Lawmakers and political advisors across China are arriving in
Beijing for the annual "two sessions", at which they will debate
laws and government policies and raise their concerns about the
country's social and economic development.
Reporters and TV cameramen have swarmed in airport, train
stations and hotels, eagerly looking for news relating to the
upcoming meetings -- the last full sessions of the Tenth National
People's Congress (NPC) and the Tenth National Committee of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in their
five-year terms.
Major debates by the NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee
members, who will start their meetings on March 5 and March 3
respectively, will cover the draft property right law which will
grant equal protection to public and private properties, and the
draft of unified corporate tax law which levies equal taxation for
foreign and domestic companies.
Other topics likely to be discussed include the fight against
corruption, the protection of deteriorating environment, the
creation of more job opportunities, the narrowing of income gap,
equal access to education, and affordable medical care for the
poor.
By late Friday, most of CPPCC members and NPC deputies have
arrived in Beijing. They are expected to put forward thousands of
proposals and motions, with topics ranging from national policies
to people's daily lives.
Official sources said that NPC deputies tabled more than 1,000
legislative motions and 6,511 suggestions during the previous
annual full NPC session in March 2006, and all have received
feedback from relevant government departments.
In 2006, lawmakers from northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous
Region urged the central government to address serious water
shortage in the region's central area.
Their appeal has prompted the Ministry of Water Resources to
invest 17 million yuan (US$2.2 million) in emergency water supply.
Another 110 million yuan was promised to improve the water supply
network for 750,000 residents in the area.
Becoming the first delegation to arrive in Beijing, lawmakers
and political advisors from the Tibet Autonomous Region attracted
great media attention on Wednesday.
The journey was a totally new and exciting experience for them,
who used to fly to Beijing for the sessions but this year chose to
travel by train, along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway completed in
mid-2006.
"It's like a dream coming true. The landscape along the railway
is superb, and I'm also impressed by the great changes that are
taking place along the new railway," said CPPCC member Medong
Qoezhoeu at the end of the nearly-48-hour journey, which is much
longer than the previous four-hour flight.
The Tibetan lady told reporters that she would table proposals
on the overall improvement of infrastructure in regions inhabited
by ethnic minorities.
Expecting their representatives to better voice their concerns
at the two sessions, many Chinese have expressed their hopes and
worries through various channels.
One Internet survey conducted by xinhuanet.com showed that more
than 90 percent of the people polled believed that environmental
protection is "an urgent task" that should be dealt with
immediately.
About 78 percent of the respondents even said they would rather
have a slower economic growth for the sake of environmental
protection.
Online BBS forums focusing on the upcoming two sessions have
attracted hundreds of thousands of netizens to raise their concerns
and suggestions to the lawmakers and advisors.
"Despite measures taken by the government, housing prices are
still on the rise. Lawmakers should address this problem at the two
sessions," one unidentified netizen wrote at the online forum of
people.com.cn.
"I hope more measures will be taken to increase the income of
ordinary people," another netizen wrote.
(Xinhua News Agency March 2, 2007)