Engage all on big city woes

How to treat its chronic "big city diseases", such as traffic congestion, the undersupply of housing and its environmental degradation, is top of the agenda for this year's annual session of Beijing's political advisory body, which opened on Thursday.

Given that these big city problems have long plagued Beijing's decision-makers and also substantially affected residents' livelihoods, it is hoped that the participants this year can face up to the fundamental problems and dare to criticize current governance ideas and offer viable ways to treat these pressing issues.

They should be outspoken and direct so as to help the capital's decision-makers map out workable governance methods.