New laws and regulations take effect ( 2003-10-01 09:31) (Xinhua)
Some newly-passed laws and regulations, which will have a major impact on
people's daily lives, will go into force from Oct. 1, China's National Day.
From Oct. 1, tourists can take 3,000 US dollars out of China at one time if
they stay abroad for less than half a year, and 5,000 US dollars if they stay
for more than half a year, according to a new regulation by the State
Administration of Foreign Exchange.
Before that, Chinese tourists could take only 2,000 US
dollars out of China at one time.
A couple display their
certificate after marriage registration in Chengdu October 1, 2003.
[newsphoto.com.cn]
From Oct. 1, Chinese people can get married or divorced without certification
letters from their work units, and the compulsory health examination before
marriage also will be removed, according to the new marriage registry
regulation.
In the past, Chinese could not get married or divorced without permission of
their work units and must have a health examination before marriage, which has
become just a formality or money-making procedure in some areas.
From Oct. 1, those who are engaged in the illegal making, buying and selling,
transporting or storing of tetramine, a hyper- toxic rat poison, and other
prohibited hyper-toxic chemicals will face serious punishment, even the death
penalty, according to the legal explanation by China's Supreme People's Court
and Supreme People's Procuratorate.
From Oct. 1, Chinese people can enjoy more imported fruits and vegetables at
a lower price because China and Thailand will scrap tariffs on bilateral trade
for 188 kinds of fruits and vegetables.
From Oct. 1, practitioners of Chinese medicine, who usually follow the
tradition of learning from masters and need not have an official qualification,
must pass a qualification exam before practicing, according to China's new
regulation on traditional Chinese medicine.
The establishment of the regulation is considered "a historic step" in the
country's lawmaking on traditional Chinese medicine.
In addition, China's law on prevention and control of radiation pollution and
many local regulations concerning people's daily lives will go into effect on
Oct. 1.
