As we bid farewell to 2021, we look back at the National People’s Congress’s and our work in the past year.
Continue reading “Year in Review: The NPC and the Observer in 2021”NPC Calendar: January 2022
The following laws take effect on January 1:
- Supervision Officials Law [监察官法] (adopted Aug. 20, 2021);
- Legal Aid Law [法律援助法] (adopted Aug. 20, 2021);
- Family Education Promotion Law [家庭教育促进法] (adopted Oct. 23, 2021);
- Land Borders Law [陆地国界法] (adopted Oct. 23, 2021);
- amendment to the Audit Law [审计法] (adopted Oct. 23, 2021);
- revised Scientific and Technological Progress Law [科学技术进步法] (adopted Dec. 24, 2021);
- amendment to the Civil Procedure Law [民事诉讼法] (adopted Dec. 24, 2021); and
- amendment to the Trade Unions Law [工会法] (adopted Dec. 24, 2021).
The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is seeking public comments on the following bills through January 22:
- draft amendment to the Organic Law of Local People’s Congresses at All Levels and Local People’s Governments at All Levels [地方各级人民代表大会和地方各级人民政府组织法];
- draft revision to the Vocational Education Law [职业教育法];
- draft revision to the Company Law [公司法];
- draft amendment to the NPCSC Rules of Procedure [全国人民代表大会常务委员会议事规则];
- draft Black Soil Protection Law [黑土地保护法];
- draft revision to the Women’s Rights and Interests Protection Law [妇女权益保障法];
- draft Yellow River Protection Law [黄河保护法]; and
- draft Emergency Response and Management Law [突发事件应对管理法].
The NPCSC will convene for its next regularly scheduled session in late February.
NPCSC Enacts Legislation to Improve Plant Variety Protections, Curb Noise Pollution, Protect Wetlands & Strengthen Legislative Oversight of the Economy
Last Friday, December 24, the 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) concluded its 32nd session and adopted eight bills. To give the new Anti–Organized Crime Law [反有组织犯罪法] the attention it deserves and to limit the length of this post, we will publish a separate summary of that Law, likely in January. The other seven bills are discussed below.
Continue reading “NPCSC Enacts Legislation to Improve Plant Variety Protections, Curb Noise Pollution, Protect Wetlands & Strengthen Legislative Oversight of the Economy”NPCSC Seeks Public Comments on Bills on Women’s Rights, Emergency Management, Companies, NPCSC Rules of Procedure & More
The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is soliciting public comments on the following eight bills through January 22, 2022:
| Draft Name | Chinese Text | Explanatory Document |
|---|---|---|
| Organic Law of Local People’s Congresses at All Levels and Local People’s Governments at All Levels (2nd Draft Amendment) 地方各级人民代表大会和地方各级人民政府组织法修正草案二次审议稿 | PDFΔ | |
| Vocational Education Law (2nd Draft Revision) 职业教育法修订草案二次审议稿 | ||
| Company Law (Draft Revision) 公司法修订草案 | PDFΔ | |
| NPCSC Rules of Procedure (Draft Amendment) 全国人民代表大会常务委员会议事规则修正草案 | PDFΔ ($ English) | |
| Black Soil Protection Law (Draft) 黑土地保护法草案 | ||
| Women’s Rights and Interests Protection Law (Draft Revision) 妇女权益保障法修订草案 | PDF ($ English) | |
| Yellow River Protection Law (Draft) 黄河保护法草案 | ||
| Emergency Response and Management Law (Draft) (i.e., revision to the Emergency Response Law) 突发事件应对管理法草案 | PDFΔ |
English translations will be provided if and when available. All explanatory documents are in Chinese. The symbol “Δ” means that a file includes a chart comparing the latest draft amendment or revision with the current law or a prior draft.
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: Invalidating Compulsory Parentage Testing as a Tool to Enforce Birth Quotas
From 1980 to 2021, China imposed some form of enforceable birth quota on most of its population. A one-child policy had been implemented until late 2013, when it was partially relaxed so that couples may have two children if one parent was an only child. Then in 2016, the modified one-child policy was replaced by a two-child policy, which was in turn superseded by a three-child policy in May 2021. Although a formal birth quota remains after the latest policy change, a statutory amendment in August eliminated all the penalties that once attached to violations of the quota, such as hefty fines and terminations of employment. In effect, couples who exceed the three-child limit will not be penalized, though they will be ineligible for benefits such as extended maternity leave.
Continue reading “Recording & Review: Invalidating Compulsory Parentage Testing as a Tool to Enforce Birth Quotas”Translation: Readout of October 2021 Central Conference on Work Related to the People’s Congresses
Two months ago, on October 13–14, the Communist Party held the first-ever “Central Conference on Work Related to the People’s Congresses” [中央人大工作会议]. In the lead-up to the Conference and in the months since, the concept of “whole-process people’s democracy” [全过程人民民主] has permeated official discourse and was recently further expounded on in a government white paper titled China: Democracy That Works (the Chinese title, “中国的民主” (China’s Democracy), is blander). That concept requires further study and assessment, and the Conference could prove significant in additional ways, especially for the people’s congress system. We thus translated the readout of the Conference (via Xinhua) below, while we await, hopefully, the release of the full text of Xi Jinping’s speech at the Conference on which the readout is largely based.
Continue reading “Translation: Readout of October 2021 Central Conference on Work Related to the People’s Congresses”NPCSC Session Watch: Women’s Rights, Trade Unions, Yellow River & Black Soil Protection, Emergency Management Reform & More (Updated)
UPDATE (Dec. 16, 2021): According to a spokesman for the NPCSC Legislative Affairs Commission, the NPCSC will additionally review a draft revision to the Company Law [公司法] and a draft amendment to the NPCSC Rules of Procedure [全国人民代表大会常务委员会议事规则] at its December 2021 session.
The Council of Chairpersons decided on Monday, November 29 to convene the 32nd session of the 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) from December 20 to 24. The session’s tentative agenda includes fourteen bills. A quick rundown follows.
Continue reading “NPCSC Session Watch: Women’s Rights, Trade Unions, Yellow River & Black Soil Protection, Emergency Management Reform & More (Updated)”NPC Calendar: December 2021 (Updated)
Update (Dec. 1, 2021): Our preview of this month’s NPCSC session is available here.
The 13th NPC Standing Committee will convene for its 32nd session from December 20 to 24. According to a preliminary agenda, it will review the following bills:
- draft amendment to the Organic Law of Local People’s Congresses at All Levels and Local People’s Governments at All Levels [地方各级人民代表大会和地方各级人民政府组织法];
- draft Anti–Organized Crime Law [反有组织犯罪法];
- draft Wetlands Protection Law [湿地保护法];
- draft revision to the Scientific and Technological Progress Law [科学技术进步法];
- draft Noise Pollution Prevention and Control Law [噪声污染防治法];
- draft amendment to the Seed Law [种子法];
- draft amendment to the Civil Procedure Law [民事诉讼法];
- draft revision to the Vocational Education Law [职业教育法];
- draft amendment to the Trade Unions Law [工会法];
- draft Black Soil Protection Law [黑土地保护法];
- draft revision to the Women’s Rights and Interests Protection Law [妇女权益保障法];
- draft Yellow River Protection Law [黄河保护法];
- draft revision to the Emergency Response Law [突发事件应对法]; and
- draft revision to the Decision on Strengthening the Oversight of Economic Work [加强经济工作监督的决定].
Our preview of the session is forthcoming.
NPC Calendar: November 2021
The Personal Information Protection Law [个人信息保护法] takes effect on November 1.
The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is seeking public comments on the following bills through November 21:
- draft Wetlands Protection Law [湿地保护法];
- draft Futures and Derivatives Law [期货和衍生品法];
- draft amendment to the Anti-Monopoly Law [反垄断法];
- draft revision to the Agricultural Products Quality and Safety Law [农产品质量安全法];
- draft Law Against Telecommunication Network Fraud [反电信网络诈骗法];
- draft amendment to the Organic Law of Local People’s Congresses at All Levels and Local People’s Governments at All Levels [地方各级人民代表大会和地方各级人民政府组织法];
- draft revision to the Animal Husbandry Law [畜牧法];
- draft revision to the Sports Law [体育法]; and
- draft amendment to the Civil Procedure Law [民事诉讼法].
The NPCSC will convene for its next regularly scheduled session in late December.
NPCSC Adopts New Laws on Family Education and Land Borders, Amends Audit Law & Authorizes New Regulatory and Military Reforms
The 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) concluded its 31st session on Saturday, October 23, with the approval of six bills. We already wrote about and translated the decision authorizing the State Council to carry out pilot projects on a property tax in selected regions. Below, we will briefly summarize the other five bills.
Continue reading “NPCSC Adopts New Laws on Family Education and Land Borders, Amends Audit Law & Authorizes New Regulatory and Military Reforms”