BEIJING: The modernization and capacity of China’s governance system have been improved, thanks to the modification of several institutional laws over the past few years, experts said.
Highlighting the significance of amending the Organic Law of the State Council, which is being reviewed by national lawmakers for the third time to optimize the operation of the central government, the experts added that its amendment, along with a few other pieces of legislation, will help improve the capacity of governing the country.
Before the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, began specifying the composition and work principles of the State Council, the country’s Cabinet, it had already provided requirements for local governments.
In 2022, the NPC passed the amendment to the Organic Law of the Local People’s Congresses and Local People’s Governments, streamlining the workflow of local legislative bodies and requiring governments to advance law-based governance. The amended law took effect on March 12 that year.
“Organic laws aim to define how State institutions work, and whether State organs run effectively matters for the country’s governance,” said Yang Weidong, a law professor at the China University of Political Science and Law. “Therefore, organic laws are the source or foundation of the governance.”
Similar to the governmental organic laws are the amended Organic Law and Procedural Rules of the NPC, which allow stronger participation of NPC deputies in legislative activities and clarify that information involving the NPC should be kept transparent to help the public understand what the NPC can do and how it works.
The law and the rules were both adopted by all NPC members in March 2021, and they came into effect the same year.
As the highest organ of State power, the efficient running of the NPC is vital to national governance, so further regulating the NPC’s work patterns by improving relevant laws and rules was a necessity, according to Yang. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
