Lawmakers have further developed rule of law in China by initiating new measures to improve people's livelihood and enhance transparency of legislative and supervisory work over the past year.

In May last year, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's top legislature, started a three-month inspection tour to see whether funds from China's massive 4-trillion-yuan, two-year stimulus package to combat global economic slowdown had been allocated properly.

National lawmakers went to 18 provincial-level areas to check key projects regarding technological innovation, irrigation, education and health, as well as the building of affordable houses.

Lawmakers also went on several law enforcement inspection tours across the country to see how relevant laws had influenced people's livelihood, with respect to their health, employment and education, for example.

The NPC Standing Committee started a law enforcement tour last September just months after the Food Safety Law took effect last June.

The members compiled a long report after the tour and called for the establishment of a national food safety risk assessment center and a food safety standard management system to improve supervision in the field.

To support the nation's commitment to tackle climate change, the top legislature stepped up legislation on environmental protection and climate change last year.

It endorsed a resolution on climate change in August, ahead of an international conference held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December.

The resolution outlines China's stance as well as measures to cope with climate change, and says the NPC Standing Committee should strengthen supervision of enforcement of laws to better deal with global warming.

The top legislature also adopted an amendment to the Renewable Energy Law last December, laying the legal foundation for the development of clean energy in the country.

In October, the NPC Standing Committee discussed a draft amendment to the Electoral Law about providing equal representation in people's congresses to rural and urban people.

The draft amendment requires "both rural and urban areas to adopt the same ratio of deputies to the represented population in elections of people's congress deputies."

Li Shishi, director of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee, said that with rapid urbanization and rural economic development, the time was right for equal representation, which would "increase people's enthusiasm and creativity" and the development of democracy.

Also last year, some local legislatures introduced a new mechanism in their standing committees, which allows them to invite the public to legislative meetings and solicit the public's opinions on a regularly basis.

The 11th NPC is to convene its annual national session starting March 5.

(Xinhua News Agency March 3, 2010)