本周二，全國人大審議通過了“反洗錢法”，同時，對人民法院組織法進行修改，決定“死刑核準權收歸最高人民法院”。業內人士認為這兩項決議均具有劃時代意義。新出臺的“反洗錢法”明細了洗錢形式，擴大了洗錢的法律定義，指出洗錢不僅僅是和“毒品、走私”有關的犯罪行為，其它金融犯罪如“受賄”和“金融詐騙”也應納入洗錢范疇。決議通過的“死刑案件核準權收歸最高人民法院”，是我國20多年來在最嚴厲的刑罰——死刑上最重大的改革，是尊重保障人權、防止冤假錯案的關鍵一步。

An amendment to the Organic Law of the People's Courts will give the defendants one more chance to have their opinions heard. Landmark legislation on anti-money laundering and death sentences was approved by China's top legislature Tuesday and is scheduled to take effect on January 1. The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress widened the definition of money laundering to include corruption and bribe taking, violating financial management regulations and financial fraud. Previously, the law identified only drug trafficking, organized or terrorist crime and smuggling as money laundering. Officials and analysts believed the ambit was too narrow and called for stepped-up efforts to combat money laundering and stop corrupt officials fleeing abroad with large amounts of illicit money. The law demands that financial and some non-financial institutions maintain customer and transaction records and report large and suspect transactions. The People's Bank of China, the central bank, and its provincial branch offices are authorized to investigate suspect fund transfers. The law, made as required by the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, also pledges to step up co-ordination with other countries to combat global money laundering and exchange information with overseas anti-money laundering organizations. "It is an important and essential step," said Zhang Xuechun, an economist with the Asian Development Bank's Resident Mission in China. "But how well it will be implemented depends on whether the government can put together an efficient inter-department co-ordination mechanism," he said. Zhang Hongwei, director of the anti-money laundering department of the Ministry of Public Security, said the law would facilitate closer co-operation between police departments and financial institutions. Meanwhile, an amendment to the Organic Law of the People's Courts was adopted, requiring all death sentences to be reviewed and ratified by the Supreme People's Court. Xiao Yang, president of the court, said that there would now be a clear distinction between the review of a death sentence and an appeal of the verdict. The former will be handled by the highest court while the latter remains with provincial courts. "It will give the defendants one more chance to have their opinions heard," Xiao said. Chen Zhonglin, a law professor with Southwest University of Political Science and Law, estimated that the number of death sentences in China would drop by at least 20 per cent after the amendment of the law. (China Daily)

Vocabulary:

anti-money laundering: 反洗錢 take effect: 實施 ambit: 范圍 drug trafficking: 毒品交易 smuggling: 走私 financial fraud: 金融詐騙 fund transfers: 資金轉移 amendment: 修正案 ratify：批準、認可 （英語點津陳蓓編輯）