Upholding Constitution will protect democracy

Upholding the authority of the Constitution and ensuring full implementation of the fundamental law is a legal protection for developing whole-process people's democracy, according to Chinese officials.

They made the remarks at a seminar held by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, on Friday, a day ahead of Constitution Day.

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the top legislature, stressed the full implementation and promotion of the Constitution in the new era, calling for the development of whole-process people's democracy and a better role for the Constitution in building a modern socialist country. He said learning about and implementing the Constitution must develop whole-process people's democracy, adding the system of people's congresses should be fully implemented and theoretical studies involving the fundamental law also need to be improved.

Shen Chunyao, director of the NPC Standing Committee's Legislative Affairs Commission, said that fully advancing the implementation of the Constitution is to provide strong legal protection for developing whole-process people's democracy.

In November 2019, during his inspection in Shanghai's Hongqiao subdistrict, President Xi Jinping said people's democracy is a type of whole-process democracy. He then highlighted the development of the concept in his keynote speech at a grand gathering in Beijing on July 1 to mark the centenary of the Communist Party of China.

In October, Xi again stressed the concept at a central conference on work related to people's congresses, underscoring that "democracy, a shared value of humanity, is a key tenet unswervingly upheld by the CPC and the Chinese people".

Shen noted that ensuring the people are the masters of the country and promoting whole-process people's democracy is the fundamental purpose, principle and value of the Constitution, adding "what the NPC and its standing committee should do is to uphold the Constitution in lawmaking and amendments."

Regarding this year as a milestone of developing the country's democracy and rule of law, He Rong, executive vice-president of the Supreme People's Court, said that courts nationwide must safeguard the authority and dignity of the Constitution, ordering them to develop whole-process people's democracy in every judicial aspect.

She required courts at all levels to strengthen human rights protection and guarantee everyone's legitimate rights by accurately carrying out the Constitution, calling for them to make people's interests a priority in case handling.

In addition, normative documents and judicial interpretations made by courts must be submitted to the top legislature for recording, "as we have to make sure what we've formulated is consistent with the Constitution," she added.

Yang Chunlei, deputy chief of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, also highlighted the consistency of legal documents, saying that prosecutors as a key force in law supervision and advancing overall law-based governance should continue their role in ensuring laws cannot contradict the Constitution.

Over the past eight years, Yan Jianguo has routinely introduced the Constitution to the public, because the Constitution stipulates that NPC deputies such as Yan should help popularize the law in production, work and activities.

"I'll continue playing the role in popularizing the Constitution and contributing to advancing the country's building of rule of law," he said.