Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Zhang Dejiang, delivered a work report at the Third Plenary meeting of the 13th NPC First Session. He reviewed the major achievements made by the 12th NPC and its standing committee over the past five years. Zhang highlighted national security legislation as one of the major legislative achievements during that time. Our reporter Hou Na reports from the Great Hall of the People.

A quick look back at China's legislative work over the past five years.

Top Legislator Zhang Dejiang told lawmakers that the 12th NPC and its Standing Committee enacted 25 new laws. They also made 127 law revisions, 45 decisions involving major law issues, and 9 legal interpretations.

ZHANG DEJIANG, CHAIRMAN NPC STANDING COMMITTEE "The NPC and its Standing Committee shoulders heavy responsibilities in building China into a socialist country governed by rule of law. We must understand that, to ensure the law-based governance of China, we must first ensure governance of the country based on the Constitution. We must tailor legislation to meet the needs of reform and development, ensuring reform is advanced under the rule of law, and the rule of law is improved through reform."

Since 2012, legislation in major sectors such as national security and ecological civilisation has been greatly strengthened. Laws regarding national security cover areas such as anti-terrorism, network security and national intelligence. These are not merely quantitative changes, but also qualitative ones.

SI FUCHUN NPC DEPUTY "The National Security Law is very important to our nation, as it lays out a strong legal guarantee for safeguarding China's national security."

Significant changes were also made to ecological legislation, with nearly 20 laws or amendments carried out. They include regulations on environmental protection, water pollution prevention, and preserving wildlife.

WU QIUBEI NPC DEPUTY "Legislation on environmental protection and poverty alleviation are very important to our daily lives. That's a highlight of our legislative work."

New laws were also created in the arts and culture sector. This includes the Film Industry Promotion Law, the first national law regulating China's film industry. The Standing Committee also passed the first Public Library Law -- which standardizes many services in public libraries around the country. These laws are based on the actual needs and development trends of China's cultural industry, amending the legal shortcomings in this field.

HOU NA BEIJING "From the national security law to environment protection law, the NPC Standing Committee have encouraged the legislative bodies to play a greater role in voicing, balancing and adjusting the interests all sectors of society and so as to build the greatest possible consensus when it comes to legislation. HOU NA, CGTN, BEIJING"