2009’s “Two Sessions” (两会) of the NPC and CPPCC continue to produce a flurry of news items, from proposals about reform of the national holiday system to proposals about reverting back to traditional Chinese characters. Serious questions about the “Two Sessions” system continue to persist, with analysts pointing out that migrant workers continue to be underrepresented at the NPC (comprising just three out of 3,000 representatives) and that the whole “Two Sessions” process seems to be caught in a gossipy and commercialized news media that seeks to find the most interesting or outrageous proposals to gab about.
Nonetheless, a considerable amount of serious news has come out recently, and fighting the economic crisis, quite predictably, continues to be one of the main themes this year. The governor of Guangdong Huang Huahua asserted that the province will not “intentionally” close any factories. This policy, it seems, was a slight shift from the province’s previously stated desire to move away from reliance on low-tech, labor-intensive enterprises, and more towards a greener, sophisticated, high-tech enterprise base.
One of China’s richest men and CPPCC delegate, Liu Hanyuan, proposed that the government should give each citizen up to 4,000 yuan in cash-like coupons that would have to be spent in a limited amount of time. These coupons, it is hoped, would help boost domestic consumption. This sort of scheme has been tried at various local levels, but it remains to be seen whether it will be implemented at the national level.
Chen Xiwen, director of the office of the Central Leading Group on Rural Work, stated that the government would take various measures to help migrant workers, including increasing the amount of money allotted to purchase grain by 16 percent. China’s top economic planners also seemed to indicate that all possible measures were on the table to get through the crisis.
Director and CPPCC delegate Feng Xiaogang has protested against a new Food Safety Law that contains a provision that makes celebrities liable if they endorse unsafe food products in advertisements.
An ACFTU CPPCC delegate Zhang Junjiu has proposed creating a “national environmental sanitation workers day” to raise awareness about sanitation issues and increase society’s respect for sanitation workers.