At the fifth session of the eleventh National People's Congress, the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Law has been a major issue. Enacted in 1979, then amended in 1996, this round of amendments comes under a new environment. Lv Yao reports on how China has been tailoring the judicial system to the current social setting over the past years.
在十一届全国人大五次会议上，修改《刑事诉讼法》是一项主要议题。《刑事诉讼法》1979年制定、1996年修订，这一轮的修订是在新环境下进行的。Lv Yao将报道过去几年里中国是如何根据现在的社会背景调整司法体系的。
China has been undergoing rapid economic and social development. To match this, a progressive criminal procedure law is also needed. Creating a harmonious society and protecting people are top priorities. And protecting human rights is clearly written into the draft amendment. Authorities at the NPC’s Law Work committee press conference on Thursday, called this a huge leap forward.
中国正在经历快速的经济、社会发展。为了适应这种发展，一部先进的刑事诉讼法也是必须的。构建和谐社会和保护人民是优先考虑的事。保护人权被清楚地写进修正案中。星期四，在全国人大法制工作委员会举行的新闻发布会上，权威人士称此为一大飞跃。
Lang Sheng, deputy director of NPC Law Work Committee said: "The new draft of the criminal procedure law is set to protect people and strengthen punishment for crimes, enhance public management, and it is a significant step to deepen reform of judicial institutions and execution, to face new social issues."
全国人大法制工作委员会郎胜称：“新的刑事诉讼法草案将保护人民，加大对犯罪的惩处，加强公共管理，这是加深司法机构、司法执行改革，正视新的社会问题的重要一步。”
But some contents sparked widespread discussions, such as the time frames for informing detainees’ families.
但是有些内容引起了广泛讨论，例如通知被拘留者家属的时间期限。
Lang said: "Families of detainees and people under home surveillance must be informed within 24 hours, except when they cannot be reached. Actually the draft has excluded most of the circumstances which family members can be kept in the dark. There are only two scenarios in which they need not be timely informed. One relates to cases endangering national security, and the other in activities engaging terrorism, for reasons of possible obstruction to investigations."
郎胜表示：“除了无法通知以外，必须在24小时内通知被拘留者和在家受监视人员的家属。事实上，该草案将家属被瞒住的大多数情形排除在外。只有两种情况不必及时通知家属。一种是涉嫌危害国家安全，另一种是恐怖活动，因为家属可能有碍侦查。”
Authorities also set some doubts straight, such as the so-call "secretly detained".
权威人士也立刻提出一些疑问，例如所谓的“秘密拘捕”。
Lang said: "In Chinese law, there is no such word as "secretly detained". Some people misinterpret it, when it comes to the scenarios of suspicious activities of endangering national security and engaging terrorist activities. According to the amendment, once the possible obstruction is lifted, family members would be reached as soon as possible. "
郎胜称：“在中国的法律中，没有‘秘密拘捕’这样的词。当涉及到危害国家安全和恐怖活动的可疑活动时，一些人就误解了。根据修正案，一旦可能的阻碍消除了，就会尽快通知家属。”
Other major points in the draft include improving the rights of defendants and prohibiting self-incrimination.
草案的其它要点包括改善被告的权利，禁止自证其罪。