Legislature gears up for landmark constitution revision

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, March 04, 2004

Legislature gears up for landmark constitution revision

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China's annual legislature session is to open Friday morning with delegates to the National People's Congress (NPC) set to amend the 22-year-old constitution and discuss such issues as unemployment, a widening gap between rich and poor, and corruption.

The 3,000-odd delegates to the NPC begin their 10-day session with Premier Wen Jiabao giving his yearly state of the nation address Friday, March 5.

Wen will lay out economic policy for the coming year that is expected to center on how to maintain China's economic growth, while focusing attention on the development of impoverished rural areas and the rich-poor gap.

Wen is expected to call the development of rural regions key to China's future sustainable economic development and the new focal point in an ongoing five-year effort to stimulate domestic demand and raise rural incomes.

Meanwhile, the legislature is also expected to approve three constitutional amendments.

The amendments include protections for private property, a clause on human rights protections and the enshrining into the constitution of the "Three Represents Theory."

A provision that "private property obtained legally shall not be violated" will place private property on an equal footing with public property, which is already deemed "sacred and inviolable" by the current constitution.

If fully implemented, the provision could have wide-ranging implications for China's market-driven economy.

Another amendment will enshrine the "Three Represents" theory into the constitution alongside "Marxism, Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought and the Theories of Deng Xiaoping."

The "Three Represents" maintains that the ruling Communist Party, and therefore the state, represents advanced production forces, advanced cultural forces and the overwhelming majority of Chinese people.

A final amendment says, "The State respects and protects human rights."

The congress will also approve the annual budget report, a reform and planning report, and reports from the supreme court and the supreme procuratorate.

Delegates are also expected to discuss wide ranging topics as Taiwan issue, social welfare and food security, experts said.

In conjunction with the legislature, the 2,000-odd member the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, or the top advisory body, began its 10-day session on Wednesday.

Source: China Daily

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