Fellow Members,
On behalf of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh CPPCC National Committee, I now submit a report on its work for your deliberation and approval.
I. Review of the Work of 2008
The year 2008 was a truly extraordinary and eventful year in the progress of the cause of the Party and the country. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), with Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary, led the people of all our ethnic groups in actively responding to various severe international and domestic challenges, tenaciously struggling with one heart and one mind, and winning victories against the snow and ice storms that afflicted some areas of the south and the devastating earthquake that struck Wenchuan, Sichuan Province. We successfully hosted the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics, completely accomplished the Shenzhou VII manned space mission, solemnly commemorated the 30th anniversary of the reform and opening up policy, responded calmly to the onslaught of the global financial crisis, and achieved new and conspicuous progress in socialist economic, political, cultural and social development and in ecological conservation and Party building.
The year 2008 was also the first year of the term of office of the Eleventh CPPCC National Committee. Holding high the banner of patriotism and socialism and firmly adhering to the themes of unity and democracy, the CPPCC adhered to the political development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and played an important role in harmonizing relations, mustering forces, making suggestions and comments on important issues, and serving the overall interests of the country. The CPPCC stood by the motherland and the people, shared their fate, worked with them in unison through thick and thin, underwent a succession of major tests and spiritual trials, made important contributions to building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, accelerating socialist modernization and promoting the great cause of peaceful reunification of the motherland, and set this National Committee off to a sound start.
1. Thoroughly studying and implementing the guiding principles of the Seventeenth National Party Congress and consolidating the common ideological and political foundation of unity and cooperation
Studying and implementing the guiding principles of the Seventeenth Congress are the primary political tasks of this National Committee, and they also form a thread linking all aspects of our work. We organized a variety of study and implementation activities to fully and correctly understand the series of new strategic concepts, policy decisions and arrangements laid down at the Seventeenth Congress. We thereby became more confident and determined in holding high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, keeping to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and upholding the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and further clarified the CPPCC’s priorities in performing its functions and exploiting its strengths. In accordance with the unified plan of the Central Committee and in light of the actual conditions of the CPPCC, we effectively carried out the campaign to thoroughly study and apply the Scientific Outlook on Development and carefully study the important thinking of comrades Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin on scientific development, and a series of important expositions of the Central Committee, with Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary, on scientific development. We became more purposeful and resolute in applying the Scientific Outlook on Development, worked to incorporate its requirements into every area and every segment of the execution of the CPPCC’s functions, strengthened our institutions, and constantly improved our ability to serve scientific development.
We earnestly studied and implemented the strategic ideology for developing socialist democratic politics as defined at the Second Plenary Session of the Seventeenth Central Committee, worked to institutionalize, standardize and define procedures for the execution of our functions, and made sure the CPPCC fully played its important role in developing our country’s socialist democratic politics. We respected and safeguarded the democratic rights of the democratic parties, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and persons without party affiliation in the CPPCC, and encouraged and supported them in actively expressing their views at plenary sessions of the National Committee, meetings of the Standing Committee and consultative conferences on special issues and through other platforms for deliberating state affairs. The central committees of the democratic parties and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce submitted 226 proposals and 3,966 factual reports on social conditions and popular sentiment, all of which received due consideration and close attention. At meetings of the Standing Committee, we studied and implemented the guiding principles of the Third Plenary Session of the Seventeenth Central Committee; thoroughly familiarized ourselves with the guiding ideology, objectives, tasks, major principles and strategic arrangements for rural reform and development under the new circumstances; further clarified the focus of the CPPCC’s efforts to serve rural reform and development; and actively worked to make comments and suggestions concerning improving rural institutions, developing modern agriculture and accelerating improvement of public services in the countryside. We carefully studied the guiding principles of the important speech delivered by Comrade Hu Jintao at a conference commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, staged activities marking the 30th anniversary of the reform and opening up policy, helped National Committee members fully appreciate the signal significance, great achievements and valuable lessons derived from reform and opening up, unswervingly supported reform and opening up, and promoted further development of the CPPCC’s cause.
We integrated efforts to study and implement the guiding principles of the Seventeenth Congress with those to improve the CPPCC’s theoretical research and worked vigorously to strengthen ideology and theory. We continued the group study system for Standing Committee members and the study session system for National Committee members living in Beijing, and held workshops focusing on topics such as the Olympic movement and its humanistic spirit, the historical background and current status of the “Tibet question,” and the situation in the Taiwan Straits. We intensified study and training for the members of the National Committee, particularly new members, and held two study and discussion sessions for members. A total of 573 members participated in study and training. This work laid a solid foundation for attaining our goal of training all the members of the present National Committee. We worked to gradually incorporate theoretical study of the CPPCC into the National Project to Study and Develop Marxist Theory and the National Program for Developing Philosophy and Social Sciences. We established a CPPCC theoretical research base, held a forum with the theme “socialist democratic politics and the CPPCC,” and progressed in improving CPPCC theory.
2. Submitting comments and suggestions concerning major issues in economic and social development and promoting scientific, democratic and law-based policy-making by the Party and government
The international economic situation was complex last year, and our country’s economic development faced tough challenges. Over the past year, we kept a close eye on and made a follow-up analysis of economic trends and organized nine special topic forums and consultative sessions for relevant subcommittees of the National Committee to study and analyze the latest changes in the international economic environment and the latest developments in our country’s economic situation. Taking different stages of economic development into consideration, we promptly proposed that China should maintain a certain amount of flexibility in its tight monetary policy, prevent prices from rising too quickly while forestalling large fluctuations in the economy, follow a proactive fiscal policy and moderately easy monetary policy, and adopt a variety of measures to respond to the global financial crisis, stimulate domestic demand and fortify confidence. These proposals played a positive role in aiding the Party and government in promptly adjusting macroeconomic policies.
We deliberated government affairs and offered suggestions on major issues in various areas of economic and social development. Over the past year, we conducted investigations and studies of 55 special topics, organized 13 inspection teams for members of the Standing Committee and National Committee, and filed more than 4,700 proposals for investigation and referred them to relevant departments. These included proposals on balancing urban and rural development, developing state grain production bases, implementing major state science and technology programs, getting universities to play an important role in the country’s innovation system, optimizing the state plan for development priority zones, making innovations in the family planning services and administration system for the floating population, and creating zones to conduct trials on a mechanism for compensating for ecological damage to the sources of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers. We also submitted proposals for accelerating development of Liaoning’s coastal economic belt consisting of five economic and industrial development zones as well as the main coastal cities and areas adjacent to them, launching the project to build the Changchun-Jilin-Tumen Development and Opening Up Priority Zone, accelerating development of the Three Gorges Logistics Center, carrying out the project to bring prosperity to border areas in Yunnan and turning Hainan into an international tourist island. These proposals served as key reference materials in Party and government policy-making.
We always kept our focus on issues having an immediate impact on the people’s wellbeing. We focused on investigations and studies of how to accelerate pilot projects for old-age insurance coverage for rural residents and rural public health work, establish a national system for basic drugs, effectively prevent and control endemic diseases, develop vocational education, set up a variety of effective mechanisms for resolving conflicts, and implement the Labor Contract Law. In this process we both reported social conditions and popular sentiment and aided in the solution of important and difficult problems.
We paid close attention to economic and social development in ethnic minority areas, and thoroughly investigated and studied issues such as lack of radio and TV reception in some ethnic minority border areas, the inability of local populations to understand broadcasts in standard Chinese, and ways to improve management of religious sites and take full advantage of the positive role of religious leaders and believers in promoting economic and social development. All this was instrumental in strengthening ethnic unity and religious harmony. We unequivocally supported the Party and government in dealing with the destructive and disruptive, violent and illegal incidents in Lhasa, Tibet and other areas in accordance with the law. We organized investigation teams to conduct research in Tibet, Qinghai and Yunnan and submitted comments and suggestions on ways to safeguard national security and maintain stability in Tibet and other ethnic Tibetan areas.
3. Throwing ourselves headlong into earthquake relief and post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction and uniting all the people across the country to form a boundless source of strength to surmount the earthquake
On May 12, a massive earthquake that shocked the world rocked Wenchuan, Sichuan, inflicting untold misery on the people in the quake zone. The CPPCC resolutely carried out all policy decisions of the Central Committee concerning earthquake relief, and acted promptly to adjust its work agenda to make participation in earthquake relief efforts its most important and pressing task, and one to which it immediately devoted all its energy. Leading comrades of the National Committee, the central committees of the democratic political parties, leaders of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and representatives of National Committee members without party affiliation promptly set out for the quake zone to comfort local cadres and people. CPPCC committees at all levels and their members and cadres of the organs of CPPCC committees were deeply concerned for people’s lives in the quake zone and extended heart-warming helping hands and financial support. Altogether, they contributed money and materials worth nearly 6 billion yuan. In addition, members of CPPCC committees at all levels immediately sprang into action to participate in the earthquake relief efforts in various ways. Scorning personal safety, some of them raced against time to rescue trapped victims and assisted quake victims to the greatest possible extent in restoring their lives. Others formed special rescue teams and rushed to the quake zone to become important forces for saving lives. Still others manned soup lines to provide free basic food to earthquake victims. Some of them also used their skills to diagnose injuries, prevent and treat diseases, apply science and technology to mitigate the effects of the earthquake, provide general consultation services and ease victims’ hardships. Their hard work earned them acclaim from all the people.
We called a special session of the Chairperson’s Council to discuss earthquake relief and post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction, studied and discussed the Master State Plan for Recovery and Reconstruction Following the Wenchuan Earthquake, and arranged for National Committee members to travel to the quake zone to conduct a survey. Many valuable comments and suggestions rewarded these efforts. In particular, the State Council looked with great favor on our suggestions to unite efforts to promote post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction with the comprehensive reform to bring about urban and rural integration, increase mental health aid for earthquake victims and improve emergency response mechanisms. In addition, we encouraged entrepreneurs who are National Committee members to set up enterprises in the quake zone, launched cultural, scientific and public health campaigns in quake-hit rural areas, energetically publicized earthquake-related policies and measures of the Party and government, and helped maintain social stability in the quake zone. All this played a positive role in helping quake victims restore production and resume normal lives and in accelerating reconstruction.
In this great struggle to provide earthquake relief, CPPCC committees at all levels and their members stood with the people across the country through thick and thin and worked with them in unison in writing a moving heroic paean.
4. Enthusiastically supporting and participating in the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics and joining with other sons and daughters of the Chinese nation at home and abroad in making them a success
The Chinese nation had cherished the desire to host the Olympics in China for a hundred years, and this had also been a common aspiration of the political parties, organizations and people from all ethnic groups and sectors of society participating in the CPPCC. We regarded it as our sacred mission to host unique, high-level Olympics and Paralympics, and mobilized and organized National Committee members to actively support them and spare no effort in their service to them. Many leaders of the National Committee spearheaded teams in on-site inspections of the construction of Olympic facilities, operation of venues, food safety, and environmental improvement. We held the forum “Wholeheartedly Welcome the Olympics,” during which we made comments and suggestions to optimize preparations and achieve the goal of a green, scientific and people-oriented Olympics. During the First Session of the Eleventh CPPCC National Committee and the First Session of the Eleventh National People’s Congress, we held a special news conference at which National Committee members aiding in Olympic preparations spoke on issues of common concern and informed people about the spirit and ideals of the Beijing Olympics. National Committee members enthusiastically participated in the “welcome the Olympics, encourage civil behavior and improve the social atmosphere” campaign. They supported the games as Olympic volunteers and organizers or in other capacities, in which they did a great deal of excellent work. National Committee members directly participating in preparation, organization and other work did their work conscientiously, carried out their mission faithfully and completed the tasks they undertook in outstanding fashion. We actively encouraged our compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, overseas Chinese, and people of Chinese origin to contribute money to help build Olympic venues and stand up courageously in defense of the Beijing Olympic torch on its international relay, so that they emblazoned a brilliant chapter in the history of the Olympic Games.
Our success in hosting the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics was due to the strong leadership of the Central Committee, with Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary, the concerted efforts of the whole Party, the entire army and the people of all our ethnic groups, as well as the support and participation of the international community. It is also attributable to the hard work and wisdom of CPPCC committees at all levels and their members, embodies the splendid spirit of the political parties, organizations and people from all our ethnic groups and sectors of society working in unison to make brilliant achievements, and demonstrates the great cohesiveness and influence of the united front and the CPPCC.
5. Staging a wide range of activities to promote friendly overseas contacts and strengthen unity with our compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and with overseas Chinese
The CPPCC is a symbol of great unity and alliance and serves as a bridge to increase ties between our compatriots at home and abroad. We energetically worked to inform people regarding the Party and government’s principles and policies concerning Hong Kong and Macao, increased contacts with political groups, social groups and representatives of Hong Kong and Macao, and cultivated and expanded forces that love the motherland, Hong Kong and Macao. We kept the National Committee members from Hong Kong and Macao informed on the country’s principles and policies and its economic and social development, as well as on the latest developments in the National Committee’s work. We organized inspection tours and fact-finding missions for over 100 National Committee members from Hong Kong and Macao in provincial-level administrative areas in the central and western regions and in the quake zone to help them better understand economic and social development on the mainland and strengthen cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao. We conducted investigations and studies of the contribution the people of Hong Kong and Macao made to reform and opening up on the mainland and made suggestions on however to give them a bigger role. We improved our work on cultural and historical data about Hong Kong and Macao and began compiling audio-visual historical data about well-known people from the two regions and cultural and historical data for the program “Hong Kong and the People’s Republic Marching Together.” We hosted the Forum on the Work of the Local CPPCC Committees Related to the Affairs of Our Compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and Overseas Chinese to review our work in this area, explore the laws governing it and improve our working mechanisms accordingly.
We made the most of the major changes in the situation in Taiwan and the rare historic opportunities for developing cross-Straits relations, and strenuously worked to bolster our ties with political parties, organizations and people from various sectors of society in Taiwan. We arranged for inspection tours to Taiwan, invited distinguished guests from Taiwan to attend the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, and arranged for world famous Taiwan businesspeople to visit the mainland. We hosted a variety of groups, totaling more than 500 people, visiting from Taiwan, and visited Taiwan for the first time under the name of the Chinese Society of Heluo Culture. All this expanded the channels of contacts between the CPPCC and Taiwan and promoted visits of individuals and economic and cultural exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits.
We energetically cultivated friendships with overseas Chinese in order to draw their support, pool their wisdom, unleash their initiative and safeguard their interests. We invited overseas Chinese representatives to attend plenary sessions of the National Committee as observers and arranged for overseas Chinese to come to China on visits and inspections. We staged a choral concert entitled “My Chinese Heart,” hosted by people from the Chinese mainland and Chinese nationals from the United States. We solicited constructive proposals from overseas Chinese scholars and experts on how to open China yet wider. This work aided our compatriots’ understanding of the motherland and stimulated their enthusiasm and initiative to contribute to its reform, opening up and modernization.
6. Constantly expanding friendly foreign contacts and cultivating a favorable external environment
The CPPCC’s friendly foreign contacts constitute an important part of China’s overall foreign relations work. Within the parameters of the state’s overall diplomatic arrangements, we made full use of the strengths of the CPPCC to increase friendly exchanges between the CPPCC and its corresponding institutions in other countries and international organizations, and worked continuously to expand these efforts into new areas. We continued to promote bilateral contacts, focusing on exchange of high-level visits, consolidated traditional friendships, increased mutual political trust, expanded pragmatic cooperation and promoted cultural exchanges. In the past year, the National Committee dispatched 21 missions to 33 countries for visits or meetings and hosted 14 delegations from 11 countries and two regional organizations. In our foreign contacts, we informed others of China’s tremendous achievements in modernization, publicized its principles and policies, and increased the international community’s understanding of our country. We explained our system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC, promoted exchanges between the National Committee and peer institutions in other countries, and increased friendship between Chinese and foreign nationals.
We actively participated in international multilateral activities under the auspices of relevant organizations. The China Economic and Social Council (CESC) continued its constructive function within the International Association of Economic and Social Councils and Similar Institutions (IAESCSI), vigorously developed pragmatic exchanges and cooperation with IAESCSI members, and made continued progress in forging a mechanism for holding roundtable meetings with the European Economic and Social Committee. The CESC held two meetings with this committee on Sino-European trade and investment, corporate social responsibility and development of the recycling industry, and these meetings generated broad consensus. At the Seventh Asian Conference on Religion and Peace, the China Committee on Religion and Peace strove to inform other participants about our country’s policy on religious affairs and the true nature of its freedom of religious belief and adopted appropriate solutions to issues involving Taiwan and Tibet, thereby safeguarding China’s interests and dignity and projecting its positive image to the world.
Fellow Members,
The work of the National Committee was a success and got off to a good start last year due to the strong leadership of the Central Committee with Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary, due to the concerted efforts of the organizations participating in the CPPCC, CPPCC committees at all levels and their members, and thanks to the vigorous support of Party committees and governments at all levels and all of society. On behalf of the Standing Committee, I would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all of you.
Looking back at last year’s dynamic efforts makes us fully aware that to promote development of the CPPCC’s cause, we must take socialism with Chinese characteristics as a common conviction, actively guide the democratic parties, organizations and persons of all our ethnic groups and from all sectors of society to work together with one heart and one mind and pool their wisdom under the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics in order to attain the grand objective of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. We must take into account the overall interests of the Party and the country in planning and carrying out the CPPCC’s work. We must conscientiously harmonize our goals, work and actions with those of the Party and government, be ready to come forward and help effectively at critical moments, and energetically contribute to promoting scientific development, safeguarding and improving people’s lives and maintaining social stability. We must put people first in the performance of all aspects of our functions. We must always accord highest priority to the people’s interests, be solicitous of their wellbeing, submit more views and proposals that reflect popular opinion and the people’s wishes, solve more problems for the public benefit, and genuinely make the CPPCC people-oriented. We must view broad unity an inexhaustible motive force empowering us to tackle all difficulties. We must fully exploit the CPPCC’s advantages of broad representation and inclusiveness, increase common understanding while responding to challenges, unite our strength in joint effort toward our great goal, and consolidate and further develop the situation of sharing of both good and bad times and mutual collaboration. We must emphasize the role of CPPCC committee members as an important basis for the CPPCC’s work. We must respect their pioneering spirit, safeguard their democratic rights, bond with them through work, temper them through practice, give them incentives through effective mechanisms, and allow them free scope to express their talent and ability.
However, we are also clearly aware that, in light of the requirements of the Scientific Outlook on Development and the CPPCC’s tasks in the new circumstances, some issues in our work urgently require improvement. Most importantly, the quality, performance and form of the execution of our functions have yet to be improved. We still have to give full play to the basic role of the subcommittees and National Committee members representing different sectors of society in the work of the CPPCC. CPPCC institutions have to be improved. We will carefully study these problems to arrive at effective solutions to apply in our future work.
II. Work Arrangements for 2009
The year 2009 marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of New China and the CPPCC and is crucial for properly responding to the global financial crisis and promoting further development of the cause of the Party and the country. The general philosophy for the work of the CPPCC this year is as follows. We must comprehensively implement the guiding principles set out at the Seventeenth Congress and the Second and Third Plenary Sessions of the Seventeenth Central Committee, hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, take Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of Three Represents as our guide, thoroughly apply the Scientific Outlook on Development, and continue to implement the Guidelines of the CPC Central Committee on Improving the Work of the CPPCC. We must systematically review the invaluable experience gained by the CPPCC in its 60 years of history, accord highest priority to maintaining steady and rapid economic development, take safeguarding social harmony and stability as our primary responsibility, and conscientiously perform our functions of political consultation, democratic oversight and participation in the deliberation and administration of state affairs. We must enhance our confidence, vanquish all difficulties and obstacles, muster great forces and energetically contribute to building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and accelerating socialist modernization.
1. Energetically applying the Scientific Outlook on Development to guide and promote our work
The Scientific Outlook on Development is an important guiding principle for China’s economic and social development and a powerful ideological weapon that enables the CPPCC to serve scientific development and develop itself in a scientific manner. In order to win new victories in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects from this new historical point of departure, we must fortify our thinking with the Scientific Outlook on Development and apply it to guide our practice and promote our work. To open up new prospects for the cause of the CPPCC under the new historical conditions, we must apply the Scientific Outlook on Development to review the past, steer the present and plan the future. We will continue to effectively carry out the campaign to thoroughly study and implement the Scientific Outlook on Development, deepen our understanding of its scientific content, essence and fundamental requirements, and translate it into the CPPCC’s firm conviction to serve scientific development, its correct approach to planning scientific development and its real ability to promote scientific development. We will conscientiously apply the Scientific Outlook on Development in the entire course of performing our functions and doing our work. With a view to developing the cause of the CPPCC in a scientific way, we must rid our minds of the shackles of notions and practices that are out of synch with the Scientific Outlook on Development, study ways to solve major theoretical and practical issues in the performance of our functions, and establish systems and mechanisms that aid the CPPCC in serving scientific development, so that the CPPCC will further develop its cause by promoting scientific development.
2. Working hard to promote steady and rapid economic development
Maintaining steady and rapid economic development is the primary task of this year’s economic work, as well as the focus of the CPPCC in executing its functions and serving the overall interests of the country. We must diligently study and implement the policy decisions and arrangements of the Central Committee, align our thinking and actions with its guiding principles, enhance our confidence, tackle difficulties head on, and form a powerful concerted force riding out difficulties and promoting development. We will attend closely to developments in the global financial crisis and keep close track of the results of state policies and measures for promoting economic growth, so that we can conduct more foresighted research into problems representing or indicative of unfavorable trends. For example, we need to study how to achieve rapid investment growth, boost consumption, and stabilize imports and exports. We must study how to consolidate and strengthen the position of agriculture as the foundation of the economy, develop modern agriculture, and promote a steady increase in rural incomes. We need to study how to deepen reform in key areas and crucial links, support development of small and medium-sized enterprises, and implement a vigorous employment policy. We need to study how to promote optimization and upgrading of the industrial structure, effectively implement the plans to reinvigorate the ten major industries, and fully carry out the measures to strengthen scientific and technological support. We need to study how to promote energy conservation and emissions reduction, address climate change and achieve rational exploitation and utilization of resources and energy. We need to study how to promote balanced regional development, make progress in poverty alleviation through development, accelerate recovery and reconstruction of the quake zone, and make good preparations for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. We will arrange for National Committee members to conduct investigations, studies and inspection tours concerning these issues to enable them to report their findings in a timely fashion and offer their solutions. We will carry out activities to discuss and deliberate topics such as ways to boost domestic demand while maintaining steady and rapid economic development, expedite the transformation of our development pattern and restructuring, and improve our ability for sustainable development, and provide ideas for the Party and government to use in devising policy decisions to effectively counter the impact of the global financial crisis.
3. Working hard to improve the people’s living standards and promoting social harmony and stability
Benefiting the people is a top priority of any government, and reassuring them is an important way the government maintains stability. In face of the complex and severe economic situation, we must do everything in our power to resolve issues affecting the wellbeing of the people and promote social harmony and stability. We will always emphasize and show concern for the people’s wellbeing. We will focus on hot and thorny issues such as employment, the social safety net, medical and health care, education, culture, environmental protection, workplace safety and food and drug safety in deliberating government affairs and making suggestions. We will assist the Party and government in soliciting the people’s input on government affairs, asking about their needs, and seeking their solutions to problems affecting their vital interests and strive to ensure that all our people enjoy their rights to education, employment, medical and old-age care and housing. We will encourage National Committee members from the non-public sector of the economy to shoulder their share of social responsibilities and work hard to ensure that no employees in their enterprises are laid off or suffer pay cuts or wage arrearages in order to create harmonious labor relations. We will expand our sources of information and open up more channels to promptly report social conditions and popular sentiment. We will provide better ideological and political guidance, and do well our work of balancing relationships, settling conflicts and calming nerves in order to safeguard the overall interests of reform, development and stability. We will make good use of the unique role of our members from ethnic minorities and religious circles, inform the public about the Party and government’s policies on ethnic and religious affairs, conduct in-depth investigations and studies of major problems affecting the economic and social development of ethnic minorities and ethnic minority areas, and serious problems in our religious work, and consolidate and strengthen ethnic unity and religious harmony.
4. Working hard to strengthen the great solidarity and unity with our compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and overseas Chinese
Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will be impossible without the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macao, the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations, and wide support from overseas Chinese. We will unswervingly follow the principle of “one country, two systems,” under which Hong Kong people administer Hong Kong and Macao people administer Macao with a high degree of autonomy, and expand channels of communication with influential figures from all walks of life in Hong Kong and Macao. We will increase our ties with National Committee members from the two regions, improve our working mechanism to get them to fully play their role, and support their active participation in social and political affairs in their regions. We will keep National Committee members in Hong Kong and Macao up to date on China’s economic and social development and the guiding principles of Standing Committee meetings. To address issues of great concern to these members, we will arrange for them to go on investigation and inspection tours on the mainland, and encourage them to contribute to the country’s development and social stability. We will resolutely implement the Central Committee’s major policies and principles on Taiwan-related work, and earnestly study and inform the general public about the guiding principles of the important speech Comrade Hu Jintao delivered at a forum marking the 30th anniversary of the issuance of the Message to Our Compatriots in Taiwan. We will cleave steadfastly to the theme of peaceful development of cross-Straits relations, and make full use of the strengths of the CPPCC to constantly expand and deepen exchanges and cooperation between the two sides in various areas, facilitate more visits by individuals, and carry out in-depth studies of how to develop cross-Straits relations and offer our suggestions. We will hold high the banner of patriotism, unite with as many overseas Chinese nationals as possible, strengthen our ties with returned overseas Chinese and their relatives, continue to arrange for overseas Chinese representatives to return to China for visits and inspections, and encourage Chinese students to return home to work, start their own businesses and serve the country after they complete their studies overseas.
5. Striving to establish more friendly foreign contacts
Fostering the CPPCC’s friendly foreign contacts is of great importance in developing exchanges and cooperation between China and other countries in the world. We will hold high the banner of peace, development and cooperation, engage in multilevel international exchanges in various areas in a well-planned, focused way, and make well-targeted and sound arrangements for subcommittees to engage in international exchanges. We will continue to support the CESC in conducting friendly exchanges and make good preparations for the 21st Century Forum 2010. We will strengthen the contacts and exchanges between the China Committee on Religion and Peace and world religious and peace organizations, and inform the outside world regarding China’s policy on freedom of religious belief and the current state of religious affairs. We will improve our external publicity work to help the international community acquire a better understanding of our country’s political system and system of political parties.
6. Working hard for the CPPCC’s self-improvement
The intensity and results of our self-improvement efforts will determine how well we carry out our functions. We will strengthen cooperation between the CPC and the democratic parties and persons without party affiliation, establish a sound working mechanism to enable them to perform their functions in the CPPCC, and arrange for them to discuss and deliberate major state principles and policies and play their role in democratic oversight. We will give prominence to the inclusiveness of the CPPCC, be creative in finding more ways for National Committee members to carry out their activities, and improve our working system. We will encourage members to maintain extensive contacts with the people from their own sectors of society and to understand and report the wishes and demands of different social strata. We will improve the overall quality of National Committee members, stress our ideological and political work, arrange study and training sessions for all members, hold meetings to present reports and briefings to inform them about state affairs and developments, and establish a statistics system for assessing the execution of their functions. We will intensify efforts to ensure subcommittees improve their work and strengthen their self-improvement and encourage them to hold work forums on a timely basis to review their past work experience, standardize their work procedures and be more productive. We will increase ties with local CPPCC committees to exchange experience and study issues with them in order to promote our work. We will strengthen organs of the National Committee, improve their systems and mechanisms, and strive to make them more innovative, harmonious and committed to learning and service, so that they operate in a coordinated, unified, standardized, orderly, flexible and efficient manner and effectively support the efforts of the National Committee in executing its functions and accomplishing its work.
In 2009, we will assist in organizing activities celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of New China and the CPPCC in compliance with the unified planning and arrangements by the Central Committee. We will hold commemorative meetings, forums and symposiums to extol the great, world-shaking changes in socialist New China, comprehensively review the great course taken by the CPPCC to stand together with the People’s Republic in the face of turbulent times and record brilliant achievements, carefully analyze the valuable experience the CPPCC gained in upholding and improving the system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC, further explore the features and laws of the CPPCC’s work in these new circumstances, and continue to advance the cause of the CPPCC on the political development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Fellow Members,
Our responsibilities and missions for reform and development will stimulate our wisdom and strength, and the risks and challenges on our course ahead will test our confidence and courage. Let us rally closely around the Central Committee with Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary, hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, follow the guidance of Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of Three Represents, and thoroughly apply the Scientific Outlook on Development. Let us unite with all positive forces at home and overseas, bring all direct and indirect positive factors into full play, forge ahead together with one heart in a pioneering spirit, win new victories in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and write a new chapter in the annals of the Chinese nation’s great rejuvenation!