CPPCC Daily, www.rmzxb.com.cn:

Following the implementation of the Yangtze River Protection Law, the draft of a law on the protection of the Yellow River, known as China's "Mother River," has been completed and submitted to the NPC Standing Committee for deliberation. The report to the 20th CPC National Congress stresses making laws in a well-conceived and democratic way and in accordance with the law. My question is, how will you better implement the requirement in administrative legislation? Thanks.

Zuo Li:

Thank you for your question, and thank you all for your attention to administration of justice.

As mentioned by this journalist just now, a draft law on the protection of the Yellow River was submitted to the NPC Standing Committee for deliberation by the State Council in October last year. It has been deliberated twice and will soon enter the third review process. In the early stage of our work, we worked with relevant departments of the State Council to conduct in-depth investigation and study and solicit opinions from a wide range of sources. When drafting the law, we earnestly implemented General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on the protection of the Yellow River as well as the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council. All these efforts are aimed at providing a strong legal support for ecological protection and high quality development in the Yellow River basin.

Administrative legislation is a significant component of the national legislation. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the State Council has formulated, revised, and repealed 466 administrative regulations, of which 56 were formulated, 46 were revised, another 327 went through package revision, and 37 were repealed. The Report to the 20th CPC National Congress also stressed that we will make further headway in making laws in a well-conceived and democratic way and in accordance with the law. We will fully grasp and put into practice the guiding principles from the Party's 20th National Congress. To ensure and safeguard social fairness and justice, we will ensure high-quality development with high-quality legislation, advance reform across the board, and safeguard overall social stability, and better leverage the rule of law and consider it as a guarantee for consolidating the foundations of the Party's governance, meeting people's expectations and maintaining long-term development.

Looking forward, we will put more emphasis on the following aspects.

First, we will always adhere to the Party's leadership over administrative legislation. We will earnestly study and put into practice General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions on legislative work and fully enforce the institutional arrangements concerning the Party's leadership over legislative work. Acting in accordance with the CPC Central Committee's decisions and arrangements, we will expedite the efforts to complete major legislation projects and make sure that administrative legislation is heading in the right political direction.

Second, we will strengthen legislation in key, emerging, and foreign-related areas. Staying focused on the overall development of the Party and the nation, we will proactively carry out legislation work in major fields such as national security, sci-tech innovation, public health, biosecurity, ecological civilization, risk prevention, and foreign-related sectors. We will also strengthen legislation to regulate common administrative practices and, in a timely manner, revise or repeal laws, regulations, and institutional arrangements that fail to meet the requirement of reform and development in the new era in a bid to develop sound laws to promote development and secure sound governance.

Third, we will continuously improve the quality and efficiency of administrative legislation. We will focus on practical issues and legislative needs, carry out in-depth investigations and research, fully heed opinions from all sectors, and strive to develop sound solutions and measures which can address practical issues. In the meantime, we will improve a series of systems and mechanisms concerning the approval, drafting, deliberation, coordination, and review of legislation. We will continue administrative legislation in a more refined and targeted manner and make it more systemic, holistic, coordinated, and timely. We will also improve the mechanism of legislation work, enhance coordination on all fronts, and carry out overall planning and implement the formulation, revision, repeal, and interpretation of relevant matching administrative legislation in a holistic manner.  

Fourth, we will proactively respond to people's emerging demands and expectations for legislative work. We will keep learning about people's needs, seeking their advice, and letting them evaluate the effectiveness of our work. We will further improve the community contact point system on administrative legislation, proactively utilize new media means and emerging technologies to expand the channels of public participation in legislation work, and ensure people's right to know, to participate, to express views, and to supervise legislation work. We will continuously improve legal systems, which are necessary to meeting people's growing needs for a better life, and strive to make people feel fairness and justice in every single piece of the legal system. Thank you.

Chen Wenjun:

Thank you to the five Party delegates and friends from the media. Today's press conference is hereby concluded. Goodbye.

Translated and edited by Zhang Liying, Wang Yiming, Wang Qian, Zhou Jing, Li Huiru, Duan Yaying, Ma Yujia, Yan Bin, Wang Wei, Wang Yanfang, Xu Kailin, Yuan Fang, Zhang Rui, Huang Shan, Cui Can, Zhang Tingting, He Shan, Guo Yiming, Xu Xiaoxuan, Gong Yingchun, Zhu Bochen, Liu Sitong, David Ball, Tom Arnsten, and Jay Birbeck. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.