It’s thrilling to see how laws evolve over time

The 2,980 deputies at the first session of the 13th National People’s Congress can expect to discuss 10 items on the agenda over the next two-plus weeks, the meeting’s spokesman said on Sunday.

When I heard that impressive schedule at the news conference of the NPC, the nation’s top legislature, I was surprised and pleased, as it is the longest session with the richest content I’ve experienced in my three years of covering the event.

But the meeting this year is more than two days longer than the first session of the 12th NPC because an amendment to the Constitution, a draft to the supervision law and a reform of State institutions will be discussed by deputies.

With such a rich agenda, most reporters might just be thinking about all the upcoming deadlines and challenges to our physical and mental acuity. But for a journalist focusing on law for the past eight years, the contents of the following days are a treasure trove. The current Constitution was unveiled in 1982, six years before my birth, and during its four previous revisions, I was in school. That’s to say, it is my first time to witness the top legislative body amend the nation’s fundamental law.

Besides all that, I’ve grown up as the process of drafting the high-profile supervision law was taking place.

On March 4, 2017, I recorded the moment when it was revealed during the fifth session of the 12th NPC that the draft would be submitted to the NPC for review in 2018.

Later, I followed at bimonthly sessions of the NPC Standing Committee two discussions on the draft, the goal of which were to bolster efforts to fight graft and strengthen protection for suspects of corruption.

The two items on the agenda show the leadership’s rising need to govern the country by the rule of law.

By watching the NPC highlight the basic laws over the past few years — through its approval of the Charity Law in 2016 and the General Provisions of Chinese Civil Code in 2017 — I know strengthening the rule of law is on the way. Contact the writer at caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn