A few cases, in which the owners of private firms were killed, has drawn attention of the affluent people's personal safety, which has become a heated topic during panel discussions of the on-going First Session of the 10th National People's Congress.

These are only a tiny number of individual cases, said Lou Zhongfu, a deputy to the on-going First Session of the 10th NPC, or the top legislature, on Friday, noting there have been quite a few people who envy and are jealous of them but there was a drastic trend in the number of cases involving blackmail, extortion and other threats of their personal safety.

Lou, a successful entrepreneur from east China's Zhejiang province, who had made fortune from building industry, said "I no longer worry about my personal safety."

Nevertheless, Lou's home was looted 12 years ago, and he owned this occurrence to the less-developed economic growth and the level of people's understanding at that time, he said, adding that" the status and social position of private firm owners as well as their wealth had not won recognition though the people then were decently clothed."

The National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) held in November 1922 explicitly referred owners of private enterprises to builders of socialism with Chinese characteristics and representatives of the advanced production forces, he said, all the lawful income of labor and non-labor had to be protected and a related law for the protection of private property was yet to be further improved.

Lou appealed for Chinese private entrepreneurs, who are among the "first group of people to become rich" to respond to the call of late leader Deng Xiaoping, to "remain modest, keep low-profile, behave as other ordinary people, and respect others" and devoted themselves to charitable well-beings.

Yet, deputies and delegates attending the first sessions of the10th NPC and 10th CPPCC National Committee held in this national capital called for the attention for the personal safety of the new wealthy business people in the country.

On January 22, 2003, Li Haicang, a noted private entrepreneur and vice-chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, was shot in his hometown, Yuncheng city in Shanxi province, north China. A few individuals mentioned that his death had something to do with the Forbes listing of him as China's 27 richest.

Three weeks later, on February 12, some outlaws stabbed to death Zhou Zubao, a billionaire in Wenzhou city, in eastern Zhejiang province, in front of his residence. some people also attributed his death to the hatred against the rich, a "legacy" which has passed down from history.

However, most lawmakers from private sectors cited these individual incidents as a very few "specific cases".

Steve K. W. Chan, a Hong Kong CPPCC member and board chairman of the Coca-Cola, China, Ltd., said he did not encounter any risks in his frequent trips to many places on the Chinese mainland, and felt at ease with his personal experiences that the people's attitudes towards the affluent people are quite good and healthy.

"In China, your legitimate rights are protected well, if you abide by the law," he noted.

Nan Cunhui, another billionaire and owner of Zhengtai Group, the country's largest manufacturer of low-watts electric equipment, acknowledged that the personal safety of private business owners hinges on social environment, education and people's understanding.

"People in China are no longer jealous about the riches, and this is the case in Wenzhou at least," said Yang Fangshan, a local taxi drive, "Those who have made their fortune by their own honest work have even become our models and we take pride in them."

Meanwhile, private business people have contributed with donations to build clinics and hospitals, roads, bridges, and spacious homes for the senior citizens.

So far, the Zhengtai Group Corp. donated more than 50 million yuan (about 6 million US dollars) for charitable projects. "You'll be respected and esteemed, when you repay to society with what you have got with support and nurturing of people at large," Nan said.