided into districts, autonomous prefectures, provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government will elect their new people's congresses from the second half of this year to early next year.

-- At this session, decisions will be made on matters related to the election of deputies to the 12th NPC.