China enters into ‘two sessions’ time
Crucial to securing a victory in building a moderately prosperous society: Xinhua
China has entered into the “two sessions” period as the first session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) convenes on Saturday and the first session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) on Monday.
Thousands of national lawmakers and political advisers are heading to Beijing for the important annual events in China’s political calendar.
Being the first annual sessions following the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, they are crucial to securing a victory in building a moderately prosperous society ( xiaokang) in all aspects and implementing the country’s 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), the Xinhua News Agency reported.
At the legislative session, deputies will deliberate a draft revision to the Constitution. The
draft revision has incorporated major theoretical achievements and policies adopted at the 19th CPC National Congress, particularly Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.
A draft supervision law is also to be deliberated.
All these political moves, crucial to modernizing China’s system and capacity for governance, will pave way for China’s goal of “a great modern socialist country,” Xinhua reported.
Deputies across China would hand in proposals on different issues.
Lawmaker Zhai Qingbin from Heilongjiang Province said poverty alleviation was among the topics he was concerned about the most.
“More targeted measures should be taken to identify the poor and lift them out of poverty,” said Zhai, an entrepreneur in the agricultural sector.
Deputy Zhou Chaohong, from Tianjin Municipality, said he would propose integrated control over water pollution in the region of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province.
Guo Naishuo, an NPC deputy from Jilin Province, said industries should be developed to prevent people sliding back into poverty.
He also advised health stations in residential communities to reduce people’s medical bills and save resources.
Cold War mentality
The first session of the 13th National Committee of the CPPCC held a press conference on Friday, during which its spokesperson Wang Guoqing answered various questions, including China’s poverty alleviation work in the next five years and China’s ongoing nationwide crackdown on gangs and organized crimes.
In response to Western media reports that China is stretching its “sharp power” to interfere in Western politics, Wang said, “This is not the first time for some Western countries to make a new phrase [sharp power] to vilify China, and it won’t be the last time.”
“Our efforts to promote China overseas have strengthened with the rise in its comprehensive national strength… It aims to help the international community better know China accurately,” Wang said.
“It is a pity to see that some people in the West, although their bodies have entered the 21st century, remain stuck in a Cold War mentality. For them, if Western countries conduct promotion activities overseas, they are displaying soft power or smart power. But for China, they call it sharp power with other meanings,” Wang said.
“Sharp power does not sound as good as soft power… and hyping the phrase shows some stubborn forces in the West still uphold a Cold War mentality and double standard and bear a biased and hostile attitude toward China. This is the new version of the ‘China threat theory,’” Wang said.
Wang also answered questions on the revision to the Charter of the National Committee of the CPPCC.
Wang said that the revision is necessary as the new thoughts and measures put forward at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, good experience drawn from practical work in the past years and new policies of the central government should be reflected in the CPPCC Charter.
When answering questions on Sino-Japanese ties, Wang said that the ups and downs of bilateral ties are caused by the Japanese government’s attitude toward historical problems.
“It is hard for a country, which tries to forget the past and disregard history, to earn respect. And it could also not have a future when it regards neighbors as enemies,” Wang said.
He added that Sino-Japanese ties could get better when Japan could learn from history and work together with China for the interests of both people.