Top Beijing adviser promotes role for consultants

Legislation is the turf of the people's congress, so how can the political advisory body play a part in lawmaking?

Ji Lin, chairman of the Beijing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said legislative consultation is the answer.

This means that legal drafts of the legislature are made open to the suggestions and critiques of the political advisers before becoming final, Ji told China Daily.

"It should be a systematic arrangement. It should be a rule that the political advisory body has a voice in the process of making either laws by the legislature or regulations by the government," Ji said.

"We are on our way to cementing such a rule, which will be completed in the second half of this year."

A landmark statute on air pollution control in Beijing, enacted earlier this month, is a showcase of how political advisers play a role in lawmaking, he said.

To address long-festering complaints about choking smog that regularly blankets Beijing's skies, the Beijing People's Congress decided to lay out a special law in 2013.

It was the first time in 13 years that the Beijing Municipal People's Congress exercised its legislative power to review the draft of the anti-air-pollution law.

"In the past, a few political advisers had been asked to advise each time when a law was drafted, but not on a large scale," Ji said.

"When it comes to legislation on air pollution control, everyone wants to have a say. How could the political advisers' voices be unheard?"

The National Committee of the CPPCC consists of elite figures from diverse backgrounds who are willing to serve as a think tank for the government and for the country's legislative and judicial organs.

Likewise, its Beijing committee, of which Ji is chairman, consists of 758 members who are either environmental specialists, lawyers, religious figures or economists, representing all walks of Beijing society, ranging from business communities to religious circles in 32 categories.

With its broad representation, the advisory body can play a unique role in advising government and aiding legislation, Ji said.

He said that when the draft of the air pollution bill was delivered to the municipal advisory body for suggestions, nearly 98 percent of the advisers joined in the debate and deliberation.

Ji asked 30 legal and environmental experts to form a team to screen the 900 revisions and suggestions submitted by the political advisers.

As a result, the municipal legislature made 83 changes to 61 articles of the anti-air-pollution statute.