Two sessions of change

The Chinese People's Political Consulta-tive Conference is already in session and the National People's Congress will convene on Tuesday, providing a once-in-a-decade opportunity to feel the pulse of Chinese politics.

The Communist Party of China has already completed its leadership transition and new Party chief Xi Jinping has given indications of his changed style of functioning. So eyes are now trained on the NPC session for the composition of the administrative branch of China's political apparatus, which in part will tell us what more to expect from the new leadership.

Besides deciding personnel's appointments, which have generated speculation over the months, the NPC session is also expected to unfold the entire blueprint the Party has drawn to reform the central government itself. The layout of the new cabinet will help people assess the new leadership's governance philosophy and, hence, future orientation.

Indeed, the Party's new leadership, especially Xi, has shown enough political will to bring about change. People's expectations have been raised not just by words, but also the actions taken and the differences being made by the Party.

The poor business of expensive eateries and luxury retailers before the Spring Festival holiday, for instance, points to the effectiveness of the Party's new austere rules. Also, there is the impression that corruption scandals are being handled more swiftly and efficiently than before.

Yet the public expects more than that. It wants to see convincing signs that the wind of change will also encompass the two sessions.

Our country is strong and our prospects bright, which would not have been possible without the wise leadership we have. We have a thousand reasons to be happy and proud.

But that is not what people want to hear from the country's lawmakers and political advisers. They meet in Beijing to discuss State affairs, be it formation of the State Council and reshuffling it, or issues that people worry about most such as corruption, pollution, education, healthcare and social security. Many other issues are waiting to be addressed at the two sessions.

So instead of telling people how excited they are about what the country has achieved, our legislators and political advisers should focus more on sharing their wisdom on how to make things even better.

That is the change the country needs and the people are eagerly waiting for.

(China Daily 03/04/2013 page9)