国内英语新闻:China's legislature ends bimonthly session

BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislature on Friday ended its bimonthly session, adopting a series of bills including a law on vehicle and vessel taxation, which is aimed at standardizing taxation and promoting environmental awareness and energy efficiency.

The National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee also voted to adopt an amendment to the Criminal Law which reduces the number of crimes punishable by death by 13 to 55.

Moreover, it passed the country's first law on intangible cultural heritage protection, which is expected to better preserve heritages of historic, literary, artistic or scientific value.

At the session that opened on Wednesday, lawmakers validated the dismissal of Liu Zhijun from his post as the railways minister and appointed Sheng Guangzu, the former head of the General Administration of Customs, to replace Liu.

The discipline watchdog of the Communist Party of China (CPC) said on Feb. 12 that Liu was under investigation for alleged "severe violation of discipline," while the CPC Central Committee's Organization Department said he had been removed from the post of the ministry's Party chief.

Wu Bangguo, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, said at the closing of the bimonthly session that the democratic rights of NPC members should be fully respected and guaranteed during the upcoming NPC plenary session.

On Friday afternoon, the members of the NPC Standing Committee attended a lecture on China's water conservancy development.