Deputies boost culture

The top legislature plans to improve laws in the cultural sector this year as the country throws unprecedented weight behind the development of culture.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress will formulate a law on public libraries to promote the development of cultural undertakings, Wu Bangguo, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, said on Friday.

Lawmakers will also improve the system of Internet-related laws to promote a healthy cyberspace culture, and to safeguard public interests and national information security, Wu said while making an NPC Standing Committee work report to the plenary session of the NPC.

The report lists "strengthening the system of cultural laws" as one of the major legislative tasks this year, which echoes the call of the country's central leadership to vigorously develop culture.

A plenary session of the Communist Party of China Central Committee endorsed a guideline in October to boost China's cultural influence internationally and provide the sector with more resources domestically.

The guideline said culture is a major factor in the nation's comprehensive competitiveness as well as the backbone of the country's economic and social development.

During the ongoing plenary sessions of the top legislature and political advisory body, cultural development has become a hot topic.

The Central Committee of the China Association for Promoting Democracy has formally submitted a motion calling for improving legislation in the cultural sector.

The motion said there are many blank areas in China's laws about culture, and some existing laws and regulations are out of date.

Deputies listen to a work report from the Standing Committee of the NPC at a parliamentary session at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday. The top legislature plans to give a boost to the country's culture industry. Yao Dawei / Xinhua