2006 National People's Congress

The 4th Plenary Session of the 10th National People's Congress (第十届全国人民代表大会第四次全体会议) is being held in Beijing, China, in conjunction with the 2006 CPPCC. Many items are listed on the agenda for the week-long session of the National People's Congress. 2,937 delegates from every province, municipality, and Special Administrative Regions are in attendance. The 2006 Session is chaired by Standing Committee Chairman Wu Bangguo.

The National People's Congress is the People's Republic of China's highest legislative body. The congress is composed of members from the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a coalition of nine parties. In practice, the body has seldom rejected proposals already approved by top communist officials. In Hu Jintao's administration, the 2006 NPC is more open than previous years. Formal issues listed for dicussion include the "Three Rural Issues" from agricultural reform, cracking down on corruption, and studying the Three Represents as the guide for Chinese policy in the days ahead. Formally, Premier Wen Jiabao made the annual government report to the Congress outlining government policy and their progress from 2005. The 11th Five-Year Plan will undergo review. A Budget will be drafted for the following fiscal year. NPC Standing Committee Chairman Wu Bangguo will review the work of the NPC Standing Committee from last year. The Judiciary system will also make their respective reports.

On official Chinese news, the phrase "core of leadership" has been omitted when describing Hu Jintao. This comes into stark contrast with the repetitive "unify under the core of leadership under Jiang Zemin" slogan used frequently in China during his years of power. Vice-Premier Huang Ju was absent because of health problems.

Wen Jiabao's government report

Premier Wen Jiabao delivered the PRC government's 2006 Working Report on the morning of March 5 at the Great Hall of the People. It was nationally televised on 4 CCTV channels and other networks. The report was around two hours in length. The three sections of the report outlined the government's workings in 2005, the direction which the government is going in the new year, and a brief outline of China's 11th Five-Year Plan. Agriculture and the "Three Rural Issues" policy was emphasized throughout the speech, as was the relatively new concept of "Govern for the People" (执政为民). Wen heavily emphasized helping the poor and relieving the wealth gap. Wen announced that agriculture taxes levied regularly on peasants will be fully abolished next year. On the issues of health, Wen stressed the need to prevent an Avian Flu-related epidemic, and warned people to be cautious of the outbreak and excercise common sense.

Many Chinese political analysts concluded that the report was thorough, detailed, thoughtful, and reached out to the people. Western media outlets were mostly neutral on the issue. It contained less political overtones than previous years. Although Wen's speech was met with frequent applause, the longest applause came during Wen's mention of the firm stance against Taiwan independence. Wen favoured peaceful re-unification, but said the Chinese government will not back down should Taiwanese authorities go too far. On the issue of Taiwan, Wen's tone had remained relatively unchanged for the previous two years.

Issues discussed

Science and technology was a main issue of concern, and there was consensus that China should continue to move forward with its development. Many deputies have shown concern about the urban-rural wealth gap. He Keng, a Standing Committee member, advocated for the ban of the ranking of student scores in elementary and secondary schools.

External links

• Official CCTV Site
• CNN Story
• Wen Jiabao's Report, full text in English