Chinese papers hail opening of CPPCC session

BEIJING, March 3 (Xinhua) -- The People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China (CPC), published an editorial on Monday to mark the opening of the First Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) here in Beijing.

The paper calls the session "an important meeting in an important year" as it marks the 30th anniversary of China's Reform and Opening-up Drive, and the year Beijing will host the Olympic Games in August.

The conference is of great significance for further conglomerating the wisdom of the Chinese people, promoting development in a scientific way, and pushing forward the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, it says.

The editorial, which is also carried by the PLA Daily, the voice of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), said that the system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC is a major system guarantee for the development of the Party's and the State's undertakings.

"The better the CPPCC does in improving itself, the bigger is our progress in democracy," it says.

The China Daily, a major English-language newspaper, hailed the transparency of this year's CPPCC National Committee session.

"Transparency is an essential precondition for validity and success," it said, describing the opening of the CPPCC National Committee session as "a sign of maturity and confidence."

The China Youth Daily also wished the CPPCC National Committee session a success and said the public expects the meeting to focus on improving the lives of the people.

With members from every walk of life, the CPPCC's main functions are political consultation, democratic supervision and participation in deliberation and administration of state affairs.

BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The First Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body, will open on Monday afternoon and last 11 days.

The session is scheduled to end on the morning of March 14, Wu Jianmin, spokesman for the session, told a press conference on Sunday. Full story

BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- More eligible non-Communists are expected to become high-ranking officials in China following last year's appointments of two non-Communist ministers, said a spokesman of the forthcoming annual political advisory session.

"Across China, more than 31,000 non-Communists are working as officials at or above county level, of whom at least 6,000 work at government organizations and judicial bodies at various levels," said Wu Jianmin, spokesman for the First Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Full story

BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Chairpersons of China's eight democratic parties are to meet domestic and foreign reporters at a joint press conference on Thursday on the sideline of the annual full session of the country's top political advisory body, said a spokesman of the session.

This is a group debut of the newly-elected leaders of non-Communist parties in front of domestic and foreign journalists, according to Wu Jianmin, spokesman for the First Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).