Xinhua comment: Solemn oath to strengthen Constitution awareness

The National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee voted through the Constitution oath regulation and released the wording of the oath on July 1.

Formalizing the oath in legislation and requiring it in political life will enhance awareness of the Constitution in government personnel and society generally, and promote rule of law in the country.

The Constitution is the fundamental law of a state; it constitutes the general rules for national issues and bears the highest legal status, authority and effect. It’s a spirit of the law put into practice. Establishing a Constitution oath by regulation demonstrates the sublime status of the Constitution.

Swearing to the Constitution means the State personnel publicly promise to adhere to the fundamental law of the state, which will focus their understanding of the Constitution and impel them to be faithful to, comply with and safeguard it. The solemn and divine oath-taking ceremony will enable the oath-taker to sense the sublimity of the Constitution, bearing in mind that power comes from the people.

To date, our country has made great achievements through its socialist legal system, which has become an important guarantee for the country’s healthy development. Upholding and abiding by the law has become consensual. However, some people have a dimmed awareness of the law; they do not understand it or, although they know it, they still violate the law. Therefore, the laws’ spirit should deeply enter people’s hearts. The people must understand the law, actively obey and utilize it, and then believe in it; this is the inevitable way to build a legal state.

Our ancestors once put forward the idea of “unity of theory and practice”, meaning literally understanding, spiritually acknowledging, and manifesting in action. The State personnel’s taking an oath to the Constitution displays unity. As the special group wielding power according to law, they should play a leading role, gaining an awareness of the Constitution, abiding by its principles, and advocating the Constitution’s spirit to fulfill its mission.

The establishment of a National Constitution Day and the oath-taking regulation show the unity of the country’s will and its people’s expectation. We should all respect the Constitution and consciously strengthen public awareness of it, making a belief in law the unshakeable cornerstone of our society.