January 2024: Update on Legislative Proposals Introduced by NPC Delegates in 2023
Big data, AI, worker rights, plant protection & more vs. officials' right to counsel, land expropriation, animal welfare & more
Happy Year of the Dragon and welcome back to NPC Observer Monthly, a monthly newsletter about China’s national legislature: the National People’s Congress (NPC) and its Standing Committee (NPCSC).
Each issue will start with “News of the Month,” a recap of major NPC-related events from the previous month, with links to any coverage we have published on our main site, NPC Observer. If, during that month, we have also written posts that aren’t tied to current events, I’ll then provide a round-up in “Non-News of the Month.” Finally, depending on the month and my schedule, I may end an issue with discussions of an NPC-related topic that is in some way connected to the past month.
If you’re enjoying the newsletter, I hope you’ll consider sharing it. —Changhao
News of the Month
Nothing of note occurred offline last month at the NPC. (As a rule, I don’t cover the legislative leadership’s diplomatic activities.) Online, the NPC released the official (but non-binding) English translations of four laws:
Counterespionage Law [反间谍法] (as revised Apr. 26, 2023, effective July 1, 2023);
Education Law [教育法] (as amended Apr. 29, 2021, effective Apr. 30, 2021);
Yellow River Protection Law [黄河保护法] (adopted Oct. 30, 2022, effective Apr. 1, 2023);
Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law [民族区域自治法] (as amended and effective Feb. 28, 2001).
UPDATE (Feb. 9, 2024): I somehow forgot to mention that, on January 1, the following laws took effect:
Foreign State Immunity Law [外国国家豁免法] (adopted on Sept. 1, 2023);
Patriotic Education Law [爱国主义教育法] (adopted on Oct. 24, 2023);
revised Administrative Reconsideration Law [行政复议法] (adopted on Sept. 1, 2023);
revised Marine Environmental Protection Law [海洋环境保护法] (adopted on Oct. 24, 2023); and
amendment to the Civil Procedure Law [民事诉讼法] (adopted on Sept. 1, 2023).
2023 Delegate Bills: Selected Hopefuls and Long Shots
As the NPC’s 2024 session draws near, and to set the stage for this newsletter, earlier this month I published an explainer on “delegate bills”: submissions by NPC delegates that almost always call on the NPC to pass certain legislation. The explainer discusses how delegate bills are processed, where one may find out about their fates, and what the role, if any, they play in Chinese lawmaking.
You should, of course, go read the explainer first. But for purposes of this newsletter, here’s what you need to know: The NPC hasn’t directly acted on a delegate bill in decades. Instead, the bills are referred to the various NPC special committees for review after each NPC session. The committees will consult the relevant Party-state institutions on what to do with the delegates’ proposals. Towards the end of the year, each special committee will submit a report to the NPCSC that briefly summarizes the bills referred to it, introduces the relevant legal and policy developments, notes the views of other relevant institutions, and offers its recommended dispositions.
The reports generally place delegates bills into the following five categories based on how close their proposals are to becoming law (or how strongly the special committees believe this should happen):
bills proposing legislation that was enacted later that year;
bills concerning pending legislation still under legislative review;
bills concerning projects already listed in an NPCSC legislative plan;
bills concerning project not listed in any NPCSC legislative plan but should be; and
bills proposing legislation deemed unripe or inadvisable.
In the remainder of this newsletter, I will discuss a few developments I found interesting or important in the special committees’ 2023 year-end reports, which were finally published in full in the NPCSC Gazette last month. (They are compiled in a single PDF here.)
The reports are generally more interesting when it comes to the bills in Categories 4–5, because they can reveal what legislation, though absent from existing legislative plans, might (soon) be in the pipeline, and what proposals won’t appear on the legislative agenda anytime soon. For the bills in Categories 1–3, I’ll note only newly disclosed updates on (what I think is) closely watched legislation, if any.
In 2023, NPC delegates introduced a total of 271 bills; all but three proposed legislation. No bill was referred to the Foreign Affairs Committee, and none of the bills (6 in total) referred to the Ethnic Affairs Committee and the Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee are worth discussing.
Supervisory and Judicial Affairs Committee
Under the 2018 People’s Assessors Law [人民陪审员法], all first-instance public interest litigation (PIL) cases must be heard by seven-member panels consisting of three judges and four people’s assessors. Delegates Mao Ronghua et al. propose requiring such a panel only when a PIL case has “a major social impact.” Their bill explains that, because of the recent surge in PIL cases, convening big panels to hear all such cases has been quite onerous for local courts. The Supreme People’s Court (SPC) agrees that the Law’s requirement has affected “judicial efficiency” and finds the bill’s proposals “necessary and feasible.” In its own research, the Committee also heard complaints that convening big panels has been “requite complex and procedurally cumbersome,” especially in cases with “simple facts and relatively little [environmental] damage.” So the Committee vows to work with the SPC and the Ministry of Justice to further study the relevant issues and push for amending the Law “at the appropriate time.”
In their bill, delegates Qin Hong et al. point out that the 2018 Supervision Law [监察法] doesn’t include “respecting and safeguarding the human rights of investigated persons” among the guiding principles for supervision work, and doesn’t provide for those persons’ right to counsel, so they propose amending the Law accordingly. The Committee is of the view, however, that China’s constitutional principle of protecting and safeguarding human rights is already embodied in existing legislation on supervision and being followed by supervision commissions in practice. And because the Supervision Law’s implementing regulations (which don’t provide for the right to counsel, either) were issued in 2021, the Committee recommends carrying out research on amending the Law until the implementing regulations have been in force for a longer period of time.
Financial and Economic Affairs Committee
Delegates Yu Anling et al. propose amending the Law on the Protection of Consumers’ Rights and Interests [消费者权益保护法] (last amended in 2013) to respond to “new situations and new issues” in consumer protection, including by granting special protections to minors and the elderly and by addressing “professional fraud-fighting” (i.e., knowingly buying defective products and then collecting compensation or rewards authorized by law to make a living). The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) agrees with the proposals “in principle” and vows to actively push for amending the Law and promulgating its implementation regulations (a draft was released for public comment in 2016). Similarly, the Committee urges the relevant departments to study the relevant issues and propose amendments “when the conditions are ripe.”
Delegates Tang Liang et al. propose enacting a Trade Secrets Protection Law [商业秘密保护法] to unify the complicated existing patchwork of laws, regulations, rules, and judicial interpretations and to follow the global trend of enacting dedicated trade secret legislation. The SAMR appears to question the necessity of such a law, given that the forthcoming revision to the Anti–Unfair Competition Law [反不正当竞争法] would “further strengthen protections for trade secrets” and that it’s actively working on its own Provisions on the Protection of Trade Secrets [商业秘密保护规定] (a draft was released in 2020 for public comment). The Committee’s position is ambiguous: it agrees with the SAMR’s views while recommending that the agency put forward legislative proposals when the time is ripe.
Delegates Shi Jia et al. proposed enacting a Big Data Law [大数据法], which the Committee agrees is necessary. For its part, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) vows to “contribute more practical experience and cases to help advance the relevant legislation.” Specifically, it will—
gradually improve the policies and standards for key aspects and main areas such as the definition of property rights in data, data circulation and transaction, data revenue distribution, authorized use of public data, development of data exchanges, and data governance; actively promote the establishment of a statutory framework for the system of property rights in data based on the separation of data resource ownership, right to process and use data, and right to trade in data products, clarify the nature and attribution of data property rights as well as related rights and obligations, continue to promote the open sharing of government data, actively promote [several pilot programs] and encourage the pilot regions to carry out experiments, explore systems, mechanisms, and legal norms suitable for the development of data economy, and accelerate the pilots to open public information resources.
Environmental Protection and Resources Conservation Committee
Delegates Yang Xiaotian et al. propose speeding up the process to enact an Antarctic Activities and Environmental Protection Law [南极活动与环境保护法], arguing that such legislation “bears on the country’s major long-term interests and is an important part of the nation’s development strategy.” They also note that the project was listed in the last (13th) NPCSC’s five-year legislative plan. The Committee discloses that it already completed a draft during the 13th NPC. And, while the project was not explicitly re-listed in the current NPCSC’s five-year legislative plan, the Committee intimates that it’s still part of the plan’s general initiative to “improve the system of foreign-related laws,” and promises to submit the draft for deliberation in due course.
Two other bills propose amending the Environmental Protection Law [环境保护法] to, among other things, add rules on achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality, address new sources of pollution (e.g., optical and electromagnetic radiation), and provide for conservation easements. The NDRC agrees that certain provisions of the Law are now outdated and that it is “very necessary” to amend it at the appropriate time. Other State Council agencies appear to agree with some of the delegates’ proposals but think they should be included in other laws under consideration. The Committee concludes that the Law should indeed “be improved to keep up with the times” and recommends that the bills be considered in the drafting of an Environmental Code [环境法典] and other relevant laws.
Social Development Affairs Committee
Three delegate bills propose amending the Labor Contract Law [劳动合同法] to “preserve the developmental momentum of start-ups.” Based on the report’s terse summary, the bills would essentially weaken employees’ contractual rights against employers. The All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) doesn’t seem receptive to the proposals, arguing that the law should treat employees more favorably when appropriate, given their weaker position in the labor market, but agrees that the labor laws should be updated. The Ministry of Justice recommends that the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) work with the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC) to study the issue of balancing the rights and obligations of employees and employers, especially the grounds for terminating labor contracts, conditions for financial compensation by employers, and impact on companies’ labor costs. The Committee doesn’t take a position on the delegates’ proposals, but believes the Law should be amended to adapt to changing labor relations brought about by “new forms of employment,” referring to the gig economy. It recommends that the relevant departments conduct in-depth research, widely solicit opinions, and build societal consensus to create conditions for amendments.
Delegates Chen Haiyi et al. propose amending the Labor Law [劳动法] to address various issues relating to the gig economy. The ACFTU agrees that Chinese law should lay down standards for recognizing labor relations as well as standards for wages, hours, and workplace safety that are appropriate for the platform economy. The ACFIC, while vowing to push for stronger protections for gig workers, also emphasizes the need for “inclusive and prudential regulation” of new forms of employment. The MOHRSS, for its part, stresses that legislating on the platform economy is “a systematic project” that requires an assessment of different plans and an overall consideration of various legal schemes, but says it will propose legislation at the appropriate time. The Committee agrees that legislation is necessary to protect the rights of gig workers and recommends that the relevant parties begin the legislative process in a timely manner.
Constitution and Law Committee
Delegates Mai Shurui et al. propose enacting a Legislative Hearing Law [立法听证法] to specify the principles, scope, participants, and procedures of legislative hearings. The Committee vows to carefully research the relevant issues together with the NPCSC Legislative Affairs Commission and put forward suggestions to “improve the system of legislative hearings and the relevant work standards” at the appropriate time. It’s not crystal clear whether the Committee believes that legislation is indeed necessary, as its recommendations are generally harder to read than other Committees’.
Delegates Ma et al., in another bill, also propose enacting a Real Property Expropriation Law [不动产征收法] to specify the principles and conditions of land expropriations as well as the compensation and remedies therefor. The Committee notes that statutes, administrative regulations, and judicial interpretation have provided for those matters, and some localities have laid down more detailed rules. It adds that it will study the issue of enacting a special law on real property expropriations with the relevant parties, which seems to say that the proposed law isn’t quite necessary at the moment.
Education, Science, Culture, and Public Health Committee
Delegates Fang Lan et al. argue that there is a myriad of pressing issues with the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI), including safety, ethics, and privacy concerns. Their bill thus proposes enacting an Artificial Intelligence Law [人工智能法] to protect human rights, regulate AI ethics, set up an appropriate regulatory framework, and further international cooperation and standardization. In response, the Committee discloses that the relevant State Council agencies have been carrying out preliminary research on AI legislation, in particular issues such as AI privacy protection and tort liability. The Committee also promises to research major issues in AI legislation and urge the relevant State Council agencies to study and incorporate the bill’s proposals and accelerate the drafting process, so that an AI Law may be included in an annual NPCSC legislative work plan “when the conditions are ripe.”
Three delegate bills propose amending the Blood Donation Law [献血法] to adjust the age requirement for and frequency of blood donations, strengthen protections for voluntary blood donors, and better regulate blood banks’ use of surplus plasma. Another delegate bill proposes amending the Law on the Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases [职业病防治法] to tighten regulation. The National Health Commission discloses that it has listed both projects in its 2023 legislative plan and has already drawn up draft revisions to both laws. The Committee recommends redoubling efforts to improve the drafts and listing them in an NPCSC legislative plan when the time is ripe.
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee
Delegates Zhang Li et al. propose enacting a Plant Protection Law [植物保护法] to “effectively prevent major plant disease and pest outbreaks, safeguard national food security and biosecurity, and meet the needs of international cooperation on plant protection.” The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration appear on board with such legislation, arguing that a comprehensive plant-protection law could integrate currently scattered provisions on plant inspection and quarantine, plant diseases and pests, and alien invasive species. The Ministry of Justice recommends beginning such legislative work after evaluating existing laws and regulations. The Committee, for its part, lists an array of shortcomings of China’s existing plant-protection regime and recommends that the relevant departments carry out in-depth research on the relevant issues so that the project may be listed in an annual NPCSC legislative plan when the conditions are ripe.
Four delegate bills propose enacting an Anti–Animal Abuse Law [反虐待动物法] (alternatively titled Law on the Protection and Management of Companion Animals [伴侣动物保护和管理法] or Animal Protection Law [动物保护法]). In response, the relevant State Council agencies note that China has already enacted specialized laws and regulations on the protection of wild animals, livestock and poultry, as well as lab animals. And they continue: “Animal protection is closely related to the level of socioeconomic development and to the lifestyles of some regions and people formed over a long period time and to some extent involves various factors including ethnicity, religion, ethics, and morality.” Special legislation on animal protection involves complex issues and now faces important challenges, they conclude. The Committee agrees, so national animal-welfare legislation won’t be on the table any time soon.
I plan to make coverage of the special committees’ year-end reports an annual feature going forward. Please comment or otherwise let me know if there any kind of legislation (or committee) you’re more interested in or how I can improve the coverage in general.
That’s all for this month’s issue. Thanks for reading!
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