Chinese lawmakers are becoming more attentive to public opinions when they make laws.

The provincial legislature of northwest China's Gansu province recently held its first-ever legislation hearing, which drew wide public interest.

The lawmakers never expected that the hearing would become such an attractive and encouraging event that even many people living outside of the provincial capital of Lanzhou applied to attend, said Ma Bin, director with the Law Committee of the Standing Committee of the provincial People's Congress, or the provincial legislature.

Finally, 156 people were allowed to attend the hearing and 16 of them got the chance to speak their mind on an amendment to the province's regulations on consumer rights protection.

The provincial legislature was thinking of putting medical service and agency service under the scrutiny of the province's law on consumer rights.

Ma said the provincial legislature hoped to hear to the public's voice on the move, as the services involved the interests of everyone in a market economy.

The hearing witnessed a heated debate between representatives from consumers and the two service sectors on whether the two sectors should be included into the regulations on consumer rights protection, Ma said.

Acknowledged that it is necessary to set up a platform for lawmakers and the public to exchange views, Ma said a legislation hearing can help stimulate the public's awareness of participation into the lawmaking process.

"Only when the public opinions are taken into account, can their interests be respected and protected in the law," Ma said. "The public involvement in the law-making process can help improve legislation quality and boost democratic development."

A security guard in Lanzhou, Kang Changrong said he had a taste of democracy after attending the hearing.

"I'm glad that my rights as a common citizen could be cherished," Kang said with satisfaction.

Gansu province was making regulations on legislation hearing to standardize the procedure, which Ma said would help promote the public's involvement in the public decision-making process.

Prior to Gansu province, local people's congresses in Guangdong,Shanxi, Shaanxi, Qinghai, Fujian and Sichuan provinces and other regions, had started the legislation hearing procedure or adopted other alternatives to solicit public opinions on legislation.

Jackie Dingfelder, a senator from the State of Ohio, U.S. who personally witnessed the hearing in Gansu province, said that she was much impressed by the well-organized hearing.

Christine Chung, an observer of the hearing from the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs of the United States, noted that the reform in China was gradual but the change was obvious.

As a legislature, the people's congress is playing a more and more crucial role in China and it is exciting for observers from overseas to see that legislation hearing becoming increasingly popular in the country, Chung said.