The 13th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) will convene for its 16th session late this month. The Council of Chairpersons is expected to meet in mid-February to decide on the agenda and dates of the session.
The NPCSC will mainly prepare for the 2020 NPC session at its upcoming meeting, including by discussing a draft of its annual work report, but may still review one or two legislative bills. Possible candidates include:
- draft amendment to the Patent Law [专利法];
- draft Law on Governmental Sanctions for Public Employees [公职人员政务处分法]; and
- draft revision to the Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste [固体废物污染环境防治法].
The NPCSC may also hear the State Council’s report on its handling of the raging novel coronavirus epidemic that originated in Wuhan.
Were the NPCSC to decide to postpone this year’s NPC session (scheduled to begin on March 5), we expect it to do so at a special session at the beginning of February rather than at the regular session in late February.
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