|
CPPCC spokesman Wu Jianmin at Friday's press conference.
Jiang
Dong |
China will see two of its most important political bodies extend their annual
sessions this year to discuss issues about general welfare and the nation's
draft law on property rights.
Both the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, and the
National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
(CPPCC), a national political advisory body, have released the agendas for their
2007 annual sessions. Both will hold two more days of meetings than they did
last year.
According to the
agenda, this year's NPC session will begin on Monday and last for 12 days. Apart
from regular items such as the review of the central government's work report,
budget and State development report, and the reports by the Supreme People's
Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, NPC deputies this year will also
discuss the draft property rights law and corporate income tax law, and vote on
them.
The CPPCC National Committee full session, which starts on Saturday and ends
on March 15, will also discuss the two draft laws.
Except for these special agendas, it is expected that NPC deputies and CPPCC
members will deliver more proposals and have longer discussions, because this
year's meetings are the last sessions of the 10th NPC and 10th CPPCC.
In another development, according to CPPCC spokesman Wu Jianmin at a press
conference on Friday, the country's political advisers have been devoting much
of their time investigating and writing policy proposals on issues on the
people's livelihood last year.
"It has always been an important responsibility of the CPPCC to collect and
reflect real social conditions and public voices, as its members come from all
walks of life," Wu said.
For example, the number of proposals related to health and education alone
reached more than 900, accounting for one-fifth of the total number of proposals
submitted in the past year, Wu said.
In response to the proposals calling for solving the housing problems for
low-income households, the Ministry of Construction has announced it would
establish a low-rent system in all cities and counties of the country by the end
of this year to ensure the housing of the poor.
Another issue that has caught the attention of CPPCC members is the
establishment of a social security system that will cover the country's vast
rural population.
"The CPPCC members have concluded that the time is ripe to establish the
basic living allowance system for the 23.7 million poor population in the
countryside," Wu said.
The system can be established if finance departments spend 6 billion yuan
($750 million) each year, Wu said.
The State Council and related departments have adopted the proposal, and the
Ministry of Civil Affairs has decided to promote the system across the country
after the success of some pilot projects.
Another example of the role of the CPPCC is that after taking suggestions by
CPPCC members, the National Development and Reform Commission decided that the
ticket prices of railway and road transportation would remain the same as usual
during this year's Spring Festival holiday.
Ticket prices used to be floated to a certain percentage before to cover
costs because of the sudden increase in transportation capacity to carry the
country's vast floating population home and back after the holidays.
"The cancellation of the price increase has reduced 300 million yuan ($37
million) in revenue, but it has benefited the majority, especially the rural
migrant workers," Wu said.
Wu is a senior diplomat and served as spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs in the 1980s and Chinese Ambassador to Belgium, Holland, Switzerland and
later France in the 1990s, before he became president of the China Foreign
Affairs University and Vice-Director of the Committee of Foreign Affairs under
the CPPCC in 2003.
(China Daily 03/03/2007 page2)
