It was highlighted in a panel discussion at the 19th session of the Ninth National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, China’s top legislative body, which opened Friday in Beijing.

“Technicians should have enough knowledge and skills to deal with any illegal intrusions into the network,” said legislator Zhu Xiangyuan. “Otherwise, the law will exist only on paper.”

“Internet companies ought to fulfill their responsibility for guarding network security,” added legislator Gu Shanqing.

The draft resolution on the supervision of computer networks and information security was first read by legislators in October and is expected to be put to a vote next Saturday when the session ends.

A draft law is eligible to be voted on after three readings by legislators under normal circumstances in China. But some draft laws, such as the draft resolution governing Internet use, can be voted on if the legislators are in basic agreement, according to the law on legislative procedures.

The lawmakers also had a third round of deliberations over the draft extradition law in their panel discussion.

In line with common international practice and the example of the United Nations extradition treaty, a new clause banning extradition of offenders charged with military crimes was added to the draft law.

The draft extradition law and the draft amendments to the law on the administration of tax collection will also be voted by the legislators.

The draft amendments to the law on regional autonomy and the law on medicine administration will enter their second round of deliberation in the current session.

Legislators will continue their discussion on the amendments to the current Marriage Law, which has attracted nationwide attention.

Previous deliberation by the legislators in October has triggered heated debate among the public especially on issues relating to bigamy and domestic violence.

Lawmakers will organize plenary meeting debates instead of panel discussions this time to solicit more opinions and ensure a more comprehensive debate.

Three new draft laws on defence education, military service, assessment of environmental consequences, along with the amendments to the Copyright Law and Trademarks Law were also submitted to the lawmakers for preliminary reading.

During the session, legislators will also hear 11 reports, including the reports on the progress of state-owned enterprise reform, management of long-term state bonds presented by the State Council and the report on the enforcement of Criminal Code Procedures from the NPC standing committee.

A China-United States treaty on criminal judicial assistance was also presented to lawmakers for approval, as well as a draft decision on the convening of the fourth plenary session of the Ninth NPC.

(China Daily 12/24/2000)