Voting rights just the start

The amendment to the Election Law adopt-ed by the National People's Congress (NPC) marks a welcome step forward for equal voting rights for both rural and urban residents.

But equal urban-rural representation in legislative bodies isn't the final chapter. Instead, it should become a starting point to speed up domestic efforts to bridge the urban-rural income gap.

Due to China's rapid urbanization - the urban population has increased from about one-eighth of the population a century ago to more than 45 percent presently - the latest legislation that removes the difference in the number of people represented by rural and urban NPC deputies was adopted without issue. An overwhelming majority of NPC deputies voted to give farmers the same rights as urban residents.