Top legislature sets year's priorities

Top legislator Li Zhanshu delivers the work report of the 13th NPC Standing Committee on May 25, 2020 in Beijing. [Photo by Feng Yongbin/China Daily]

Other work related to enforcement of the Constitution includes making a better interpretation of the Constitution, making progress in constitutional compliance inspection and promoting of public awareness of the Constitution, the report said.

Facing a challenging and complex international environment as well as formidable domestic development tasks, the top legislature has a busy legislative agenda this year.

Li said the NPC Standing Committee will prioritize public health legislation. "Drawing lessons from COVID-19 prevention and control efforts, we've formulated and implemented special plans for enacting or revising laws in an effort to strengthen the system of legal guarantees in the public health sector," he said, adding that a total of 30 related laws will be formulated or revised.

Zhang Yesui, spokesman for the ongoing NPC session, said on Thursday that the formulation or amendment of 17 laws is expected to be finished within the year, and 13 others will be updated in due course.

It is hoped that the draft biosecurity law will be submitted for adoption by the end of the year, he said. The law is aimed at guarding against biological risks, promoting the development of biotechnology and serving as a pillar of the country's biosafety system.

The Wildlife Protection Law will also be revised and reviewed in the second half of the year, Zhang said. The Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law and the Emergency Response Law will also be updated, according to the work report.