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February 18, 2020

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China may put off annual sessions

Source: Xinhua | 00:00 UTC+8 February 18, 2020 | Print Edition

CHINA’S parliament and top political consultative body are both considering delaying annual meetings set for March as the country battles a coronavirus outbreak.

The session is known as the country’s largest annual political gathering, and officials say the decision to delay the event was made out of concerns surrounding the new coronavirus outbreak in central Hubei Province.

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, will meet in late February to deliberate a draft decision on postponing the NPC’s annual session, among other items on the agenda.

The move was proposed when the Council of Chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee met yesterday, Zang Tiewei, a spokesperson for the top legislature’s Legislative Affairs Commission, revealed to Xinhua.

The third annual session of the 13th NPC was originally planned to open on March 5.

But after the outbreak of COVID-19, epidemic prevention and control has become the most important work. It is now a crucial moment to curb the spread and win the battle, so no effort should be spared, Zang said.

Many of the nearly 3,000 NPC deputies, including leading officials at the municipal and provincial levels as well as other fields, are fighting at the frontlines of the battle.

After careful evaluation, the chairpersons council decided that it is necessary to postpone the annual legislative session to allow efforts to be concentrated on containing the epidemic. This is in line with putting people’s lives and health as the top priority.

According to the Constitution and relevant laws, the NPC meets in session once a year and is convened by the NPC Standing Committee. The decision to postpone the session needs to be made by the NPC Standing Committee.

The NPC Standing Committee shall meet on February 24, and one of the items on the agenda is to deliberate the draft decision on postponing the annual legislative session.

The meeting will also review a draft decision on banning illegal wildlife trade and eliminating the harmful practice of eating wild animals to guarantee people’s lives, health and safety. The NPC Standing Committee will also prepare for revisions of the laws related to epidemic prevention and control.

Meanwhile, China’s top political advisory body, the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, also held a chairperson’s council meeting yesterday. The meeting also studied matters related to postponing the third session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee and the 10th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th CPPCC National Committee. The session was due to have begun on March 3.

Noting that the prevention and control work is still at a critical stage that allows no lax efforts, the meeting stressed the participation of political advisory bodies and advisors at all levels to win the battle.

The openings of the annual sessions of the NPC and the National Committee of the CPPCC have been held on March 5 and March 3, respectively, since 1998.

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