The first press conference of the Fifth Plenary Session of the
10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top advisory body, was
held in Beijing on Friday afternoon to brief the media on
procedures and the session's agenda.
The session will commence on March 3 and will run until March
15, announced Wu Jianmin, the CPPCC spokesman.
According to Wu, the chief agenda for the session includes: to
hear and examine the report on the work of the Standing Committee
of the CPPCC National Committee by Jia Qinglin, chairman of the 10th National
Committee of the CPPCC; to hear and examine the report on the
proposals made since the fourth Session of the 10th CPPCC National
Committee by vice chairman Huang Mengfu; to participate in the
Fifth Session of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC) as
non-voting members; to hear and discuss the report on the work of
the government; to discuss the drafts of the Property Law and the
Corporate Income Tax Law; to discuss the report on the work of the
Supreme People's Court, and the report on the work of the Supreme
People's Procuratorate.
During the CPPCC session, the Party and state leaders will
attend the opening and closing ceremonies, participate in some
group meetings, and discuss various social topics with CPPCC
members.
Wu also stressed that the opening and closing ceremonies as well
as three presentation meetings will be open to the press. Select
group discussions and the joint discussions of the different groups
will also be open to both foreign and domestic journalists.
Detailed information can be found at the CPPCC website (http://www.cppcc.gov.cn). Some
of the proposals submitted by CPPCC members will also be made
public on the website.
The CPPCC will hold two press conferences, one with the topic of
building new countryside and the other
pertaining to the aging of population. In addition, one group
interview will be conducted regarding the protection of the Grand
Canal and its application to World Heritage. CPPCC members will be
present at the press conferences to answer questions from domestic
and foreign media.
All preparatory work for the session has been completed. As of
12 PM Friday, 1,159 out of 2,267 members of the CPPCC National
Committee had registered with the Secretariat. So far, the
Secretariat has received 324 motions and 332 speeches.
Responding to a question raised by a reporter from Hong Kong
Mingpao Newspaper regarding the possibility of
non-Communist Party members holding high-level official posts, Wu
said: "We can see now that a number of non-Communist Party members
are holding central or provincial governments' positions. The major
function of the CPPCC is to conduct political consultation and
exercise democratic supervision. It draws its members from various
non-Communist political parties and mass organizations. Public
figures from all walks of life come together to take part in the
discussion and management of state affairs. A qualified candidate,
regardless of party affiliation, can hold leading government
posts."
(China.org.cn by staff reporter Wu Nanlan, March 2, 2007)
