China's parliament, the National People's Congress, begins its annual session Saturday morning in Beijing. (Xinhua Photo)

   BEIJING, Mar. 5 -- This morning, deputies of the people all over China will be gathering in Beijing for the 2005 session of the National People's Congress (NPC), the Chinese law-making body.

    These men and women, elected from the local-level people's congresses, will review a report on the government's work over the last year, to be delivered by Premier Wen Jiabao, and plans for this year.

    The NPC deputies will be joined by members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), who began their session on March 3 in Beijing. The NPC session is scheduled to close on March 14, two days after the CPPCC event ends.

    Every March, the two parallel meetings in Beijing, which usually have joint sessions to listen to reports by government officials but hold separate debates, provide a crucial linkage in the national-level decision-making process. The NPC, in particular, is the authority that creates the nation's most important laws.

    The 2005 NPC will review a draft anti-secession law, a new law designed to facilitate the nation's stability and development and to benefit the peaceful reunification of Taiwan region with the motherland.

    It will also review the request of Jiang Zemin to resign as chairman of the Central Military Commission. Jiang was the leader of the nation's development through the 1990s. He retired as China's president two years ago and was succeeded by Hu Jintao. After that, the NPC will probably elect a new team for the Central Military Commission.

    Other than these issues, regular items on the NPC agenda include reviewing and approving the report on the government's work, plans on national economic and social development, a report on the central government budget, a report by the NPC Standing Committee, and reports by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Prosecutorate.

    Every year debates among the NPC deputies on the matters of economic and social development are the centre of public attention because they are closely related to the people's livelihoods. The debates also highlight points that all interest groups agree upon in order to allow society to foster coherent development.

    Deputies bring to Beijing opinions they have collected from the grass roots in their communities and, for those from research bodies, findings from their latest studies.

    Debates shed much light on the priorities of the central government and the policies introduced. And with the progress of market-oriented reforms, policies generated from Beijing not only affect things like China's foreign relations and large businesses, but also many communities, owners of small companies, and even individuals.

    More than anything else, the NPC plays a key role in reflecting society's wants and needs in the decision-making process in Beijing and, in turn, helping citizens identify with the nation's shared priorities and goals.

    Viewed from this perspective, one can say that the reforms and opening up in the last two decades are not merely economic phenomena.

    By providing the interesting topics for the NPC debates, the deputies have helped China build a strong and highly active political mechanism.

(Source: China Daily)