It's almost that time of year again. Beijing held the "two sessions"(两会)in March. They are the National People's Congress (NPC, 全国人民代表大会)and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, 中国人民政治协商会议).
This year, the NPC opened on March 5 and the CPPCC began on March 3. How much do you know about the sessions? Read on to learn more.
Q: What is the NPC?
A: At school, every class has a class committee (班委会).The committee holds meetings to make decisions for the class and generally improve the classroom environment. The NPC does the same thing, but for the whole country.
With nearly 3,000 deputies (代表), it is China's highest organ (机关)of state power. The deputies supervise (监督)the work that the government does. The deputies also make and change laws. Every five years, they vote for the leaders of the Chinese government.
All of the NPC deputies are elected (选举).They use their power on behalf of (代表)the Chinese people. Any Chinese national who is over 18 can take part in an election. The term length for an NPC deputy is five years.
Q: What is the CPPCC?
A: Leaders need suggestions for what they should do for the country. It's like you're your friends give you advice on what to do with your life. The CPPCC does this for Chinese leaders. Its 2,000 members supervise the work of the government and give suggestions.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) is China's ruling party (执政党), but there are also other political parties and organizations (组织). CPPCC members come from these parties and organizations. They are not elected like those of NPC but chosen by CPPCC. They include businessmen, teachers and even celebrities, such as Jackie Chan and Feng Xiaogang.
Q: What are the biggest topics at this year's sessions?
A: Attendees at this year's sessions discussed new prospects (前景)for the future. They set economic index (经济指标)targets for the year, such as what the GDP (国内生产总值)should be. They discussed environmental events, such as how to prevent groundwater pollution. In addition, they considered new efforts to fight corruption (腐败), according to Guangming Daily.