into a socialist rule of law country. Spreading knowledge about the Constitution and establishing and safeguarding its authority among the public must be viewed as major tasks in fully advancing the law-based governance of the country, which should be carried out properly and without delay. We will improve the mechanism by which the NPC and its Standing Committee oversee the enforcement of the Constitution, put in place sound procedures and mechanisms to interpret the Constitution, and develop a system of pledging allegiance to the Constitution for officials assuming office. We will work hard to ensure proper record-keeping and review of normative documents, and to see that, in accordance with legal procedures, any normative document that conflicts with the Constitution or other laws is rescinded or corrected.

2. We will advance legislation in key areas.

Keeping closely in mind the practical needs in the country’s economic and social development, we will adopt a coordinated approach with clear priorities and establish legislative tasks in a well-conceived way.

First, we will improve the system of laws for the socialist market economy. We will make revisions to the following laws: the Securities Law, the Law on Promoting the Application of Scientific and Technological Advances, the Seed Law, the Law on the Contracting of Rural Land, and the Advertising Law; we will intensify our efforts to research and begin work on developing a civil code.

Second, we will improve legislation on democracy. We will revise the Electoral Law for the National People’s Congress and Local People’s Congresses, the Organic Law of the Local People’s Congresses and Local People’s Governments, the Law on Deputies to the National People’s Congress and Deputies to Local People’s Congresses, and the Law on Administrative Review. We will develop national legislation to fight corruption and work out revisions to the Law on Administrative Supervision.

Third, we will push forward with legislation concerning social issues. We will work on a community correction law, an anti-domestic violence law, a law on traditional Chinese medicine, and a charity law. We will revise the Food Safety Law and the Law on the Red Cross Society, and pass Amendment IX to the Criminal Law.

Fourth, we will advance legislation concerning cultural, educational, and ecological issues, work to formulate a law for guaranteeing public cultural services and a law on national medals and titles of honor, and revise the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law as well as educational laws.

Fifth, we will uphold the rule of law in our efforts to advance national security. We will formulate a national security law, an anti-terrorism law, a law on the management of international NGOs in China, and a cyber-security law.

3. We will improve our legislative systems and mechanisms.

The NPC and its Standing Committee will continue to play the dominant role in legislative work. We will make adjustments to the legislative plans of the Standing Committee. We will establish a mechanism by which the NPC’s special committees and the working committees of the NPC Standing Committee organize relevant departments to participate in the drafting of major laws, and establish a sound system whereby specialists act as legislative advisors to the special committees of people’s congresses and to the working committees of the standing committees of people’s congresses. By strengthening the ranks of those working on legislation, we will improve our capacity for carrying out legislative work.

We will ensure that the NPC better organizes and coordinates legislative work and improve the channels and ways through which legislative bodies lead legislation and other sectors of society participate systematically. We will expand the role played by NPC deputies in the drafting and revising of laws by extensively consulting with them, and then following up on and adopting their useful suggestions. We will hold consultations on legislation with a view to putting into practice the guidelines for strengthening the development of socialist consultative democracy.

We will improve the mechanisms by which legislative bodies communicate with the general public, expand the channels for citizens’ systematic participation in the legislative process, and enhance the publicity of legislative work. We will create better mechanisms for soliciting comments on legislation from local people’s congresses, and explore ways of staying connected to local communities on legislative issues. We will continue to improve our legislative work by making legislation more targeted and refining the legislative process.