Nearly 27,900 public opinions gathered by outreach offices of China's top legislature

HANGZHOU, May 30 (Xinhua) -- As of April, primary-level legislative outreach offices set up by the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee have gathered nearly 27,900 public opinions on draft laws, the commission said on Thursday.

The data was revealed at a conference held in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province.

Adhering to the principle of whole-process people's democracy in legislation, the NPC standing committee, China's top legislature, has established several channels to boost people's participation in lawmaking, including legislative outreach offices.

The first four such offices were established by the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee in 2015, and the number has reached 45 so far.

According to the conference, there are over 10,630 supporting institutions for these outreach offices, including more than 5,630 for legislative information collection.

Additionally, a dual selection mechanism for soliciting opinions on draft laws has been established. This mechanism allows outreach offices to choose which drafts they wish to review and provide feedback before the laws are submitted for public opinion, according to the conference.