Two decades passed before China’s law making endeavors found a historic turning point. Pioneering the serial changes was an improved system of legislative power definition. The amendments to the Law on Local Organization in 1982 and 1986 extended local legislative powers further to provincial capital cities, the people’s congresses and their standing committees of municipalities and large cities at the approval of the State Council.

Two decades passed before China’s law making endeavors found a historic turning point. Psychologically, the nation was calling for the rule of law after suffering a long turmoil during 1966-76. The resolutions of the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee brought about actual changes. Drawing lessons from the past, the Party assembly in 1978 decided to put on the agenda the building of a socialist democracy and the drive for legalization. China’s legislative endeavors then started a new page.

Pioneering the serial changes was an improved system of legislative power definition. The Law on Local Organization, passed in 1979, paved the way for restructuring China’s legislative system. The law empowered the provincial people’s congresses and their standing committees to draw up their local rules and regulations.

The 1982 amendment to the Constitution, however, not only confirmed the achievements of the Law on Local Organizational, but propelled them further. The amendment prescribes that:

• The National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee exercise the national legislative powers jointly;
• The State Council is entitled to enact administrative acts;
• The ministries and commissions under the State Council can draw up relevant rules and regulations;
• The ethnic autonomous localities are enabled to make their own acts and special rules.

The amendments to the Law on Local Organization in 1982 and 1986 extended local legislative powers further to provincial capital cities, the people’s congresses and their standing committees of municipalities and large cities at the approval of the State Council. The amendments provided local governments with actual powers to draw up rules and regulations of their authoritative competency. The NPC and its Standing Committee were enabled to delegate the State Council and local governments to enact special statutes. As Hong Kong and Macao returned to China in 1997 and 1999, respectively, legislation of both special administrative districts added new elements to the legislative power definition system.

The constitutional Law on Legislation, passed in March 2000, accepted all these changes as parts of the country’s legislative institution. The law defined the ownership of national legislative powers, as well as the powers to enact government administrative acts, local rules and regulations, autonomous regional acts, special statutes, procedures, delegate legislations, and laws of the special administrative districts.