Leaders of non-Communist parties to meet press
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-03-02 22:08

BEIJING -- 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).

The leaders include Lin Wenyi from the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League, Jiang Shusheng from the China Democratic League, Yan Junqi from the China Association for Promoting Democracy, Han Qide from the Jiu San Society, Zhou Tienong of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, Sang Guowei from the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party, Chen Changzhi from the China National Democratic Construction Association and Wan Gang from the China Zhi Gong Dang.

China's non-Communist parties, with a combined membership of more than 700,000, or one percent of the 73 million of the Communist Party of China (CPC), represent specific interest groups, reflect complaints and suggestions from all walks of life and serve as a mode of supervision of the CPC.

The chairpersons and vice chairs of the parties were elected late last year.
They have rich working experiences as scholars or governmental officials, among whom some even had studied or worked abroad, said Wu.

They are well known and influential in the academic circle and society at large, said Wu.

The press conference is one of the three to be held during the 11-day CPPCC session slated to open on Monday afternoon at the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing.

The rest two press conferences are about social responsibility of new stratums and the upcoming Olympics, Wu said.