Revision of oath to Constitution proposed

Officials who pledge allegiance to the Constitution while assuming office will have to follow a revised oath if a draft bill is approved by the top legislature.

While most parts of the oath would remain unchanged, the last phrase would be changed to say "to work for a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful", according to the draft submitted to a session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for review on Friday.

The adjectives "great", "modern" and "beautiful" are newly added to align the oath with the development goal envisioned by the Communist Party of China at its 19th National Congress in October, said Zhang Yong, vice-chairman of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee.