by+Dai+Kang

Chinas 2015 annual sessions of the National Peoples Congress （NPC） and the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference（CPPCC）， came to a conclusion on March 15， 2015， as the curtain dropped on the Third Session of the 12th NPC in Beijing. During the 12-day sessions， both deputies to the NPC and CPPCC members spoke freely from their hearts and discussed national affairs on a wide range of topics， covering ruling the country by law， combating corruption and advocating integrity， educational equality， and conservation culture.

The 2015 two sessions kicked off at a historic point of the year – the key point for comprehensively deepening reform， a new journey to fully advance the law-based governance of China， and the final year to complete the 12th Five-Year Plan （2011-2015）.

As a Chinese saying goes， “Work for the year is best begun in spring.” Fruitful results of the two sessions this spring will lead to impressive progress in 2015.

Positive Signs from Premiers Press Conference

The morning of March 15， 2015， heralded the “l(fā)ast but best play”of the two sessions， when Chinese Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council answered questions from journalists from home and abroad.

At the press conference， Premier Li Keqiang stressed maintaining confidence in Chinas steadier pace of economic growth as well as the Chinese governments determination to accelerate reform. He noted signifiers of development by highlighting sectors for major reform and elaborating major issues.

Highlights include encouraging more Chinese enterprises to“go global，” supporting public demand for housing for personal use and second homes – major guidance for housing policy， continuing streamlining administration and delegating more powers to lower-level governments， exploring new mode for supervision， keeping anti-corruption measures， further supporting small and micro businesses through tax reduction and premium rates， balancing energy conservation and emissions reduction targets with social and economic development， and strengthening the multilevel capital market.

Such positive signals have drawn great attention from media outlets around the world. The Premiers phrase， “ample room to exercise macroeconomic regulation，” was quoted as striking headline by many foreign media outlets， including Financial Times， Bloomberg， and The Economic Times. CNN commented that Premier Li Keqiangs appraisal of Chinas economy was “dispassionate，” clearing up any doubt about Chinese economics.

Highlights of the Government Work Report

“This coming year will be crucial for comprehensively deepening reform，” reported Premier Li Keqiang in his 2015 Report on the Work of the Government. This primary deployment of the Central Governments work has attracted so much attention.

On March 5， Premier Li spent an hour and 40 minutes reporting on the governmental work to the NPC. Two thirds of the report outlined the general plan for tasks in 2015， underlined by many

major reform measures.

With respect to administrative reform， Premier Li emphasized“giving reform the center stage to streamline administration and delegate more powers to lower-level governments while improving regulation.” He also stressed that “power should not be held without good reason.”

With regards to structural reform， Premier Li encouraged multiple investments and private consumption. “We will launch a number of major new projects… However， the government does not intend to perform an investment soliloquy； we need to do more to stimulate private investments and channel the investment of nongovernmental capital into more areas.”

When it comes to fiscal and tax reform， the premier stressed overall opening and readjustment of rights and obligations.

As for financial reform， he emphasized further opening privately-operated financial institutions and deepening the market.

In terms of the reform of medical and health care， he indicated that efforts to improve medical insurance would benefit grassroots levels.

On environmental management， he said， “We will fight to win the battle to conserve energy， reduce emissions， and improve the environment.”

“We have set the main targets for Chinas economic and social development for this year，” Premier Li continued， which was lowered from 7.5 percent down to 7 percent – a pragmatic goal the Chinese government set based on objective analysis of current economic situation.

“The current target， 7 percent， differs considerably from the same rate ten years ago，” explains Cai Jiming， a deputy to the NPC and director of the Center for Political Economy under Tsinghua University. “The formation of GDP has changed drastically aside from its absolute value. In recent years， innovation in science and technology as well as products has been playing a bigger part in accelerating economic development. The 7 percent we are seeing today is like pure gold in quality.”

Another highlight in the Report is the promotion of business development and innovation. Deepening reform has injected vigor and vitality into the markets as well as social creativity. “The number of newly registered market entities reached 12.93 million in 2014， creating a fresh surge of entrepreneurial activity，” the premier illustrated in his Report.

“The ‘fresh surge of entrepreneurial activity is the outcome of the reform and the technological innovation of the internet，”asserts Gu Shengzu， deputy to the NPC and deputy director of the Financial and Economic Committee under the NPC. “It serves as a major engine to stabilize Chinas economic growth and lead the countrys economy to ‘new normal.”

Fully Advancing Law-Based Governance

The phrase “fully advancing the law-based governance of the country” became a buzzword in 2014. During the two sessions in 2015， it was underlined in work reports of both the Supreme Peoples Court （SPC） and the Supreme Peoples Procuratorate（SPP）， the top judicial organizations in China， to navigate missions of 2015.

More powerful data to enhance anti-corruption campaigns were provided in the reports. Reporting judicial achievements to combat corruption with figures， decision makers of both the SPC and SPP placed heavy focus on anti-corruption work.

Specific cases were mentioned in the reports to highlight the redress of unjust， false or wrong cases， affording retrospection on such issues. More importantly， “keeping these cases on record” is crucial to remind and warn relevant judicial organizations to learn from past mistakes， hasten institutionalization to prevent future mistakes， and minimize such cases in the future.

Moreover， reports from both the SPC and SPP expounded key points in realms of judicial reform， human resources development， and cracking down on cyber crimes.

Amending Legislation Law

A resolution to amend the Legislation Law was adopted by a vote in the NPC on March 15， 2015. The revised Legislative Law will be injected with new connotations of the era and become a new milestone in the history of Chinese legislation.

In China， the Legislation Law actually standardizes all legal behavior， hence its nickname， “the law above laws.”

Legislation Law was adopted at the NPC on March 15， 2000， and went into effect on July 1 of the same year. It clearly defined legislative limits of authority， completed legislative procedures， and detailed legal interpretations， bringing Chinas legislation within standard legal frameworks.

The amended Legislation Law touches on a wide range of systems， including amplifying local legislative rights， clearing up tax statutory principles， and intensifying the recording review mechanism. Simplified were numerous limits for local administrative powers and their legislative rights.

According to the revised Legislation Law， local governments are prohibited from making rules and regulations without legal basis as well as taking away civic rights or increasing obligations specific to general public issues about whether government rules and regulations covering civic rights are legal or not. In addition， the revised law will set five defensive lines to avoid redundancy and abuse of local legislation and specifies the law as the will of leading officials.

In China， it is widely believed that the amended Legislation Law will more clearly define boundaries of power – the countrys great leap forward towards “rule of good law.”

Indeed， “power should not be held without good reason.”