Tag: Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases

NPCSC Session Watch: Environmental Code, Private Sector Promotion, Arbitration, Enforcement of Prison Sentences & National Development Planning

UPDATE (Apr. 30, 2025): On April 30, the NPCSC approved the Private Economy Promotion Law (effective May 20, 2025); revised the Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (effective Sept. 1, 2025); and adopted a decision authorizing the State Council to temporarily modify a provision of the Seed Law in the Xinjiang Pilot Free Trade Zone (effective May 1, 2025).

Tourists riding bamboo rafts on the Li River in Yangshuo, Guangxi. Photo by Changhao Wei. All rights reserved.

China’s top legislature, the 14th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC), will convene for its fifteenth session from April 27 to 30, the Council of Chairpersons decided on Friday, April 18. According to the Council’s proposed agenda, the session will consider eight legislative bills, which we preview below. The Council also approved the NPCSC’s 2025 work priorities as well as 2025 plans for legislative, oversight, delegates-related, and foreign-affairs work. We expect all but the foreign-affairs work plan to be released after the upcoming session, likely in early May.

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NPCSC Session Watch: Anti-Corruption, Defense Education, Public Health Emergency, Government Debt, National Parks & State Honors

UPDATE (Sept. 13, 2024): On Friday, September 13, the NPCSC revised the National Defense Education Law (effective Sept. 21, 2024) and amended the Statistics Law (effective immediately), while releasing six other bills for public comment through October 12. The NPCSC also adopted a decision conferring state honors on various individuals to mark the PRC’s 70th anniversary and a decision on gradually raising the statutory retirement ages (effective Jan. 1, 2025).

UPDATE (Sept. 10, 2024): According to the official readout of the NPCSC’s meeting on September 10, it is also considering a draft decision, submitted by the State Council, to “gradually raise the statutory retirement ages.” The readout has not offered any other information about the bill, which we expect to pass on Friday.

Aerial view of the former Hoh Xil Nature Reserve, now part of the Three-River-Source National Park in Qinghai. Photo by Michael Wong/Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0.

China’s top legislature, the 14th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC), will convene for its eleventh session from September 10 to 13, the Council of Chairpersons decided on Tuesday, August 27. The session will consider eight legislative bills, according to the Council’s proposed agenda. The session will also adopt a decision to confer state honors on a slate of individuals nominated by the Communist Party to mark the 75th anniversary of the People’s Republic on October 1. The legislature likely has delayed its typical August session to mid-September to announce the conferral decision closer to the National Day holiday. (Five years ago, it held a special session on September 17 for that very purpose.) Lastly, the session will hear a few reports that might be of interest. We preview these agenda items below.

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NPCSC Session Watch: Patriotic Education, State Council’s Governing Statute, State Secrets, Defense Minister Replacement & Legislative Aftermath of Covid-19

UPDATE (Oct. 24, 2023): On October 24, the NPCSC approved a revision to the Marine Environmental Protection Law and passed the Patriotic Education Law. Both will take effect on January 1, 2024.

In addition, the NPCSC adopted a decision authorizing the State Council to allow local governments to issue bonds within 60% of their annual new bond quotas before the NPC approves their annual debt ceilings for the next five years. It also approved an adjustment to the 2023 central government budget, authorizing the issuance of RMB 1 trillion of special treasury bonds for post-disaster reconstruction and related projects.

Finally, the NPCSC decided to remove Li Shangfu as defense minister, state councilor, and member of the Central Military Commission. It also removed Qin Gang from his state councilor position, after having removed him as foreign minister in July.

Before getting to the news, a note on our new link-archiving policy: After the NPC website’s recent URL change had created an acute link-rot problem for us, we announced a plan to deal with this particular incident and to prevent link rot going forward. One big change you will likely notice is that, with some exceptions, online sources subject to mainland China’s censorship regime (including all government websites) will be archived using perma.cc. Those visiting from mainland China should be aware, however, that perma.cc is blocked by the Great Fire Wall.

China’s top legislature, the 14th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC), will convene for its sixth session from October 20 to 24, the Council of Chairpersons decided on Friday, October 13. The session will tentatively discuss ten legislative bills, in addition to a potential motion to replace China’s current defense minister. We preview these agenda items below.

Continue reading “NPCSC Session Watch: Patriotic Education, State Council’s Governing Statute, State Secrets, Defense Minister Replacement & Legislative Aftermath of Covid-19” →