Sept. 15 marked the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature.

The NPC is the top law-making body in China, and as such, has the most important influence on the political make-up of the country.

Since it was founded it has forged the existing constitution and made four major constitutional amendments.

Since 1979, the NPC and its standing committee have implemented more than 300 laws, while its local counterparts - local people's congresses and their standing committees - have put in place more than 7,500 regional laws and regulations. Legislative bodies in autonomous regions have implemented more than 600 special regulations.

It's not just legislation that the NPC has cause to be proud of.

It has also made great strides as a supervisory body. People's congresses and their standing committees exercise legal supervision on behalf of the State and the people to ensure the Constitution and laws are implemented correctly.

"Exercising power without restriction or supervision is bound to result in abuse of power and corruption," said Chinese President Hu Jintao while addressing a grand rally to mark the 50th anniversary yesterday in Beijing.

The NPC and its local counterparts have in the past several years strengthened their supervisory roles, increasingly emerging as a balance and check on governments and officials.

In the process, the NPC and its local peers have also contributed to putting governments and officials under more rigid scrutiny and holding them accountable, contradicting their stereotype as being meek political ornaments.

But the NPC's law-making and supervisory duties are far from being exercised satisfactorily. Its legislative quality must be improved and its supervisory role strengthened even further.

The NPC's 50th birthday, it is hoped, will serve as an occasion on which it can reflect on its past experiences and as an impetus to improve its future work.

Source: China Daily