The chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) has promised that the top political advisory body will fulfill its functions of political consultation to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of both the People's Republic of China and the CPPCC.    

Wang Yang made the remarks on Sunday while reporting on the work of the CPPCC National Committee's Standing Committee at the opening ceremony of the second session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee.  

2018 saw full play of CPPCC's role

In his speech, Wang reviewed the CPPCC's work in the past year, stressing that it has fully played its role as a body dedicated to consultation, and carried out its dual responsibility of offering suggestions and building consensus. 

Wang said the work of the CPPCC was improved in 2018. "We took a markedly more quality-oriented approach," noted the chairman.  

He also mentioned the establishment of a mobile platform that allows members to conduct consultations and deliberations online, saying it overcomes time and geographical constraints on the work. 

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Wang said the CPPCC also conducted consultations with a focus on the central tasks of fighting the three critical battles against potential risk, poverty and pollution.

According to him, chairpersons and members from the CPPCC conducted in-depth surveys and held consultative meetings to come up with suggestions to better cope with the challenges. 

Wang also emphasized that the CPPCC gave greater attention to people's ever-growing needs for a better life in its consultations and democratic oversight, focusing on issues of immediate concern, such as education, social security and healthcare services. 

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As forging unity is one of the main functions of the CPPCC, the chairman also elaborated its work on that front.

"We created new ways for National Committee members from ethnic minorities and religious groups to engage in study sessions, inspection tours and group consultations, and held forums to hear reports from them on social conditions and public sentiment," Wang noted. 

He also reported the efforts by the CPPCC National Committee to further interact with members from Hong Kong and Macao, and engage them in consultations on the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay area. 

On bringing Taiwan compatriots closer, Wang said the national committee co-hosted the first Straits forum on community-level governance and carried out discussions on implementing the Measures to Promote Cross-Straits Economic and Cultural Exchanges and Cooperation. 

The CPPCC national committee has also enhanced ties with foreign institutions, the chairman said. 

"We told China's stories in an engaging way," noted Wang, adding that in the past year, foreign diplomatic envoys were invited to participate in tours, forums and round-table discussions to gain a better understanding of the CPPCC. 

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The CPPCC National Committee has worked hard to improve its efficiency as well.  

Wang said the National Committee urged its members to fulfill their duties, and effectively eliminated the phenomenon in which some members would only show up for the plenary sessions, the so-called "once a year members."

"We enforced strict discipline among our members, expelling three members of the National Committee (in 2018) in accordance with relevant regulations," Wang confirmed. 

Major tasks in 2019 - a year of extraordinary significance

Pointing out that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of both the People's Republic of China and the CPPCC, Wang reiterated the guidelines for the CPPCC's work in 2019, including upholding Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fulfilling its functions of political consultation and democratic oversight, as well as working to secure victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. 

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Highlights of the CPPCC since its establishment in 1949

He pledged that the CPPCC National Committee will work hard to put forward high-quality recommendations and findings. 

"Greater efforts will be devoted to key political consultations," Wang added, referring to consultations on issues which concern the public, such as jobs, Copyright Law, infrastructure building in rural areas, elderly care services and personal information protection. 

According to him, the CPPCC National Committee will continue to expand exchanges with foreign institutions, arranging for members to conduct research on boosting cooperation on innovation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

He promised that the CPPCC National Committee will tell China's stories in an engaging way and contribute to the building of a human community with a shared future. 

In his speech, Wang also laid out plans to celebrate the upcoming 70th anniversary of the CPPCC. 

Activities like collecting cultural and historical materials, publishing books and hosting exhibitions of paintings are all among the to-do list.

Aiming at 2020

As 2019 is a critical year for China in completing the first Centenary Goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020, the CPPCC chairman vowed that the top political advisory body will strive to protect the overall interests of the country, implement the decisions and plans of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and perform its duties in rallying public support, building consensus, and pooling people's wisdom and energy to advance the great cause. 

Wang reaffirmed the CPPCC National Committee's resolution to fulfill its role as a body dedicated to consultation, work to build consensus and promote unity, and steadily improve the quality of its work. 

How are CPPCC proposals handled 

Also on Sunday, Su Hui, vice chairperson of the 13th National Committee of the CPPCC, delivered a report on how the Standing Committee has handled proposals from CPPCC National Committee members since the previous session.

Members of China's top political advisory body submitted 5,360 proposals during the past session, and 99.2 percent of them had been handled up to February 20 this year, said Su. 

The second session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee is set to conclude on the morning of March 13.