NPC Members Suggest Public Hearings on Draft Laws of Public Interest

Five members of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee have expressed support for holding public hearings for all draft laws that are of interest to the general public, according to an October 25 China Youth Daily report posted on the Xinhua Web site.

On September 27, the NPC held its first public hearing on a draft amendment to the Law on Personal Income Tax, according to a Xinhua article published on the same day. NPC officials chose 20 people, including academics and migrant workers, from among nearly 5,000 applicants to offer opinions on a proposal to raise the minimum taxable income. The 2000 Legislation Law codified the use of public hearings, and local people's congresses have begun to use them more often to solicit the views of citizens on pending legislation. For more information, see the Democratic Governance and Legislative Reform section of the Commission's 2005 Annual Report.

NPC Standing Committee members point to the recent hearing as evidence of progress toward legislative transparency and the rule of law. But opinions expressed at such hearings are not binding on NPC members considering draft legislation, notes a September 30 China Youth Daily article. While the hearings offer a method for citizens to express their views to the NPC, the practice of screening and selecting the applicants wishing to appear at these sessions limits the range of views that the public may convey to NPC members.