We strengthened follow-up oversight in a variety of ways to promote the comprehensive, balanced, and sustainable development of employment and social security programs. First, the NPC Chairperson's Council decided to have the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee make follow-up inspections after we heard and deliberated the State Council's report on developing the social security system in rural areas in April, and the Standing Committee heard and deliberated the report on follow-up inspections at its December meeting. Second, having investigated compliance with the Labor Contract Law in 2008, last year we heard and deliberated the State Council's reports on reforming and developing vocational education and promoting employment and reemployment. Third, in light of new circumstances and new problems arising as a result of the global financial crisis, last year we carried out a new round of inspections on compliance with the Trade Union Law last year on the basis of the compliance investigations we carried out in 2004. While fully affirming the positive progress achieved in these areas, members of the Standing Committee also made the following comments and suggestions. First, we need to increase government funding for social security in rural areas, establish a stable funding mechanism for rural social security, constantly improve the rural social security system in accordance with the principle of taking all factors into consideration, work hard to extend the new type of rural old-age insurance system to all rural residents, and promptly solve the problems of transferring basic old-age pension accounts for rural migrant workers moving from one region to another and providing social security for landless rural residents. Second, we need to conscientiously implement a more active employment policy; do our utmost to expand employment and promote reemployment, with the focus on college graduates, rural migrant workers, and the needy; further strengthen training in vocational skills; set up a sound mechanism to ensure funding for vocational education; and gradually make secondary vocational education free. Third, we need to make full use of the role of trade unions in safeguarding workers' legitimate rights and interests and keeping labor relationships stable, and promptly set up a wage negotiation mechanism with the participation of workers, a mechanism for regular pay increases, and a mechanism to ensure wages are paid on time.

In June 2009, the Standing Committee made special arrangements to hear and deliberate the State Council's report on recovery and reconstruction following the devastating earthquake that hit Wenchuan, Sichuan Province. Members of the Standing Committee fully endorsed the work done in the first stage of post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction and approved the work plan for the next stage. We emphasized that we need to put people's wellbeing first, stay firmly rooted in the specific conditions of areas devastated by the earthquake, have long-term development in mind, ensure quality and results, improve our planning and policies, and steadily press ahead with the recovery and reconstruction work. We need to put our efforts into building housing for quake-affected urban and rural residents, especially those with severe difficulties; intensify the recovery and reconstruction work on public facilities such as schools and medical and health institutions as well as infrastructure such as transport and water conservancy facilities; and quickly build the quake-stricken area into a desirable homeland where people live and work in peace and enjoy social harmony and prosperity.

Food safety is vital to people's health and lives and has drawn widespread attention from deputies to the NPC and all sectors of society. The Standing Committee attaches great importance to work in this area. Shortly after the Law on Food Safety was passed in February 2009, the Standing Committee began to check compliance with it throughout China and urged relevant departments to promptly formulate, sort out or improve supporting regulations, quickly draw up sound food safety standards, set up a risk monitoring and assessment mechanism for food safety, further improve the oversight and supervision system, strengthen food safety oversight capabilities, exercise scientific oversight and supervision of food from production to sale, and strive to improve the food safety situation. In addition, we checked compliance with the Stockbreeding Law and made important suggestions concerning preventing and controlling animal diseases, preventing drastic fluctuations in the price of livestock products, focusing on regulating the use of clenobuterol hydrochloride and sulfa-drug additives, supporting safe disposal of infected livestock and poultry, and the full utilization of resources.

In order to promote justice in the judicial system and ensure social fairness, every year the Standing Committee focuses on major problems of common concern to the people and strengthens oversight of the work of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate. In response to such problems as the difficulty of ensuring compliance with court decisions and dereliction of duty, infringements of rights, and criminal acts by employees of state organs, last year the Standing Committee heard and deliberated the report of the Supreme People's Court on strengthening the enforcement of civil law, maintaining authority in the legal system and justice in the judicial system, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate's report on strengthening procuratorial work regarding dereliction of duty and infringements of rights, promoting government administration in accordance with the law, and impartial justice. Members of the NPC Standing Committee gave a positive appraisal of the Supreme People's Court's and the Supreme People's Procuratorate's willingness to submit to the oversight of the NPC and their efforts to effectively clear long-pending cases of law enforcement and improve their work, and expressed the hope that courts and procuratorates at all levels would carry out judicial and procuratorial work for the people's benefit; improve the quality of judicial and procuratorial workers; intensify institutional improvements; standardize judicial and procuratorial actions; make greater efforts to enforce civil law and investigate and prosecute cases of dereliction of duty, infringements of rights, and criminal acts; safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of concerned parties; and ensure criminal behavior is prosecuted in accordance with the law.

3. Adhering to the basic state policy of conserving resources and protecting the environment, and promoting the work to address climate change

Climate change is a major challenge facing the whole of humankind. It is attracting increasing attention from countries around the world, and cooperation among the international community is needed to address it. Intensifying our efforts to address climate change is an inherent requirement for developing scientifically and for raising our ability to develop sustainably. There is widespread concern among NPC deputies and Standing Committee members on this issue. The Standing Committee further intensified its work in this area by passing a special resolution, hearing and deliberating special work reports, amending relevant laws, and participating in international cooperation.

In light of the new situation and requirements resulting from the need to respond to climate change, and on the basis of suggestions put forward by the Environment and Resources Protection Committee when it dealt with NPC deputies' proposals, the Standing Committee added two items to the agenda of its August meeting. One was to hear and deliberate the State Council's report on addressing climate change, and the other was for the NPC Standing Committee to pass a resolution on addressing climate change. These were important measures taken by the Standing Committee to respond to climate change. Members of the Standing Committee believe that China is a large responsible country that has always paid close attention to the problem of climate change and made enormous efforts to tackle it. China considers conserving resources and protecting the environment to be its basic state policies, and has made achieving sustainable development a national strategy. It has formulated laws and regulations pertaining to all areas affecting climate change, and adopted and implemented the National Climate Change Program. It has made conserving energy, reducing emissions, and increasing forest coverage binding targets in the national long- and medium-term development plan. It has adopted other related policies and measures, and made a positive contribution to slowing and responding to climate change. The Standing Committee's resolution further clarified the guiding thoughts, basic principles, and required measures of China's response to climate change; reiterated its principled stand that it will actively participate in international cooperation to address climate change; and emphasized the need to adhere to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. The resolution also stated that with a high sense of responsibility to the survival and long-term development of humankind, China is willing to work with the international community to promote complete, effective, and continuous implementation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol and make new contributions to address climate change. Before this, at its April meeting, the Standing Committee heard and deliberated the State Council's report on its progress in preventing and controlling air pollution, and demanded the State Council make accelerating economic restructuring and transformation of the pattern of economic development the fundamental policy for improving air quality, and ensure that the targets for reducing major air pollutants set forth in the 11th Five-Year Plan are reached. Last November the State Council called an executive conference to study and make arrangements for addressing climate change. At the conference, the State Council stated that it would decrease carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 40-45 percent from the 2005 level, raise the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 15 percent, and increase forest coverage by 40 million hectares and forest stock volume by 1.3 billion cubic meters over 2005 by 2020. In addition, the State Council stated it would incorporate these figures into China's long- and medium-term plan for national economic and social development as binding targets. All this was widely acclaimed in the international community, especially in developing countries.

The Standing Committee also intensified its legislative work for a green economy and a low-carbon economy in order to address climate change. On the basis of bills submitted by NPC deputies, the Standing Committee promptly revised the Law on Renewable Energy on the basis of an in-depth review of practical experience and extensive consultation with relevant parties. The revised law has further clarified the main content and principles for formulating plans for developing and using renewable energy; improved systems for drawing up, examining, approving, and filing such plans; created a national system based on law to guarantee the purchase of all electricity generated from renewable energy, a mechanism to compensate power grid operators who purchase such electricity, and a national fund for developing renewable energy. The revised law also requires power grid operators to increase their capacity for absorbing electricity generated from renewable energy. All this is of great significance for promoting sound and rapid development of China's renewable energy industry, adjusting its energy structure, and intensifying the development of a resource-conserving and environmentally friendly society.

We attach great importance to international exchanges and cooperation in addressing climate change and have made them an important component of the NPC's foreign relations work. During various types of occasions, such as receiving foreign visitors, visiting other countries on invitation, and hosting or attending international meetings, we have adopted a variety of means to widely publicize China's principled stand, policies, and measures, and give detailed accounts of the tremendous efforts we have made and the positive results we have achieved in fighting climate change. We worked hard to promote pragmatic cooperation in the areas of the low-carbon economy, renewable energy, and clean energy, established close communication and coordination with international parliamentary organizations and with national congresses or parliaments of other countries, deepened mutual understanding, increased cooperation and consensus, and promoted an atmosphere of cooperation in which all countries join hands in fighting global climate change.

4. Respecting the important position of NPC deputies and making better use of their role

Deputies to the NPC are members of the country's highest organ of state power. The NPC cannot perform its work well without giving full play to its deputies. We took upholding and improving the system of people's congresses as our starting point, respected the important role of deputies, and maintained an attitude of serving them. We further improved our work system, strived to improve the level of our services to deputies, supported deputies in the lawful exercise of their duties, ensured they were able to do so, and made better use of their role.

1) We diligently handled deputies' bills and proposals. We effectively combined the work of handling deputies' bills and proposals with Standing Committee work and ensured deputies fully played their role. Special committees dealt with 518 bills assigned to deputies by the Presidium of the Second Session of the 11th NPC. Of these bills, 13 involved six laws, all of which have been deliberated by the Standing Committee; 34 involved six laws that are now being deliberated by the Standing Committee; and 249 involved 42 legislative items that have been included in the legislative plan. Deputies made 7,426 proposals, comments and suggestions, and we have either resolved or made plans to resolve problems raised in 5,523 of them, 74.4 percent of the total.

2) We further expanded deputies' participation in the work of the Standing Committee and special committees. In order to hear all the comments and suggestions of deputies and increase the vitality of the NPC's work, the Standing Committee invites deputies and heads of groups of deputies making bills to attend its meetings as observers, and special committees invite deputies to attend their plenary meetings, special-topic meetings, forums, and debates. The Standing Committee also invites deputies from different backgrounds to participate in inspections on compliance with laws and investigations and studies on special topics. More than 400 deputies participated in these activities last year. Deputies attending meetings as observers and participating in such activities carefully prepared in advance and actively contributed to the discussions. This gave the people a voice and played an important role in improving the quality of the work of the Standing Committee and special committees.

3) We continued to improve services to deputies. We organized inspection tours for more than 1,800 deputies and investigations and studies on special topics for over 1,900 others. These activities resulted in more than 100 reports. We arranged for deputies from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan to go on inspection tours and carry out investigations and studies on the mainland. We formed 264 deputy activity groups, and held six training sessions on special topics for more than 1,200 deputies. We improved our work of ensuring that deputies receive the services they require.

5. Continuing to comply with and serve the country's overall diplomatic work and increasing the NPC's foreign contacts

The NPC's foreign contacts are an important component of the country's overall diplomatic work. We continued to comply with and serve the country's overall diplomatic work, took the particular nature of the NPC's foreign contacts as our starting point, strengthened and improved the mechanism of regular exchanges with national congresses and parliaments of other countries, and strengthened our friendly foreign contacts at all levels. All this made a positive contribution to extending the important period of strategic opportunities for China's development and promoting the building of a harmonious world with lasting peace and prosperity for all.

We successfully hosted the third meeting of the cooperation council consisting of the NPC, the Russian Federation Council, and the State Duma of Russia. The two sides reached an important consensus on strengthening their cooperation under the new circumstances and noted that their contacts should enhance mutual political trust, safeguard common interests, promote pragmatic cooperation and a common response to the global financial crisis, and carry on a lasting friendship, and lay a solid social foundation for Sino-Russian relations. We promptly invited the leader of the new U.S. Congress to visit China, and successfully organized the first official visit to the United States by a chairman of the NPC Standing Committee in the past two decades, both of which were highly significant for promoting contacts between the two congresses and developing Sino-U.S. relations. The two sides exchanged views on contacts between them, Sino-U.S. relations, and other important issues of common concern. Both sides agreed that they should maintain close contact, strengthen exchanges on a regular basis, conduct multilevel friendly exchanges, deepen frank and open dialogue, expand mutual political trust, promote pragmatic cooperation, and be constructive forces for promoting the sound, steady development of Sino-U.S. relations. We deepened our exchanges with the national parliaments and congresses of Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Egypt, and Chile as well as with the European Parliament through the mechanism of regular exchanges, and at the same time successfully began exchanges with the French National Assembly and the Italian Senate under the same mechanism.

In accordance with the overall arrangements of the Standing Committee, members of the Chairperson's Council, special committees, executive organs of the Standing Committee, and bilateral friendship groups improved their high-level contacts and exchanges in their specific fields with national parliaments and congresses of other countries; deepened their work related to leaders of these parliaments and congresses, their members, and aides to these members; and achieved excellent results. We also actively engaged in multilateral diplomatic activities among parliaments and congresses and played a constructive role in the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum, the Latin American Parliament, and other international and regional parliamentary organizations.

During our dealings with foreign contacts, especially those with Western parliaments and congresses, we repeatedly pointed out that it is entirely understandable that different countries have different views, even disagreements, on some issues due to the differences in their history, culture, stages of development, social systems, and ideology. Countries with disagreements may sit down and talk about them, and if they are temporarily unable to reach agreement then they can at least increase their mutual understanding. Disagreements should not become obstacles to cooperation; nor can they be allowed to serve as a pretext for interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. We believe in promoting democracy in international relations, respecting the diversity of the world and the rights of peoples of all countries to independently choose their development paths, and refraining from interfering in other countries' internal affairs and imposing one's will upon others. We oppose the support or disguised support for separatist forces advocating the independence of Taiwan and Tibet, and the "East Turkistan" separatist forces under the pretext of freedom of speech and religious beliefs to interfere in China's internal affairs. We remain committed to developing friendly cooperation with all countries based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. We stress that mutual respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity and respect and consideration for each other's core interests are the political bases upon which China establishes and develops relations with foreign countries and international organizations. On this point, we will never change.

6. Adhering to the correct political orientation and continuing to strengthen self-development

The Standing Committee is the permanent organ of the NPC, and it has been assigned important responsibilities by the Constitution and laws. Intensifying its self-development efforts is of the utmost importance for better exercising its power, fulfilling its responsibilities, and doing its work well.

We continued to give top priority to ideological and political development, adhered to the correct political orientation throughout the performance of the NPC's functions in accordance with the law, reached a thorough understanding of the essential differences between our country's system of people's congresses and Western capitalist countries' systems of political power, and constantly became more purposeful and resolute in keeping to the socialist path of political development with Chinese characteristics and in upholding and improving the system of people's congresses. At the same time, we carried out capacity building and institutional development. First, we continued to provide training for NPC deputies on how to carry out their duties, organized regular group study sessions, and held lectures on the topics of each Standing Committee meeting. In light of their work, all Standing Committee members learned from the people, past experience, and experts and worked hard to understand relevant problems in the course of formulating laws, adopting resolutions, deliberating and approving work reports, and carrying out inspections on compliance with laws. Second, we strengthened investigations and studies, stayed firmly grounded in our legislative and oversight work, visited community-level organizations, and acquired an understanding of particular conditions. We focused on widespread problems that indicate an unhealthy trend, and strove to identify their root causes, provide reasonable solutions based on good grounds, and make practicable decisions. This both improved the quality of the Standing Committee's work and prompted other parties to improve their work. Third, we improved our work system. We promptly revised the procedural rules of Standing Committee meetings, further standardized the order of procedures, and raised the efficiency of procedures at meetings. We made use of the activities celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of New China and the 10th anniversary of the implementation of the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region to extensively publicize the socialist path of political development with Chinese characteristics, the system of people's congresses, and the principle of "one country, two systems," and to vigorously expand and deepen publicity of the NPC's work.

The special committees of the NPC have capable personnel, a rich fund of knowledge, and a wealth of experience. They made full use of these unique features and strengths; focused on the central tasks of the NPC and its Standing Committee; carried out investigations and studies to attain a deep understanding of particular circumstances, earnestly researched, deliberated, and drafted bills; strengthened their communication and coordination with other parties; enhanced cooperation among themselves; and made a large number of valuable comments and suggestions; thereby effectively raising the overall level of the Standing Committee's work.

Taking advantage of the opportunity created by consolidating achievements in the campaign to thoroughly study and apply the Scientific Outlook on Development, and taking improving Party building as their fulcrum, the organs of the NPC improved their work systems; comprehensively invigorated their own development; fully aroused the enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity of their employees; and expanded their role in collectively providing advice, assistance, and service.

Last year was the 30th anniversary of the founding of standing committees of local people's congresses at and above the county level. Their founding was an important measure for improving the system of local political power as well as a major development and improvement in our country's system of people's congresses. We hosted forums and a variety of other commemorative activities to review and exchange successful experiences and practices in strengthening and improving the work of local people's congresses, and further strengthened our ties with them. The Standing Committee invited leading members of the standing committees of people's congresses of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government to attend all its meetings as observers, and earnestly listened to their comments and suggestions. We also promptly informed these local standing committees of related developments. Local people's congresses and their standing committees have long fully supported and closely cooperated with the NPC Standing Committee in carrying out its legislative, oversight, deputy-related, and foreign relations work, and worked with it to constantly carry its work forward.