Chinese Local Lawmakers Target Local Features, Democracy

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, July 24, 2002

Chinese Local Lawmakers Target Local Features, Democracy

The Municipal People's Congress (MPC) in Qingdao, a coastal city in east China's Shandong province, has just held its fourth seminar on a draft local law on technical innovations in businesses.

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China's local lawmakers are endeavoring to draft local laws democratically and inject them with a local flavor.

The Municipal People's Congress (MPC) in Qingdao, a coastal city in east China's Shandong province, has just held its fourth seminar on a draft local law on technical innovations in businesses.

A dozen local people were invited to the proseminar, among themcollege professors, legal experts, industry association staff and company representatives.

Wang Junmin, deputy director of the technical center of the Double Stars Group, a large shoe manufacturer in Qingdao, said that local lawmakers involved businesses in the lawmaking process.Such a move boosted business enthusiasm and confidence in industrial development.

Hu Zengxiang, deputy dean of the Law School at Qingdao Ocean University, said that the legislative and supervisory role of the local people's congress had been constantly strengthened in recentyears.

Under the market economy, he noted, local laws must be enacted within the framework of national laws and in line with special local conditions. This enabled national laws to be carried out at local level.

In Qingdao, passing laws with a local flavor is accepted practice for its lawmakers. Surrounded by nearly 20,000 sq km of ocean space which doubles its land area, Qingdao MPC has targeted marine laws.

Since the first environmental protection legislation for the offshore ocean area was passed back in 1995, the standing committee of Qingdao MPC has issued a number of similar laws and regulations relating to ocean management and planning, fishing management and the use of marine areas. They form a special legal framework for marine laws and decrees for Qingdao city.

"Only a local law that complies with local conditions can work well in practice," said Sun Bingyue, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Qingdao MPC. "Many local laws and regulations in Qingdao are alive with local features, like the legislation on aspects of ocean management, tourism, environmental protection andcultural and ideological progress."

As an economic power in China, the whole of Shandong province has altogether passed 235 local laws since the standing committee of the provincial people's congress was set up in 1979, with some 60 percent dealing with economics.

The standing committee of provincial people's congress has alsoapproved 260 local laws and regulations made by the municipal people's congresses in Jinan, Qingdao, and Zibo, the only three cities in Shandong province with legislative power. These laws cover all aspects of social life like politics, economics, city management, the environment, resources, cultural relics, educationand science, as well as socialist ethics and cultural development.

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