China's top legislature on Friday changed its rules of procedure to ensure the public is told why officials have been dismissed.
Previous procedure only required profiles of appointed officials, so the legislature omitted reasons for dismissing officials, which often baffled the public.
The first such amendment since the rules of procedure were established 22 years ago was aimed at increasing efficiency and accountability of the legislature, said a document on the change from the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC).
The rules of procedure sets out formalities for meetings of the NPC Standing Committee, which considers important state issues and laws.
Cai Dingjian, a professor of the Beijing-based China University of Political Science and Law, said the amendment legalizes the legislature's experience and practice over the last two decades and enhances efficiency of the body.
The amendment says bills on personnel changes should "include profiles of officials and reasons of appointment or dismissal."
The latest case was the removal of Zhu Zhigang from the post of director of the Budgetary Work Committee of NPC Standing Committee, in October. The legislature failed to explain the decision.
The public did not know the reason until an NPC spokesman revealed at a press conference later that Zhu was "under investigation for suspected violations of discipline and law."
Cai, an expert of China's constitutional system, said the amendment ensures an open and transparent procedure of removing officials.
China's Constitution says the NPC Standing Committee is entitled to deciding cabinet ministers according to premier's nominations, members of Central Military Commission, vice presidents of the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate and ambassadors.
President of the Anhui-based University of Science and Technology of China Hou Jianguo said "more transparent procedures reflects development of China's political democracy."
The amendment also imposes stricter controls over speech times and prevents digression by NPC Standing Committee members at legislative meetings.
"NPC Standing Committee members' speeches should not exceed 15 minutes at group meetings and a second speech on the same topic should not last more than 10 minutes," it says.
The speech time can be extended if the meeting's moderator agrees, it says.
Previous procedures only set out speech times for lawmakers at joint group sessions or plenary sessions that mainly hear law drafts or amendments or discuss major issues concerning legislation.
Detailed legislative discussion only takes place at group meetings where each lawmaker can take time to offer opinions.
The amendment says "members of the NPC Standing Committee should address legislative plenary or group meetings within preset topics."
It also sets out speech application procedures.
Hou, also a member of the NPC Standing Committee, said practice shows that limiting speech time could ensure a thorough group discussion and opinions of each side being heard.
"It enhances the quality of lawmaking," he said.
Lawmakers in some western countries often make long speeches. or filibuster, so as to prevent the passage of laws that their parties do not agree with, as the parliamentary session has a fixed time and cannot be extended most of the time.
"The people's congress system is China's fundamental political system and is completely different with some western countries' parliamentary system," said NPC Standing Committee Member Guo Lei, also president of the Academy of Mathematics and System Science under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the government think-tank.
Guo said "it's natural that China's top legislature's rules of procedures are different with other countries'."
Michael J. Glennon, professor of International Law of the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy of the Tufts University in the United States, said via e-mail, "there is nothing wrong with time limits provided they are imposed equally, without regard to the political content of the speech.
"In the United States Congress, both houses impose time limits, both in committee sessions and on the floor of each body. These limits are a function of the size of the body," he said, adding that with 435 members of the House of Representatives, efficient operation would be impossible without time limits. But again, the limits must respect the right of the minority to be heard.
Wang Lei, a professor with the Beijing University Law School, said "convening meetings to consider law and decide major sate matters is a major form for the top legislature to perform its duties."
"The amendment to the rules improve procedural democracy," he said, adding "though only slight changes have been made, the significance is that the lawmaking body is paying more attention to legislative efficiency and quality."
Glennon said the United States has a separation-of-powers system, in which three equal, independent branches of government check efforts of the other branches when they attempt to usurp power.
"It is not necessary to have such a system to have a democracy, as the United Kingdom demonstrates. But it is useful as a means of, among other things, achieving openness and transparency," he said.
Wang said the amendment "puts forward higher standard for NPC Standing Committee members" as they must express their views within a certain period of time and give much heed to the speech quality.
According to the amendment, more nonvoting personnel can attend legislative sessions, including NPC deputies.
"With the improvement of the people's congress system, ordinary citizens could attend the sessions as well," Guo said. Currently, the public can only learn the bimonthly legislative sessions through media coverage.
Cai said there was still room for further improvement as the public did not know "what happened behind the doors of the parliament."
"The public attending legislative sessions could be an opportunity for public education about the country's political system, as well as public supervision," he said.
Cai suggests to strengthen plenary session discussions where direct exchanges of views, or even debate, on bills or motions, could let different opinions heard and be more democratic.
"Lawmakers can hear more views from other groups at plenary sessions. Previously they only heard fellow members of the same groups," he said.
The constitutional expert said dissident lawmakers or those who had not voiced opinions, should express views first as "there is no time for each lawmaker taking turns to express views applauding submitted proposals."
Li Fei, deputy director of the Commission for Legislative Affairs of the NPC Standing Committee, said when briefing lawmakers on Monday that the top legislature's current rules of procedure dated back to November 1987.
"Over the past two decades, the rules have improved the legislature's working mechanism, standardized procedures, boosted efficiency and ensured execution of duties," said Li, adding amendment was needed to embody development of the country's lawmaking system.
The amendment was one of many proposed laws being considered for the first time by the NPC Standing Committee during its bimonthly session from Monday to Friday.