BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhuanet) -- China's top legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), adopted the amendments to Constitution Sunday with an overwhelming majority of 2,863 votes in favor before closing its 10-day annual session.

    The legislators attending the closing meeting of the NPC session cast their votes through secret ballot, which is televised live by state television and radio stations.

    The amendments to Constitution consist of 14 revisions, with the most prominent parts highlighting the respect for and protection of human rights and the protection of lawful private property.

    "The amendments to Constitution represent the common aspirations of the Communist Party of China and the people of all nationalities in the country," said Wu Bangguo, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, after the amendments were adopted.

    "We should make the endorsement of the amendments an opportunity to publicize the Constitution for the whole society, especially officials at all levels and government functionaries, to study it, keep it in mind, safeguard its authority and guarantee it is implemented validly," Wu said.

    The amendments were the fourth to China's Constitution, which contains 138 articles. The previous three revisions, made in 1988,1993 and 1999 respectively, also highlighted the growth of the non-public economy and market economy.

    At least three subjects used to be off-limits to the Chinese society come in the spotlight after the Constitutional amendments,said a political science scholar from Shanghai. They are private property protection, respect for and protection of human rights, and encouragement of non-public sectors.

    To incorporate people from new social strata other than workers,peasants and intellectuals as "builders of socialism" into the Constitution "will benefit the capital accumulation of the non-public sectors," said Peng Zhenqiu, member of the NPC and vice president of the Shanghai Socialist Academy.

    Other major points of the amendments include the institution ofthe guiding role of the "Three Represents" important thought in the national political and social life, expressions of coordinateddevelopment of material civilization and political and cultural progress, and improvement of the land expropriation system.

    "There were just a few changes in the Constitution, but they are meant so much to people like me from the rural area," said Rong Jie, a farmer-turned cobbler. Rong came from the eastern province of Anhui to Beijing a dozen years ago in search of fortune. Now Rong and his family live in a luxury apartment in downtown Beijing which he bought for nearly 100,000 US dollars.

    "It is even more important for those who still till farmland inmy home village," he said. "They have lost much of their land, butgot very little compensation."

    Many NPC members agreed it was crucial to add to the Constitution a new article on respecting and protecting human rights.

    "In the past, 'human rights' was cited as something innate to capitalism," said Zhang Linchun, an NPC member and president of the Guizhou Provincial Higher People's Court. "As a matter of fact,progress has been made in respecting and protecting human rights in China, but not in a much-publicized way."

    An on-line survey by China's largest news website, Xinhuanet.com, found that 46.6 percent of the 4,399 respondents said the newarticle on human rights would "help standardize the government's administrative and law-enforcement work."

    In China over the last few years, there have been a growing demand for intensified efforts to protect the rights of farmers who losing their land to urbanization projects, of urban residentswho are not properly compensated for demolition of their houses, and of migrant laborers who face wage arrears.

    At the request of NPC members during the session, the former wording "along the road of building socialism with Chinese characteristics" is changed into "along the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics." Enditem