China's top legislature opens bimonthly session

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At a bimonthly session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing³ Committee that opened Monday morning, lawmakers were briefed with reports on draft revisions to the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly and the Law on Funds for Investment in Securities.

Presided over by Wu Bangguo, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, the session was attended by 142 members of the NPC Standing Committee, China's top legislature.

The lawmakers will deliberate amendments to the Land Administration Law, the Labor⁴ Contract Law and the Trademark⁵ Law during the session running from Dec. 24 to 28 in Beijing.

The draft amendment¹ to the Land Administration Law, submitted by the State Council, proposes raising compensation for farmers whose collectively-owned land is expropriated and suggests more strict rules to manage excessive land expropriations.

Farmers' protests over land expropriation have occurred in villages across the country in recent years, prompting calls for better protection of farmers' property rights.

In a report to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last month, Hu Jintao pressed for making reforms in the land expropriation system and increasing farmers' share of gains in land value.

This week, members of the top legislature will decide whether to approve a draft decision drawn⁶ up by the NPC Standing Committee to strengthen Internet information protection.

If the decision, which has the same legal effect as a law, is adopted, it will become China's second law on Internet management following the NPC Standing Committee's decision on Internet security maintenance which went into effect on Dec. 28, 2000.

They will also discuss a draft law on tourism and a draft decision of the NPC Standing Committee that would authorize⁷ a pilot program to allow Guangdong Province to adjust administrative⁸ examination and approval items.

The draft decision is the first of its kind to be made by China's top legislature in an effort to give local governments more power in administrative approvals and loosen government control in regulating private economic sectors⁹.

According to an agenda for the session released by the NPC Standing Committee, lawmakers will also deliberate a draft resolution on convening¹⁰ the first annual session of the 12th NPC early next year.

They will also discuss a proposal on candidates for the electoral committee of the People's Liberation Army, submitted by the Central Military Commission.

A State Council report on land administration and mineral resource exploitation, utilization¹¹ and protection will also be delivered to lawmakers for deliberation.

Also tabled for reading are the Supreme¹² People's Court's report on trials concerning intellectual property and the Supreme People's Procuratorate's report on civil administrative procuratorial work.

Reports on the implementation¹³ of the Agriculture Law and the Law on the Promotion¹⁴ of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises will also be discussed.

Lawmakers will be briefed with reports on the government's reactions to suggestions and criticism offered by delegates attending the fifth annual session of the 11th NPC.

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