ABSTRACT
Since 1978, the growth of law in China, like that of the economy, has been remarkable. When the post-Mao reforms began in 1978, there were virtually no law or any functioning legal institutions in China; the only 'laws' were a few statutes and some provisional regulations or orders drawn up in the 1950s. Today, a relatively independent legal system exists and functions throughout China. In terms of lawmaking, from 1979 to the end of 1998, the National People's Congress (NPC) and its Standing Committee had promulgated 351 statutes and resolutions. During the same period of time, the State Council had adopted more than 800 administrative regulations while over 6,000 local rules were issued by local people's congresses and their standing committees (People's Daily, 1999).
