Shanghai Daily news

Some 700 municipal advisers yesterday opened the annual five-day session of the Shanghai Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference where they are expected to offer their suggestions on the government's work.

Meanwhile, more than 800 deputies of the Shanghai People's Congress - the city's top legislative body - will meet for their annual plenary meeting from today through Friday.

"For this year, we aim at making further contributions to help the city achieve its major tasks and goals of development," Jiang Yiren, chairman of the Shanghai Committee of CPPCC, said in a keynote speech at the Shanghai Exhibition Center yesterday.

CPPCC delegates represent the Chinese Communist and other parties, people without party affiliations, mass organizations, ethnic groups, as well as representatives from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, returned overseas Chinese and specially invited public figures.

For this week, attendants of the two meetings will listen to several government reports.

Today, Mayor Han Zheng is expected to give a comprehensive report on the city's major social and economic developments in 2003 and the government's expectations for this year.

Then, SPC deputies will be divided into groups to discuss the reports before ratifying them later this week.