3. We handled the proposals and suggestions of deputies more effectively as an important link in supporting deputies in the legal exercise of their duties and ensuring that they are able to do so. It is the legally mandated duty of the NPC, a state organ, to diligently handle the proposals and suggestions of its deputies. We have obtained substantial results in improving the way proposals and suggestions are handled.
The role of deputy proposals in legislative work was further strengthened. First, the legislative items contained in deputy proposals were fully considered in formulating long-term and annual plans for legislation. A total of 92 legislative items contained in 2,177 proposals were incorporated into these plans. Second, the leading deputies submitting proposals were invited to participate in the drafting and deliberation of corresponding draft laws, and opinions were broadly solicited from other deputies. A total of 48 legislative items contained in 1,132 proposals were deliberated and passed and many comments and suggestions of deputies were reflected in the laws that were passed. Third, where many proposals were centered around legislative items such as the Law on Food Safety, we urged the concerned authorities to draft a bill and submit it for deliberation as soon as possible. Fourth, we directly formulated draft bills by standardizing and improving deputy proposals that were fairly comprehensive and high in quality when conditions were ripe for passing such legislation. The difficulty of bringing lawsuits to court and the difficulty of ensuring compliance with court decisions generated strong resentment in society. During the Fifth Session of the Tenth NPC, some members of the delegations of Hunan Province and other places submitted a proposal to revise the Civil Procedure Law and a suggested amended bill based on thorough survey and investigation work, extensive solicitation of opinions and a careful review of past experience. The decision of the Standing Committee on revising the Civil Procedure Law was formed on the basis of this proposal. This was a first in the legislative work of the Standing Committee.
New methods were adopted for handling deputy suggestions. First, we improved general analysis and instituted unified referral of suggestions. On this basis, conspicuous problems often brought up by deputies were made the focus of efforts to handle suggestions, through relevant special committees. Second, for suggestions that involved several departments, the concerned departments jointly handled them, with the main organization taking the major responsibility. Third, we improved communication with deputies and placed greater emphasis on obtaining substantive results in handling suggestions. The Standing Committee began in 2005 to listen to and deliberate annual reports on how the suggestions, criticisms and opinions of deputies were handled, and began printing and distributing the reports to all deputies. Through the concerted efforts of all sides, by 2007 76% of all the problems brought up by deputies had been solved or were being seriously addressed.
The election of the deputies to the people's congresses is a great event in China's socialist democratic politics. The NPC and its Standing Committee promptly made decisions and issued guidelines based on thorough surveys and studies to ensure that the simultaneous elections to elect the next county and township people's congresses and the work of electing the deputies to the Eleventh NPC were successfully conducted. All localities diligently carried out the arrangements of the central authorities, upheld the leadership of the Party, gave full play to democracy, handled affairs strictly in accordance with the law, smoothly carried out county and township elections to select deputies to the new people's congresses and smoothly elected the deputies to the Eleventh NPC. This provided a firm organizational guarantee for upholding and improving the system of people's congresses and creating new horizons for the work of the people's congresses.