Full Text: Work report of NPC Standing Committee

4. We made issues of public concern the focus of our intensified efforts to inspect compliance with laws and oversee work performance.

We earnestly exercised the oversight powers granted to us by the Constitution and other laws. While continuing to pursue a problem-oriented approach, we intensified our oversight work and adopted new oversight methods, thereby increasing its effectiveness. 

1) We made strengthening law compliance inspections a top priority. 

The vitality and authority of the law lie in its implementation. In taking the strict implementation of laws as a key task in advancing the law-based governance of China, we continued to strengthen and improve inspections of compliance with laws. Over the past four years, we have carried out a total of 20 inspections. In 2016, we inspected compliance with six laws, namely the Food Safety Law, the Law on Workplace Safety, the Road Traffic Safety Law, the Environmental Protection Law, the Water Law, and the Law on Promoting the Application of Scientific and Technological Advances.

Through practice, we have continuously deepened our understanding of the patterns that underpin the work of inspecting compliance with laws, and have developed a procedure for this work, which consists of the following six steps: 

First, the subject of the inspection is determined. Inspections will focus on laws related to issues of pressing importance for economic and social development and of common concern among the people.

Second, inspection is well organized. I, as Chairman, and the vice chairpersons of the Standing Committee lead inspection groups in inspecting law compliance in various localities. We make use of both inspections by the Standing Committee and inspections by local people's congresses entrusted by us, so as to expand the coverage of inspection. We emphasize the importance of visiting the community level to see real conditions there, so as to ensure problems are accurately identified. 

Third, a comprehensive report detailing inspection results is produced. The report should contain practical and effective suggestions and serve as an important basis on which problems can be addressed and relevant systems improved. 

Fourth, thorough deliberation on the inspection report is carried out. Members of the Standing Committee fully express their opinions and pool their knowledge. If necessary, a special inquiry is organized based on the deliberation, with leading officials from the State Council and its relevant departments in attendance to hear comments and answer questions. 

Fifth, impetus is provided to the improvement of actual work. We urge the State Council, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate to carefully examine and handle our inspection and deliberation results and adopt effective measures to resolve pronounced problems, with relevant special committees of the NPC exercising follow-up oversight.

Sixth, the State Council, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate are required to report on their rectification work. We then make arrangements for deliberating their reports in view of actual conditions.

These six steps form a complete process for carrying out oversight on the implementation of laws, enabling our oversight work to become more systematic, targeted, and effective.

2) We helped ensure the people's safety in life and work.

We inspected compliance with three laws in the field of public safety and carried out special inquiries on them. We urged governments at all levels to affirm and practice the principle of putting people first and pursuing safe development, and to work hard to guarantee food, transportation, and workplace safety.

Food is the most basic necessity of the people, and safety must be the top priority in food production. Putting into practice General Secretary Xi Jinping's requirements of applying the strictest possible standards, oversight, punishment, and accountability to ensure food safety, we inspected compliance with the Food Safety Law nationwide, covering every step from farm to table. Special attention was given to key areas such as edible agricultural products and infant formula, to places where groups of people eat together such as kindergartens and schools, to weak links in food safety oversight and supervision, and to prominent problems in the regulation of food vendors, small-scale food production sites, and online food ordering. On the basis of the inspection, we put forward responsible suggestions and comments to help ensure that every bite of food is safe. Giving earnest consideration to our comments and suggestions, the State Council developed the National Plan for the 13th Five-Year Plan Period for Food Safety. Local authorities also acted promptly to strengthen their oversight institutions and capability for ensuring food safety, and adopted strong measures to tackle prominent problems in food production and sale. Food and drug supervisory and regulatory authorities investigated and handled 106,000 violations of laws or regulations. Public security agencies uncovered more than 8,300 food safety offences. A total of 18 provincial-level governments introduced new, or revised existing, local statutes and regulations to better regulate food production and processing by small producers and vendors. 

When inspecting compliance with the Law on Workplace Safety, inspection groups entered mines, factory workshops, and construction sites, so as to hear firsthand what the people in the field had to say and stress the importance of never sacrificing safety for the sake of development. Based on what we learned from the inspection, we urged relevant authorities to ensure production and operations entities have fulfilled their primary responsibilities, impose in accordance with the law stringent punishments for violations of workplace safety laws or regulations, and intensify focused efforts to tackle problems in key industries and sectors.

When inspecting compliance with the Road Traffic Safety Law, we targeted prominent issues such as trucks being illegally modified or carrying oversized and overweight loads, electric bikes exceeding stipulated standards, and deficiencies in traffic safety facilities on rural roads. Inspection groups acquired an in-depth understanding of the situation through a variety of methods such as unannounced visits and investigations, field surveys, and questionnaires. We required that supervision and oversight over the enforcement of the law be strengthened and serious measures be taken to stop illegal production, sale, and use of vehicles. 

During the special inquiries that followed the law compliance inspections, members of the Standing Committee had face-to-face discussions with leading officials of the State Council and its relevant departments to get to the root of the problems and discuss measures for improvement so as to ensure people's safety in life and work.