The first press conference of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top advisory body, was held in Beijing on Friday afternoon to brief the media on procedures and the session's agenda.

The session will commence on March 3 and will run until March 15, announced Wu Jianmin, the CPPCC spokesman.

According to Wu, the chief agenda for the session includes: to hear and examine the report on the work of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee by Jia Qinglin, chairman of the 10th National Committee of the CPPCC; to hear and examine the report on the proposals made since the fourth Session of the 10th CPPCC National Committee by vice chairman Huang Mengfu; to participate in the Fifth Session of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC) as non-voting members; to hear and discuss the report on the work of the government; to discuss the drafts of the Property Law and the Corporate Income Tax Law; to discuss the report on the work of the Supreme People's Court, and the report on the work of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

During the CPPCC session, the Party and state leaders will attend the opening and closing ceremonies, participate in some group meetings, and discuss various social topics with CPPCC members.

Wu also stressed that the opening and closing ceremonies as well as three presentation meetings will be open to the press. Select group discussions and the joint discussions of the different groups will also be open to both foreign and domestic journalists. Detailed information can be found at the CPPCC website (http://www.cppcc.gov.cn). Some of the proposals submitted by CPPCC members will also be made public on the website.

The CPPCC will hold two press conferences, one with the topic of building new countryside and the other pertaining to the aging of population. In addition, one group interview will be conducted regarding the protection of the Grand Canal and its application to World Heritage. CPPCC members will be present at the press conferences to answer questions from domestic and foreign media.

All preparatory work for the session has been completed. As of 12 PM Friday, 1,159 out of 2,267 members of the CPPCC National Committee had registered with the Secretariat. So far, the Secretariat has received 324 motions and 332 speeches.

Responding to a question raised by a reporter from Hong Kong Mingpao Newspaper regarding the possibility of non-Communist Party members holding high-level official posts, Wu said: "We can see now that a number of non-Communist Party members are holding central or provincial governments' positions. The major function of the CPPCC is to conduct political consultation and exercise democratic supervision. It draws its members from various non-Communist political parties and mass organizations. Public figures from all walks of life come together to take part in the discussion and management of state affairs. A qualified candidate, regardless of party affiliation, can hold leading government posts."

(China.org.cn by staff reporter Wu Nanlan, March 2, 2007)