Cabinet officials to face inquiries

[Insighting]

Cabinet officials to face inquiries

China's top legislature will demand State Council officials to attend its regular legislative sessions to face inquiries and interrogations from legislators, a move to improve supervision of the central government.

"Inquiries and interrogations are legal means by which people's congresses oversee governments, courts and procuratorates," Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), said on Tuesday during his work report.

"This year, we will select some widely concerned issues and hear reports on those issues from relative State Council departments. Main leaders from those departments will be required to listen to suggestions and respond to inquiries and interrogations," he said.

This is the first time the top legislature has included "inquiries and interrogations of State Council officials" in its annual work report.
Experts said the change reflects the legislature's resolution to better supervise the government and get rid of the "rubber-stamp" image given by Western media. In their reports, China's NPC is generally described as weak and obedient especially in the face of a strong government.

Will this measure make NPC promote democratic process effectively?

[oliveryty]

Not effective enough.

We need to make all the representatives elected directly first.

The current system rules that provincial and national representatives are not directly elected by the people but by the lower people's assemblies. That is called "indirect election".

With so much "indirectness", how could the people's will reflected through the legislature?

[Momoko]

As someone said, in China, the people's representatives never represent the people.
Election system needs to be improved.