China’s Premier Li Keqiang’s annual report ‘in league of its own’ with lowest number of objections from NPC deputies
The annual government report that Premier Li Keqiang submitted to deputies for their approval at this year’s National People’s Congress received the lowest number of objections out of all the reports at the annual plenary session.
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Among the 2,857 lawmakers it received only 27 vetoes, despite the nation facing its worst economic downturn for 25 years.
Vetoes against working reports when former premier Wen Jiabao was in office hit a high of 103 in 2013.
Those cast this year against reports by the top prosecutors’ office and the supreme court – usually among the highest out of all the reports – fell for a third year to their lowest levels for a decade.
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The supreme court received 208 vetoes compared with 213 last year.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate report had 239 objections; last year it had 284.
The 13th five-year plan received 53 objections, down by about 10 per cent on vetoes for the previous five-year plan in 2011.
China’s sole legislature house is criticised for doing little more than rubber-stamping the decisions of top Communist Party leaders, but is an authoritative way for people to gauge voters’ opinions.
