China was once a huge source of economic migrants to other countries. Now there's a reversal - a growing number of foreigners are moving to China to work, attracted by the economic opportunities available. The numbers are now so significant the authorities are drafting the country's first-ever immigration laws to control the number of people coming here from overseas.

The new law is expected to pide potential immigrants into different categories such as skilled and unskilled labor.

In 2007, almost 2.9 million foreigners were registered with the Ministry of Public Security as working legally in China.

That number is rising rapidly. Last year, there were 152,000 foreign resident workers in Shanghai alone, a 14 per cent increase on 2008.

Our laws developed much later, so our situation is different from other countries. I don’t think we should show more mercy to criminals, especially flagrant ones. We don’t need to make many changes in the criminal laws. The death penalty has existed for a long time in Chinese history. If you let criminals back into society, they may harm the social order. I don’t know much about the law. I just know anyone who seriously violates the law and harms social order deserves the death penalty. If they are lightly penalized, how will we be able to face the victims? It won’t damage our national image because we would be separating the criminals from the people.

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In the aftermath of a series of attacks on schoolchildren across the country, schools are more worried than ever and have added security personnel. But two nursery schools in northern China have taken it one step further and are charging parents extra for the protection of their children. BON's Tony Zhou has more.

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The Obama administration unveiled a new national security doctrine last week that would join diplomatic engagement and economic discipline with military power to bolster America's standing in the world.

Faced with a struggling economy and record deficits, the administration also acknowledged that boosting economic growth and getting the US fiscal house in order must be core national security priorities.

And, striking a contrast to the Bush-era emphasis on going it alone, President Barack Obama's National Security Strategy called for expanding partnerships beyond traditional US allies to rising powers like China and India in order to share the international burden.

That’s something that's got China's web forums buzzing. Our researcher Emma Wang has been gauging reaction in the newsroom and we can cross to her now.