The 2023 China Democratic League Forum on the Rule of Law was held in Suining, Southwest China's Sichuan province, on Oct 10. Themed legal guarantee for green development, the forum highlighted the importance of judicial protection of the country's development of ecological civilization. 

Wang Guangqian, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and executive vice-chairman of the Central Committee of the China Democratic League (CDL), attended and addressed the opening ceremony.

Wang said that ecological civilization is an important field for overall law-based governance in the country, and the philosophy that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" should be integrated into the entire process of legislation, the administration of justice, and law enforcement. 

He noted that the fundamental and supportive role of the rule of law in safeguarding ecological civilization should be fully leveraged and efforts should be made to systematize ecological legislation and accelerate the research and compilation of environmental code. He also called for more institutional innovation and the establishment of a regular evaluation and revision mechanism for laws and regulations related to ecological environment. 

The CDL will make promoting the modernization of the ecological environment governance system and capacity one of its key tasks in participating in State affairs and fulfilling its duties, contributing wisdom and strength to advancing the rule of law in China's ecological civilization development, Wang added.

The meeting drew representatives from the Committee on Population, Resources and Environment of the CPPCC National Committee, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Sichuan Provincial Government, the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the CPPCC, and the relevant CDL provincial committees. They exchanged ideas on the legal path for green transformation, governance for pollution prevention and control, and the rule of law's role in efforts to achieve the carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals.