Constitution Day marked by education, awareness

China on Thursday observed its inaugural national Constitution Day, marked by educational efforts to help citizens understand the fundamental law of the land.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called for greater awareness of the Constitution and better understanding of the law's role when speaking ahead of Constitution Day on Wednesday.

Xi said he wants Constitution Day to teach people about the highest law so that the Constitution can be fully implemented.

Law experts and educators said the day is significant in increasing people's awareness of the Constitution and their own rights.

A day for the young

School students across the country read the Constitution on Thursday morning.

Headmasters were required to organize a Constitution study session for teachers or deliver lectures to students on the day, according to a circular issued by the Ministry of Education.

Fan Luyan, headmaster of the Beijing Jingshan School, told Xinhua after a reading ceremony that the day was very important as it helps teachers and students realize that the Constitution and nation's laws are connected with their lives.

In the past, students believed the Constitution and laws were adult matters and had nothing to do with them, according to Fan.

Fan said educating children and teenagers on the Constitution will help them grow into law-abiding citizens.

Fan's opinion was echoed by Xie Xiaojun, a vice headmaster of the No.165 high school in Beijing, who said the educational activities on Thursday not only increased the students' understanding of the Constitution, but also deepened his own knowledge about the fundamental law.

Jingshan School also invited law experts to give lectures to students on the Constitution on Thursday.

Fang Jingyuan, an 11-grade student in the school, said the activities helped her learn about her rights and responsibilities as a citizen.

Han Dayuan, dean of the law school of Renmin University of China, said since the role of the Constitution covers a person's entire life, education on the fundamental law from an early age is necessary and important.

A day to nurture respect for the constitution

Lin Laifan of the law school of Tsinghua University said, "Fully implementing the Constitution is the primary objective and a basic task for building a socialist country under rule of law."

He said the day is important because it is conducive to nurturing an atmosphere of respecting and upholding the Constitution.

According to Han, awareness of the Constitution among many civil servants, including officials, is weak, which has led to disoriented social values and disrespect for the Constitution.

Observing Constitution Day and requiring government officials to pledge their allegiance to the Constitution before taking office are concrete measures to raise their awareness.

For ordinary people, the day was also significant because the Constitution protects citizens' basic rights, according to Lin.

Lin added that citizens should use the Constitution to participate in the supervision of public power and safeguard their legal rights.

According to Li Shishi, director of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, some local regulations or regulations issued by ministries have contradicted the Constitution.

The official said an inspection system will be enhanced to prevent contradictory regulations, and channels will be set up to help people report such regulations.

The Constitution was adopted on Dec. 4, 1982, and the day used to be observed as "national legal system publicity day."

The idea to observe a national Constitution Day was put forward at a Communist Party of China (CPC) meeting in October on the rule of law.

Top legislator Zhang Dejiang told a symposium on the Constitution on Wednesday that the purpose of the day was to firmly establish the authority of the Constitution and ensure its full implementation.

Zhang called on all authorities to enhance legal consciousness and put the Party's cause, the people's interest, the Constitution and laws first in mind.

He asked the authorities to reorganize the legal system with a focus on the Constitution.

On the first Constitution Day, Meng Jianzhu, secretary of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, visited the Supreme People's Court, urging the country's judges to make full use of the principle of the rule of law to fulfil their duty and promote justice.

"Concrete actions should be taken to show the people that the law doesn't tolerate emotions or favor the rich and powerful, and more efforts are needed to boost judicial justice and the credibility of law enforcement," Meng said.

The inaugural day was set up last month following a key CPC meeting that adopted decisions that stressed the supreme authority of the Constitution, and promised wide ranging changes to the judicial system.