The Standing Committee of the
National
People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, has affirmed
the qualifications of all deputies to the 10th NPC, making the way
for the upcoming election of a new Chinese leadership.
Among all the 2,985 deputies were Chinese President Jiang Zemin,
and nine members of the current Standing Committee of the Political
Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee,
including Hu Jintao, general secretary of the CPC Central
Committee.
The deputies will elect new leaders and senior officials including
the state president and premier at the end of the First Session of
the 10th NPC, scheduled to begin on March 5 in Beijing.
The session also marked the beginning of a new five-year term of
the 10th NPC.
On
Friday, the 9th NPC Standing Committee reviewed and approved a
report on examining the qualifications of the deputies before
concluding its last bimonthly meeting.
Wang Weicheng, chairman of the Credentials Committee of the 9th NPC
Standing Committee, said the deputies were elected in accordance
with law, and therefore held valid qualifications.
The deputies were elected from 35 electoral units across China,
including all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, the
Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, the People's
Liberation Army (PLA), and from people with Taiwanese origin who
are living in the Chinese mainland.
"The 10th NPC deputies had a wide representation of various social
strata," Wang said.
Besides deputies of the majority Han Chinese, 415 deputies, or
13.91 percent of the total number of the deputies, belong to the
other 55 ethnic minorities in the country.
Female deputies account for 20.24 percent of all deputies.
There are 2,178 deputies who are members of the Communist Party of
China, 72.99 percent of the overall number.
Among the deputies, 551, or 18.46 percent of the total, are workers
and farmers, and there are 631 intellectuals and 968 officials who
account for 21.14 and 32.44 percent respectively, and 268 deputies
come from the PLA.
The Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions have
respectively contributed 36 and 12 deputies.
At
Friday's meeting, the lawmakers also approved a draft agenda of the
forthcoming First Session of the 10th NPC and a draft list of
candidates for the session's secretary-general and members of the
session's presidium.
They decided to submit the drafts to the preparatory meeting of the
session.
The lawmakers also examined and adopted a work report of the NPC
Standing Committee to be discussed during the session, and decided
on a list of non-voting delegates attending the session.
In-service chairman of the NPC Standing Committee Li Peng, and
Premier Zhu Rongji are among the 2,417 non-voting delegates.
The legislators also approved a list of new appointments by the
Supreme People's Procuratorate, and two motions tabled by the State
Council, China's cabinet, to urge the lawmakers to approve consular
agreements between China and Nigeria, and between China and
Russia.
(Xinhua News Agency March 1, 2003)