On Re-Socialisation of Legislatures: A Comparative Analysis

The growing professionalisation and committee domination of legislation, as well as the development of internet weaken the legislature-social linkage, making it a common threat to the legislatures worldwide, including China's People's Congress. In rebuilding the linkage, legislatures of many countries tried to establish legislative media, offer education service to young person, and engage in outreach activities. Those endeavours illustrate their attempt to set up a new "legislature-society" relationship, rather than the traditional "parliamentarian-voter" linkage. The cases examined in this paper offer new ideas to the development of the People's Congress. They also show the importance of enhancing Chinese legislature's social impact.