From AP, via the International Herald Tribune:
Long-debated legislation to protect private property in China is a step closer to being passed after the country’s top legislative panel reviewed the latest draft and deemed it ripe for approval, state media reported.
The head of the national legislature, Wu Bangguo, and a panel of senior lawmakers discussed the sixth version of the property law on Sunday and said the latest version strikes a balance between private property and state ownership, the Xinhua News Agency reported late Sunday.
The report and its positive tone suggested that the measure ” the first law to protect private property ” could be approved soon, perhaps at the next full session of the National People’s Congress in March.
Since being proposed five years ago, the bill has attracted controversy and criticism in the Communist Party-run country where state ownership still dominates key parts of the economy.[Full Text]
