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Laws redrafted to fall in with economic shift The past year has seen China make steady progress in improving the legal system. While discussions on the draft property law and revision of the corporate law and securities law push forward the market-based economic framework, laws have been revised and approved that will better protect women's rights, regulate the powers of the police and standardize the behaviour of public servants. The draft law of property has been submitted for discussion to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), which disclosed it to the public in July last year to solicit opinions from the general population. In the following month and a half, the national legislature received more than 10,000 suggestions on the draft law's major points. After seriously evaluating these opinions, the standing committee explained to the public how their suggestions have been dealt with. This is not the first time the republic's laws have been open for public discussion, but the serious attitude in this case is unprecedented, setting a good example for future legislation. The revision of the law on individual income tax is another example of democratic legislation. On September 27, the NPC Standing Committee held a public hearing on the determination of the taxable income level, which was warmly received. More than 5,000 people from all over the country applied to attend the hearing. Although local people's congresses have held some public hearings, this was the first time the top national legislature had experimented with such a practice. Given the country's tradition of administrative departments leading the making of laws, the national public hearing marks a new step the NPC has taken on the road to more democratic legislation. We hope the country's legislation will be more public-oriented and that public hearings become regular, rather than a non-essential choice. Regarding the revision of the corporate law and securities law, it is obvious that legislators want to deregulate economic affairs while strengthening the protection of investors' interests. The revised corporate law greatly reduces the capital requirement for corporate registration, expands the scope of assets that investors can use for registration and allows a person to establish a company alone. Those revisions facilitate the establishment of companies and encourage the launch of businesses, which will push forward economic development and create jobs. On the other hand, the revised corporate law improves the mechanism for protecting the interests of shareholders, especially small, individual shareholders. It strengthens shareholders' right to know and makes it more applicable for shareholders to turn to legal means to protect their interests. The problem of "internal control" has become a focus of regulation in the new version of the corporate law. It stipulates in a more detailed way the requirement of loyalty and other duties for board directors and high-level managers. It adds stipulations of punishment for misbehaving corporate shareholders. The revised securities law strengthens the entry requirement for shareholders and high-ranking managers of securities companies. Meanwhile, it stipulates more strict requirements in terms of their legal and moral responsibilities. The revised law on the protection of women's rights, which took effect on December 1, involves many fundamental changes that promote equal rights for women. The article that "equality of men and women is the basic State policy" is incorporated into the revised version of the law. It also stipulates that the State will take actions to eliminate discrimination of all forms against women. To that end, the law includes many anti-discrimination articles relating to employment, education and women's economic interests. It promotes women's political rights, requiring an increase in representation in the government and legislature. Prevention and control of domestic violence is a focus of the revision. According to the revised law, it is an obligation of relevant government departments and social organizations to provide assistance for women that fall victim to domestic violence. The law used to be too general, which makes implementation difficult. This time, the revised law elaborates on the articles on legal aid for women and punishment for wrongdoers, making it more applicable. The approval of the law on administrative penalties for public security in August has expanded the scope of power enjoyed by the police. For example, it adds new means of punishment for the police to use to carry out their duty. Meanwhile, it stipulates concrete measures to prevent civil rights from being infringed upon. The law imposes a 30-day cap for administrative detention. More detailed procedural requirements are stipulated for the law enforcement activities of the police. People can apply for a hearing concerning the confiscation of their assets. If people disagree with administrative penalty decisions, they no longer need to undergo the procedure of administrative reconsideration. Instead, they can directly bring an administrative lawsuit. The law also stipulates that evidence collected through illegal means will be deemed invalid. Despite these stipulations, some experts and media outlets have criticized the law because of the extension of police power. The public servant law, which took effect on January 1, has also caused controversy. The term public servant has been extended to include not only officials in the administrative departments, but also authorized staff of people's congresses, the people's political consultative conference and other social organizations. Some also criticize the law that stipulates different retirement ages for men and women. It states that women should retire at the age of 55 while men stop working at the age of 60. In general the law strengthens the management of public servants by introducing rules for behaviour, career assessment and specific punishments for those who fail to abide by the rules. (Source: China Daily) g-blog linuxgazette bloglines blog.com blog-city blogomonster over-blog jroller Post a comment in response: |
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