NPCSC Grants Broader Legislative Powers to Shanghai & Hainan, Widens Scope of Public Interest Litigation by Procuratorates

The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) concluded another busy session on Thursday, June 10 with the adoption of eight bills. Two of them—the Anti–Foreign Sanctions Law [反外国制裁法] and the Data Security Law [数据安全法]—have already received worldwide attention and are sure to generate additional commentary in the days and weeks to come. Rather than adding duplicative coverage (beyond our Twitter thread on the sanctions law), we will try something new in this post-session recap. We will steer clear of the two blockbuster bills and will instead focus on two themes found in last week’s other legislation that may have escaped your attention.

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NPCSC Seeks Public Comments on Draft Legal Aid Law, Physicians Law, Vocational Education Law Revision & Audit Law Amendment

The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is soliciting public comments on the following four bills through July 9, 2021:

Draft NameChinese TextExplanatory Document
Legal Aid Law (2nd Draft)
法律援助法草案二次审议稿		PDFPDF
Physicians Law (2nd Draft)
(i.e., revision to the Licensed Physicians Law)
医师法草案二次审议稿		PDFPDF
Vocational Education Law (Draft Revision)
职业教育法修订草案		PDFPDF
Audit Law (Draft Amendment)
审计法修正草案		PDFPDF

English translations will be provided if and when available. All explanatory documents are in Chinese.

To submit comments online, please refer to this guide. Comments can also be mailed to the NPCSC Legislative Affairs Commission [全国人大常委会法制工作委员会] at the following address:

北京市西城区前门西大街1号 邮编: 100805
No. 1 West Qianmen Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing 100805

Please clearly write “<Draft Name in Chinese>征求意见” on the envelope.

Recording & Review: Removing the Vestiges of the One-Child Policy

China’s former one-child policy was “one of the most draconian examples of government social engineering ever seen.”[1] The policy was formally launched nationwide in 1980. In just a few years, however, central authorities decided to “open small holes” by allowing more couples to have a second child, after encountering difficulties in enforcing a uniform birth-control policy nationwide and a backlash against abusive enforcement measures, such as forced sterilizations.[2]

The provinces were tasked with implementing that partial relaxation of the one-child policy. All provincial legislatures (except those of Xinjiang and Tibet) had adopted provincial birth-control legislation by the early 1990s.[3] (Xinjiang eventually did so in 2002; Tibet still has not acted.) Such legislation translates the policy into concrete terms, specifying, among other things, exceptions to the one-child-per-couple rule[4] and the penalties for above-quota births. Couples who exceed birth limits would face not only hefty fines called “social upbringing fees” [社会抚养费], but also discipline at work—including mandatory termination in a number of provinces.

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NPC Calendar: June 2021

The following laws take effect on June 1:

The 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) will convene for its 29th session from June 7 to 10. It will review the following bills:

For more information, please see this post.

It is possible (though far from certain) that the NPCSC would meet for another session in late June.

NPCSC Session Watch: Data Security, Legal Aid, Workplace Safety, Vocational Education & More (Updated)

UPDATE (June 7, 2021): Xinhua reported on June 7 that the NPCSC is also reviewing a draft Anti–Foreign Sanctions Law [反外国制裁法], which underwent a secret first review at the NPCSC’s April session, as well as a draft decision granting the Shanghai legislature authority to enact “Pudong New Area regulations” for the city’s Pudong New Area, an authority that appears comparable to that of cities encompassing special economic zones. Both bills are expected to pass on Thursday, June 10.

On Wednesday, May 26, the Council of Chairpersons decided to convene the 29th session of the 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) from June 7 to 10. This session is earlier than a regular NPCSC session, which typically takes place near the end of a month. This could mean either that the NPCSC is holding another session later this month, consistent with a recent Communist Party directive to add legislative sessions to speed up the pace of legislation; or that the NPCSC is making way for the Party’s centenary celebrations around July 1. Some urgent matter could also have required the NPCSC to meet earlier, but we have yet to see any such indication. The NPCSC will review at least ten bills at its upcoming session. A quick rundown follows.

Continue reading “NPCSC Session Watch: Data Security, Legal Aid, Workplace Safety, Vocational Education & More (Updated)” →

NPCSC Passes Legislation to Support Rural Revitalization Campaign, Curb Food Waste & Combat Identity Thefts in School Admissions

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels.

The 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) concluded its 28th session on Thursday, April 29. It approved the Rural Revitalization Promotion Law [乡村振兴促进法] and the Anti–Food Waste Law [反食品浪费法], revised the Maritime Traffic Safety Law [海上交通安全法] and a quasi-legislative decision on budget oversight, amended another ten laws, and authorized a set of regulatory pilot programs in China’s free trade zones. Below we take a closer look at some of these bills.

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NPC Calendar: May 2021

The revised Animal Epidemic Prevention Law [动物防疫法] takes effect on May 1.

The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is seeking public comments on the following bills through May 28:

The NPCSC will convene for its next regularly scheduled session in late June.

NPCSC Seeks Public Comments on Bills on Data Security, Personal Information Protection, Hainan Free Trade Port, Military Personnel Protection & Futures

The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is soliciting public comments on the following six bills through May 28, 2021:

Draft NameChinese TextExplanatory Document
Data Security Law (2nd Draft)
数据安全法草案二次审议稿		PDF
（English)		PDF
Personal Information Protection Law (2nd Draft)
个人信息保护法草案二次审议稿		PDF
(English: China Law Translate; DigiChina)		PDF
Hainan Free Trade Port Law (2nd Draft)
海南自由贸易港法草案二次审议稿		PDFPDF
Supervision Officials Law (2nd Draft)
监察官法草案二次审议稿		PDF
(English)		N/A
Law on the Protection of the Status, Rights, and Interests of Military Personnel (2nd Draft Amendment)
军人地位和权益保障法草案二次审议稿		PDFPDF
Futures Law (Draft)
期货法草案		PDFPDF

English translations will be provided if and when available. All explanatory documents are in Chinese. The NPCSC also reviewed a draft Land Borders Law [陆地国界法], but did not also release it for public comments today.

To submit comments online, please refer to this guide. Comments can also be mailed to the NPCSC Legislative Affairs Commission [全国人大常委会法制工作委员会] at the following address:

北京市西城区前门西大街1号 邮编: 100805
No. 1 West Qianmen Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing 100805

Please clearly write “<Draft Name in Chinese>征求意见” on the envelope.

NPC Standing Committee Releases 2021 Legislative Plan

Photo by Breakingpic from Pexels.

On Wednesday, April 21, the NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) released its legislative plan for 2021 (Plan). The Plan was preliminarily approved in November 2020 and finalized by the Council of Chairpersons on April 16. The NPCSC’s annual legislative plans serve two primary purposes: listing bills that are scheduled for review or research each year, and laying down guiding principles for all facets of the NPCSC’s annual legislative work. As usual, we will focus on the NPCSC’s 2021 legislative agenda below.

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NPCSC Session Watch: Rural Revitalization, Data Protection, Food Waste, Futures & More (Updated)

Photo by Markus Spiske from Unsplash.

UPDATE (Apr. 28, 2021): According the readout of a Council of Chairpersons meeting on Wednesday morning, the NPCSC is scheduled to also approve the draft amendment to the Measures for Electing Delegates from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to the NPC and Local People’s Congresses at or Above the County Level and the draft revision to the Decision on Strengthening the Review and Oversight of the Central Budget on Thursday.

UPDATE (Apr. 26, 2021): According to the readout of the session’s first plenary meeting on Monday morning, the NPC Constitution and Law Committee recommended that the NPCSC approve the following bills at this session: the draft Rural Revitalization Promotion Law, the draft Anti–Food Waste Law, the draft amendment to the Education Law, and the draft revision to the Maritime Traffic Safety Law. The readout also disclosed that the NPC Foreign Affairs Committee had submitted a draft Land Borders Law [陆地国界法] for review.

On Friday, April 16, the Council of Chairpersons decided to convene the 28th session of the 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) from April 26 to 29. The NPCSC will review at least fourteen bills at its upcoming four-day session. A quick rundown follows.

Continue reading “NPCSC Session Watch: Rural Revitalization, Data Protection, Food Waste, Futures & More (Updated)” →