|
Local legislation is wide in scope. Any public matter important or of overall significance in respective administrative area all belongs to the field of local legislation. According to the article 64 of the Legislation Law, a local statute may provide for the following:
a. matters for which enactment of a local statute is required in order to implement a national law or administrative regulation in light of the actual situation of the jurisdiction;
b. matters which are local in nature and require the enactment of a local statute.
The scope that does not belong to local legislation, subject to the constitution and laws, includes:
a. matters relating to state agency, political system;
b. state acts such as diplomacy and national defense and so forth;
c. matters involving fundamental rights and duties of citizen;
d. policies concerning national economy, finance, trade, circulation of commodity; economic form of enterprises; exploitation, use and protection of state important natural resources;
e. matters relating to the state financial budget, final accounts, state taxation system and foreign trade system;
f. basic system of administrative control, such as science, education, culture, health, civil administration, justice, public security, supervision, audit, labor and personnel affairs, etc.
Legislation of national autonomous region
China is a unified, multinational country with 56 ethnic groups. According to the constitution and the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Autonomy of Minority Nationality Regions, national autonomous regions were established in areas where minority groups lived in compact communities and regional autonomy is practiced there. The national autonomous areas includes autonomous regions, autonomous prefectures and autonomous counties. By the end of 2000, there have been 55 minorities in China and 153 national autonomous areas, including 5 autonomous regions, 30 autonomous prefectures and 118 autonomous counties (including two autonomous banner), were set up. The organs of self-government of national autonomous areas are the people’s congress and people’s government. These organs, apart from exercising the functions and powers of normal state bureaucracies, also exercise the functions and powers of self-government within the limits prescribed by the constitution and state laws.
It is an important autonomous right of the people’s congresses in the national autonomous areas to formulate autonomy regulation and separate regulation. Article 116 of the constitution, article 19 of the Regional National Autonomy Law and article 66 of the Legislation Law provides respectively that the people’s congress of the national autonomous areas has the power to enact autonomy regulations and specific regulations in the light of the political, economic and cultural characteristics of the nationality or nationalities in the areas concerned. The autonomy regulations and specific regulations shall be submitted to the Standing Committee of the NPC for approval before they go into effect. Those of autonomous prefectures and autonomous counties shall be submitted to the standing committee of the people’s congress of province or autonomous region for approval before they go into effect, and they shall be reported to the Standing Committee of the NPC for record. In addition, the Criminal Law, the General Principles of the Civil Law, Civil Proceeding Law, Marriage Law, Adoption Law also empower the people’s congresses and their standing committees in the national autonomous areas to lay down flexible regulation or complementary measures in conformance with the fundamentals of the law and local specific conditions.
Legislation of special economic zones
Special Economic Zones are the export development zones established by the PRC to encourage foreign investment in China during the initial stages of 1980’s when China began to carry out the policy of reform and opening up to the out world. In July 1979 the State Council approved of setting up development zones in Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou (cities in Guangdong Province) and Xiamen (a city in Fujian Province). In May 1980 these four development zones were renamed the special economic zones. They have special economic policies and management systems and enjoy considerable autonomy in managing their economies. In April 1988 the First Session of the Seventh NPC passed a resolution approving Hainan Island as the fifth special economic zone, where was allowed to practice more flexible and open economic policies than the others. In the drive for socialist modernization the five special economic zones are a medium for opening to the outside world and an experiment in the reform of China’s economic structure. In order to absorb more foreign investment, introduce foreign advanced techniques and managerial experiences and promote the development of special economic zones, the NPC has passed four decisions on authorizing the people’s congress and government of the special economic zone the legislative power to formulate economic regulations:
·Resolution of the National People’s Congress on Authorizing the People’s Congresses of Guangdong and Fujian Provinces and Their Standing Committees to Formulate Separate Economic Regulations for Their Respective Economic Zones (1981)
·Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Authorizing the People’s Congress of Shenzhen City and Its Standing Committee and the People’s Government of Shenzhen City to Formulate Regulations and Rules Respectively for Implementation in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (1992)
·Decision of the National People’s Congress on Authorizing the People’s Congress of Xiamen City and Its Standing Committee and the People’s Government of Xiamen City to Formulate Regulations and Rules Respectively for Implementation in the Xiamen Special Economic Zone (1994)
·Decision of the National People’s Congress on Authorizing the People’s Congresses of Shantou City and Zhuhai City and their Standing Committees and the People’s Governments of Shantou city and Zhuhai city to Formulate Regulations and Rules respectively for Implementation in Repective Special Economic Zones (1996)
|
