1. Ensuring that the goal of formulating a socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics is reached on schedule

Formulating a socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics by 2010 was the overall target set at the Fifteenth National Party Congress for our legislative work in this new historical period. Reaching this target on schedule is our bounden duty and the primary task of our legislative work and a top priority of the NPC's work this year. While steadfastly improving the quality of legislation, we need to redouble our efforts and work vigorously to promptly enact laws that form the framework of the legal system, lose no time in revising laws that are not suited to economic and social development, continue to improve social legislation, give greater emphasis to legislation supporting a green economy and a low-carbon economy, complete the work of sifting through existing laws and regulations, and ensure that a socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics is established on schedule, thereby successfully accomplishing this historic mission entrusted to us by the Party and the people.

1) We will promptly formulate new laws. We will finish deliberating and revising the draft Social Security Law and further improve the legal system concerning social security to dispel the people's worries and better maintain social harmony and stability. We will continue to deliberate the draft Law on Administrative Enforcement and further promote government administration in accordance with the law to better safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of our citizens. We will submit for deliberation the draft VAT Law and the draft Law on Vehicle and Vessel Tax, further improve the system of fiscal and tax laws, and standardize the management of tax revenue. We will also research and formulate a People's Mediation Law, Law on Education and Correction of Illegal Acts, Law on the Application of Laws to Civil Relationships Involving Foreign Interests, and Law on the Protection of Our Natural Heritage. We will urge relevant authorities to promptly draw up drafts for laws, including the Law on Basic Medical and Health Care and the Social Assistance Law.

2) We will promptly revise some existing laws. We will revise the Law on Deputies to the People's Congress and the Organic Law of Villagers' Committees, and constantly promote the self-improvement and self-development of the socialist political system with Chinese characteristics. We will revise the Administrative Supervision Law to further improve the mechanism for checking and overseeing state power and strive to prevent and punish corruption at the source. We will revise the Budget Law to ensure that budgets are more complete and are implemented in a more standardized way and overseen more strictly. We will continue to deliberate the draft amendment to the Law on State Compensation, research revisions to the Land Administration Law, Forest Law, Water and Soil Conservation Law, Law on the Prevention and Treatment of Occupational Diseases, and Law on Officers in the Reserve Forces.

3) We will make legislation more scientific and democratic. We will make progress this year on the foundations of what we have already accomplished. First, we will ensure NPC deputies fully play their role in legislative work. Regardless of whether we are debating and making decisions concerning legislative items or drawing up and deliberating draft laws, we will earnestly study and accept suggestions expressed in deputies' bills and invite concerned deputies to participate in legislative work. Second, we will expand the orderly participation of our citizens in the legislative process. We will maintain and improve the mechanism for announcing draft laws to the public; improve the effectiveness of legislative forums, debates and pubic hearings; select issues of widespread concern contained in draft laws and fully debate them; earnestly solicit opinions from a wide range of sources, especially the people at the primary level; continuously improve draft laws; and adopt a suitable method for giving feedback to society on how suggestions were dealt with. Third, at an appropriate time we will launch a pilot project to evaluate legislation after it is enacted. Based on problems the Standing Committee discovers in its investigations of law compliance as well as new circumstances and problems arising in the implementation of laws, we will select one or two laws affecting the vital interests of the people for the pilot project and develop a work mechanism for evaluating legislation after it is enacted.

4) We will supervise and guide efforts to sift through administrative regulations and local statutes. Administrative regulations and local statutes are integral components of the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics. Thanks to the common efforts of everyone involved, China currently has more than 690 administrative regulations and over 8,800 local statutes. They have played an important role in ensuring effective implementation of laws, promoting administration in accordance with the law, and managing local affairs. Nevertheless, we must also be aware that some existing regulations and statutes are unsuited to present circumstances, are not coordinated with each other, or lack supporting regulations and statutes. On the basis of the substantial results we achieved last year in amending existing laws, we will supervise and guide the State Council and local people's congresses in thoroughly amending their exiting administrative regulations and local statutes and completing the work by the end of the year.

5) We will continue to improve the filing and examination of normative documents. Administrative regulations, local statutes, statutes of autonomous bodies, specific regulations, legal interpretations and other normative documents must be filed in accordance with the law. We will take the initiative to carry out inspections in key areas. We will study and examine individually the legal interpretations newly issued by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and supervise them in thoroughly reviewing the legal interpretations they made before 2005.

It must be emphasized here that developing socialist democratic politics is a goal our Party will constantly pursue. At the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, the Party reviewed the lessons since the founding of the People's Republic, particularly those of the Cultural Revolution. It made the historic policy decision to shift the focus of the work of the Party and the state to economic development and introduce reform and opening up. It also made developing socialist democracy and improving the socialist legal system an important strategic task in building socialism with Chinese characteristics. Through the common efforts of everyone involved, a socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics had been basically established by the end of the Tenth NPC's term. There are now laws that cover almost every area of the country's economic, political, cultural and social activities, and these laws effectively ensure and promote the development of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. At the same time, we need to realize that rapid economic and social development, constant progress in socialist democratic politics, a rich and varied cultural life, the enthusiastic creation of a harmonious society, structural and institutional reforms and innovations, and the expansion of economic globalization continually place new demands on our legislative work. Legislation remains an important task of the current NPC. Our legislative work this year will be arduous and doing it well will be glorious. In order to meet our legislative goals set forth by the Central Committee on schedule, we must maintain a correct political orientation, put people first, proceed from China's actual conditions, seek truth from facts, and ensure the uniformity of law. We must also properly handle the relationships between powers and rights, between the stability of law and the uncertainty of practice, and between the foresightedness and feasibility of our laws and regulations in order to provide firm legal guarantees for promoting reform and opening up and socialist modernization, implementing the rule of law as a fundamental principle, and developing a socialist country ruled by law.