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| Advisory Body’s Delegates Offer Glimpse Into China’s Worries | Advisory Body’s Delegates Offer Glimpse Into China’s Worries |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BEIJING — Security guards in dark winter coats gathered quickly as a car pulled up Thursday morning at the Beijing convention center hotel, where some delegates to China’s annual parliamentary-style “two sessions” were staying. Politicians and officials were everywhere in Beijing, and security was tight. | |
| Inside, Chinese journalists were mingling with delegates to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body to the central government whose annual session opened later in the day, ahead of the National People’s Congress, the country’s legislature, which convenes on Saturday. Video clips from interviews were pouring in online, providing snapshots of the range of concerns of Chinese people today in the face of a slowing economy, an anticorruption campaign and a tightening ideological environment. | Inside, Chinese journalists were mingling with delegates to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body to the central government whose annual session opened later in the day, ahead of the National People’s Congress, the country’s legislature, which convenes on Saturday. Video clips from interviews were pouring in online, providing snapshots of the range of concerns of Chinese people today in the face of a slowing economy, an anticorruption campaign and a tightening ideological environment. |
| But foreign reporters trying to feel the pulse of the nation, or at least the pulse represented by the delegates, were not welcome. “Foreign reporters can’t go in,” a guard at the front gate said. “Chinese reporters can go in. You have to ask for police permission.” | But foreign reporters trying to feel the pulse of the nation, or at least the pulse represented by the delegates, were not welcome. “Foreign reporters can’t go in,” a guard at the front gate said. “Chinese reporters can go in. You have to ask for police permission.” |
| Politics hung heavy in the air on Thursday. On buses, on subways and in taxis, news screens blared as state television outlined some of the hundreds of proposals from the more than 2,000 delegates to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Many communicated a sense of urgency and centered on the economy and social welfare. | Politics hung heavy in the air on Thursday. On buses, on subways and in taxis, news screens blared as state television outlined some of the hundreds of proposals from the more than 2,000 delegates to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Many communicated a sense of urgency and centered on the economy and social welfare. |
| The advisory body includes representatives of the Communist and allied parties, social organizations and ethnic minorities as well as leading businesspeople, entertainers, star athletes and workers. Delegates can present motions for discussion and, perhaps, eventual consideration by the government. Other issues will make their way onto the agenda of the National People’s Congress. As well as having formal legislative powers and approving major policies, the National People’s Congress listens to and passes the government’s annual work report. | The advisory body includes representatives of the Communist and allied parties, social organizations and ethnic minorities as well as leading businesspeople, entertainers, star athletes and workers. Delegates can present motions for discussion and, perhaps, eventual consideration by the government. Other issues will make their way onto the agenda of the National People’s Congress. As well as having formal legislative powers and approving major policies, the National People’s Congress listens to and passes the government’s annual work report. |
| Here is some of what the Chinese reporters were learning about the priorities of the delegates, as reported by the local news media: | Here is some of what the Chinese reporters were learning about the priorities of the delegates, as reported by the local news media: |
| The Importance of Culture | The Importance of Culture |
| Poverty Relief | Poverty Relief |
| Housing Costs | Housing Costs |
| Public Dancing | Public Dancing |
| Ordinary Chinese shut out of the corridors of power asked the delegates to address issues via messages online. Here are some major concerns expressed on Tencent, the news and messaging site: | Ordinary Chinese shut out of the corridors of power asked the delegates to address issues via messages online. Here are some major concerns expressed on Tencent, the news and messaging site: |
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