Mar.4 - China will seep up legislation on social affairs in 2007 to better protect and adjust the interests of different groups, a spokesman of the National People's Congress (NPC) said in Beijing on Sunday.

 

"More than 20 draft laws and amendments are on this year's legislative agenda, many of which are laws urgently needed for building a harmonious socialist society," Jiang Enzhu, spokesman for the Fifth Session of the Tenth NPC, told reporters one day ahead of the start of the NPC annual full session.

 

Jiang said the drafts included laws on labor contract, employment promotion, mediation and arbitration of labor conflicts.

 

Critics have said that China has witnessed much faster progress in economic sector than in the social and political areas.

 

"I believe those laws (once adopted) will have significant impacts on the protection of people's rights, safeguarding social stability and boosting social development," he said.

 

The Fifth Session of the Tenth NPC is scheduled to open on Monday at the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing. This is also the last full session of the Tenth NPC within its five year term.

 

Jiang said NPC deputies attending the session will hear and deliberate several reports, including those on the work of the government, the NPC Standing Committee, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

 

The lawmakers will also examine and approve reports on the implementation of the national economic and social development plan for 2006 and the national economic and social development program for 2007, review and approve reports on the implementation of central and local budgets for 2006 and on draft central and local budgets for 2007.

 

They will also debate two important law drafts -- the draft property rights law and the draft corporate income tax law.

 

High on the agenda of the full session also include discussion over the draft decision on the number of deputies electable to the Eleventh NPC and issues related to the election, and two draft provisions on the election of NPC deputies from the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao.

 

A total of 2,978 NPC deputies are expected to attend the annual session, 2,943 of whom had registered by Sunday.