While promoting people's rights of subsistence and development, China pays great attention to the building of a democratic and legal system, and the guarantee of citizens' political rights according to law.

In China all power belongs to the people, who exercise state power through the National People's Congress (NPC) and people's congresses at all levels.

The deputies to people's congresses at all levels and the members of people's congress standing committees are all democratically elected, responsible for the people and subject to the people's supervision. They are from all ethnic groups and all walks of life, and are widely representative.

A total of 2,979 deputies were elected early in 1998 to the Ninth National People's Congress, of which workers and farmers accounted for 19.8 per cent, intellectuals 21.08 per cent, government officials 33.17 per cent, members of parties other than the Communist Party and people without party affiliation 15.44 per cent, members of the People's Liberation Army 9 per cent, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region representatives 1.17 per cent, and returned overseas Chinese 1.24 per cent.

As the supreme organ of state power, the NPC decides fundamental State policies and principles, and formulates national laws.

In 1998, the First Session of the Ninth NPC heard and deliberated on work reports from the State Council, Supreme People's Court and Supreme people's Procuratorate; and examined and approved the Plan for National Economic and Social Development, as well as the financial budgets. It also elected and decided the new leadership of the nation.

The Ninth NPC and its Standing Committee have deliberated and adopted 24 laws and decisions concerning legal issues over the past year. In March 1999, in particular, the Second Session of the Ninth NPC made amendments to the Constitution, adding to the Constitution, "implementing the principle of governing the country according to law and making it a socialist country based on the rule of law."

The elevation of "governing the country according to law," which is a basic principle in administering state affairs, into a constitutional principle is of great significance to the building of a democratic and legal system, as well as guaranteeing the citizens' human rights according to law.

The legislative work has become more democratic. In 1998, the NPC Standing Committee made public the draft amendments to the Land Administration Law, the drafts of the Organic Law of Villagers' Committees and the Contract Law, and received opinions and suggestions from people from all walks of life. Members of the NPC Standing Committee toured the country to solicit opinions and suggestions about the formulation and revision of many law drafts.

The NPC and its standing committee have remarkably intensified their supervision of the implementation of the laws. In the period 1993-97, the Standing Committee of the Eighth NPC inspected the implementation of 23 laws and decisions concerning legal affairs, including the Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests, and the Labour Law.

In 1998, the Standing Committee of the Ninth NPC organized inspections to check the implementation of six laws and decisions concerning legal affairs, including the Agriculture Law.

And various special committees inspected the implementation of eight laws, including the law on the autonomy of ethnic minority regions. The inspections have effectively prompted the implementation of those laws.
People's deputies have been more enthusiastic in exercising state power. During the First Session of the Ninth NPC in 1998, deputies put forward 830 proposals, a record number. They also put forward 2,782 pieces of suggestions, criticisms and opinions, and replies have been made to each of them by the relevant government departments.

At the Second Session of the Ninth NPC in 1999, people's deputies put forward 759 motions, of which 60 per cent were related to legislation, again a record number. This demonstrated the increased awareness of the deputies of the importance of governing the country according to the law.

The NPC Standing Committee also deals with complaints and advice letters and visits from the people. In 1998, the NPC Standing Committee received more than 60, 000 letters, met over 11,000 ordinary citizens and urged relevant departments to conclude a number of important cases and solve actual problems and difficulties for the people.

The system of multi - party co - operation and political consultation led by the Chinese Communist Party is an important component of China's democratic and political system.

The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), comprised of non-Communist parties, people's groups and those without party affiliation, has a wide representation.

The 2,196 members of the Ninth National Committee of the CPPCC come from 24 sectors, of which non-Communist party members account for 60. 1 percent, and members of China's eight non-Communist parties account for 29.7 per cent.

Various non-Communist parties and the CPPCC are now playing an increasingly important role in political consultation, democratic supervision and the participation in and deliberation of state affairs. In the 1993-38 period, the CPC Central Committee sponsored 62 forms of activities consulting with CPPCC members, who represent non - Communist parties, people's groups and different ethnic groups and different sectors, on state policies, principles, candidates for state leaders as well as all important policies, laws and regulations.

Statistics indicate that nearly 200 non - Communist party members are now acting as prefecture-level officials in provincial governments and more than 6,000 non-Communist party members are working in prefecture-level city governments and provincial departments as division chiefs.

In the 1993-97 period, the CPPCC National Committee put forward more than 100 important proposals, in the fields of politics, economy, social and cultural life of the country, to the CPC Central Committee and the State Council.

In 1998, the National Committee members of the CPPCC submitted many suggestions and opinions to the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on such important issues as the re-employment of laid-off workers from State - owned enterprises, rejuvenating the nation through science and technology, and protecting the farmers' land use rights.

The National Committee of the CPPCC also organized 51 special investigations on such topics as education and poverty-relief work in ethnic minority regions and the reform of state - owned enterprises, as well as the development of environment-friendly industries, and produced 45 special investigation reports.

Meanwhile, the CPPCC National Committee intensified efforts to handle motions and managed to reflect the real situation of the country and genuine opinions of the people.

Since the First Session of the 9th National Committee of the CPPCC, various non - Communist parties, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, people's groups and the CPPCC National Committee members have put forward 3, 041 proposals and put on file 2,664 cases, which were all sent to relevant government departments and institutes for further investigation and solution.

China has made eye-catching progress in promoting democracy in grass - roots units in rural areas. Villages across the country continue to conduct self-management activities that centre on villagers' committee democratic elections, democratic policy-making, democratic management and democratic supervision.

The director, deputy directors and members of the villagers' committee are all directly elected by eligible voters in a village through a secret and competitive election, and they can be removed from their posts if they do not perform well.

All major village affairs in connection with villagers' rights and interests, such as land-contracting plans and use of land for building houses, are all submitted to the villagers' committee for deliberation and approval.

The routine affairs of the village are democratically administered through villagers' meetings and governed by villager self-management regulations and village regulations in a democratic form. The villagers conduct democratic supervision of the work of the villagers' committee and matters concerning villagers' interests through village budget records and other important information made public by the committee.

By the end of 1997, more than 900,000 village committees had been elected, with a total of 3.3788 million villagers' committee cadres now in place across the country.

To date, the system of village self-management has been established in a preliminary fashion in 60 per cent of China's villages. Villagers' committees have generally conducted three to four elections, with the participation rate of eligible voters standing at over 90 percent.

The practice of open and transparent village affairs has been established in most villages. In 11 provinces and cities, including Hebei, Sichuan, Yunnan, Shanxi and Tianjin, this practice has been introduced in more than 90 per cent of the villages.

In November 1998, the NPC Standing Committee adopted the newly revised Organic Law on Villagers' Committees, which is aimed at perfecting the system of villagers' autonomy, promoting the building of grass - roots democracy in rural China, and providing a firm legal guarantee for the masses to directly exercise democratic rights.