China's draft law revision on women's protection garners wide public attention

BEIJING, June 16 -- A draft revision to the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women, which stipulates stringent measures to tackle women trafficking, has garnered wide public attention in China.

More than 300,000 comments have been submitted by over 80,000 people since the draft was posted online for public opinion after a second reading by national lawmakers in April, said Yang Heqing, a spokesperson for the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, on Thursday.

The draft revision underwent a first reading in December.

The draft proposes a "mandatory reporting and screening mechanism" to swiftly identify and handle crimes against women and includes rules to strengthen the protection of women workers' right to rest, vacation and job promotion during pregnancy and childbirth.

Marriage registration departments, local governments, community and villagers committees and their staff shall report to the police if they suspect women are being trafficked or abducted, says the draft.

Many comments called for measures to further refine relevant regulations, enhance the feasibility of the law, and clarify the relevant obligations of online platforms to better protect the rights and interests of women in cyberspace.

Yang said the commission will carefully study the comments and further revise and improve the draft legislation.