Rights of Returned Chinese Nationals to Be Better ProtectedChina's top legislature will make some revisions to a draft law to better protect the rights and interests of returned overseas Chinese and their family members before putting the draft to the vote later this week.The draft amendments for the Law of Protection of Rights and Interests of Returned Overseas Chinese and the Family Members of Overseas Chinese were presented to Chinese lawmakers this afternoon for panel review and discussion. Members of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top law-making body, held a heated debate on the issue. Yao Zhenyan, a member of the NPC Standing Committee, called for more workable and preferential measures, involving efficient and preferential service on project approval, and registration and approval of land requisition, to facilitate the returned overseas Chinese to invest in the country. Ku Suen-fai, a member of Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee (OCAC) who returned to China from Indonesia in 1953, proposed that the amendments stipulate that local governmental departments in charge of overseas Chinese affairs and other related departments are responsible for the supervision of overseas Chinese' rights protection. Ling Botang, a member of OCAC, hailed Article Four of the draft, which reads "the state shall make arrangements for overseas Chinese who have returned to the country and taken it as their place of permanent residence". "Thanks to this article, increasingly more overseas Chinese have settled down and invested in Shatoujiao and Luohu of Shenzhen City," he said. Du Yijin, OCAC vice-chairman, held that the preferential measures in the draft should cover those returned overseas Chinese with foreign citizenship. "This move would attract more overseas Chinese, especially those who study abroad, to set up their ventures in the country," he added. The legislators also discussed some other issues such as a definition of overseas Chinese and dual citizenship. The legislators agreed that the draft, which is going through its second review, is feasible and proposed to put the amendments to the vote at the on-going 18th meeting of the NPC Standing Committee. |
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