DATE=3/15/2000 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=CHINA - CONGRESS NUMBER=2-260213 BYLINE=STEPHANIE MANN DATELINE=BEIJING INTERNET=YES CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: China's legislature has ended its annual meeting in Beijing, strongly endorsing the work of Premier Zhu Rongji. But as correspondent Stephanie Mann reports many delegates showed their dissatisfaction with the government's handling of the problem of corruption. TEXT: The 11-day session of the National People's Congress ended with the delegates voting their approval of reports by various government leaders. The work report by Premier Zhu Rongji was endorsed by 97 percent of the nearly 2800 delegates attending the session in Beijing's Great Hall of the People. And the country's budget was approved by 86 percent of the delegates. However, more than one-quarter of the delegates opposed, abstained, or chose not to vote for reports by the head of China's Supreme Court and by the country's chief prosecutor. Those reports outlined the government's efforts to crack down on official corruption. Premier Zhu later told reporters the high number of votes against the two reports shows that people are not satisfied with the anti-corruption campaign. In his report on the opening day of the Congress, Mr. Zhu vowed to punish corrupt officials no matter who they are. Halfway through the legislative session, China announced a former deputy provincial governor was executed for taking 650-thousand dollars in bribes. And a vice chairman of the Congress did not take part in the meetings because he is under investigation for graft. Foreign diplomats and business executives say China publicizes cases of people punished for corruption as an example to others. They say the cases publicized so far include provincial level officials, but not people in the central government, even though some officials in Beijing have reportedly been linked to corruption scandals. At his news conference after the Congress closed, Premier Zhu said China has made progress in cracking down on smuggling. /// OPT /// He pointed to a few cases, including a huge scandal in the southeastern port city of Xiamen that reportedly involves about 200 people. /// END OPT /// Mr. Zhu, speaking through a translator, said he hopes the Chinese people appreciate his work in fighting corruption. // ZHU / TRANSLATOR ACT // I hope the Chinese people will say, "Oh, this premier is a clean and honest premier. He's not a corrupt premier." And that will make me very satisfied. // END ACT // Official Chinese news media are reporting that delegates to the Congress want to see even stronger steps to curb corruption. The China Daily newspaper says during the session, delegates submitted proposals that would allow ordinary people to provide tips about corrupt officials and would make public civil servants' incomes. The National People's Congress has been working for several years to draft a law on supervision that would deal specifically with government oversight and the problem of corruption. Foreign observers say the law is controversial and that is why it has taken so long in the drafting stage. The China Daily says the Congress expects to complete the supervision law by the year 2003. (Signed) NEB/SMN/JO 15-Mar-2000 09:36 AM EDT (15-Mar-2000 1436 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .