China to set national Constitution Day

China plans to designate December 4 as national Constitution Day amid efforts to advance the rule of law.

Nationwide activities to promote the Constitution will be held on the day, according to a draft bill submitted for discussion at the ongoing bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress to be held from Monday to Saturday.

China's top legislature adopted the Constitution on Dec 4, 1982 based on a previous version enacted in 1954.

The proposal was made to enhance social awareness of the Constitution, promote its spirit, and strengthen its implementation, said Li Shishi, director of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee.

At the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee held last week, the CPC pledged to improve the socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics, in which the Constitution is taken as the core.

"To realize the rule of law, the country should be ruled in line with the Constitution," read the communique issued after the plenary session.

"Based on this, it is necessary for the NPC Standing Committee to set the national Constitution Day through legislative procedures," Li said.

Fully implementing the Constitution is the top priority for advancing the rule of law and building a country under "the socialist rule of law," the draft bill read.

No organization or individual shall have the privilege of being placed above the Constitution. All activities that violate the Constitution must be reprimanded and rectified, according to the draft bill.