The Standing Committee of the 10th Chinese National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, last Friday, began a four-day session to prepare for the upcoming third plenary meeting.

During the session, from Feb. 25 to 28, the lawmakers expect to approve the agenda, the presidium name list and the non-voting delegate list for the meeting of the 10th NPC beginning March 5.

They also discussed the examination report on the qualification of the people who will be elected or by-elected to be NPC deputies, and deliberated the draft work report of the Standing Committee of the 10th NPC.

The top legislature deliberated the draft amendment to the Corporation Law for the first time during the session. The draft will add 44 new items, omit 13 items and revise 91 items from the original Corporation Law.

Lawmakers also heard a report Friday on the work of building up an emergency counter-plan and the country's production safety status submitted by the State Council, or the Chinese cabinet.

The report acknowledged that China has basically established a nationwide emergency counter-plan and still needs to improve its production safety status.

The fifth amendment draft of the Criminal Law, a bill dealing with expert testimony management and a bill on renewable energy are expected to be approved during this session.

The State Council also submitted the motions on approving the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules relating to International Carriage by Air and a convention relating to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

(Xinhua News Agency February 28, 2005)