Government at all levels should learn from this year's severe snowstorms and improve the nation's emergency response system, a political advisor said on Saturday.

"The snowstorms sounded the alarm bell - we should be more prepared for danger in times of safety," Huang Yao, a CPPCC member from Guizhou, said.

"It (the snow disaster) urges government at all levels to improve governance and enhance their overall capacity to handle similar emergencies and minimize losses in the future," Huang said.

Mountainous Guizhou province in southwestern China was one of the worst-affected regions during the storms.

Weeks of snow and sleet closed roads and disrupted water and power supplies in many areas.

Wan Gang, chairman of the China Zhi Gong Party, said the nation should do more to reverse the brain drain.

Many Chinese professionals that were educated and are working abroad are now at the stage of starting their own businesses, Wan said.

"They are exactly the kind of professionals that are sorely needed right now in China," Wan said.

He called for a national database to store information on Chinese professionals living abroad and for a system to communicate local market demand to them.

Wan also proposed a public bidding system for job openings and urged greater access to the local job market for Chinese professionals living overseas.

"We should also give them more political input," Wan said, adding that overseas professionals' opinions should be solicited when regulations are drafted in their field.

The new Labor Contract Law won't substantially increase employers' costs, a senior trade union official said on Saturday.

"Employers will see a very slight cost increase under the new law," Zhang Mingqi, vice-president of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions and CPPCC member, said.

But employers that have tried to cut corners through illegal employment practices such as refusing to pay employees' insurance will be paying "a lot more", Zhang said.

The new law protects the interests of both employees and employers to create a level playing field, he said.

The labor law came in on Jan 1 and includes regulations entitling staff with more than 10 years' service to contracts to protect them from unfair dismissal.

But some employers claim the law will reduce labor flow and weaken their businesses.

The nation should put more emphasis on "soft power", Xue Cheng, CPPCC member and vice-president of the Buddhist Association of China, said yesterday.

The term "soft power" was coined in the late 1980s by Harvard professor Joseph Nye to describe the use of a country's culture and ideology to indirectly influence behavior.

"Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism are three cornerstones of traditional Chinese culture that contribute to its harmonious character," Xue said.

Chinese Buddhists have been working to introduce Buddhism to other countries and to help more nations, ethnic groups and civilizations understand Chinese culture, he said.

The country's wide range of cultural resources can be leveraged as "soft power" to contribute peace and prosperity to the world, he said.

Accountability should be improved and administrative power more closely monitored, Li Lijun, a CPPCC member, said yesterday.

"The accountability system should be considered integral to monitoring and controlling political power," Li, deputy director of Hunan's supervision department and a China Democratic League member, said.

The system should cover not only government but public organizations and judicial bodies at all levels, he said.

Accountability currently rests with one or just a few officials.

But Li said responsibility should be shared by all those involved.

The accountability system should not be seen as an alternative to the legal system, he said.

(China Daily March 10, 2008)