Top Chinese lawmaker Wu Bangguo said Thursday that the Standing Committee of
the Tenth National People's Congress (NPC) will further promote democracy in its
legislation by soliciting more public opinions.
"We will continue to publicize law drafts to collect suggestions and hold
more public hearings on bills which the public care about or dispute about the
most," said Wu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, in his annual report on
the legislature's work to nearly 3,000 NPC deputies.
NPC deputies are particularly keen to take note of Wu's promise at a time
when legal experts are engulfed in a battle over the country's first property
law still in the making.
The draft law, which is designed to provide refined protection of private
property, was originally scheduled for approval at this annual session to end on
March 14. However, it was scrapped from the agenda just months ahead of the
session.
Some scholars worry that the draft law may fail to protect state-owned assets
by putting indiscriminate stress on private and public ownership.
"This interruption should not be seen as a waste of time," said Wang Liming,
an NPC deputy and member of the NPC Law Committee. " By allowing more debates,
we will have a better idea of what is needed in the law."
Top lawmaker Wu Bangguo also affirmed in the report that " bringing democracy
to full play is a necessity for enhancing the quality of our legislation."
The holdup of property law legislation does not mean that it will be shelved.
On the contrary, it is on top of the 25 bills for 2006, according to the
chairman's report. Others are related to corporate bankruptcy, supervision,
emergency handling, labor contract and the fight against narcotics.
The draft property law was made public last year to seek public comments and
suggestions. The draft has so far attracted more than 11,500 letters.
After reviewing various proposals for modification, the legislature summed up
10 major questions for discussion, one of which involved the protection of
state-owned assets reportedly raised by Gong Xiantian, a law professor with the
Beijing University. He said in a letter earlier this year that such a law would
"undermine the legal foundation of China's socialist economy. "
"That version puts state-owned property and private property under
indiscriminate protection," Gong said. "This means that people who become rich
by preying on state-owned assets and taking bribes could be shielded from
prosecution."
"Such a law would pose a serious violation against China's Constitution which
stipulates that socialist public property is deemed sacrosanct and shall be free
from encroachment," he said.
Gong's letter created an immediate uproar in the legal and economic circles.
Two high-profile seminars were held in Beijing in February to counter his
accusations. However, there are many who agree that more effective measures
should be available in the law to protect public assets as well as private
property.
In this regard, Chairman Wu said that relevant organs "are making further
revisions to the draft property law on the basis of various views and
suggestions."
"It will be submitted to the legislature for review when the conditions are
ready," he said.
Talking about overall legislative work over the past year, Chairman Wu said
the legislature discussed 25 bills and adopted 18 of them. The most impressive
one was the law on abolishing agriculture tax.
"The law put an official end to the so-called 'imperial tax' in place for
more than 2,000 years in China," Wu said.
Another high-profile legislative event last year was the first public hearing
in the history of the NPC Standing Committee on personal income tax. The
threshold for the levy was lifted from a monthly income of 800 yuan to 1,600
yuan.
Composed of nearly 3000 deputies, the NPC is the supreme power of the state.
It is authorized by the Constitution to elect China' s top leadership, enact
laws, and supervise the operation of the organs it has elected. The NPC Standing
Committee serves as its executive body when the NPC is out of its annual full
session.
