Greater CPPCC efficiency sought

President calls for'new modes of political communication'on panel

China's top leaders have vowed to encourage developing diversified channels to improve socialist consultative democracy to keep pace with social development.

The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference should expand consulting fields, diversify consulting channels and improve its consulting system, President Xi Jinping said in his keynote speech in Beijing on Sunday at the conference to celebrate the CPPCC's 65th anniversary.

"New modes of political communication such as online consultation should be explored, raising efficiency in future work and creating a better environment for free discussion," Xi said.

He said that in its 65 years, the CPPCC has gained rich experience in collecting opinions from people in various sectors and producing proposals for policymakers.

The CPPCC operates in decision-making, supervision and participation, which solicits the views of all parties, community organizations and representatives of all ethnic groups and social sectors before a decision or policy is made by the government.

"The CPPCC should further enhance its capability in soliciting public opinions, playing a bridge between political advisers and common citizens," Xi said.

As the country's top political advisory body, the CPPCC has made a great contribution in prompting economic development and social reforms in various fields and will unveil a brilliant chapter in the future, Xi said.

Wang Xuan, former vice-chairman of the CPPCC, told People's Political Consultative Daily that the proposals of the CPPCC representatives are gaining more attention from policymakers, with more proposals becoming policies.

Li Changjian, a CPPCC member, told China Daily in a previous interview that the CPPCC epitomizes the mechanism of China's wide-reaching people's democracy, ensuring the dialectical unity of supervision of power and administrative efficiency.

More than 800 representatives from various fields attended the meeting on Sunday.

Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, presided over the meeting.

Premier Li Keqiang and top leaders Zhang Dejiang, Liu Yunshan and Wang Qishan also attended the meeting.

The first session of the first CPPCC, which was held from Sept 21 to 30, 1949, decided to make Beijing the capital of China, designate the five-star red flag as the national flag, and declare "March of the Volunteers" as the national anthem.

Because the National People's Congress, the highest organ of state power, was not established until 1954, the CPPCC exercised the functions and power of the NPC from 1949 until 1954.

wangqian@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/22/2014 page3)