China is revising its 10-year-old Law on the Protection of the
Rights and Interests of Returned Overseas Chinese and the Family
Members of Overseas Chinese.
At
the Standing Committee of the National Committee, Gan Ziyu,
chairman of the NPC Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee, explained
the draft revision of the law.
The law has helped protect the legal rights and interests of
returned overseas Chinese and their family members for the past
decade, but it needs to be revised to keep up with the times, Gan
said.
The amendments involve the encouragement and favorable policies for
returned overseas Chinese and their family members to invest in
China and punish government officials who have violated the rights
and interests of these returned compatriots and their family
members.
According to official figures, there are now more than 34 million
overseas Chinese living in over 170 foreign countries and regions.
Meanwhile, there are over 1.14 million returned overseas Chinese
and 29 million family members of those who have returned from
abroad.
Most of these people are settled in Guangdong, Fujian, Hainan and
Yunnan provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.