Legislators should pass the Social Security Law as soon as possible for the benefit of the people, says an article in the Beijing Times. Excerpt:

Reports show people hold different views on the draft of the Social Security Law, and regional, corporate and individual conflicts of interests are making it difficult for legislators to finalize it.

If we look at the major laws enacted in recent years, we will find almost all of them - including the Property Law and the Anti-monopoly Law - took almost a decade to be passed. If we don't realize the urgency of passing the Social Security Law now, it could suffer the same fate.

We have to think carefully about the Chinese people vis-a-vis the country's economic development, our past prosperity and accumulated wealth, future growth foundations and how to respond to people's cry for the pension system.

Only when we reflect upon these questions can we really understand that the Social Security Law is the key to China's future growth route and new development model. It will help the country realize the core task of addressing social security concerns and protecting people's basic rights, which will benefit the entire society.

Therefore, legislators should quicken the pace of deliberations and pass the Social Security Law as soon as possible and demonstrate their commitment toward the people and the government.

(China Daily August 12, 2009)