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The National People's Congress

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(1) The Organization of the NPC

The NPC is the highest organ of state power in China it is composed of NPC deputies elected by such 35 electoral units as People’s Congresses of provinces,autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government the People’s Liberation Army.the deputy election council Of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.the deputy election council of the Macao Special Administrative Region and the Taiwan compatriots’ consultation election council.Each congress is elected for a term of five years A total of 2987 deputies were elected to the current 11th NPC before the first session was convened

The NPC meets in session once a year. An interim session of the NPC may be convened at any time if the Standing Committee of the NPC deems it necessary or if one-fifth or more of its deputies so propose.

(2) Functions and Powers of the NPC

--To amend the Constitution and to supervise its enforcement. Only the NPC has the power to amend the Constitution. Amendments to the Constitution must be proposed by the NPC Standing Committee or by one-fifth or more of the NPC deputies and they must be passed by a two-thirds majority vote of all deputies. It was comprehensively revised by the NPC in 1982. The current Constitution is the one promulgated and put into effect after this revision. Since then, the NPC also partially amended the Constitution on four different occasions in 1988, 1993, 1999 and 2004. To defend the dignity of the Constitution and guarantee its enforcement, the NPC also has the power to oversee its enforcement.

--To enact and amend basic laws governing criminal offences, civil affairs, state organs and other matters. The NPC has enacted the Criminal Law, the Criminal Procedure Law, the Civil Law, the Civil Procedure Law, the Organic Law of the NPC, the Organic Law of the State Council, the Organic Law of Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments, the Organic Law of the People's Courts, the Organic Law of the People's Procuratorates, the Law on the Autonomy of Ethnic Minority Regions, the Electoral Law, and the Law on Deputies to the NPC and to the Local People's Congresses. The Marriage Law, the Citizenship Law, the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region were also enacted by the NPC.

--To elect and appoint members to central state organs. The NPC elects the Chairman, Vice Chairmen, Secretary-General and other members of its Standing Committee. It elects the President and the Vice President of the People's Republic of China. It decides on the choice of the Premier of the State Council upon the nomination by the President of the People's Republic of China, and also decides on the choice of the Vice Premiers, State Councillors, Ministers in charge of ministries or commissions, Governor of the People's Bank of China, as well as the Auditor-General and the Secretary-General of the State Council on the basis of the Premier’s nominations. It elects the Chairman of the Central Military Commission and decides all other members to the Central Military Commission based on the Central Military Commission Chairman's nominations. It also elects the President of the Supreme People's Court and the Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate. The NPC also has the power to remove from office any of the above-mentioned officials.

--To determine major state issues. The NPC is charged with examining and approving the report on the national economic and social development plan and on its implementation; examining the report on the central and local budgets and their implementation and approving the report on the central budget and its implementation; approving the establishment of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government; deciding on where to establish special administrative regions and what system they should institute; and deciding on questions of war and peace, and others. The establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region, Hainan Province and Chongqing Municipality and the building of the Three Gorges Dam Project on the Yangtze River were all decided by the NPC.

(3) Procedures of the National People's Congress Sessions

(a) Convocation of sessions. NPC sessions are annually held in the first quarter of the year and are called by the NPC Standing Committee. The first session of each NPC is called by the Standing Committee of the previous NPC within two months following the completion of the election of the deputies to the current NPC. An NPC session is not considered valid unless two-thirds or more of all NPC deputies attend.

(b) Forms of sessions. During an NPC session, plenary meetings and meetings of delegations are held. The major tasks of plenary meetings are to listen to the work reports by the NPC Standing Committee, the State Council, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate; to examine the report on the implementation of the plan for national economic and social development and on the draft plan for national economic and social development; to examine the report on the implementation of the central and local budgets and on the draft plan for the central and local budgets; to listen to the statements made by the sponsors of bills submitted to the session for deliberation; to vote on bills; and to elect, appoint or remove from office personnel in Central Government departments in accordance with the law. Meetings of delegations include plenary meetings and workshops. The main responsibilities of plenary meetings are to examine and approve the reports and bills on the NPC session's agenda.

(c) Submitting bills. The Presidium of the NPC session, the Standing Committee and the special committees of the NPC, the State Council, the Central Military Commission, the Supreme People's Court or the Supreme People's Procuratorate, may submit a bill to the NPC within the scope of their own authority. It is the Presidium that decides to put the bill on an NPC session's agenda. A delegation or a group of over 30 deputies may also together submit a bill to the NPC within the scope of their own powers and responsibilities, and it is the Presidium that is supposed to decide upon whether to put the bill on the session’s agenda or not; or the Presidium may do so after the bill is referred to the special committee concerned for examination and decision on its inclusion on the agenda.

(d) Deliberation of bills.

Examining work reports. During an annual NPC session, the NPC Standing Committee, the State Council, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate present their work reports at the session. After their reports are examined by the delegations, the session may make relevant resolutions on them.

Deliberating bills. A bill on the session's agenda is first explained by its sponsor at a plenary meeting, then deliberated at meetings of delegations and special committees, after which reports on the deliberations are made. Based on suggestions by delegations and special committees, the Law Committee of the NPC undertakes a unified deliberation of the bill and submits a report on the results of the deliberations and a revised draft law to the Presidium of the session. After review and approval by the Presidium, the revised bill is printed and distributed sessionwide and is supposed to be voted on at a plenary meeting.

Examining state plans and budgets. One month before an NPC session is held, relevant departments of the State Council should brief the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee of the NPC and appropriate special committees on the new plan for national economic and social development and the implementation of the previous as well as the newly drafted local and central budgets and the implementation of the previous central budget for preliminary examination by the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee. When the NPC holds a session, the State Council should submit these reports to the session, and also distribute session wide the printed copies of the main targets in the draft plan for national economic and social development, the statement of revenue and expenditures in the draft state budget, and the draft report on the implementation of the state budget for examination by all delegations, the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee and other appropriate special committees. Based on suggestions by delegations and other special committees concerned, the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee examines the new national economic and social development plan and the implementation of the previous as well as the newly drafted local and central budgets and the implementation of the previous central budget, and it then submits reports on the results of this examination to the Presidium. After review and approval by the Presidium, the reports are printed and distributed likewise, and the draft resolution on the new plan and on the implementation of the previous one and the draft resolution on the new budgets and on the implementation of the previous central budget are supposed to be voted on at a plenary meeting. After the state plan and the central budget being approved by the NPC, proposals for partial adjustments to them that prove necessary in the course of their implementation should be submitted by the State Council to the NPC Standing Committee for examination and approval.

(e) Voting on bills. Bills are voted on at plenary meetings of the NPC and they are adopted if a simple majority of all deputies vote for them. An amendment made to the Constitution requires more than two-thirds majority vote before it can be passed. Voting results are declared by the chairman of the meeting when the voting is completed. After a bill becomes law, the President of the People's Republic of China signs a decree to promulgate it. After an amendment to the Constitution is adopted, it is promulgated by the Presidium of the NPC session.

At an NPC session, the Presidium decides whether to vote upon bills by ballot, show of hands or some other methods. Voting on amendments to the Constitution is always by ballot.

  来源: 中国人大网 2016年2月1日
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