First, we must uphold the Party's leadership. The CPC is the leadership core for the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Upholding the Party's leadership is a basic prerequisite and fundamental guarantee for success in the work of people's congresses. All the work of people's congresses must contribute to improving the Party's leadership, consolidating the Party's position as the governing party and ensuring implementation of the Party's line, principles and policies.

Second, we must properly handle the relationship between people's congresses on the one hand and the people's governments, the people's courts and the people's procuratorates on the other. Overseeing the work of the people's governments, the people's courts and the people's procuratorates is one of the major powers granted to people's congresses in the Constitution and other laws. The oversight by people's congresses is oversight with the force of law carried out on behalf of the state and the people. Deputies to people's congresses must exercise their oversight power conscientiously, act in accordance with the law and prescribed procedures, uphold democratic centralism, exercise power collectively and decide on issues collectively. People's congresses are organs of state power that do not exercise administrative, judicial or procuratorial power in their oversight work. They coordinate the work of other organs of the state in the independent performance of their duties and responsibilities in accordance with the law and under the unified leadership of the Party.

Third, we must concentrate on the core tasks, identify priorities and strive for substantive results. The oversight work of people's congresses must all be closely related to the overall work of the Party and the government, and oversight efforts should be focused on issues that are of vital importance to overall reform, development and stability, draw wide public attention or affect social harmony. A combination of forms of oversight should be applied to resolve problems that are widespread or that indicate an unhealthy trend. People's congresses should constantly work to make their oversight work more focused and effective.

III. We will improve the quality of our work related to you and get you to fully play your role.

This Standing Committee attaches great importance to its work related to you. We have done a great deal of work over the past few years in giving you a greater role to play and improving the system of the Standing Committee in accordance with the guiding principles set out in Document No. 9 of the Central Committee. To date we have handled 2,976 bills and 23,232 proposals from you, issued more than 2,000 invitations to you to attend meetings of the Standing Committee, organized inspection tours and special research projects involving nearly ten thousand of you, and prepared 12 work-related documents. We greatly increased efforts to serve you well and gave you a bigger role to play. We will continue to follow the guiding principles set out in Document No. 9 during the new year, strive to improve the quality of our work related to you, get you to play a bigger role, and make continued progress in the work of the NPC.

We will further expand channels through which you interact with the people. We will support your active participation in activities organized by the bodies that selected you, improve the way activities for teams of deputies are organized, and increase contact and communication between you and deputies to local people's congresses at all levels. We will arrange more inspection tours and special research projects for you to help you maintain close contact with the people, fully understand the conditions of the people, fully reflect popular sentiment and pool the wisdom of a wide range of people.

We will further strengthen your role in legislation and oversight work. The Standing Committee will take into full consideration your bills and proposals when planning legislation and oversight work and working out meeting agendas. More of you who submit proposals or suggestions will be invited to participate in the drafting and deliberation of relevant bills and in inspections of compliance with the law, and we will fully take your proposals and suggestions into consideration. We will continue to improve the mechanism for having you attend meetings of the Standing Committee as non-voting participants. In accordance with the agenda of the meeting and your wishes, the Standing Committee will invite those of you who are familiar with the topic under discussion or are involved with the concerned area, especially deputies to people's congresses at lower levels, to attend meetings of the Standing Committee as non-voting participants. The Standing Committee should give full consideration to the comments and suggestions of these participants.

We will do even more to serve you well. Modern Internet technology will be fully utilized to keep you better informed about state affairs and developments and provide you with more information. We will give more training to you, carefully review your experience in performing your duties in accordance with the law and improve measures to ensure that you are able to play your role. The liaison office of the NPC will improve its work by providing careful and considerate service to you when the NPC is in recess.

Fellow Deputies,

Election of deputies to people's congresses is a matter of great importance in the improvement of China's socialist democratic politics. Starting in July of last year, new people's congresses at the county and township levels across the country will be elected at the same time in accordance with the provision of the amendment to the Constitution changing the term of township people's congresses from three years to five years. This change affects 900 million voters for more than 30,000 county and township people's congresses. All local governments are paying pay very close attention to this work, diligently following the arrangements of the Central Committee, and steadfastly acting in accordance with the law. The election of the new county and township people's congresses is proceeding smoothly. The election of new people's congresses at the level of cities divided into districts, autonomous prefectures, provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government will also be taking place during the second half of this year. A decision will be made at this session concerning the election of deputies to the Eleventh NPC and matters related to the election will be put on the agenda. Successfully carrying out elections of deputies to people's congresses is an important task for people's congresses at all levels and their standing committees. We must uphold the leadership of the Party, strongly advocate democracy, act strictly in accordance with the law and elect outstanding people who strictly obey the Constitution and other laws, maintain close ties with the masses, work hard to serve the people and enjoy their trust as deputies to people's congresses at all levels. This will provide a solid organizational guarantee for upholding and improving the system of people's congresses and bringing about a new phase in the work of people's congresses.

We need to actively carry out the foreign exchange work of the NPC this year in accordance with the basic principles and overall arrangements for China's foreign relations work. We need to carry out extensive exchange and cooperation activities with other parliaments and congresses, actively participate in Russia's Year of China activities and continue to fully play our role in international and regional parliamentary organizations, focusing on strengthening and improving the mechanism for regular exchanges with other parliaments and congresses, in order to create an excellent international environment for peaceful development and make our due contribution to promoting the development of a harmonious world.

We will continue to intensify the Standing Committee's self-improvement efforts. We need to firmly establish the concept of giving high priority to the Party, the overall situation, the people, democracy and the legal system, work more resolutely and conscientiously to uphold and improve the system of people's congresses, and constantly increase our ability to carry out our duties in accordance with the law and improve our actual performance in doing so. We will carry out extensive investigations and studies, diligently review our actual experience and widely publicize the work of the NPC. We will vigorously implement the fifth five-year plan to increase public awareness of the law in order to increase understanding of the legal system among the general public. We will continue to strengthen contacts with local people's congresses and work with them to improve socialist democracy and the socialist legal system. The organs of the Standing Committee should intensify all aspects of their self-improvement efforts, focusing on improving the political standards and professional skills of their cadres to more fully play their role as a collective adviser and assistant to the Standing Committee and their role in providing services to you.

Fellow Deputies,

Let us rally closely around the Central Committee with Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary, hold high the great banner of Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of Three Represents, fully put into practice the Scientific Outlook on Development, and demonstrate strong political fervor, be in excellent spirits and make outstanding achievements in our work to welcome a successful convening of the Seventeenth National Party Congress!

(Xinhua News Agency)