Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
2/3/2006 15:10
The Fourth Session of the Tenth National Committee of the Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is scheduled to open in Beijing on
March 3 this year.
The CPPCC is a patriotic united front organization of the
Chinese people, serving as a key mechanism for multi-party cooperation and
political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China
(CPC), and a major manifestation of socialist democracy.
At present, the
CPPCC consists of representatives of the CPC and non-Communist parties,
personages without party affiliation, and representatives of people's
organizations, ethnic minorities and all social strata.
It also has the
representation of compatriots of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,
the Macau Special Administrative Region and Taiwan, returned overseas Chinese,
and specially invited people.
Most of the CPPCC members are experienced
political figures, social celebrities, and experts and scholars specializing in
various fields.
The main functions of the CPPCC are to conduct political
consultation, exercise democratic supervision and participate in the discussion
and the handling of state affairs. Political consultation covers major
principles and policies proposed by the central and local governments and
matters of major importance concerning political, economic, cultural and social
affairs.
Democratic supervision means to exercise, by means of offering
suggestion and criticism, supervision over the implementation of the
Constitution, other laws, regulations and major policies, and over the work of
government agencies and their functionaries.
Participation in discussing and
handling state affairs means to organize CPPCC members of various parties,
people's organizations, people of various ethnic minorities and other social
groups to take part in the country's political, economic, cultural and social
activities in whatever way they think fit.
The current CPPCC is also known as
a new political consultative conference as distinguished from the one
established in 1946 following the victory of the War of Resistance Against
Japanese Aggression upon the decision taken by the CPC and the Kuomintang in
their negotiations in Chongqing as part of the preparations for forming a new
government.
But hardly before the old CPPCC began to function was it
disintegrated in November of the same year when the Kuomintang betrayed the
resolutions of the conference and unilaterally proclaimed the convocation of a
"National Assembly."
The first session of the new CPPCC was held in Beijing
in September 1949. Authorized to perform the functions of the supreme organ of
power, the session adopted a "Common Program" which bore the nature of a
temporary constitution, proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of
China, elected a council of the central people's government with Mao Zedong as
the chairman, and elected the First National Committee of the CPPCC.
The
CPPCC ceased to act as the supreme organ of power in September 1954 when the
National People's Congress was convened. Instead, it shifted its functions as
China's patriotic united front organization for its broad representation. It has
ever since played a vital role in the country's political, economic, cultural
and social affairs and in international exchanges.
The CPPCC has a National
Committee and local committees. With a functioning term of five years, the CPPCC
committees hold annual sessions.
Xinhua
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