Chinese Legislature to Consider Six Laws in New SessionChina's top legislature, the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress (NPC), is to hold its 15th session on April 25 to deliberate six draft laws.The legislative agenda were decided at a meeting today of chairman and vice-chairmen of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over by the chairman, Li Peng. Lawmakers on Tuesday tabled the draft amendments to the law on prevention and control of air pollution, an explanation of an article of the criminal law, amendments to the law on product quality, a draft law on farm seeds, and amendments to the customs law. Each has been reviewed in previous legislative sessions. Amendments to the law on the patent rights law will be submitted to the legislators for a first hearing. A treaty on land borderlines and a consular treaty with Viet Nam will also be presented to the legislators for deliberation and ratification, along with a treaty on the dividing point between the Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, and an additional treaty with Kyrgyzstan on border issues. The State Council will also deliver a report on the process of China's entry to the World Trade Organization. It was also announced at today's meeting that an addition has been made to the drafted amendments to the law on the prevention and control of air pollution, which says that governments at various levels should "fulfill their due responsibility in preventing and controlling desertification and sandstorms." The addition was made after Beijing and many other areas of China were hit by more than seven severe sandstorms and dust storms this winter, said Wang Weicheng, chairman of the NPC Law Committee. The NPC Standing Committee also said today it will form special contingents this year to look into how successfully China's laws on township enterprises, land management, organization of urban neighborhood committees and criminal procedures have been enforced. |
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