Safeguards for returning Chinese urged

A national law adding protections to the rights of Chinese citizens returning home after living abroad should be enacted as a way to encourage them to contribute further to the country's economic and social development, according to legislators.

Many overseas Chinese have encountered difficulties in their political, financial and social rights - such as social security, children's education and applications for permanent household registration - and a national law will make changes, deputies to the National People's Congress said during the top legislature's ongoing annual session in Beijing.

"China has more than 6 million overseas Chinese who have contributed greatly to both the country that they reside in and their homeland," said Dong Chuanjie, a lawmaker from Shanghai and director of policy and regulation for the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council.