Roundup-China Focus: China's top legislature concludes bi-monthly session

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) closed its bi-monthly session Thursday, adopting a revised surveying and mapping law and ratifying two treaties.

Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the closing meeting of the four-day session, which opened Monday.

LEGISLATION

The session approved the revised surveying and mapping law, which was formulated in 1992 and amended in 2002.

Revisions deal with the use of safe, reliable technology and equipment, managing navigation and positioning reference stations and supervision of Internet mapping services.

The law will help protect the security of important national geographic information and boost the sound development of the geographic information industry, said Zhang.

President Xi Jinping signed a decree to publish the revised law, which will take effect on July 1.

Lawmakers also deliberated a draft law on nuclear safety, draft amendments to the securities law and the standardization law.

QUOTA OF NEW NPC DEPUTIES

As the tenure of current lawmakers expires in March 2018, and new lawmakers will be elected, plans on the quota distribution of deputies to 13th NPC were adopted at the session.

According to the plans, no more than 3,000 deputies should be elected to the 13th NPC, with 36 from Hong Kong and 12 from Macao.

Deputies from ethnic minority groups will account for about 12 percent of the total.

Taiwan will have 13 deputies for the time being, to be elected by a 122-strong group consisting of Taiwan compatriots from provincial-level regions, central departments and the People's Liberation Army.

REFORM OF JUROR SYSTEM

Lawmakers decided to extend the trial reform of the people's juror system by a year to increase public participation in legal proceedings.

The two-year pilot program at 50 courts in 10 provincial-level regions, including Beijing, Hebei and Heilongjiang is due to end in May.

In 2016, jurors at the 50 courts participated in the hearings of 11,642 criminal cases, 64,917 civil cases and 5,213 administrative cases.

INTERNATIONAL TREATIES

The legislature ratified an agreement on border defense cooperation among member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The agreement, signed at the 15th SCO summit in the southwestern Russian city of Ufa in July 2015, aims to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism in border regions.

A treaty on exchange of convicted criminals between China and Tajikistan was also ratified Thursday.

The treaty allows convicted persons to serve prison sentences in their home countries to facilitate their rehabilitation.

APPOINTMENTS AND DISMISSALS

During the closing meeting, Hu Zejun was appointed auditor general of the National Audit Office to replace Liu Jiayi.

Shen Chunyao was appointed vice chairman of the NPC's Law Committee. He was also appointed chairman of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee, replacing Li Shishi.

Zhang Xueqiao was appointed deputy procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

The NPC Standing Committee also confirmed the resignations of several NPC deputies, including Yang Chongyong, Shi Guoxiang, Chen Xu, Yang Jingnong and Zhang Xiaolin.

The total number of NPC deputies now stands at 2,918.

After the session was concluded, an oath-taking ceremony was held for newly-appointed officials to pledge their allegiance to the Constitution. Endi