ĦĦĦĦBEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- A draft law on supervision was submitted to
China's top legislature last August in response to a long appeal from the public
for detailed rules on monitoring government and judicial bodies.
ĦĦĦĦThe draft law is being amended after its first hearing at the 29th meeting
of the ninth National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee held last
August.
ĦĦĦĦLegal experts here regard the draft law as symbolic that China's top
legislature, the NPC and its regional bodies, will more closely monitor
administrations, the courts and procuratorate.
ĦĦĦĦAccording to China's Constitution, one of the principal tasks of the NPC is
to oversee the work of all administrative, judicial and procuratorial
authorities. The NPC has played an increasingly important role in the country's
political life.
ĦĦĦĦThe annual report of the court of Shenyang, the capital of northeast
China's Liaoning Province, failed to pass a review by the city's People's
Congress in February last year.
ĦĦĦĦIt was for the first time the People's Congress rejected a report of this
kind, which won it applause from the whole society.
ĦĦĦĦTen months later in Chengcheng County, a small town in northwest
China's Shaanxi Province, the local People's Congress also turned down a
report submitted by the court about how to handle its internal problems.
ĦĦĦĦThe local People's Congress had asked the court to improve its efficiency
and prevent corruption but considered the response fromthe court two months
later unsatisfactory.
ĦĦĦĦThe Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Beihai in south China's
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region urged the police tocarry out an in-depth probe
last November of a criminal gang that preyed on the city for seven years.
ĦĦĦĦIn December, 2001, the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of
Nanjing in east China's Jiangsu Province dismissed a senior official from the
municipal government for causing trouble when drunk.
ĦĦĦĦThe NPC has reviewed the annual report from the National Audit Office and
publicly denounced malpractice in the central government in recent years.
ĦĦĦĦA number of provincial and municipal people's congresses have tightened
their monitoring of government budgets.
ĦĦĦĦ"Even though the Constitution has laid down the basic principles, there is
still no specific law to guide the national and local people's congresses," said
Wang Weicheng, chairman of the NPC Law Committee.
ĦĦĦĦLocal people's congresses from experience have developed a lot of effective
methods to carry out such monitoring but without legal support.
ĦĦĦĦThe law on supervision will provide a detailed legal framework to
facilitate their work, Wang added. Enditem
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