Private property will be accorded the same protection as public property such
as State-owned assets, according to a draft law.
The fifth version of the draft law on property rights was submitted to the
National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee yesterday for deliberation
today.
The draft law defines and governs matters relating to owners' rights of
immovable and movable property.
Giving equal protection to properties owned by different entities is vital
for competition in the market economy, Hu Kangsheng, vice-chairman of the NPC
Law Committee, said in his report on the revision of the draft law at an NPC
Standing Committee conference.
The latest version, whose deliberation has taken longer than originally
expected, offers the equal-rights solution to the issue that provoked heated
debate among national lawmakers in previous rounds of deliberation.
During previous debates, there was a strong view among some sections of the
NPC and the public that State-owned property be given precedence over private
property.
Differences over some issues which concern almost everyone in the country
have caused the delay in the legislative plan, Yang Jingyu, director of the NPC
Law Committee, told China Daily earlier this year.
"We have solicited more than 11,500 opinions," Yang said then, adding that
the draft law would be tabled at next year's annual session of the NPC after a
review by the Standing Committee this month and December.
At the full session of the NPC Standing Committee yesterday, two other legal
documents the draft amendment to the Law on the Protection of Minors and the
draft of the first ever bill on drug control were also submitted to the
legislators.
In the draft amendment to the Law on the Protection of Minors, effective
since 1992, a ban is proposed on the sale of cigarettes and alcohol to people
below the age of 18, who number around 300 million.
It would compel shopkeepers to display signs saying that cigarettes and
alcohol would not be sold to minors, although the penalty for a breach of the
proposed clause is still to be specified.
In the draft law on drug control, opium, heroin, marijuana, "ice"
methamphetamine hydrochloride morphine, and cocaine are officially spelt out as
substances to be banned in China. In practice, the country has been making a
sustained effort in its war on drug abuse and trafficking within the country and
across borders.
Also submitted to lawmakers for review and debate will be draft laws on
supervision, enterprise bankruptcy, anti-money laundering, and farmers' business
associations, and the draft amendment to the existing law of business
partnerships.
The Proposal on the Sino-Pakistan Co-operative Agreement on Combating
Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism was also submitted yesterday for
deliberation and approval.
The agreement, which was signed by China and Pakistan last year during
Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing's visit to Islamabad, defines terrorism, separatism
and extremism, and outlines the scope of co-operation between the two
countries.
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