On March 30, 2018, the Eighteenth Expanded Study Session of the Seventh Party Committee of Hainan Province was held in Haikou City. At the study session Professor Sun Xianzhong, a research fellow at CASS Law Institute and a member of the Constitution and Law Commission of the Thirteenth National People’s Congress, gave a lecture entitled Conscientiously Studying the Constitution and Faithfully Implementing the Strategy of Ruling the Country by Law. The session, presided over by Mr. Li Jun, Vice Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, took the form of teleconference, held simultaneously at the main venue and 20 other different venues. It was attended by 20 members of the Party Committee and at the main venue and over 900 persons in other venues, including representatives from various departments under the provincial party committee, various organs under the provincial people’s government, various mass organizations, democratic parties, public institutions and state-owned enterprises, various commissions under the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Hainan Province, and students from various colleges and universities in the province.

In the lecture, Professor Sun pointed out that the Chinese Constitution is the basic law of the country, the fundament law by which the CPC governs the country, the basis of the legal work carried out by various state organs, as well as the basis for the exercise of rights by the people. The recent revision of the Constitution was a big event in the political life of China, a major decision made by the Central Party Committee with Xi Jinping as its core from the strategic high of adhering to and development socialism with Chinese characteristics in a new era, and a major institutional arrangement that guarantees the long-term stability of the country. This constitutional revision, which was the fifth since adoption of the 1982 Constitution, will become the solid foundation of state governance and provide long-term safeguard for political stability, economic prosperity and continuous improvement of people’s livelihood.

In the lecture, Professor Sun explained in a simple language such profound constitutional theoretical issues as the origin of the constitution, the problems the constitution tries to resolve, and the basic structure and characteristics of the Chinese Constitution, and introduced the main contents of the 1988, 1993, 1999, and 2004 amendments to the Chinese Constitution. He analyzed the changes in the Constitution after the 2018 amendments, and pointed out the significance of these amendments. Using a large number of vivid examples, Professor Sun helped the audience to understand the five key points in the constitutional amendments and called on them to make conscientious efforts in studying and implementing the Constitution.