The legislature also passed unanimously the State Council's motion of joining the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation In Southeast Asia and its two amending protocols.

The approval will make China the first to join the treaty among all the big countries outside Southeast Asia. It will also further boost the good cooperative relation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), lawmakers said.

The law on citizen's ID card will come into force from Jan. 1, 2004. Compared with the old regulation adopted in 1985, the new law shows more care and protection to public interests, law experts said.

The law on port facilities, to be enforced as of Jan. 1, 2004, will help enhance administration on ports, maintain their security and order, and tighten protection and reasonable use of the port resources, lawmakers said.

The law on the prevention of radioactive pollution, to be enforced from Oct. 1, 2003, is designated to better protect people and environment from radioactive pollution while promoting the development of nuclear energy, said lawmakers.

Stressing the importance to give legal publicity so as to let people know how to use laws to protect their legitimate rights and interests at Saturday's meeting, Wu Bangguo, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, urged the government officials of all levels to enhance their legal sense and upgrade their legal knowledge so as to enhance their capacity of administrative performance.

(Xinhua News Agency June 28, 2003)