People.cn:

Powers of oversight that are granted to people's congresses are an important component of the Party and state oversight systems. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, what efforts has the NPC Standing Committee made to properly exercise the power of oversight that is granted by the Constitution and the law? What measures have been taken to improve the methods of oversight and the oversight system? Thank you.

Wang Tiemin:

In the past decade, with a view to serving the central task of economic development and the overall interest of the country, focusing on key issues and seeking substantive results, the NPC Standing Committee exercised proper, effective, and law-based oversight and delivered a sound performance to the satisfaction of the people. Focusing on prominent issues concerning the ecosystem and environment conservation, the Standing Committee of the 13th NPC took frequent and targeted actions and carried out inspections of law enforcement for five consecutive years. It has inspected the enforcement of five laws, namely the Law on the Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution, the Law on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, the Law on Prevention and Control of Soil Pollution, the Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution Caused by Solid Wastes, and the Environmental Protection Law. Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, has led teams and carried out site inspections covering 31 provinces and equivalent administrative units across the country. As inspections have been carried out in unison between people's congresses at all levels, our efforts in this regard have seen a sound performance. In the process of law enforcement inspections, we also continue to innovate inspection methods and improve relevant mechanisms. We have taken an integrated approach combining field inspections, random checks, questionnaires, and online surveys and paid both public and unannounced visits. In the meantime, third-party organizations were invited to evaluate law enforcement in a bid to make our inspections more scientific, objective, and authoritative. In addition, we also worked to strengthen the review and oversight of government budgets and final accounts and enhance the management of state-owned assets. These are the new duties assigned to the NPC's oversight work by the CPC Central Committee. The NPC Standing Committee has expedited efforts to improve the institutional arrangements concerning these two fields. We issued a decision on strengthening the oversight of the state-owned assets management, revised a decision on strengthening the review and oversight of central budgets, and introduced documents concerning the oversight of the rectification of pronounced problems discovered in auditing and the review and oversight of local government debt. We earnestly made solid progress in reforms of expanding the focus of budget review and oversight, and carried out reviews on all fronts and oversight on all procedures. We reviewed reports on the allocation and use of fiscal budgets in key areas for four consecutive years. We heard and deliberated reports on the rectification of problems discovered in auditing every year. We also worked to press ahead with the integrated online oversight of budgets. As of now, online budget oversight systems have been established in all provincial peoples' congresses, over 90% of people's congress of cities with subsidiary districts, and more than 80% of county-level peoples' congresses. We formulated and implemented a five-year plan for strengthening the management and supervision of state-owned assets. We have reviewed reports on state-owned assets management for four consecutive years, and developed a clear picture for the total amount of such assets on all fronts. The management of four major categories of state-owned assets is now under oversight. We also strengthened the oversight of supervision and judicial work and safeguarded social equity and justice. In 2018, the NPC Standing Committee conducted inquiries for the first time on the work of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate. In 2020, it heard and deliberated, for the first time, the report of the National Supervisory Commission on the pursuit of economic and corruption offenders globally. All of these demonstrate the new progress made in overseeing the work of the State Council, the National Supervisory Commission, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate. Thank you.