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China promises more democracy in legislation
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-03-09 11:48
Top Chinese lawmaker Wu Bangguo said Thursday that the Standing
Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress (NPC) will further promote
democracy in its legislation by soliciting more public opinions.
"We
will continue to publicize law drafts to collect suggestions and hold more
public hearings on bills which the public care about or dispute about the most,"
said Wu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, in his annual report on the
legislature's work to nearly 3,000 NPC deputies.
NPC deputies are
particularly keen to take note of Wu's promise at a time when legal experts are
engulfed in a battle over the country's first property law still in the making.
The draft law, which is designed to provide refined protection of
private property, was originally scheduled for approval at this annual session
to end on March 14. However, it was scrapped from the agenda just months ahead
of the session.
Some scholars worry that the draft law may fail to
protect state-owned assets by putting indiscriminate stress on private and
public ownership.
"This interruption should not be seen as a waste of
time," said Wang Liming, an NPC deputy and member of the NPC Law Committee. " By
allowing more debates, we will have a better idea of what is needed in the law."
Top lawmaker Wu Bangguo also affirmed in the report that " bringing
democracy to full play is a necessity for enhancing the quality of our
legislation."
The holdup of property law legislation does not mean that
it will be shelved. On the contrary, it is on top of the 25 bills for 2006,
according to the chairman's report. Others are related to corporate bankruptcy,
supervision, emergency handling, labor contract and the fight against narcotics.
The draft property law was made public last year to seek public comments
and suggestions. The draft has so far attracted more than 11,500 letters.
After reviewing various proposals for modification, the legislature
summed up 10 major questions for discussion, one of which involved the
protection of state-owned assets reportedly raised by Gong Xiantian, a law
professor with the Beijing University. He said in a letter earlier this year
that such a law would "undermine the legal foundation of China's socialist
economy. "
"That version puts state-owned property and private property
under indiscriminate protection," Gong said. "This means that people who become
rich by preying on state-owned assets and taking bribes could be shielded from
prosecution."
"Such a law would pose a serious violation against China's
Constitution which stipulates that socialist public property is deemed
sacrosanct and shall be free from encroachment," he said.
Gong's letter
created an immediate uproar in the legal and economic circles. Two high-profile
seminars were held in Beijing in February to counter his accusations. However,
there are many who agree that more effective measures should be available in the
law to protect public assets as well as private property.
In this
regard, Chairman Wu said that relevant organs "are making further revisions to
the draft property law on the basis of various views and suggestions."
"It will be submitted to the legislature for review when the conditions
are ready," he said.
Talking about overall legislative work over the
past year, Chairman Wu said the legislature discussed 25 bills and adopted 18 of
them. The most impressive one was the law on abolishing agriculture tax.
"The law put an official end to the so-called 'imperial tax' in place
for more than 2,000 years in China," Wu said.
Another high-profile
legislative event last year was the first public hearing in the history of the
NPC Standing Committee on personal income tax. The threshold for the levy was
lifted from a monthly income of 800 yuan to 1,600 yuan.
Composed of
nearly 3000 deputies, the NPC is the supreme power of the state. It is
authorized by the Constitution to elect China' s top leadership, enact laws, and
supervise the operation of the organs it has elected. The NPC Standing Committee
serves as its executive body when the NPC is out of its annual full session.
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