Legislation and Supervision -- Li Peng's NPC Diary (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: Li Peng
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-01-01
Features: The People's Congress system is the fundamental political system of our country, serving as an important institutional guarantee for national prosperity, long-term social stability, and people's well-being. The 16th National Congress proposed strengthening political civilization construction alongside material civilization and spiritual civilization, as the fundamental approach to building socialism with Chinese characteristics and achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The People's Congress system is an essential component of socialist political civilization construction. As this system continues to improve, its role in national life becomes increasingly significant. Based on five years of experience in the work of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress, my understanding and insights into the work of the People's Congress can be summarized into the following five points:
First, it is essential to correctly handle the relationship between strengthening the Party's leadership and the role of the People's Congress. The Communist Party of China is the core leading force of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, a position formed through long-term historical practice of revolution and construction in China and enshrined in the Constitution. The People's Congress and its Standing Committee must consciously accept the Party's leadership, fully implement the Party's line, principles, and policies in the process of fulfilling their legal duties, and ensure that the Party's proposals become national will through statutory procedures. Integrating the adherence to the Party's leadership, the people's role as masters of the country, and the rule of law is the fundamental political principle and guarantee that must always be upheld in the work of the People's Congress.
Second, it is essential to correctly handle the relationship between the People's Congress and the people. The People's Congress is democratically elected and is accountable to the people and subject to their supervision. The People's Congress must seriously implement the important thought of "Three Represents," remember the people's trust, and take the fundamental interests of the broad masses of the people as the starting point and destination of its work. It must maintain a close bond with the people, understand their opinions, listen to their voices, reflect their will, and consciously place its work under the supervision of the people. Only in this way can the work of the People's Congress have a solid foundation and maintain vigorous vitality.
Third, it is essential to correctly handle the relationship between the People's Congress and the government, courts, and procuratorates. The state organs of our country are an organic whole, differing only in division of labor and responsibilities, with the same overall goals and tasks. The People's Congress exercises state power by formulating laws and making decisions. On this basis, the government strictly administers the state affairs according to law, and the courts and procuratorates exercise fair and just justice according to law. In accordance with the Constitution and laws, the People's Congress supervises the "government, courts, and procuratorates" to promote their better performance of duties and the true use of the power entrusted by the people for the people's benefit. This supervision is both necessary for restraining the "government, courts, and procuratorates" and a support and encouragement for their work.
Fourth, it is essential to correctly handle the relationship between promoting democracy and implementing centralization. The principle of democratic centralism is the basic principle for the operation of state organs in our country. When the People's Congress and its Standing Committee formulate any laws or make any decisions, they must fully listen to the opinions of the delegates and members of the Standing Committee. The Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress paid great attention to the consultation process before the vote on each bill and resolution, with bills generally undergoing three reviews. This ensured that all opinions were expressed freely, collective wisdom was sought, minority opinions were respected, and the principle of majority rule was upheld before voting took place to form resolutions.
Fifth, it is essential to correctly handle the relationship between the People's Congress exercising its powers according to law and continuously pioneering and innovating. In the practice of reform and opening up and modernization construction in our country, new situations and issues constantly arise. Therefore, the work of the People's Congress must liberate the mind, seek truth from facts, keep pace with the times, and continuously explore new experiences and practices. The work of the People's Congress must adhere to the working method of "from the masses, to the masses," value the creativity of the broad masses of the people, and value the pioneering work of local People's Congresses at all levels. Successful experiences and practices should be appropriately elevated to laws and local regulations.
This book is compiled primarily based on my five years of diaries from working in the People's Congress, supplemented by relevant speeches, work notes, and meeting records. It covers aspects such as legislative work, supervisory work, representative work, and self-improvement of the People's Congress. As an important part of national foreign affairs work, the Ninth National People's Congress also carried out a great deal of pioneering work in foreign affairs, playing a certain role in implementing the independent and peaceful foreign policy.
The following practices were adopted in the compilation of this book:
First, highlighting key points. The main work of the People's Congress is legislation and supervision. During the term of the Ninth National People's Congress, the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee adopted 113 laws, legal interpretations, and decisions on legal issues, and the Standing Committee conducted 22 law enforcement inspections and heard 40 special reports. Given the vast amount of work, only the most important aspects were selected. The book consists of 26 chapters, each with a chapter title and subheadings, to facilitate readers' understanding.
Second, arranging the content in chronological order. In principle, the diaries within each chapter are arranged in chronological order. However, since some chapters span longer time periods while others are shorter, the length of each chapter varies.
Third, editing by thematic content. Some chapters combine legislation with corresponding law enforcement inspections, while others combine legislation with legal lectures. Although self-improvement of the People's Congress is a separate chapter, some content is also included in other chapters. These practices are all designed to help readers organically connect relevant content when reading the book.
The People's Congress system is the fundamental political system of our country, serving as an important institutional guarantee for national prosperity, long-term social stability, and people's well-being. The 16th National Congress proposed strengthening political civilization construction alongside material civilization and spiritual civilization, as the fundamental approach to building socialism with Chinese characteristics and achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The People's Congress system is an essential component of socialist political civilization construction. As this system continues to improve, its role in national life becomes increasingly significant. Based on five years of experience in the work of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress, my understanding and insights into the work of the People's Congress can be summarized into the following five points: