Full Text: Progress in China's Human Rights in 2014 (6)

I. Democratic Rights

In 2014 China officially designated December 4th as the national Constitution Day through legislation with a view to advancing the rule of law, enforcing the implementation of the Constitution, and promoting citizens' democratic rights to civic participation, democratic legislation, consultative democracy, community-level democracy, citizen supervision and freedom of speech.

The mechanisms for people to exercise state power being improved. The people' s congress system is the fundamental political system of China. In 2014 the Standing Committee of the NPC exercised its power of supervision in accordance with the law, heard and deliberated 13 work reports from the government, Supreme People' s Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate, checked the implementation of four laws, and held three topical inquiries and four topical investigations. It highlighted legislative priorities, accelerated the pace of legislative work, and improved the mechanisms for and effectiveness of legislation to promote democratic legislation. In 2014 the Standing Committee of the NPC deliberated 20 draft laws, revised 10 laws, enacted two laws, and provided eight legal interpretations.

It stressed appraisal before and in the process of legislation. Suggestions were solicited from the general public, experts and related departments via the Internet, symposiums, discussions, investigations and letters. Take the draft amendment to the Administrative Procedure Law as an example. From August 31 to September 20, 2014 over 2,300 pieces of advice were offered by 1,586 people on the second review draft.

The Standing Committee also improved the post-legislation appraisal mechanism to make appraisal a standardized practice that is done on a regular basis. A sound operation mechanism for the enactment, revision, abolition and interpretation of laws was established step by step.

Multilayer consultative democracy steadily developed. Consultative democracy is a form of democracy unique to China's socialist democratic politics. China' s fine traditional culture provides a profound political and ideological wellspring for this new-type consultative democracy. In 2014, centered on building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way, comprehensively deepening reform, governing the country with the rule of law and running the Party with strict discipline, the country gathered strength, explored with consultative democracy in greater width and depth, strengthened the function of democratic supervision, continued to strengthen consultation among political parties, in the people's congresses, governments, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and people's organizations, and at the community level. Efforts were made to build a complete consultation democracy system with proper procedures, and expand channels for citizens to participate in state and social governance in an orderly manner, all of which improved the scientific and democratic level of decision making. Since the Second Session of the 12th CPPCC, the conclusion rate of their proposals has reached 99.8 percent.

Power list system actively promoted. In 2014 the State Council made a series of decisions concerning administrative approval items to be cancelled or delegated to lower levels, canceling and delegating to lower levels over 246 items for administrative approval. This means the current Administration has honored the promise of deducting the administrative approval items by one third ahead of schedule. The State Council also released a list of items for administrative approval by all departments, stipulating that no department should exercise administrative approval beyond the list of 1,235 items so as to minimize the possibilities of officials seeking personal gain through power and improve the procedure of the exercise of power. We have actively implemented the Regulations on the Disclosure of Government Information, gone all out to make government affairs public, promoted e-government and online services to ensure timely and accurate access by ordinary citizens to information, and put the government under public supervision.

More efforts being put in improving Party conduct, upholding integrity and combating corruption. The CPC Central Committee and the Chinese government are unswervingly improving their work practices, adopting zero-tolerance toward corruption and further improving the governance by law. In 2014 the discipline inspection and supervision departments nationwide received a total of 2.72 million tip-off and complaint letters, filed 226,000 cases, concluded 218,000 cases, gave Party and administrative discipline sanctions to 232,000 people, and transferred 12,000 people to judicial organs for suspected crimes; investigated and handled 53,085 cases for violating the "Eight Provisions" of the CPC Central Committee, involving 71,748 people, of whom, 23,646 were given Party and administrative discipline sanctions. We beefed up our efforts to pursue offenders who have fled overseas and recover their ill-gotten gains, strengthened bilateral and multilateral cooperation, launched the "Sky Net" and "Fox Hunt" campaigns, released the Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption and established the Network of Anti-Corruption Authorities and Law Enforcement Agencies. These steps have helped the government hunt down over 500 escaped convicts and recover over three billion yuan in illegally diverted funds. In 2014 discipline inspection and supervision departments at all levels retrieved 10.5 billion yuan for the country through rectifying Party conduct and combating corruption; a total of 130,000 units nationwide were audited, and over 250,000 audit reports and files were delivered, resulting in an increase in revenue and decrease in expenditure, and over 400 billion yuan of losses recovered. Over 3,800 pieces of evidence of cases involving violation of laws and regulations were found and submitted to the judiciary for further investigation. All these efforts helped to promote the country' s healthy economic growth, ensure social equity and justice and safeguard the immediate interests of the people. (mo