Top Chinese legislator pledges to strengthen NPC's oversight

BEIJING - Chinese top legislator on Sunday pledged to enhance the national legislature's oversight over the work of the country's administrative and judicial authorities, to address people's concerns and serve the country's deepening reforms.

According to Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, the Standing Committee had strengthened its oversight and improved ways to supervise the State Council, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, with the focus on making oversight more effective.

He said over the past year, the country's top legislature had listened to and deliberated 15 work reports of China's administrative and judicial bodies, inspected compliance with four laws, conducted three special inquiries, and carried out five special investigations and studies.

Oversight over the country's economic work were strengthened, whereas review and oversight over budget and final account as well as work related to people's well-being were also enhanced.

The NPC Standing Committee also worked to improve its oversight of the exercise of state power, and beefed up the quality and effects of its special inquiries, Zhang said.

The top legislator said strengthening the NPC's oversight is a necessary requirement for implementing the rule of law.

"We need to fully implement the guidelines of the (Communist Party of China) Central Committee and the provisions of the Oversight Law and raise the NPC's oversight work to a new level," he said.

According to Zhang, this year, the NPC Standing Committee will focus on investigating compliance with the Tourism Law and the Patent Law.

It will also deliberate reports from government bodies and conduct inquiries on special topics to help improve the quality and returns of economic development, and give impetus to the implementation of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee's policy decisions and agendas for comprehensively deepening reform.

He noted that to strengthen ecological conservation, the NPC Standing Committee would hear a report of the State Council on conserving energy and reducing emissions, investigate compliance with the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law, and carry out special investigations and studies on preventing and controlling soil pollution.