China on eve of NPC
Don Quijote  Updated: 2004-03-04 09:14

The gathering is officially called the second session of the 10th National People's Congress. NPC is also an important venue for China to show its people and the world at large that everyone's voice is heard in China, including the voices of minority and disadvantaged groups.

President Hu Jintao is expected to use this year's NPC to highlight his concern for the problems of ordinary Chinese people. Issues on the agenda for the session include fighting corruption, increasing farmers' incomes, helping laid-off workers find jobs, improving social security, protecting the environment and addressing the problem of developers taking land from farmers without paying due compensation.

But as usual, Hu must walk a fine line in his campaign to listen to the people. Beijing's claim that deputies to the People's Congress fairly represent all of China's ethnic groups and far-flung regions typically encourages individuals who have various grievances with local communist Party officials to publicize their concerns in front of the heavy media presence outside the Great Hall of the People, in hopes of rallying support for their cause.

And there is certainly no shortage of concerns that need to be addressed this year.

The National People's Congress is expected to enact more legislation to restructure the economy according to World Trade Organization rules. The session also will focus on China's 10th five-year plan for economic and social development.

The above content represents the view of the author only.

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