China is revising its 10-year-old Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Returned Overseas Chinese and the Family Members of Overseas Chinese.

At the Standing Committee of the National Committee, Gan Ziyu, chairman of the NPC Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee, explained the draft revision of the law.

The law has helped protect the legal rights and interests of returned overseas Chinese and their family members for the past decade, but it needs to be revised to keep up with the times, Gan said.

The amendments involve the encouragement and favorable policies for returned overseas Chinese and their family members to invest in China and punish government officials who have violated the rights and interests of these returned compatriots and their family members.

According to official figures, there are now more than 34 million overseas Chinese living in over 170 foreign countries and regions. Meanwhile, there are over 1.14 million returned overseas Chinese and 29 million family members of those who have returned from abroad.

Most of these people are settled in Guangdong, Fujian, Hainan and Yunnan provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.