At the annual legislators' gathering, they urged a revision of the law to outline more detailed and workable measures for dealing with consumption disputes.

A standard of objectives also needs to be drafted for financial compensation, said Wang Weizhong, a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) from Northeast China's Jilin Province.

Wang gathered 30 signatures from fellow legislators to introduce a proposal to the Fifth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress, which is scheduled to conclude today, for a timely revision of the eight-year-old law in line with internationally accepted rules.

The compliance with international customs is a must following China's official entry into the World Trade Organization.

"The initiative signals progress by the national economy and social civilization," said Zhu Wenying, a lawyer with LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP. "And the revision is a legal progress in line with the country's economic development."

Said Wang, "Although the law has been playing an active role in defending consumers' interests, there are still some areas for improvement."

Concern for consumers' rights has risen in recent years, since many of them believe they have been ill-treated or cheated by commodity or service suppliers.

"Consumers are still in a vulnerable position because their interests are often neglected compared with the commodity and service suppliers when disputes arise," said a senior official with the China Consumers Association.

The trend saw a surge last year as many consumers complained to auto makers, house developers, airlines and medical institutions, some of which are internationally known, such as Mercedes-Benz and Mi-tsubishi.

The deputies also called for a strengthening of the position of the consumers' association to enable them to play a key role in safeguarding a fair environment in the market.

Today, the China Consumers Association is set up only as a social organization with no legal means to back up any decisions it made to law-breakers.

"The revision of the law has to be in line with the improvement of the entire social environment, and the enforcement also needs to be strengthened," Zhu said.

A senior official with the Chinese Consumers Association said the group is hoping to split with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the parent administrative body in charge of supervising the markets, to gain more autonomy in enforcing their decisions.

(China Daily March 16, 2002)