China's top legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), adopted a
landmark property law here Friday morning, granting equal
protection to public and private properties.
It only took less than a minute for the nearly 3,000 NPC
lawmakers to pass the much-revised bill, which had gone through a
lengthy legislation process of more than 13 years and a record
seven readings, by an overwhelming majority as the NPC concluded
its annual full session in the Great Hall of the People in downtown
Beijing.
The lawmakers applauded warmly after NPC Standing Committee
Chairman Wu Bangguo announced the voting results. A
total of 2,799 lawmakers voted for the law and 52 against.
Thirty-seven abstained and one didn't cast vote.
The 247-article law, which is due to come into effect as of Oct.
1, 2007, stipulates that "the property of the state, the
collective, the individual and other obligees is protected by law,
and no units or individuals may infringe upon it".
This is the first time that equal protection to state and
private properties has been enshrined in a Chinese law, which
analysts say marks a significant step in the country's efforts to
further economic reforms and boost social harmony.
China's state and private properties once suffered from serious
violations due to a lack of respect for and protection of property
rights.
"The significance of the law's adoption lies in the fact that it
helps complete China's property rights system," commented Jiang
Ping, former president of the Chinese University of Politic Science
and Law.
"Only when people's lawful property is well protected could they
have the enthusiasm to create more wealth and could China maintain
its economic development," said Jiang, a scholar involved in the
early drafting of the law.
The concept of improving the protection of private property was
first brought up at the 16th National Congress of the ruling
Communist Party of China (CPC) held in November 2002. In March
2004, the NPC adopted a major amendment to the Chinese
Constitution, stating that people's lawful private property is
inviolable.
The draft of the property law was first submitted to the NPC
Standing Committee in 2002 and had been reviewed for an
unprecedented seven times before it finally reached this year's
parliament session for final approval.
(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2007)