The Ninth National People's Congress, China's legislature, will step up legislation to achieve the goal of basically establishing a socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics by the year 2003.

Zeng Jianhui, spokesman for the Third Session of the Ninth NPC, said at a press conference here this morning that the Ninth NPC will set its legislative agenda at the upcoming session, which includes speeding up revising the Corporate Law, drafting a social security law, strengthening legislation in education, science and technology, formulating and revising laws in financial services, international trade and economic cooperation, speeding up the drafting of a supervision law, completing the revision of an autonomy law for regions inhabited predominantly by ethnic minority people.

"The Ninth NPC will strive to draft a civil code before its term expires in 2003," Zeng said.

The Third Session of the Ninth NPC is scheduled to open tomorrow.

The NPC has enacted more than 370 laws and decisions of a legal nature since the launch of the reform and opening-up drive in 1979, with the Ninth NPC having adopted 44 of such laws and decisions, according to the spokesman.

Meanwhile, the State Council has formulated more than 800 administrative laws and regulations during the period, while the people's congresses at local levels and their standing committees have enacted more than 7,000 local laws and regulations.

"With the enactment of these laws and regulations, the framework of a socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics has been basically established," Zeng said.

The upcoming NPC session is scheduled to review and enact a legislation law to standardize the nation's legislative work.

Zeng also pointed out that the NPC and its standing committee will continue to step up anti-corruption legislation in the future.

In that regard the NPC and its standing committee have adopted a decision to crack down on economic crimes and additional regulations on punishing criminal offences such as bribery, graft and smuggling, added a special chapter dealing with graft and bribery to the Criminal Law, and formulated an administrative supervision law and an administrative penalty law.

The spokesman also told the conference that China is making full preparations to join the World Trade Organization (WTO), and is studying related laws and regulations on foreign trade and investment to adapt its legal framework to new requirements.

In response to a reporter's question about the NPC Standing Committee vice-chairman Cheng Kejie, Zeng said Cheng is suspected of being involved in activities violating the law and discipline and is now reflecting on his own problems while being investigated.

Cheng has asked the NPC and its Standing Committee for a leave, Zeng said, adding that the NPC Standing Committee, after a discussion, proposed approving of his request for absence from the NPC session and agreed that he does not become a member of the NPC Presidium.

"Everyone is equal before law and whoever violates laws will be punished," Zeng said.

Cheng, 67, of Zhuang nationality, was deputy secretary of the CPC Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Regional Committee and chairman of the regional government before he assumed the position of vice- chairman of the Ninth NPC Standing Committee in March 1998.

On the Taiwan issue, Zeng said the so-called Taiwan election on March 18 must not have consequences that will lead possibly to the separation of China such as "Taiwan independence".

"Change of leaders in the Taiwan region cannot change the fact that Taiwan is part of China," he said.

The recovery of Hong Kong and Macao has made the task of resolving the Taiwan question and realizing a complete reunification of the motherland stand out even more prominently as a sacred mission of the Chinese people, Zeng said.

"We will, as always, adhere to the basic principles of 'peaceful reunification', 'one country, two systems' and the eight- point proposal on developing cross-Strait relations and promoting a peaceful reunification of China put forward by President Jiang Zemin, and continue to work hard to promote a peaceful reunification of the motherland," he said.

"We hope that the Taiwan authorities will not run against the historical trend and will not create obstacles for the development of cross-Strait relations and reunification of the motherland," he said, stressing "if confronted with any serious separatist activity aimed at undermining China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, we will not sit idle."

"We hope that the two sides across the Taiwan Strait can conduct dialogue on the premise of 'one China' and develop healthy relations," he said.