In the People’s Republic of China, all power belongs to the people. The institutions through which the people exercise state power are the National People’s Congress and the various levels of local people’s congresses. The National People’s Congress is formed by democratic elections. It is composed of deputies elected by the provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and special administrative regions, as well as the armed forces. All minority ethnic groups are entitled to appropriate representation. The NPC is responsible to the people and subject to their supervision. The division of functions and powers among the central and local state institutions is made according to the principle of giving full range to the initiative and enthusiasm of the local authorities, under the unified leadership of the central government.
Therefore, due to the state nature of China and from the vertical national organ system perspective, the NPC is the highest organ of the state power as all administrative, judicial, and procuratorial bodies of the state are created by the people’s congresses, and they are responsible to and supervised by their respective congresses. Besides, there are special administrative regions in China, and the administrative system to be instituted in a special administrative region shall, in light of specific circumstances, be stipulated in laws enacted by the National People’s Congress.
The role of the National People’s Congress as the highest organ of state power is reflected in different areas. The National People’s Congress enjoys the highest legislation right as it may come up with the Amendment of the Constitution as well as formulate and amend fundamental laws related to criminal offences, civil affairs, state institutions, and other matters.
The National People’s Congress enjoys the highest power of appointing and/or removing the officials from the highest leadership such as the President and the Vice-President of the People’s Republic of China, the premier, vice-premiers, state councilors, ministers of the various ministries and commissions, the auditor general, and the Secretary General of the State Council, the Chairman of the Central Military Commission and other members of the commission, the President of the Supreme People’s Court and the Procurator General of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate.
The National People’s Congress has the highest supervisory power towards the enforcement of the Constitution and other laws and duty performance of the state organs.
The National People’s Congress is the highest decision maker as to the plans for national economic and social development and reports on the implementation of relevant plans, national budget and reports on the implementation of relevant budget, establishment of provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the central government, establishment of special administrative regions and the systems to be instituted therein and issues of war and peace.
Speaking of the law-making power of the NPC, it can be inferred from the aforesaid that it is one of the duties and functions enjoyed by NPC conferred by the Constitution which is the primary national law and has supreme legal authority.
According to Article 62 (1) and (3) of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, the National People’s Congress may amend the Constitution and formulate and amend fundamental laws related to criminal offences, civil affairs, state institutions, and other matters. It just reflects the highest authority enjoyed by the National People’s Congress in the field of legislation, as all the laws shall be made in compliance with the basic principles laid down in the Constitution, and fundamental laws will cover every the most important areas of the state, such as the state sovereignty, the establishment, organization and authority of the people’s congresses, people’s governments, people’s courts and people’s procuratorates, crimes and criminal punishment, the deprivation of political rights of citizens, or compulsory measures and penalties that restrict personal freedom, the establishment of tax categories, determination of tax rates, tax collection management and other basic taxation systems, the expropriation and requisition of non-state-owned assets, basic civil systems, the basic economic system and basic fiscal, customs, finance and foreign trading systems and litigation and arbitration systems. The only organ that has the right to enact and revise laws on all these aforesaid issues should be the National People’s Congress.