Backgrounder:
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhuanet) -- The Chinese
People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a
patriotic united front organization of the Chinese people,
serving as a key mechanism formulti-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, representatives of people's organizations,
national minorities andall social strata.
It also has the representation of compatriots
of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao
Special Administrative Region and Taiwan, returned overseas
Chinese, and specially invited people.
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 majorimportance concerning political, economic,
cultural and social affairs.
Democratic supervision means to exercise,
by means of offering suggestions and criticisms, supervision
over the implementation ofthe Constitution, other laws,
regulations and major policies, and over the work of government
agencies and their functionaries.
Participation in the discussion and the
handling of state affairs means to organize CPPCC members
of various parties, people's organizations, various minority
people 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 new
Political Consultative Conference as distinguished from
the one convened 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 forthe formation
of 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 supremeorgan of power, the session
adopted a "Common Program" which bore the nature of a temporary
constitution, proclaimed the founding ofthe 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 sinceplayed a vital role in
the country's political, economic, culturaland social affairs
and in international exchanges.
The CPPCC has a National Committee and
local committees. With afunctioning term of five years,
they meet once every year.
The Second Session of the 10th National
Committee of the CPPCC is scheduled to open in Beijing on
March 3 this year.
