Role of people's congresses

Guangzhou began the year with not only a unique New Year gift for its residents, but also a breakthrough of national significance in granting a greater supervisory role to the local people's congress over the local government.

The city's act, effective Jan 1, stipulates that decisions on such issues as education, health care, the price of public utilities and other important matters that affect the livelihood of locals must receive approval from the standing committee of the municipal people's congress before implementation. It also requires that the people's congress has the power to revoke decisions by the local government that are unsuitable.

Actually, this power by local people's congresses is already part of the Constitution. An article in the Organic Law of the Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments specifies explicitly that people's congresses above the county level have the right to make decisions on important issues in such areas as politics, economy, science, education, healthcare and the protection of the environment and natural resources in respective regions.