人民网北京6月17日电，近日陆续公开的重庆不雅视频案落马厅官雷政富减刑，前首富、国美创始人黄光裕减刑消息，让“减刑”再度受到舆论关注。数据显示，目前全国减刑、假释案件一年有60多万件。据新华社《瞭望东方周刊》2011年报道，中国在押犯每年至少有20%至30%获得减刑。其中政商界减刑案亦不在少数，如原铁道部部长刘志军、武警少将吕文彦、薄谷开来由死缓减为无期；广东省委统战部原副部长黄少雄、辽阳市公安局原副局长富龙由无期减为有期；原足协副主席南勇、杨一民刑期变短等，均轰动一时。

我国法律规定，减刑只能适用于特定对象。依照刑法第78条之规定，被判处管制、拘役、有期徒刑、无期徒刑的犯罪分子，在执行期间，如果认真遵守监规，接受教育改造，确有悔改表现的，或者有立功表现的，可以减刑。《最高人民法院关于办理减刑、假释案件具体应用法律若干问题的规定》对“确有悔改表现”、应当认定为有“立功表现”的具体情形，以及相应的减刑幅度等都作出明确规定。此外，法院对于“三类罪犯”(职务犯、金融犯、涉黑犯)的减刑假释，在起始期、间隔期、减刑幅度和审理程序方面相比于普通罪犯都有更严格的要求。

According to another introduction, it is most important for prisoners to obtain commutation in prison. The actual performance is divided into five aspects: basic norms, labor norms, learning norms, living hygiene norms, civilized manners norms, etc. Each aspect has a clear quantitative assessment standard, which is assessed by the prison area every day, studied every week, and evaluated every ten days. According to the total score of the five aspects, it is converted into reward points every month according to the principle of high to low, and the reward points are accumulated month by month. After reaching a certain score, the administrative reward is evaluated, and the prisoner can declare the commutation according to the number of administrative rewards he has obtained. A prisoner who has received a major meritorious service award shall have his sentence reduced.

The reporter combed the cases of commutation of political and business sentences in recent years and found that good performance, active reform, praise, invention patents, publication of articles, participation in cultural and sports activities, exposure of others, and no intentional crime during the suspended execution of death penalty can all be used as the basis for commutation.

Lei Zhengfu.

Reason for commutation: active repentance for labor reform

In November, 2012, Lei Zhengfu, the official of the Falling Horse Hall in Chongqing indecent video case, was sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment for accepting bribes. China Judgment Document Network recently announced that Lei Zhengfu, the former secretary of Beibei District Party Committee, was awarded three administrative awards for his repentance during his prison term, and he was able to seriously abide by laws, regulations and prison rules, accept education and reform, and complete production tasks well. He was sentenced to reduce his fixed-term imprisonment by 10 months according to law.

Similar to Lei Zhengfu’s case, recently, the website of Fujian Higher People’s Court released a message that Lv Wenyan, a major general of the Armed Police, was sentenced to death with a suspended sentence of 20 million yuan, which has been reduced to life. The reason given by the court for Lv Wenyan’s commutation is: it was found through trial that during the suspended execution of the death penalty, Lv Wenyan, a criminal, could plead guilty and repent, abide by laws and regulations, abide by the Code of Conduct for Prisoners, participate in all kinds of education, get qualified grades, actively participate in labor and strive to complete labor tasks.

Liang Yongxiang, former vice president and executive director of Jiangmen Intermediate People’s Court, was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for accepting bribes in March 2012, and his property was confiscated by 100,000 yuan. While serving his sentence in prison, Liang Yongxiang won 25 awards for his efforts to complete the production task. In September 2013, he was named as a reform activist. For this reason, the prison proposed to reduce his sentence and obtained the approval of the court, reducing his imprisonment by 11 months.

Reason for commutation: to be rewarded for voluntarily paying the penalty.

Huang Guangyu, the founder of Gome, who was imprisoned in November 2008, was convicted of illegal business operation, insider trading and unit bribery. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison, fined 600 million yuan and confiscated 200 million yuan of property. The Beijing No.2 Intermediate People’s Court issued a criminal ruling at the end of last month. During his sentence, Huang Guangyu, a criminal, was rewarded by prison reform activists for the second time, and his sentence was reduced by 11 months. In addition, Huang Guangyu has voluntarily paid fines and confiscated some personal property totaling RMB 800 million, and turned over illegal income of RMB 23,669,400.

In 2014, Hebei Women’s Prison explained the media report that "Tian Wenhua, the former chairman of Sanlu, commuted his sentence". Since April 2, 2009, the criminal Tian Wenhua has served his sentence in Hebei Women’s Prison. During his prison term, the criminal was able to plead guilty and obey the law, abide by the prison rules and discipline, actively participate in study, education and labor reform, and was awarded three times for merit assessment. He was named as an activist of prison level reform in 2010, and he did show repentance. In November 2011, the Higher People’s Court of Hebei Province ruled that his sentence was reduced from life imprisonment to fixed-term imprisonment of 19 years and deprivation of political rights to 6 years. After commutation, Tian was rewarded with many times for his good performance in reform, and there was no violation of discipline. In May 2014, the Intermediate People’s Court of Shijiazhuang City ruled that he was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison.

Wang Jianzhong, a "stock market Darkmouth", was sentenced to 7 years’ imprisonment and fined more than 125 million yuan for the crime of manipulating the securities market in August 2011. In December, 2014, the Beijing Public Security Bureau suggested that Wang Jianzhong be given an 11-month sentence reduction on the grounds that he had won two awards from activists in detention center reform. The Beijing No.2 Intermediate People’s Court found through trial that Wang Jianzhong was "able to plead guilty and repent and receive education and reform during his prison term. From July 2012 to July 2014, he won two awards from activists of detention center reform, and finally decided to reduce Wang Jianzhong’s sentence by 10 months.

黄光裕。

减刑理由之：获得表扬

2012年8月19日，薄谷开来因犯故意杀人罪被判处死刑，缓期二年执行，剥夺政治权利终身。2015年法院裁定将罪犯薄谷开来死刑缓期二年执行的刑罚减为无期徒刑。其服刑的司法部燕城监狱的提请减刑建议书称，该犯在服刑期间能够遵守监规纪律，按照《监狱服刑人员行为规范》要求自己；参加思想、文化、技术学习，成绩合格；在劳动中，服从分配，按时完成劳动任务。在死刑缓期执行考验刑期执行期间，没有故意犯罪。在司法部燕城监狱于2013年5月、2013年11月、2014年5月共获表扬3次。

足坛反赌案要犯——中国足协原副主席杨一民在服刑期间，于2012年11月至2013年10月共获得表扬4次，还在狱中写了认罪悔罪书。鉴于此，燕城监狱向北京市二中院提出减刑建议，北京市二中院审理认定，杨一民“能认罪悔罪，认真遵守监规纪律，服从管理，积极参加学习，表现较好，确有悔改表现，依法予以减刑”。

On April 26th, 2011, Lu Jinchang, the former deputy commander of the development and construction headquarters in the northern part of Kunming, was sentenced to life imprisonment at first instance for accepting bribes and misappropriating public funds. In June 2013, the prison said that Lu Jinchang had won three praises and two special praises, and was rated as a sick prisoner due to illness. His life imprisonment was changed to 19 years and 9 months’ imprisonment.

Reason for commutation: invention patent

Nan Yong, the former vice chairman of the Football Association and director of the Football Management Center of the State Sports General Administration, was arrested by the Liaoning procuratorate in March 2010 and sentenced to 10 years and 6 months in prison in 2012, and fined RMB200,000. On December 9, 2014, the Beijing No.2 Intermediate People’s Court pronounced a sentence in court, and ruled that Nan Yong was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment. One of the reasons for the commutation was that Nan Yong invented four patents during his prison term and was praised by the prison. According to the patent inquiry system of China National Intellectual Property Administration China, Nan Yong’s four patents are: a soccer shooting practice device, a portable goal, a mobile terminal support frame and a desktop computer display assembly.

Liang Jianxing, the former secretary of the Party Committee and director of the Health Bureau of Fenghua City, Zhejiang Province, was sentenced to prison for accepting bribes in 2008. As of November 2014, a total of 11 inventions have obtained national patent certification in about six years. Its patents include an eye massager, a disposable nose sleeve for preventing PM2.5, and a pill counter. In 2011, Liang Jianxing received a one-year and three-month sentence reduction for his good performance in prison.

Lou Weigang, the former deputy director of the Transportation Bureau of a city in Sichuan Province, has been in prison since 2006. During his prison term, he cooperated with his inmates to invent two items, namely, the wall-mounted cigarette lighter and the embedded depth indicator of underwater pouring concrete conduit, and successfully applied for patents.

Chen Jianping, former director of the Geothermal Department of Beijing Land and Resources, took 458,000 bribes in seven years and was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Second Intermediate People’s Court of Beijing for accepting bribes. During his prison term, Chen Jianping obtained patent certification for his inventions in the energy field.

Reason for commutation: publishing articles, books and newspapers

On July 8, 2013, Liu Zhijun, former Minister of Railways, was sentenced to death with a two-year suspension for accepting bribes and abusing his power. In December, 2015, the Beijing Higher People’s Court publicized the case of Liu Zhijun’s commutation. Since the delivery, Liu Zhijun, a criminal, has not intentionally committed a crime, but has been able to voluntarily plead guilty and obey the law, consciously accept education and reform, correctly understand the social harm of the crime, deeply analyze the root causes of the crime, and actively play his own social value. The warning value article "My Reflection and Analysis on the Crime Committed" was awarded the second prize by the prison. Be able to actively participate in political studies and collective activities, complete ideological reports on time, and constantly improve ideological understanding; Be able to participate in labor reform as much as possible, conscientiously complete labor tasks, and do a good job in indoor and outdoor sanitation and cleaning according to regulations. In 2014, Liu Zhijun, a criminal, was awarded by an activist of prison labor reform for his good performance in prison reform. Later, the court ruled that Liu Zhijun’s death penalty with a two-year suspension was reduced to life imprisonment.

Zhang Erjiang, the former deputy secretary of Danjiangkou Municipal Committee and mayor of Hubei Province, who was called "secretary of the five poisons" for "boasting, selling, whoring, gambling and greed", was sentenced to 18 years in July 2002 for accepting bribes and corruption. During his prison term, he used his own cultural knowledge to write four literary criticism books, namely, A New Interpretation of Poems of < Wind >, An Annotation of Sun Tzu’s Art of War in Vernacular Warfare, An Annotation of Shangshu in Vernacular Warfare, and A New Interpretation of Poems of < Ya Song >, which have been published by Hunan People’s Publishing House and Shaanxi People’s Publishing House respectively. Among them, his book Vernacular Military Classics-Sun Tzu’s Art of War, written under the pen name Yuanjiang, was appraised as "a valuable contribution to the accurate understanding of Sun Tzu’s Art of War" by Sun Tzu’s Art of War Research Society of the Academy of Military Sciences. The prison reduced his sentence by one year in 2005; In 2006, Zhang Erjiang won another major meritorious award; In June 2007, the sentence was reduced for another two years and six months.

Nan Yong, the former vice chairman of the Football Association, not only declared many inventions in prison, but also worked hard when he took part in labor, and was elected as the leader of the greening team of Yancheng Prison. I also wrote several books in my spare time. One of them, The Lonely Sacrificer, was published last year. Nan Yong’s Lonely Sacrifice won a total of 180 points in two months, that is, a reward praised by the prison, which is equivalent to two months’ commutation. This award enabled Nan Yong to get a two-month commutation, which also made his final commutation time reach one year.

In 1996, Hu Jianxue, former party secretary of Tai ‘an City, Shandong Province, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting bribes. During his prison term, his sentence was reduced five times for his active performance in running a newspaper in prison, and his sentence was reduced from death to 15 years and 6 months in prison.

Reason for commutation: report and expose other people’s crimes

In April this year, Chen Xiaobo, former deputy secretary of the Party Committee of shenzhen polytechnic and member of the Fifth CPPCC, was tried for accepting bribes. The Yantian District Court held that, in view of the fact that after Chen Xiaobo was brought to justice, he exposed the criminal acts of others and verified them, which constituted meritorious service and mitigated the punishment according to law; Moreover, after he was brought to justice, he truthfully confessed the facts of the crime, and his guilty attitude was good, so he could be given a lighter punishment according to law. In addition, after the incident, Chen Xiaobo returned most of the stolen money, which can be mitigated as appropriate. The Yantian District Court comprehensively considered Chen Xiaobo’s criminal circumstances and penitence, and sentenced Chen Xiaobo to five years’ imprisonment, fined 1 million RMB, confiscated 710,000 illegal money seized in the case and turned it over to the state treasury, and continued to recover 297,000 illegal money involved in the case and turned it over to the state treasury.

Ma De, the biggest corrupt official who sold officials since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, was tried for accepting bribes of more than 6 million yuan from 17 people. The court found that Ma De’s report exposed clues that others were suspected of accepting bribes, which was verified to be true and meritorious. Ma De was sentenced to death in the first instance. In November 2007, Ma De was commuted to life imprisonment; In January 2010, it was reduced to 18 years in prison; In June 2015, the sentence was reduced by another year. Yancheng Prison of the Ministry of Justice, where he served his sentence, believes that Ma De pleaded guilty and repented during his sentence, observed prison regulations, and actively participated in ideological, cultural and technical study and labor. During the assessment period, he was awarded two annual prison awards and one annual prison award, which really showed repentance.

In June 2014, Dai Heng, director of the Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Bureau of Changfeng County, Hefei City, was sentenced to five and a half years in prison by Changfeng Court for accepting bribes and abusing his power. After being brought to justice, Dai Hengcheng truthfully explained most of the facts of bribery crimes that the case-handling organs did not grasp, and withdrew the money of 80,000 yuan; It exposed the criminal act of accepting bribes by his subordinate Zheng, which was verified to be true. Dai Hengcheng’s relatives withdrew more than 110,000 yuan of money on their behalf. In the end, the court sentenced the defendant Dai Hengcheng to accept bribes and sentenced him to five years in prison. He was convicted of abuse of power and sentenced to one year in prison, and decided to execute a fixed-term imprisonment of five years and six months.

Chen Mou Qiang, the former clerk of Foshan Archives Center, was arrested for corruption and bribery. During an interview with the Foshan Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection in November 2013, Chen Mou Qiang not only voluntarily confessed the fact that he received benefits through the project, but also actively exposed the criminal behavior of Zhang Yongzhao, then director of Foshan Archives Bureau. In view of Chen Mou’s surrender and meritorious service, he also actively returned 164,000 yuan of stolen goods. During the first trial, the public prosecution suggested that Chen Mou Qiang be sentenced to two to three years’ imprisonment for corruption and five to seven years’ imprisonment for accepting bribes.

Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Laws in Handling Cases of Commutation and Parole.

On November 21, 2011, the 1532nd meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People’s Court adopted the Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Laws in Handling Cases of Commutation and Parole (hereinafter referred to as the Provisions), which came into effect on July 1.

I. Revision background of the Regulations

Commutation and parole work is an important part of the work of the people’s court. In 1997, the Supreme People’s Court promulgated and implemented the Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Laws in Handling Cases of Commutation and Parole (Fa Fa [1997] No.25), which played an active and effective role in guiding the work of commutation and parole. However, with the rapid development of economy and society and the continuous progress of the rule of law, new situations and problems have emerged in judicial practice, and some problems have also been exposed in commutation and parole work, such as the lack of transparency in case trial procedures, the imperfect supervision mechanism, the stipulation that "more serious crimes are reduced and less minor crimes are reduced" does not conform to the criminal policy of combining leniency with severity, and the application rate of parole is generally low. The people have put forward higher requirements and expectations for commutation and parole work. The reform of commutation and parole system is also one of the important tasks determined by the reform of the central judicial system and working mechanism and the third five-year reform of the people’s courts. Its main purpose is to "establish an open system of commutation and parole trial procedures and strictly apply the conditions for commutation and parole of major criminals".

Second, the revision process of the Regulations

In 2009, the Supreme People’s Court officially started the revision of the judicial interpretation of commutation and parole, conducted a full investigation and solicited opinions from all parties concerned. He went to Hainan, Guangdong, Hubei, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong and other places to conduct special investigations, and held special seminars in Hebei, Sichuan, Yunnan, Henan and other places, soliciting and listening to the opinions of the NPC Law Committee, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice, some high and intermediate people’s courts, first-line prisons, detention centers, police officers, experts and scholars, and ordinary people. After repeated research and argumentation, they were constantly revised and improved, and finally came out.

III. Main contents of the Regulations

Article 1 According to the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 78 of the Criminal Law, a criminal sentenced to public surveillance, criminal detention, fixed-term imprisonment or life imprisonment, during the execution period, may have his sentence reduced if he earnestly abides by the prison regulations, receives education and reform, shows genuine repentance, or performs meritorious service; Those who have made significant meritorious service shall have their sentences reduced.

Article 2 "True repentance" means having the following four conditions at the same time: pleading guilty and repenting; Seriously abide by laws, regulations and supervision rules, and accept education and reform; Actively participate in ideological, cultural, vocational and technical education; Actively participate in labor and strive to complete labor tasks.

If a criminal complains during the execution of the penalty, his right to complain should be protected according to law, and the complaint against a criminal should not be considered as not pleading guilty and repenting without analysis.

Criminals who actively execute property punishment and perform incidental civil compensation obligations can be regarded as guilty and penitent, and can be lenient in commutation and parole; Those who have the ability to perform and fail to perform shall be strictly controlled in commutation and parole.

Article 3 A person who has one of the following circumstances shall be deemed to have made meritorious service:

(1) preventing others from committing criminal activities;

(two) to report and expose criminal activities inside and outside the prison, or to provide important clues to solve the case, which is verified by investigation;

(3) assisting judicial organs in arresting other criminal suspects (including accomplices);

(4) Having made outstanding achievements in technological innovation in production and scientific research;

(five) outstanding performance in emergency rescue and disaster relief or exclusion of major accidents;

(6) Having made other contributions to the country and society.

Article 4 A person who has one of the following circumstances shall be deemed to have made "significant meritorious service":

(a) to prevent others from committing major criminal activities;

(2) reporting major criminal activities inside and outside the prison, which is verified by investigation;

(3) assisting judicial organs in arresting other major criminal suspects (including accomplices);

(four) there are inventions or major technological innovations;

(5) Giving oneself up to save others in daily production and life;

(6) having made outstanding performance in resisting natural disasters or eliminating major accidents;

(seven) other significant contributions to the country and society.

Article 5 If a prisoner with fixed-term imprisonment meets the conditions for commutation during the execution of punishment, the range of commutation shall be as follows: if he does show repentance or perform meritorious service, the commutation at one time shall generally not exceed one year of fixed-term imprisonment; Those who do show repentance and perform meritorious service, or have made significant meritorious service, shall generally be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years at a time.

Article 6 The starting time and interval of commutation for prisoners with fixed-term imprisonment are as follows: A prisoner sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of more than five years can generally commute his sentence after serving it for more than one year and six months, and the interval between two commutes should generally be more than one year. Criminals sentenced to less than five years of fixed-term imprisonment may appropriately shorten the starting and interval time by referring to the above provisions.

Those who have made significant meritorious service can be exempted from the above-mentioned restrictions on the start and interval of commutation.

The starting time of commutation of fixed-term imprisonment is calculated from the date of execution of the judgment. Article 7. If a life-imprisonment prisoner does show repentance or render meritorious service during the execution of the penalty, his sentence may be commuted after serving two years. The range of commutation is: those who do repent or perform meritorious service can generally be reduced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 20 years but not more than 22 years; Those who have made significant meritorious service may be reduced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 15 years but not more than 20 years.

Article 8 After a life-imprisonment prisoner has had his sentence commuted once or several times, his actual sentence shall not be less than thirteen years, and the starting time shall be counted from the date when the life-imprisonment sentence is determined.

Article 9 If a criminal whose death sentence is suspended is commuted to life imprisonment, and he really shows repentance or meritorious service, he may be commuted to 25 years’ imprisonment after serving two years’ imprisonment; Those who have made significant meritorious service may be commuted to 23 years’ imprisonment after serving two years’ imprisonment.

After one or several commutation, the actual sentence of a criminal with a suspended death sentence shall not be less than 15 years, not including the suspended death sentence.

If a criminal with a suspended death sentence resists reform during the suspended execution period, which does not constitute a crime, his sentence may be reduced severely thereafter.

Article 10 If a prisoner with a suspended death sentence whose commutation is restricted is commuted to life imprisonment according to law after the expiration of the suspended death sentence, or is commuted to 25 years’ imprisonment due to significant meritorious service, the starting time, interval and range of commutation shall be strictly controlled by comparing with those with a suspended death sentence whose commutation is not restricted.

Article 11 A criminal sentenced to public surveillance or criminal detention, and a criminal whose remaining sentence is less than one year’s fixed-term imprisonment after the judgment takes effect, may have his sentence reduced as appropriate, and the actually executed sentence shall not be less than half of the original sentence.

Article 12 When a prisoner with fixed-term imprisonment commutes his sentence, the additional period of deprivation of political rights may be reduced at his discretion. The period of deprivation of political rights after discretion shall not be less than one year.

Article 13 A criminal sentenced to criminal detention or fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years with a suspended sentence is generally not applicable to commutation.

If a criminal specified in the preceding paragraph has made significant meritorious service during the probation period, his sentence may be reduced with reference to the provisions of Article 78 of the Criminal Law, and his probation period shall be shortened according to law. The probation period for criminal detention shall not be less than two months, and the probation period for fixed-term imprisonment shall not be less than one year.

Article 14 If a criminal sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years or life imprisonment commits another crime during the execution of the penalty and is sentenced to a penalty of not more than fixed-term imprisonment, his sentence will generally not be reduced within two years from the date when the new crime judgment is determined; If a new crime is sentenced to life imprisonment, the sentence will generally not be reduced within three years from the date when the new crime judgment is determined.

Article 15 In handling a parole case, the judgment that there is no danger of committing another crime should be based on the specific circumstances of the crime, the original sentence, the consistent performance in the execution of the penalty, the age, physical condition, personality characteristics of the prisoner, the source of life after parole and the supervision conditions, in addition to the circumstances stipulated in Article 81 of the Criminal Law.

Article 16 The starting time for a prisoner with fixed-term imprisonment to be released on parole and execute more than half of the original sentence shall be counted from the date of execution of the judgment. If he is detained before execution of the judgment, one day of detention will be counted as one day of the sentence.

Article 17 "Special circumstances" as stipulated in the first paragraph of Article 81 of the Criminal Law refers to situations that have an important relationship with the interests of the state and society.

Article 18 No parole shall be granted to recidivists and criminals sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years or life imprisonment for intentional homicide, rape, robbery, kidnapping, arson, explosion, throwing dangerous substances or organized violent crimes.

A criminal sentenced to death with a suspended execution for the circumstances and crimes mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall not be released on parole after being commuted to life imprisonment or fixed-term imprisonment.

Article 19. The commutation and parole of juvenile criminals may be appropriately lenient according to law, mutatis mutandis, to adult criminals.

Juvenile criminals who can plead guilty and repent, abide by laws, regulations and prison rules, and actively participate in study and labor should be regarded as having genuine repentance, and the range of commutation can be appropriately relaxed, and the starting time and interval can be shortened accordingly. Those who meet the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 81 of the Criminal Law may be released on parole.

The juvenile criminals mentioned in the preceding two paragraphs refer to criminals under the age of 18 at the time of commutation.

Twentieth elderly, physically disabled (excluding self-injury disability), suffering from serious diseases, commutation and parole, should focus on the actual performance of repentance.

Old-age, physically disabled and seriously ill criminals who have basically lost their ability to work and are unable to take care of themselves can seriously abide by laws, regulations and prison rules and receive education and reform, which should be regarded as true repentance. The range of commutation can be appropriately relaxed, and the starting time and interval can be shortened accordingly. If the life after parole is really settled, he may be released on parole according to law, except in cases where parole is not allowed according to the law and this interpretation.

Commutation and parole of criminals with physical disabilities and criminals suffering from serious diseases shall be determined by legal appraisal institutions according to law.

Article 21 A criminal whose death sentence is suspended may be released on parole if his sentence is commuted to life imprisonment or fixed-term imprisonment, which conforms to the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 81 of the Criminal Law and the second paragraph of Article 9 and Article 18 of these Provisions.

Article 22 The interval between a prisoner’s commutation and parole is generally one year; For those who decide to be released on parole after deducting two years’ imprisonment at one time, the interval shall not be less than two years.

If the remaining sentence of a criminal after commutation is less than two years and he decides to be released on parole, the interval may be appropriately shortened.

Article 23 If the people’s court retries a case in accordance with the procedure of trial supervision and upholds the original judgment or ruling, the effect of the original ruling on commutation and parole remains unchanged; If the original judgment or ruling is changed, the penalty execution organ shall, according to the retrial judgment and the original commutation and parole, request the people’s court with jurisdiction to make a new ruling on commutation and parole.

Article 24 When accepting a case of commutation or parole, the people’s court shall examine whether the executing organ has transferred the following materials:

(1) A proposal for commutation or parole;

(2) Copies of the judgment documents, enforcement notices and previous commutation rulings of the Court of Final Appeal;

(3) Written evidence of the specific facts that the prisoner has repented or rendered meritorious service;

(four) criminal appraisal form, reward and punishment approval form;

(five) other materials that need to be transferred according to the trial of the case.

Where parole is requested, an investigation and evaluation report of the community correction institution on the impact of parole on the community where the prisoner lives shall be attached.

The procuratorial opinions put forward by the people’s procuratorate on the case of commutation or parole shall be transferred to the people’s court that accepts the case of commutation or parole.

Upon examination, if the materials specified in the preceding three paragraphs are complete, a case shall be filed; If the materials are not complete, it shall notify the executing organ that submitted the commutation or parole to make up for it.

Twenty-fifth people’s courts shall publicize all cases of commutation and parole. The publicity place is a public area where criminals serve their sentences. Where conditions permit, it should be publicized to the public and accept social supervision. Publicity shall include the following contents:

(1) the name of the criminal;

(2) The charges and terms of imprisonment as determined in the original judgment;

(3) Previous commutation of sentences by criminals;

(4) Suggestions and basis for commutation and parole of the executing organ;

(5) Time limit for publicity;

(6) feedback methods, etc.

Article 26 A people’s court may try a case of commutation or parole in writing. However, the following cases shall be heard in court:

(a) because the criminal has made significant meritorious service, the sentence is reduced;

(2) The starting time, interval or commutation range of the application for commutation do not conform to the general provisions;

(three) have a significant impact in society or high social concern;

(four) received complaints during the publicity period;

(five) the people’s Procuratorate has objections;

(6) The people’s court deems it necessary to hold a hearing.

Twenty-seventh before the people’s court makes a ruling on commutation or parole, the people’s court shall decide whether or not to allow the execution organ to withdraw the proposal of commutation or parole in writing.

Article 28 A ruling on commutation or parole shall be delivered to the relevant executing organ, the people’s procuratorate and the criminal himself within seven days from the date of making the ruling.

Article 29 If a people’s court finds that there is indeed an error in the ruling of commutation or parole that has come into effect by itself or the people’s court at a lower level, it shall re-form a collegial panel to try and make a ruling according to law.

Fourth, the significance of implementing the Regulations

The "Regulations" strictly implement the criminal policy of tempering justice with mercy and actively promote the openness of trial procedures for commutation and parole cases, which is of great guiding significance for correctly applying the law to handle commutation and parole cases and maintaining the fairness and justice of penalty execution.

Provisions of the People’s Procuratorate on Handling Cases of Commutation and Parole (full text)

(adopted at the 25th meeting of the 12th Procuratorial Committee of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on July 21, 2014)

Article 1 In order to further strengthen and standardize the legal supervision of commutation and parole, and ensure that the execution of penalty changes is legal and fair, these Provisions are formulated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law of People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Criminal Procedure Law of People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Prison Law of People’s Republic of China (PRC), combined with the actual procuratorial work.

Article 2 The People’s Procuratorate shall exercise legal supervision over the legality of the submission, trial and ruling of commutation and parole cases.

Article 3 When handling cases of commutation and parole, the People’s Procuratorate shall handle them separately according to the following circumstances:

(1) The people’s procuratorate, which is responsible for procuratorial duties to the executing organ, shall supervise the activities of submitting commutation and parole cases;

(2) The people’s procuratorate at the same level of the people’s court shall be responsible for the supervision of the trial and adjudication of commutation and parole cases; If the people’s procuratorate at the same level does not undertake procuratorial duties to the executing organ, it may, if necessary, designate the people’s procuratorate that undertakes procuratorial duties to the executing organ to send personnel to attend the court; If the people’s procuratorate at a lower level finds that the ruling on commutation or parole is improper, it shall promptly report to the people’s procuratorate at the same level of the people’s court that made the ruling on commutation or parole.

Article 4 The people’s procuratorates shall, in handling cases of commutation and parole, implement unified case management and responsibility system for handling cases in accordance with regulations.

Article 5 The people’s procuratorate shall, after receiving the following materials of commutation and parole cases transferred by the executing organ, conduct a timely review:

(a) the executive organ intends to submit opinions on commutation and parole;

(2) Judgment documents of the Court of Final Appeal, enforcement notices and previous rulings on commutation;

(3) Proof that the prisoner has indeed shown repentance, rendered meritorious service or made significant meritorious service;

(four) criminal appraisal form, reward and punishment approval form;

(5) Other case materials that should be examined.

For cases to be submitted for parole, the investigation and evaluation report of community correction institutions or grass-roots organizations on the impact of parole on the community where criminals live should also be reviewed.

Article 6 Under any of the following circumstances, the people’s procuratorate shall conduct investigation and verification:

(1) The criminal who intends to apply for commutation or parole is a duty criminal, a criminal who undermines the order of financial management and financial fraud, a criminal who is organized by the underworld, a criminal who commits serious violent terrorist crimes, or other criminals who have great influence in society and are highly concerned by the society;

(2) It is proposed to reduce the sentence because of the criminal’s meritorious service or significant meritorious service;

(3) A criminal who intends to apply for commutation or parole has a large commutation range, a long probation period for parole, an early start time, a short interval or a short actually executed sentence;

(four) the criminals who intend to be submitted for commutation or parole have high assessment scores, many special awards or doubtful appraisal materials and reward and punishment records;

(5) Having received a complaint or report;

(six) other should be investigated and verified.

Article 7 The People’s Procuratorate may investigate and verify the following situations by reading and copying relevant materials, reorganizing diagnosis and identification, conducting documentary identification, holding symposiums and individual inquiries:

(1) The performance of the criminal who intends to request commutation or parole during his sentence;

(2) The execution of property penalty, the performance of incidental civil judgment, the return of stolen goods and compensation, etc., which are proposed for commutation or parole of criminals;

(3) Whether the meritorious service and major meritorious service of the criminal who intends to reduce his sentence are true, and whether the invention, creation and technological innovation were independently completed by the criminal during his sentence and confirmed by the relevant competent authorities;

(4) Factors that affect recidivism, such as the physical condition, personality characteristics, source of life after parole and supervision conditions of the criminal who intends to be paroled;

(five) other circumstances that should be investigated and verified.

Article 8 The people’s procuratorate may send personnel to attend the review meeting of commutation and parole submitted by the executing organ as nonvoting delegates to understand the relevant situation of the case and express opinions as needed.

Article 9 If a people’s procuratorate finds that a criminal meets the conditions for commutation or parole, but the executing organ fails to request commutation or parole, it may suggest that the executing organ request commutation or parole.

Article 10 After receiving a copy of the proposal for commutation and parole copied by the executing organ, the people’s procuratorate shall examine the case by case and may submit written opinions to the people’s court. If it is found that the proposal for commutation or parole is improper or that the proposal for commutation or parole violates legal procedures, it shall, within ten days after receiving the copy of the proposal, submit written opinions to the people’s court hearing the case of commutation or parole according to law, and at the same time, send a copy of the procuratorial opinion to the executing organ. If the case is complicated or special, it may be extended for ten days.

Article 11 When the people’s court holds a court session to hear cases of commutation or parole, the people’s procuratorate shall assign procurators to attend the court, express procuratorial opinions and supervise the legality of the court proceedings.

Article 12 There shall be no less than two prosecutors present at the court, at least one of whom has the post of prosecutor.

Thirteenth prosecutors should make the following preparations before the trial:

(a) fully familiar with the case, grasp the evidence, and draw up the outline of the court investigation and the opinions of appearing in court;

(2) Relevant evidence shall be collected in cases where the executing organ has objections to commutation or parole, and it may be suggested that the people’s court notify relevant witnesses to testify in court.

Article 14 After the trial begins, after the representative of the executing organ reads out the proposal for commutation and parole and explains the reasons, the procurator shall express his procuratorial opinions.

Article 15 During the trial, if the procurator has doubts about the commutation or parole requested by the executing agency, he may, with the permission of the presiding judge, present evidence, apply for witnesses to testify in court, ask the representatives of the executing agency to present evidence or make explanations, ask questions and express opinions to the criminals and witnesses who have been requested to commute or parole.

Article 16 At the end of the court investigation, and before the prisoner who has been asked for commutation or parole makes a final statement, the procurator may, with the permission of the presiding judge, make concluding comments.

Article 17 During the trial, if the procurator thinks that it is necessary to further investigate and verify the facts and evidence of the case, need supplementary appraisal or re-appraisal, or need to notify new witnesses to appear in court, he shall propose an adjournment.

Eighteenth prosecutors found that the court trial activities in violation of the law, should be promptly reported to the chief procurator of the court after the trial, put forward rectification opinions to the people’s court according to law.

Article 19 After receiving a copy of the ruling of the people’s court on commutation and parole, the people’s procuratorate shall promptly review the following contents:

(a) the people’s court ruled that criminals should be commuted or released on parole, and whether the starting time, interval, actual executed sentence, commutation range or probation period of parole are in compliance with the relevant provisions;

(2) Whether the people’s court’s decision not to reduce the sentence or release the prisoner on parole complies with the relevant provisions;

(3) Whether the procedures for the people’s court to hear and order commutation or parole are legal;

(four) in accordance with the relevant provisions of the commutation and parole cases, whether the people’s court hearing;

(five) whether the ruling of the people’s court on commutation and parole has been served and executed according to law and announced to the public.

Article 20 If the people’s procuratorate considers that the people’s court’s ruling on commutation or parole is improper after examination, it shall, within 20 days after receiving the copy of the ruling, put forward written correction opinions to the people’s court that made the ruling on commutation or parole according to law.

Article 21 If a people’s procuratorate puts forward rectification opinions on the people’s court’s ruling on commutation or parole, it shall supervise the people’s court to re-form a collegiate bench for trial and make a final ruling within one month after receiving the rectification opinions.

Article 22 If the people’s procuratorate finds that the ruling on commutation or parole that has come into effect by the people’s court is indeed wrong, it shall submit a written correction opinion to the people’s court, and request the people’s court to form a new collegial panel according to the trial supervision procedure and make a ruling.

Article 23 If a people’s procuratorate receives a complaint, reports or finds that a judicial officer is suspected of breaking the law in handling a case of commutation or parole, it shall conduct an investigation according to law, and, according to the situation, put forward opinions to the relevant units to correct the violation, suggest changing the case handler, or suggest disciplinary action; If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.

Twenty-fourth people’s procuratorates handle cases of commutation and parole of duty criminals, and carry out record review in accordance with relevant regulations.

Twenty-fifth the provisions shall come into force as of the date of promulgation. Where the relevant provisions previously issued by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate are inconsistent with these Provisions, these Provisions shall prevail.

Xu Dazhe, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Director of the National Space Administration

　　Cctv news(Reporter Guo Cheng) In March this year, with the approval of the Central Committee and the approval of the State Council, April 24th every year will be designated as "China Aerospace Day" from 2016. The theme of the first "China Aerospace Day" was "Chinese Dream and Space Dream". On the afternoon of April 22nd, at the press conference held by the State Council Information Office, Xu Dazhe, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Director of the National Space Administration, introduced the first "China Aerospace Day" and China’s space development to the media.

　　Space shuttle flies farther and farther, and space technology is getting closer and closer to our life. Xu Dazhe said that the aerospace industry is indeed a high-input industry. However, it has great social and economic benefits and plays a great role in cultivating talents. For example, behind the weather forecast, navigation and positioning, satellites are helping.

　　Xu Dazhe said that the 13th Five-Year Plan is a period of strategic opportunities for China’s space development. From now on, it will take five to seven years to complete the existing major scientific and technological projects such as manned space flight, lunar exploration project, Beidou navigation and high-resolution earth observation system; Around 2025, the national civil space infrastructure will be built in an all-round way to promote the large-scale, operational and industrialized development of spatial information applications; In 2030, it achieved an overall leap and became one of the space powers.

　　"China Aerospace will demonstrate and implement new major aerospace projects and projects, strengthen strategic emerging aerospace industries and cultivate &lsquo; Internet plus Satellite Applications &rsquo; The new format has achieved a number of original achievements in space science and promoted the construction of aerospace legislation and aerospace laws and regulations. " Xu Dazhe said.

　　Xu Dazhe introduced that there are nearly 150 satellites in orbit in China at present. Remote sensing satellites, represented by high scores, clouds, oceans and resources, have been widely used in agriculture, forestry, land, surveying and mapping and other fields. Communication satellites have formed a stable and efficient commercial operation mode, and navigation and positioning satellites have entered the industrial development track.

　　Since its establishment in 1956, China’s space industry has gone through a glorious course of 60 years.

　　Over the past 60 years, generations of astronauts have made unremitting efforts and continued to struggle, embarked on an independent and innovative space development path with China characteristics, established a complete supporting space scientific research and production system and an effective system engineering management system, created a team of high-quality and skilled talents, accumulated profound and broad space spirit and culture, created a series of brilliant achievements represented by "two bombs and one satellite", manned space flight and lunar exploration project, and realized space technology and space application.

　　In order to fully display the achievements of space, vigorously carry forward the space spirit, scientifically popularize space knowledge, stimulate the enthusiasm for exploration and innovation, and condense the power to realize the Chinese dream and space dream.

　　The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense and the National Space Administration, together with relevant departments, have carefully planned a series of activities of "China Aerospace Day".

　　The annual standing activities include "China Aerospace Day" forum, symposium, space open day, space science lecture hall, space science popularization on campus, science popularization exhibition, national exchange and discussion, etc. This year is the first "China Aerospace Day". With the theme of "Chinese Dream and Aerospace Dream", a series of activities will be held all over the country, including the symposium of academicians and experts, the first "China Aerospace Day" theme activity, "Nine Days of Moon-China Aerospace Day Popular Science Publicity Week", aerospace science lecture hall, aerospace open day and other activities.

&emsp; &emsp; The Party’s Report to the 20th CPC National Congress proposed to develop nuclear power actively, safely and orderly. The 14th Five-Year Plan for Modern Energy System proposes to actively and orderly promote the construction of coastal nuclear power projects and rationally arrange new coastal nuclear power projects on the premise of ensuring safety. By 2025, the installed capacity of nuclear power operation will reach about 70 million kilowatts. In this issue, several experts are invited to discuss related issues.

&emsp;&emsp; Rank among the world’s nuclear power countries

&emsp; &emsp; What is the situation and development prospect of nuclear power construction in China?

&emsp; &emsp; Du Zhongming (Party Secretary and President of the General Electric Power Planning and Design Institute): As a clean energy, nuclear power is one of the main sources of electricity in China, which plays an important role in optimizing China’s energy structure, ensuring energy security, building a new energy system and helping to achieve the goal of "double carbon".

&emsp; &emsp; Nuclear power refers to the use of heat energy released by uranium nuclear fission to generate electricity, which has the characteristics of high energy density, high single-machine power, high land utilization rate, no influence from seasons and climate, stable and relatively low power generation cost, and can run stably and efficiently for a long time. Compared with other power generation methods, the annual power generation utilization hours of nuclear power units remain above 7,000 hours all the year round, ranking first among all power sources, and no sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, soot and carbon dioxide are emitted in the production process. The carbon dioxide emission equivalent of nuclear power in the whole life cycle is only about 12.2 g/kWh, which is basically the same as that of hydropower and lower than that of wind power and photovoltaic. Safety is the premise of the development of nuclear power industry. The existing three generations of nuclear power mainly improve the safety of nuclear power plants by improving the safety system, and have actually eliminated the possibility of releasing a large number of radioactive materials from the design.

&emsp; &emsp; Since Qinshan nuclear power started construction in 1985, after nearly 40 years of development, China has become one of the world’s nuclear power countries. Up to now, there are more than 50 commercial nuclear power units in China, mainly concentrated in the coastal provinces of Liaoning, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan, with a total installed capacity of over 56 million kilowatts, ranking third in the world, second only to the United States and France. There are more than 20 nuclear power units under construction, and the installed capacity of the units under construction has remained the first in the world for more than ten years. "Hualong No.1" units have been put into operation one after another, which indicates that China has achieved a comprehensive leap from the second generation to the independent third generation of nuclear power technology. The demonstration project of Shidaowan high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, the world’s first pebble bed modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, was connected to the grid for the first time, marking that China has become one of the few countries in the world to master the fourth-generation nuclear energy technology.

&emsp; &emsp; China’s nuclear power engineering construction team is constantly developing, and it has the engineering construction ability to build more than 40 nuclear power units at the same time, which can meet the challenge of simultaneous construction of multiple projects, multiple bases and several reactor types. The average construction period of nuclear power is 73 months (including the first batch of projects such as AP1000 and EPR), which is 85 months lower than the global average. "Hualong No.1", the world’s first reactor of Fujian Fuqing Nuclear Power Unit 5, took about 68 months from construction to commercial operation, and completed the construction target as scheduled, becoming the world’s first third-generation nuclear power reactor put into production on schedule. In addition, China has achieved independent research and development and localization of key nuclear safety equipment and materials, and the comprehensive localization rate of independent third-generation nuclear power has reached over 90%, forming an annual supply capacity of 8-10 sets of million kilowatt nuclear power main equipment. The demonstration projects of "Guohe-1", fast reactor and small reactor are progressing in an orderly manner on schedule, and new progress has been made in the research and development of advanced reactor systems such as thorium-based molten salt reactor, lead-based fast reactor and fusion reactor, and they are at the forefront of the world.

&emsp; &emsp; China attaches great importance to nuclear safety and has established a strict nuclear safety supervision system, and the overall level of nuclear power safety in operation ranks among the advanced in the world. In recent years, in the comprehensive ranking of similar units of the World Nuclear Power Operators Association, more than 80% of the indicators are better than the world median level, and more than 70% of the indicators have reached the world advanced value. At the same time, a relatively complete and independent nuclear fuel cycle industrial chain has been established, and the nuclear fuel supply and back-end processing capabilities have been continuously enhanced, forming a uranium resource guarantee system that strengthens the exploration and development of domestic uranium resources, strengthens the development of natural uranium overseas, improves the reserve capacity of natural uranium products and resources, and broadens the international trade in uranium resources, thus meeting the needs of medium and long-term nuclear power development.

&emsp; &emsp; Nuclear power will play a greater role in power supply and become an important supporting power source for the safe and stable operation of new power systems. The electricity consumption of the whole society will maintain steady growth for a long time, and it is expected to exceed 12.5 trillion kWh in 2030, with an average annual growth rate of about 4.2%; The proportion of electricity consumption in terminal energy will continue to increase, reaching about 35% in 2030. Based on the balance analysis of power and electricity demand, China’s nuclear power needs to maintain a certain construction speed and scale in the future, and actively and orderly promote the construction of coastal nuclear power projects on the premise of ensuring safety.

&emsp; &emsp; The third generation nuclear power will be the main commercial nuclear power technology in the future. The third-generation nuclear power technology is mature. At present, all new nuclear power units in China adopt the third-generation and above nuclear power technology, and it is expected that the third-generation nuclear power technology will still be the main nuclear power technology in the future. In addition, the design life of the third generation nuclear power is 60 years. With effective and good life management, it is very likely that the life will be extended for another 10 to 20 years and become the mainstream application technology in the future.

&emsp; &emsp; Non-electric utilization of nuclear energy blooms at many points. Demonstration projects such as Shandong Haiyang nuclear energy heating, Liaoning Hongyanhe nuclear energy heating and Zhejiang Haiyan nuclear energy industrial heating have been completed and put into use to solve the urgent need of "burning coal" for central heating. At present, the first industrial nuclear steam supply project in China has started construction in Tianwan Nuclear Power Base. The 14th Five-Year Plan and the outline of the long-term goal in 2035 put forward that coastal nuclear power construction should be promoted safely and steadily. Considering that the coastal area is in the load center of China, the coastal site can support the development scale of China’s medium and long-term nuclear power. The site of nuclear power plant is a very scarce strategic resource, which has strict requirements and restrictions on many factors such as seismic geology, hydrometeorology, etc. The development of nuclear power plant site has the characteristics of long duration, many links, wide coverage, high cost and great difficulty, which is the key to realize the safe and sustainable development of nuclear power. In the future, it is urgent to sort out the existing nuclear power site resources in China, explore a new mode of site protection, comprehensively consider and balance the interests of all parties, and achieve harmonious and win-win development.

&emsp; &emsp;Build a complete nuclear power industry chain

&emsp; &emsp; China has a complete nuclear industry system. How effective is the construction of nuclear power industry chain at present?

&emsp; &emsp; Bai Yunsheng (President of China Nuclear Strategic Planning Research Institute): Nuclear power has the characteristics of "nuclear" and "electricity". It is characterized by knowledge-intensive, capital-intensive and talent-intensive high-tech industries, involving dozens of industries in the upstream and downstream, with high industrial relevance, long industrial chain and strong driving force. With the continuous development of nuclear energy in China, all aspects of the nuclear power industry chain have been gradually established and continuously improved, and a nuclear power industry chain covering nuclear power R&D design, nuclear power construction, natural uranium production, nuclear fuel processing, equipment manufacturing, nuclear power operation, nuclear power decommissioning, spent fuel and nuclear waste management has been formed.

&emsp; &emsp; In terms of nuclear power R&D and design, the innovation ability has been continuously enhanced, and independent brands have been gradually established. China’s nuclear power R&D design has gone through the process from technical support to introduction, digestion and absorption, independent design and the formation of independent brands, and gradually realized the "four-level jump" in R&D design of million kilowatt pressurized water reactor nuclear power plants. At present, we have two independent third-generation nuclear power technologies, namely "Hualong No.1" and "Guohe No.1", and have mastered the R&D and design technology of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. Domestic nuclear power groups are actively promoting the R&D, design and demonstration application of small pressurized water reactors, and the R&D and demonstration projects of advanced nuclear energy systems such as sodium-cooled fast reactors, lead-based fast reactors and thorium-based molten salt reactor are stepping up.

&emsp; &emsp; In terms of natural uranium production, the ability to develop and supply uranium resources has been further consolidated. China’s natural uranium production has developed continuously from scratch, forming a whole industrial chain covering geological exploration, mining, smelting and processing, and forming a certain scale of natural uranium production capacity. An exploration system combining space remote sensing, ground exploration, underground physics and hydrology has been established, forming a productivity pattern with sandstone in the north as the main part and hard rock in the south as the supplement. At present, the Yili base in Xinjiang is operating efficiently and stably, the construction of Tongliao and Erdos thousand-ton bases in Inner Mongolia is accelerated, and overseas uranium resource bases such as Luoxin Uranium Mine of China National Nuclear Corporation and Hushan Uranium Mine of China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corporation are operating efficiently.

&emsp; &emsp; In nuclear fuel processing, industrial capacity has gradually entered the forefront of the world. China has built two uranium purification and conversion production bases in the north and south, and the development of a new generation of uranium enrichment centrifuges is progressing smoothly, and the separation function and technical and economic indicators of a single machine are further improved, and the processing and supply capacity of nuclear fuel components covering multiple types and types in China has been built. At present, the production capacity of nuclear fuel elements of PWR is 1,400 tons uranium/year, and that of heavy water reactor is 200 tons uranium/year. The production capacity of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor elements has formed a certain scale, which has the comprehensive strength to rapidly expand the production scale.

&emsp; &emsp; In terms of nuclear power construction, the autonomous ability and general contracting ability of nuclear power engineering construction management have been continuously improved. China has fully mastered the construction capacity of international nuclear power mainstream and research reactor types covering the world’s first AP1000 unit, heavy water reactor, pressurized water reactor, fourth-generation nuclear power sodium-cooled fast reactor and high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, and has built a new model of high-quality refined management.

&emsp; &emsp; In terms of equipment manufacturing, the layout of nuclear power equipment industry has been basically completed, and the core links are self-controllable. At present, China has formed three major nuclear power equipment manufacturing bases in Northeast China, Shanghai and Sichuan, and has developed and expanded a number of nuclear power equipment and parts manufacturing enterprises. The nuclear power products and systems independently developed by equipment enterprises have been successfully applied to nuclear power projects such as "Hualong No.1", "Guohe No.1" and "Linglong No.1" and demonstration fast reactor, forming a relatively complete industrial chain and having industrialized and batch production capacity.

&emsp; &emsp; In terms of nuclear power operation, the installed capacity of commercial nuclear power units continues to grow, and its operating performance is leading the world. According to the statistics of performance indicators in 2022 released by the World Association of Nuclear Power Operators, among the 51 nuclear power plants in China that meet the calculation conditions of the comprehensive index of the association, 37 units have reached a full score of 100, accounting for 50% of the world’s full score units (74 units). The full score ratio and average value of the comprehensive index are higher than those of major nuclear power countries such as the United States, Russia, France and South Korea, and are better than the average level of global units.

&emsp; &emsp; In terms of nuclear power decommissioning, China has the ability to provide complete decommissioning technical solutions. With the help of decommissioning experience of large-scale nuclear facilities, the decommissioning technology of nuclear facilities can be basically mastered, which can provide an overall solution from source investigation, decontamination, demolition, treatment, preparation, transportation and final disposal, and can lay a foundation for the implementation of nuclear power decommissioning in the future.

&emsp; &emsp; In the management of spent fuel and nuclear waste, the capacity of the management system has been further strengthened. A spent fuel transportation system including rail, sea and highway intermodal transportation was built, and it was officially put into operation, completing two batches of spent fuel transportation tasks. Dry-wet intermediate storage capacity of spent fuel was formed, and dry storage facilities of spent fuel in Daya Bay, Qinshan and Tianwan nuclear power stations were officially put into operation. The construction of special post-treatment scientific research projects and demonstration projects has been steadily advanced. The first phase of Longhe National Centralized Disposal Site has been completed and put into operation. The construction of Guangdong Yangjiang Low-level Solid Waste Disposal Site and the preliminary work of Guangxi Fangchenggang, Liaoning Xudabao and Shandong Haiyang Disposal Site have been promoted in an orderly manner. The pattern of combining radioactive waste concentration with regional disposal is taking shape.

&emsp; &emsp; On the whole, the continuous expansion of the scale of the nuclear power industry will continue to drive the upstream and downstream industries to achieve high-quality development, and the level of independent control of the industrial chain will be further improved. It is estimated that before 2030, the installed capacity of nuclear power in operation in China is expected to become the first in the world and occupy a more important position in the world nuclear power industry structure.

&emsp; &emsp;Multi-application scenarios provide low-carbon and high-efficiency energy

&emsp; &emsp; Besides power generation, what other application scenarios are there for nuclear power plants in China?

&emsp; &emsp; Liu Shichang (Associate Professor, School of Nuclear Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University): China’s nuclear power plants are mainly distributed in the southeast coastal areas such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong. The main purpose of nuclear power plants is to generate electricity, generate heat energy through nuclear reactors, drive turbine generators to generate electricity, and provide electricity for surrounding areas. While providing clean electricity, nuclear power plants have other application scenarios to provide low-carbon and efficient energy security for production and life.

&emsp; &emsp; One is industrial heating and steam supply. Industry accounts for about 70% of China’s total energy consumption, and it is a key industry of carbon emission. The industrial heating efficiency of nuclear power plant is high, and it will not produce a lot of waste gas and pollutants, which can provide stable heating and steam supply services for surrounding industrial zones and improve the economic benefits of enterprises. China mainly provides industrial steam through pressurized water reactors. For example, the nuclear energy industrial heating project jointly built by Qinshan Nuclear Power of China National Nuclear Corporation and Haiyan County of Zhejiang Province was officially completed and put into use in December 2022, which is the first nuclear energy industrial heating project in China. Tianwan Nuclear Power of CNNC also started the nuclear steam supply project. High temperature gas-cooled reactor has the advantage of high core outlet temperature, and it is also the main path for industrial steam supply, especially high quality steam supply in the future. In 2021, the demonstration project of Shidaowan high-temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear power plant was connected to the grid for the first time, which became an important carrier for China to explore high-temperature reactors to provide industrial steam and carry out hydrogen production. Modular small reactors, such as Hemei No.1 of China Power Investment Corporation, NHR200-II low-temperature heating reactor jointly developed by China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group and Tsinghua University, and Yanlong swimming pool low-temperature heating reactor of China National Nuclear Power Group, can also provide clean steam and provide decarbonization schemes for high energy-consuming industries.

&emsp; &emsp; The second is clean heating. About one third of our country needs winter heating, and the heating period lasts for four to six months. Hundreds of large and medium-sized cities in Northeast China, North China and Northwest China need hundreds of thousands of megawatts of heating power every year, and consume billions of tons of coal every year, accounting for more than 15% of total energy consumption. Nuclear reaction in nuclear power plants will generate a lot of heat energy, which can be converted into steam or hot water and transported to the urban heating system through pipelines. This way is cleaner, more efficient and more reliable than traditional heating methods such as thermal power plants and coal-fired boilers. Both large and small pile heating technologies have broad application prospects in the field of low-carbon heating.

&emsp; &emsp; In terms of piles, Zhejiang Haiyan Nuclear Energy Industrial Heating Demonstration Project, the first nuclear energy heating project in southern China, was officially put into operation in December, 2021. Using the surplus thermal power of Qinshan nuclear power base units in winter, large-scale safe, zero-carbon and economical nuclear energy heating was provided to public facilities, residential quarters and industrial parks in Haiyan County without affecting the original power generation and safety performance of the units, which truly achieved a win-win situation for local residents, local governments, nuclear power enterprises and ecological protection. It is estimated that after the completion of the project, the burning of standard coal will be reduced by 24,600 tons per year, and the emission reduction will be 1,817 tons of sulfur dioxide, 908 tons of nitrogen oxides and 59,000 tons of carbon dioxide.

&emsp; &emsp; As for small reactors, the Yanlong swimming pool type low-temperature heating reactor independently developed by CNNC is a reactor model specially used for heating residents in winter in northern China. It has the advantages of high inherent safety, good adaptability of heating network, flexible site selection, etc. A 400,000-kilowatt swimming pool reactor can heat more than 300,000 people, replace 320,000 tons of coal or 160 million cubic meters of gas every year, and reduce the emission of smoke and dust by 5,000 tons, ash by 50,000 tons and carbon dioxide by 640%.

&emsp; &emsp; The third is desalination. Desalination refers to the removal of salt from seawater, making it into fresh water that can be drunk or used for irrigation, providing fresh water resources for surrounding areas and solving the problem of water shortage, especially suitable for coastal areas. At present, there are three commonly used seawater desalination technologies, namely, multi-stage flash distillation, low-temperature multi-effect distillation and reverse osmosis. Because nuclear power plants can provide both electric energy and steam, the above three technologies can be coupled with nuclear power plants. On the one hand, by using the existing nuclear power plants in operation, supporting the construction of seawater desalination facilities to operate in cogeneration mode. For example, Shandong Haiyang Nuclear Power put into operation the scientific and technological demonstration project of "simultaneous production and delivery of water and heat", which directly turned seawater into high-temperature and high-quality fresh water at 95 degrees Celsius; Tianwan Nuclear Power of CNNC provides electricity and industrial steam, and at the same time, it is also promoting seawater desalination project. Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant has realized seawater desalination by using the waste heat of nuclear power plant to provide cooling water for nuclear power units, with a capacity of 10,080 cubic meters per day. On the other hand, multi-purpose advanced nuclear energy systems suitable for seawater desalination and other fields can be developed and built. Advanced nuclear energy system has a broad prospect in the field of seawater desalination because of its comprehensive advantages such as small size, strong flexibility, large power ratio, good adaptability and wide application fields. China has been following the world’s leading edge in developing multi-purpose advanced nuclear energy systems. At present, it has successfully developed "Yanlong" and "Linglong No.1", which are suitable for seawater desalination, heating and other fields.

&emsp; &emsp; The fourth is hydrogen production by nuclear energy. Nuclear energy can be used to produce hydrogen on a large scale, and it has the advantages of no greenhouse gas, high efficiency and large scale with water as raw material, and is an important solution for large-scale hydrogen supply in the future. High-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) is the fourth generation advanced nuclear energy technology with independent intellectual property rights in China, which has the advantages of good safety and high core outlet temperature. Its characteristics of high temperature and high pressure match the thermochemical cycle hydrogen production technology suitable for large-scale hydrogen production, and it is considered to be the most suitable reactor type and the most promising nuclear hydrogen production technology route in the future. In December 2021, the world’s first pebble bed modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear power plant was connected to the grid for power generation. After the demonstration project is put into operation, it will further March from a single "electricity" to five sub-target markets of "hydrogen, steam, water, heat and electricity", and its temperature parameters also cover most of the heat source requirements in the fields of ethanol purification, salt chemical industry, petrochemical industry, coal chemical industry and hydrogen production, which will be the "double carbon" target.

&emsp; &emsp;Ensure safety is that premise of nuclear power development.

&emsp; &emsp; Nuclear safety is the lifeline of nuclear power development. What should China pay attention to in the safe and orderly development of nuclear power in the future?

&emsp; &emsp; Zhao Chengkun (Executive Deputy Director of Expert Committee of China Nuclear Energy Industry Association and former Director of National Nuclear Safety Administration): By the end of 2022, there were 422 units in operation worldwide, with a total installed capacity of over 378 million kilowatts, distributed in 32 countries or regions around the world. There are 57 nuclear power units under construction in the world, distributed in 18 countries and regions, with a total installed capacity of 59.58 million kilowatts.

&emsp; &emsp; Among the major nuclear power countries in the world, the United States has 92 operational reactors with a total installed capacity of 94.718 million kilowatts, and nuclear power generation accounts for about 20%. There are 56 operational nuclear reactors in France, which are distributed along the coast and inland, and nuclear power generation accounts for about 70%. There are 37 operational reactors in Russia, most of which are located in the western region, and nuclear power generation accounts for about 20%. After the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, Japan shut down all reactors. In recent years, due to the shortage of energy supply and other factors, more than 10 reactors have been restarted with the approval of the regulatory authorities, and many other reactors are being restarted for approval.

&emsp; &emsp; After more than 70 years of development, the United States has established perfect laws and regulations in the field of nuclear energy, formed a complete nuclear industry system and a strong nuclear science and technology research and development capability. However, after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, a large number of uranium mines in the United States were closed, the production capacity was gradually shrinking, and the uranium conversion and nuclear power construction capacity were significantly reduced. In recent years, the United States has resumed its emphasis on the development of nuclear energy. The report "Rebuilding the Competitive Advantage of Nuclear Energy in the United States" lists promoting the development of the front-end industries of the nuclear fuel cycle as the primary task, implementing domestic uranium reserves, expanding the supply of nuclear fuel, attaching importance to the research and development of micro-reactors, and promoting the accelerated development of comprehensive utilization of nuclear energy.

&emsp; &emsp; In 2022, France issued the "2030 Investment Plan", which includes the demonstration of small modular reactor technology and the large-scale hydrogen production plan of nuclear power by 2030. Russia has sound laws and regulations in the nuclear field and clear development policies. The Russian nuclear industry system, represented by the Russian Atomic Energy Corporation, provides nuclear power life-cycle services from uranium resource development to nuclear waste disposal. In recent years, it has launched several overseas market projects in Eastern Europe, East Asia and Middle East countries, and promoted the development of nuclear reactors in different application scenarios. In 2021, the Japanese Atomic Energy Agency resumed the operation of the small high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, and in 2022, it announced with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries that a demonstration hydrogen production project would be established on this basis. At the same time, Japan attaches great importance to the development of small modular reactors. Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Fast Reactor Systems are cooperating with American Tara Energy Company to develop sodium-cooled fast reactors.

&emsp; &emsp; From the perspective of international nuclear power development, the occurrence of nuclear accidents has made countries more deeply aware of the importance of nuclear safety. Nowadays, the world’s major nuclear power countries are actively developing the fourth generation nuclear power technology to further improve the safety and economy of nuclear power. At present, the layout of nuclear power in China is unbalanced, all the nuclear power units in operation and under construction are distributed in coastal areas, and the site of nuclear power is scarce, and the proportion of nuclear power generation in the total power generation is lower than the current world average of 10%, which is still far from the developed countries.

&emsp; &emsp; Under the goal of "double carbon", with the development of nuclear power scale, the demand for natural uranium and the production of spent fuel and radioactive waste will continue to increase. According to the forecast that the scale of PWR in operation will reach 150 million kilowatts in 2035, the annual demand for natural uranium will reach 30,000 tons, and the annual output of spent fuel will be about 3,000 tons. In addition, a million-kilowatt PWR needs about 10,000 tons of natural uranium for 60 years, and about 1.5 million tons of natural uranium for the whole life cycle of 150 million nuclear power installations. Therefore, it is the key to realize the sustainable development of nuclear power to further improve the support capacity of natural uranium in China.

&emsp; &emsp; China has a relatively complete nuclear industry system, and its basic research capability has been continuously strengthened, and has independently developed three generations of nuclear power technologies, namely, Hualong No.1 and Guohe No.1.. Limited by the overall industrial level and related professional basic ability, there are still some shortcomings and weaknesses in some key equipment and materials of nuclear power in China. In addition, as a key link in the technical development route of "thermal reactor-fast reactor-fusion reactor", fast reactor can greatly improve the utilization rate of uranium resources and reduce high-level radioactive waste, which is of great significance to improve the economy and safety of nuclear power. The world’s nuclear power countries have invested a lot of manpower and material resources in the development of fast reactors, from basic research, facility development to demonstration projects, increasing research and development, and striving to control the commanding heights of technology. China has carried out the demonstration project of sodium-cooled fast reactor, and is studying a more advanced integrated fast reactor nuclear energy system, but there is still a big gap from the commercial scale application. It is necessary to increase research and development in reactor core design, dry reprocessing technology and metal fuel element manufacturing. In addition to sodium-cooled fast reactors, many domestic units have carried out research on lead (bismuth) cold fast reactors, and relevant departments should strengthen guidance to form a joint force to improve research and development efficiency.

&emsp; &emsp; Due to the long development cycle of nuclear energy projects, there are some problems such as the increased protection cost of some nuclear power sites and the difficulty in coordinating the development of sites across administrative regions. The site selection and development and utilization of related supporting nuclear facilities have prominent neighborhood effect, and some projects have been forced to stop construction due to insufficient communication and improper handling. Through effective communication and popular science propaganda, the concerns of stakeholders should be handled well to improve the public’s acceptance of nuclear energy.

&emsp; &emsp; Ensuring safety is the premise of active, orderly and efficient development of nuclear power. China has promulgated the law on the prevention and control of radioactive pollution and the law on nuclear safety, but the laws and regulations related to the nuclear field such as radioactive waste management, nuclear accident compensation and nuclear power management need to be improved as soon as possible. It is necessary to pay attention to various possible risk challenges and implement the principle of "safety first, prevention first, clear responsibility, strict management, defense in depth, independent supervision and safety guarantee". Nuclear power business units should always attach importance to the construction of nuclear safety culture, and regard it as a long-term, systematic and overall important work, and implement the concept and values of nuclear safety culture in all aspects of planning, scientific research, design and operation to ensure the safe and sustainable development of nuclear power in China.