He initially had cordial relations with the authorities, who appointed him to the local branch of the People's Congress, the Communist Party-controlled legislature.

Completing the formality, all 323 deputies in the heavily Communist legislature voted for Mr. Havel, Czechoslovakia's first non-Communist President since 1948.

Mr. Wu, another former Shanghai party chief, now leads China's Communist Party-run legislature and is the second-ranking leader in the party hierarchy after Mr. Hu.

Taiwan is one focus of the Congress, the Communist Party-controlled legislature that convenes in full session once each year to review and invariably approve the main personnel appointments and policy decisions of party leaders.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's Communist Party-controlled legislature, issued a legally binding interpretation of Hong Kong's Basic Law, its miniconstitution.

The Basic Law says the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the Communist Party-controlled legislature of China, has essentially complete discretion in deciding how the law is interpreted.

The Communist Party-controlled legislature has indicated that it is preparing to enact a law against secession, possibly mandating military action if Taiwan were to declare independence.

Chinese media outlets will be fined if they report on "sudden events" without prior authorization from government officials, under a draft law being considered by the Communist Party-controlled legislature.

China's Communist Party-run legislature has been urged to consider many new protections, like a right to remain silent.

Artists created this imaginary world inside the ruin of the Palace of the Republic, which had been the home of the Communist legislature in what was then East Berlin.