Wang Tiemin:

Friends from the press, good morning. I'm happy to be invited to today's press conference. I want to express my thanks for your interest in and support for the work related to the people's congresses. First, let me make a brief introduction.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has carried out theoretical and practical innovations in the people's congress system from the strategic perspective of adhering to and improving the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and modernizing China's system and capacity for governance, developed General Secretary Xi Jinping's important thoughts on upholding and improving the people's congress system, and guided the people's congresses to make historic achievements in their work. The people's congress system has become more mature and well-defined.

First, the Party has strengthened its leadership over the work related to the people's congresses. The CPC Central Committee has strengthened its centralized and unified leadership over the development of the people's congress system and the work related to the people's congresses, convened the central conference on work related to the people's congresses, and improved the systems and mechanisms for the Party's leadership over the work related to the people's congresses. The NPC and its Standing Committee have regarded upholding the Party's overall leadership as the primary political principle and taken concrete actions to defend the establishment of both Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and to uphold Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and uphold the Central Committee's authority and its centralized, unified leadership. The NPC and its Standing Committee have stayed committed to the Party's leadership, the people's position as the masters of the country, and law-based governance, enforced the requirements of developing whole-process people's democracy and worked to ensure their work unswervingly adhere to, implement, and reflect the Party's leadership.

Second, we have taken the enforcement of the Constitution to a new level. In 2018, the NPC adopted the fifth amendment to the Constitution, consolidating the legal basis and gathering a mighty force for realizing national rejuvenation. We have boosted the implementation of the Constitution and oversight of constitutional compliance by enacting a national supervision law, a law protecting the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs, the National Anthem Law, and amending the National Flag Law and other laws related to the Constitution, and implementing the systems for granting medals, awards and amnesty stipulated in the Constitution. We have set up the Constitution and Law Committee. We have promoted constitutionality review in an orderly manner and improved the legislative recording and review system and capability building. We have established a system of pledging allegiance to the Constitution by adopting a related legal document and introduced the national Constitution Day. We have upheld the constitutional order of the special administrative region as prescribed by the Constitution and the Basic Law, promulgated the national security law in Hong Kong, and adopted more than 10 decisions on issues such as improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, thus providing a firmer assurance for the sound and sustained implementation of "one country, two systems."

Third, we have optimized the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, faced with heavy legislation tasks, the NPC and its Standing Committee have enacted high-quality laws covering a wide range of areas at a fast pace. We have enacted 69 laws, amended 237 laws, adopted 99 decisions on legal and major issues, and provided nine legal interpretations. So far, there are 292 laws in force.

We have accelerated legislation on the premise of ensuring quality, and successively promulgated or amended a number of laws urgently needed for national governance and in conformity with the people's ever-growing needs for a better life. We have formulated the Civil Code. We have formulated and amended more than 20 laws, including the National Security Law and the Law on Countering Foreign Sanctions, basically forming a legal system for national security. We have formulated and implemented a plan for making and amending laws on strengthening the legal protection of public health. We have formulated and amended laws on vaccine administration and the promotion of family education to address pressing problems of public attention. We have formulated and amended more than 20 laws, including those on Yangtze River protection, black soil protection, and forest, preliminarily forming an eco-environmental legal system and ensuring a legal basis for national development and major reforms. We have formulated the Foreign Investment Law and the Hainan Free Trade Port Law, and amended the Land Administration Law and the Anti-monopoly Law, acknowledging and consolidating reform achievements by means of lawmaking. We have made approximately 30 authorization and reform decisions, ensuring the orderly progress of reform measures, pushing forward lawmaking in a well-conceived and democratic way and in accordance with the law, and better leveraging the leading role of people's congresses in legislation.

Fourth, we have exercised oversight in a correct, effective, and law-based manner. Over the past decade, the Standing Committee of the NPC has listened to and deliberated more than 150 reports on oversight, inspected the implementation of more than 50 laws, and conducted 25 inquiries and 45 surveys on specific subjects to facilitate economic and social development and tackle key tasks of reform. The NPC's oversight focuses on the major decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the most pressing difficulties and problems that are of great concern to the people, and helps resolve prominent contradictions and problems constraining economic and social development. That is an outstanding feature of the oversight. The NPC Standing Committee has continuously carried out follow-up oversight in multiple forms in accordance with the law, contributing to poverty alleviation, pollution prevention, and financial risk prevention and defusing, among other aspects. With its oversight function expanded and work streams improved, people's congresses have been able to conduct more effective oversight.

Fifth, the role of deputies to people's congresses has been better leveraged. We have introduced 35 specific measures to strengthen and improve the work related to NPC deputies, improving institutions and standards of the work and the work as a regular practice. We have conscientiously handled deputies' proposals, drawn closer the bonds between standing committees and deputies and between deputies and the people, and engaged deputies more in the work of standing committees and special committees. We have established and put into operation an information platform for the work of NPC deputies.

Sixth, we have served China's diplomacy through the international engagement of people's congresses. We have regarded implementing the diplomatic achievements and consensuses of heads of state as the primary task, consolidated and deepened friendly exchanges with parliaments of other countries, and actively participated in the activities of multilateral parliamentary organizations. We have made use of bilateral and multilateral diplomatic platforms to promote Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and made vivid illustrations of China's path and system. We have leveraged the role of spokesmen of the NPC Standing Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the NPC, and the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee to refute rumors and clarify our positions on topics related to Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan, maritime territory, COVID-19, and human rights.

Seventh, we have made solid progress in developing people's congresses into a political organ that consciously adheres to the CPC's leadership, an organ of state power that ensures the people's status as masters of the country, a working organ that fully undertakes various duties entrusted by the Constitution and laws, and a representative organ that always maintains close contact with the people. We have adhered to the political building as the overarching principle and made continuous efforts to arm ourselves with innovative theories. We have improved work conduct and discipline observance, comprehensively promoted Party building at the NPC and its Standing Committee, made more efforts to enforce the work and the building of people's congresses, and built a team who is politically firm, serves the people, holds the rule of law in the highest esteem, promotes democratic practices, and diligently performs their duties. Thank you.

Xing Huina:

Thank you, Mr. Wang. Now the floor is open. Please identify your media outlet before raising your questions.

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