Progress Made to Advance Consultative Democracy in Cppcc

The world's attention is now on the Great Hall of People in Beijing again. CPPCC spokesperson Lyu Xinhua briefed more than 3000 generalists on issues of public concern. He answered questions related to deepening reforms in the CPPCC's work, anti-corruption efforts, China-Japan relations, the education and employment of ethnic minority groups and the fight against air pollution. He stressed that progress has been made advancing the CPPCC's role in consultative democracy. "We have launched a new form of consultation, namely the bi-weekly consultative meeting,. This meeting is held once every two weeks, attended by around 20 people, with specific topics on its agenda. And we will invite CPPCC members of different sectors, and those who are not CPPCC members in particular. So far we have had six such consultative meetings, which were very well received," he said. A series of new policies and measures to fight corruption and mechanisms to build closer ties between the Party's officials and the masses have been rolled out, in response to public concerns. Lyu has also condemned the attack in Kunming, calling for the perpetrators to be severely punished. And just ahead of the two sessions, smog has once again blanketed the Chinese capital for at least one week, Lyu admits curbing air pollution is one of the most important issues relating to people's daily life. "The state Council and CPPCC Central Committee have taken a lot measures, particularly last year, the State Council has developed a plan which we call the 'Ten Article plan' for the prevention and treatment of pollution. Premier Li Keqiang has urged governments at all levels to curb pollution with decisive persistence," he said. As of 12 a.m. Sunday, 1,355 out of the 2,229 members of the National Committee of the CPPCC have registered at the secretariat of the session. The secretariat has received a total of 990 proposals and 303 speech transcripts. According to the session's schedule, political advisers will listen to and deliberate the CPPCC chairman's report as well as a report on the proposal-related work of the CPPCC National Committee since the last annual session. 2014 is set to see the Chinese government take more reform measures to raise government efficiency, crack down on corruption, facilitate business and improve the well-being of the people. During the next two weeks, China's lawmakers and political advisors are set to gather in Beijing to discuss the country's social and economic policies.