China’s annual legislative session ends with one eye on inflation and approval for the overall blueprint that will guide the country for the next five years.
Every year, nearly 3,000 delegates from around China descend on the the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing , for the annual session of the National People’s Congress.
Among them is Cheng Wanzhe, from Chongqing. "I am convinced that with respect to perfecting people’s livelihoods, there will be faster and more real improvements this year," Wanzhe said.
Cheng was hurrying in to cast his vote for the country’s next overall plan, which focuses on efforts to distribute wealth more evenly among the country’s more than one billion people.
After the final session, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told reporters that controlling inflation will be one of the government’s main priorities. "Inflation is like a tiger. Once it has been set free, it will be very difficult to put it back in its cage," he said.
Mr. Wen said he is concerned that corruption, in his words, poses the biggest danger to the government and called for institutional reform to eliminate what he described as the "breeding ground of corruption." "Political restructuring and economic restructuring should be advanced in a coordinated way. Nothing in this world stays unchanged. It is only with reform that we can ensure continuous existence and growth," he said.
Mr. Wen called for the creation of what he called conditions for people to criticize and supervise the government, but he gave no details. He also rejected assertions that there are similarities between China and politically turbulent countries in the Middle East.
