For the first time since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the country's nearly 900 million farmers will get a law designed to protect their rights and interests.
Last month, the leading draft group and panel of the Law on the Protection of Farmers' Rights and Interests opened their first session, which aroused wide public interest.
The media cited the event as the nation's first ever legislative effort to protect farmers - the nation's largest disadvantaged group. Some media even viewed the draft as a "mini constitution" for farmer protection.
Before this, despite continuous pro-farmer cries from the society, legal efforts lagged far behind.
One panel expert said putting the law on the nation's legislation schedule is of great significance.
University professor Wang Weizhong said it is about time the central government protected farmers.
"The fact that farmers' rights and interests have not been effectively protected is the real cause of many problems," Wang said, a 66-year-old professor with Jilin University and representative of the National People's Congress.
The professor suggested better legal protection for farmers in 1999.
According to an official from a sub-NPC committee responsible for rural legislation, the committee began drafting work and will submit it for review to the NPC standing committee as soon as possible.
In a proposal to the legislative authority this year, Wang added further content to protect migrant farmers.
The content stated that migrant farmers "should be treated the same as residents in such aspects as personal safety, work injury, salary, children's education and access to state-sponsored training."
For decades, farmers working in cities have been suffering from delayed payment or fraud.
Premier Wen Jiabao even wrote words to help a farmer get his pay back, drawing praise from both home and abroad.
According to the NPC legislative schedule, the first draft of the farmer protection law will take shape by the end of this year.
(Xinhua News Agency July 13, 2004)
