NPC to safeguard order in HK

After a busy 2020, China's top legislature has made itself an even busier schedule this year with legislation focusing on safeguarding the Constitution and key sectors such as external affairs, national security and public health.

The National People's Congress will continue to perform its legally mandated duties and provide legal safeguards for ensuring constitutional order in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, said on Monday.

"We'll safeguard constitutional order in the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao as stipulated in China's Constitution and the respective basic laws of the two regions, and will work to ensure that the principle of 'one country, two systems' is firmly upheld over the long term," he said while delivering a work report of the committee to the NPC plenary meeting.

"We'll also upgrade our legal tool kit for meeting challenges and guarding against risks in order to oppose foreign sanctions, interference and long-arm jurisdiction," he said. "This way, we'll develop a more complete system of laws and regulations related to external affairs."

The fourth session of the 13th NPC started its second plenary meeting on Monday afternoon. President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, and other Chinese leaders attended the meeting.

Li said the NPC would make a decision on improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong SAR during its ongoing annual session.

The NPC Standing Committee will also make revisions to the related law on the basis of the decision as part of a package of legal measures to ensure constitutional order and the rule of law in Hong Kong.

The top legislator said the disturbances that occurred in Hong Kong in 2019 over proposed revisions to an extradition bill had a severe impact on the rule of law and public order. They also presented a serious challenge to the principle of "one country, two systems".

After the decision on establishing a sound legal system and implementation mechanism for the Hong Kong SAR to safeguard national security was adopted at the third session of the 13th NPC, the NPC Standing Committee acted swiftly. It enacted the Law on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR. It also adopted a decision for Hong Kong's sixth Legislative Council to continue to discharge its duties and a decision on issues relating to the qualifications for members of the Legislative Council.

Li said ensuring greater observance of the Constitution and enhancing constitutionality reviews to safeguard the Constitution's sanctity and authority are key tasks for the NPC this year.

The NPC Standing Committee will also speed up legislation in key areas such as national security, scientific and technological innovation, public health and biosecurity, he said.

"In our annual legislative plan, we've made preliminary arrangements for the deliberation of 45 legislative items, with close to 20 additional items in reserve," he said.

Included in the legislative agenda are a new law on responding to public health emergencies and revisions to the Wildlife Protection Law, the Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases and the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law.

Legislators will also take steps to strengthen the legal system for national security, such as formulating a law to combat organized crime and laws on land borders, food security, data security and the protection of the status, rights and interests of military personnel, according to the work report.

Legislation will also focus on developing a modern economic system and stimulating scientific and technological innovation with a Hainan free trade port law as well as drafting laws on futures trading, stamp duties and rural vitalization promotion. Revisions are expected for the Anti-Monopoly Law, the Law on Scientific and Technological Progress, the Company Law, the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law and the Audit Law, the report showed.