Full Text: Progress in China's Human Rights in 2013 (4)

III. Democratic Rights

The Chinese Constitution stipulates that all power in the People's Republic of China belongs to the people. In China, the people exercise the rights of democratic election, democratic decision-making, democratic management, and democratic oversight through various channels and in various ways in accordance with the Constitution and other laws. In 2013 rural and urban areas in China for the first time adopted the same ratio of deputies to the represented population in the election to the NPC; extensive, multilevel and institutional development of consultative democracy were vigorously advanced; community-level democracy as an important means of directly exercising democratic rights witnessed sound development; efforts were increased to combat corruption and build political integrity; and Chinese citizens participated in democratic management of public affairs in more diversified forms.

In 2013 China implemented the principle that everyone is equal as stipulated in the Electoral Law of the People's Republic of China, and adopted the same ratio of deputies to the represented population in the election of NPC deputies in both rural and urban areas. It abides by the principle of regional equality inasmuch as administrative areas at the same level enjoy equal legal status, all are entitled to a certain number of deputies in the highest organ of state power regardless of their population sizes. Each of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government is entitled to have the same minimum number of NPC deputies, which was eight for the 12th NPC in 2013. China abides by the principle of ethnic equality, and of the elected 2,987 deputies confirmed by the NPC Standing Committee, 409 are from ethnic minorities, accounting for 13.69 percent of the total and covering all the 55 minority ethnic groups in China. Female deputies to the 12th NPC account for 23.4 percent, 2.07 percentage points up over the 11th NPC in 2008. In the 12th NPC the number of community-level deputies increased, the number of migrant worker deputies doubled, and the number of Party and government official deputies shrank, compared to the 11th NPC. Of the deputies to the 12th NPC, the number of worker and farmer deputies increased by 5.18 percent over the 11th NPC, and the number of Party and government official deputies decreased by 6.93 percent.

The NPC vigorously promotes democratic legislation, and enhances the enforceability and operability of the laws. From March 2013 to March 2014 the NPC Standing Committee deliberated on 15 decision drafts of laws and related legal issues, and adopted ten of them; amended 21 laws including the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, and promulgated the Tourism Law of the People's Republic of China and the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Safety of Special Equipment. The NPC Standing Committee evaluates law drafts before promulgation, improves the mechanism of soliciting public opinion for draft laws, and specifies that in addition to the first review draft, the full text of the second review draft should also be released to the public to extensively solicit supplementary opinions and proposals in all respects. China improves the feedback mechanism of public opinion adopted, and actively responds to social concerns. The NPC and its Standing Committee listen to the people's opinions during legislation in the forms of forums, online opinion collection, investigation and research, allowing people to listen to legislation deliberations, and discussion by citizens and the media. From March 2013 to January 2014 some 5,728 persons presented 45,121 opinions on draft laws. Take the Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China (Draft Amendment) for example. Its first draft received 11,748 opinions, and the second draft received 2,434 online opinions and 48 letters. After soliciting opinions for released drafts of major laws, the NPC Standing Committee summarizes those opinions and issues such summaries to the public in a timely manner.

China further clears and expands rights relief channels, actively responds to public interest appeals, and respects and protects public opinion. The government endeavors to resolve the prominent problems concerning petition letters and visits, stresses preventing and reducing petition problems at the source, promotes open and transparent petition presentation and solution, encourages leading officials to directly receive and visit petitioners, and improves the mechanism of joint reception of petitioners by government departments concerned. China spares no effort to promote "petition in the sunshine," advances the building of an online petition information platform, and promotes the full exposure of petition handling and results, striving to achieve effective inquiry, tracking, oversight and evaluation of petition information. China makes open all online petitions accepted for examination, and the Internet has gradually become a window for the government to learn about public opinion. (more)

Building political integrity is the premise of the effective operation of a democratic system. In 2013 the CPC and the Chinese government further intensified their efforts to combat corruption, putting power, government operations and personnel management under institutional checks to ensure that the people oversee the exercise of power and that power is exercised in a transparent manner. Institutional reform of the State Council was fully launched; the central government decentralized and canceled 416 items of administrative approvals in 2013. In view of multiple corruption problems in certain fields, the CPC Central Committee issued the Work Plan for Establishing and Improving the System of Preventing and Punishing Corruption (2013-2017). In 2013 discipline inspection and procuratorial organs at all levels received 1,950,374 complaints of related offences through petition visits and letters, including 1,220,191 accusatory and prosecutable cases; filed 172,532 cases, concluded 173,186 cases, and punished 182,038 violators. In 2013 procuratorial organs at all levels filed and investigated 37,551 cases of official crimes involving 51,306 suspects, up 9.4percent and 8.4percent respectively on a year-on-year basis. China increased its efforts to handle major cases, filed and investigated 2,581 cases of embezzlement, bribery and appropriation of public funds, each involving over 1 million yuan, and 2,871 state functionaries at and above the county/division level, including 253 officials at the prefecture/bureau level and eight at the provincial/ministerial level. The courts at all levels fully performed their duty of combating corruption through criminal trials, intensified efforts to punish embezzlement and bribery crimes, wound up 29,000 cases of embezzlement, bribery, dereliction of duty and infringement of rights by state functionaries, and convicted 31,000 persons.

In China, socialist consultative democracy is an important form of ensuring the people's democratic rights. Socialist consultative democracy values final decision-making results as well as extensive public participation in decision-making, stresses respect for the opinion of the majority as well as ensuring that the minority can fully express their opinion and protect their own rights, thereby expanding the scope of democracy so as to realize the people's democracy to the maximum extent. In 2013 China accelerated the building of a consultative democratic system with reasonable procedures and complete links, expanded the consultation channels of state power organs, Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) organizations, political parties and groups, community-level and non-governmental organizations, and conducted extensive consultations on issues relating to legislation, administration, democracy, political participation and social problems. Taking these specific consultation forms as the base, China conducted extensive consultations on major issues in social and economic development and specific problems concerning the immediate interests of the people, so as to reach and enhance agreement. As an important channel of consultative democracy, the CPPCC vigorously promotes consultative democracy, innovates consultation forms categorized by specialized topics, connecting all social circles, relying on special committees and by means of panel discussions; actively conducts consultations on particular topics, between representatives from relevant sectors of society, between parties with common concern, and with relevant departments in the handling of proposals. It promotes diversified consultation activities, invites responsible persons of related departments to listen to opinions and proposals directly, so as to transform such opinions and proposals into tangible results. The CPPCC makes specific plans for consultation topics, forms and activity organizations every year. In 2013, it carried on and innovated the biweekly "consultation symposium" mechanism, and conducted consultations on macroeconomy, architectural industrialization, protecting the interests of workers and staff members, deepening the reform of scientific and technological systems, enhancing automobile exhaust control and other topics.

Community-level democracy is being advanced in an orderly manner, and protection of electoral rights and community-level autonomy have been further strengthened. In 2013 the Procedures of the People's Republic of China on the Election of Villagers' Committees was promulgated and implemented, which further specifies the procedures and requirements of villagers' committee elections. Secret ballot and open vote-counting are fully practiced; secret ballot booths have been set up; and campaign speeches and village governance speeches are being extensively promoted. Now, 98percent of villages in China have formulated village regulations, villagers' agreements and rules for self-governance by villagers; villager's participation in decision-making and management of their own affairs has been improved by a large margin. By the end of 2013 cities and towns throughout China had held seven rounds of general elections for community residents' committees. Proprietors' management committees and other non-government and volunteer organizations are now playing a greater role in community democratic self-governance.