People should be granted rights so they can participate fully in legislation, says an article in Beijing Youth Daily. An excerpt follows:
Looking back on all the legislation made in Beijing last year, the most fascinating and impressive was undoubtedly the local rules for the implementation of the Road Traffic Safety Law, which had involved the active participation of people from all walks of life.
People's voices, either nagging or suggestive, should be expressly demonstrated in public hearings; in addition, their voices should also be heard in intangible "public hearings" like newspapers, radio programmes and Internet forums. These voices are weighing heavier and heavier in the adjustment and passage of some laws.
In recent years, laws and regulations that have had most to do with people's lives and interests, such as the marriage law and traffic regulations, have been met with hottest public discussions.
The revised Road Traffic Safety Law has added some new regulations which will bring substantial changes to the existing liability system. If Beijing's local implementation of the law does not change accordingly, it will be difficult for the municipality to abide by the national law.
As people's voices are heard during law-making, their opinions are pooled together, the public will express themselves and various interests will be balanced. Backed with draft regulations over compulsory third-party insurance, the implementation of the new traffic law is granted with broader social consensus and guarantees.
The opinions of people from different interest groups should be considered in legislation procedures.
(China Daily January 27, 2005)
