Hu Guangbao, a deputy director of the NPC Legislative Affairs Committee, yesterday told the Standing Committee the proposed threshold took into account 'public opinions' and 'demonstrated the realisation of democracy'.

'This has taken into consideration [the] level of public acceptability,' Mr Hu was quoted saying, adding that the slightly higher cutoff point would lift some of the burden on people with low incomes.

Lawmakers were asked to raise the threshold from the current 800 yuan to 1,500 yuan a month in August. The Standing Committee, however, suggested a public hearing - held last month and the first in the NPC's history - to solicit views on the issue.

Yang Qin, an office worker in Guangdong, was quoted by Xinhua as saying: 'The difference of 100 yuan might be a slight change for the personal income tax reform, but a big step forward for the country's democratic progress.'

Mr Yang, from Foshan , was one of the 20 citizens chosen to attend the September hearing. Although he had suggested a 2,000 yuan-a-month threshold, Xinhua said he was satisfied with the proposed amendment.

The hearing showed that 12 of the 20 chosen citizens considered the proposed 1,500 yuan threshold too low, another six supported it and two said it should be lower.

Liu Huan, a taxation expert from the Central University of Finance and Economics, said the threshold could take effect next month.

Meanwhile, the NPC Standing Committee yesterday also began reviewing a government application to ratify the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

The convention 'is conducive to the repatriation of corrupt criminals fled abroad and the recovery of Chinese assets illegally transferred to foreign lands', Premier Wen Jiabao said in a bill submitted to the Standing Committee.

Xinhua quoted police as saying that by the end of last year, more than 500 Chinese suspects - most of them officials wanted on corruption charges - had fled overseas with about 70 billion yuan.

'Only a fraction of them have been extradited back to China,' Xinhua said.

Wu Dawei, a vice-minister of foreign affairs, said ratification of the convention - which China signed two years ago - would help extradition efforts.

'Most importantly, it will provide a strong international legal basis for China to solve the difficulties in investigating and extraditing criminals suspected of corruption and recovering Chinese assets in foreign countries,' Mr Wu said.

China signed the document in December in 2003. By September 15, 30 countries had ratified the convention, which takes effect on December 14.

Xinhua said the NPC Standing Committee yesterday also opened discussions on laws governing the safety of agricultural produce.

In briefing the Standing Committee members, Xu Xiaojun, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture, said that of the 381 major food-poisoning incidents reported in 2004, 140 were caused by eating poisonous animals and plants.