China's top legislature expounds document on people's congresses

BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- A senior official with the General Office of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress expounded a document on upholding and improving the system of people's congresses and enhancing and improving the work of people's congresses in the new era in a recent interview.

The document, released earlier in November, provides overall guidance on the work of people's congresses in the new era. It is of great significance to further modernizing the system and capacity for state governance and gathering wisdom and strength from various sectors to fully build a modern socialist country, said the official.

The document reviewed the history of the establishment and development of the system of people's congresses with the endeavor of the Party and the Chinese people. It also summarized the historical experience gained during the process and the advantages and effectiveness of the system.

The document pointed out that over the past 60-plus years, especially since China's reform and opening up, the system of people's congresses has provided an important institutional guarantee for the Party and the people to create the miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability.

The document said adhering to the Party's overall leadership and ensuring the law-based and effective governance of the country by the Party and the people is essential to upholding and improving the system of people's congresses and strengthening the work of people's congresses in the new era.

By analyzing the new situation facing the work of people's congresses, the document has clarified the major tasks of people's congresses and their standing committees.

They include accelerating the improvement of the Chinese socialist system of laws, at the heart of which is the Constitution, ensuring the implementation of the central authorities' decisions and plans by law, improving the institutional guarantees for running the country by the people, promoting the complete reunification of the country, and safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests.

The document put forward specific measures for strengthening and improving the work of people's congresses in the new era, including developing and improving whole-process people's democracy, fully implementing the Constitution, advancing high-quality legislation, strengthening supervision, ensuring law-based elections, appointment and removal of officials, and deepening and expanding international exchanges.

The document specified work in five aspects to give better play to the role of deputies to people's congresses who serve as a bridge linking the Party and the country with the people. Efforts are needed to improve the deputy election mechanism, develop close ties between deputies and state organs and the people, enhance the quality of the proposals and suggestions from the deputies, and strengthen the support for deputies in performing their duties and relevant supervision.

The document also underlined capacity-building of people's congresses and their standing committees in terms of ideological and political work, organization, discipline, system, and digitalization, among other matters.