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 (2.2 million U.S. dollars 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.
