CPC Central Committee key plenum opens

BEIJING—The Seventh Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) opened in Beijing on Tuesday morning.
The session will discuss a draft report to be submitted to the upcoming 17th Party congress by the 16th CPC Central Committee, a draft amendment to the CPC Constitution, and a draft work report of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection to be submitted to the congress, according to an earlier meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.
The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee decided at a meeting on Aug. 28 to hold the 7th Plenum of the 16th CPC Central Committee on Oct. 9, and to make a proposal at the plenum that the17th CPC National Congress was to convene in Beijing as of Oct. 15.
The August meeting also examined and discussed the draft work report by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection to the Party’s 17th national congress and agreed to submit it to the 7th Plenum of the 16th CPC Central Committee for discussion.
The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee discussed at a meeting on Sept. 17 the draft report to the 17th Party congress and the draft amendment to the CPC Constitution, and decided to table the two improved drafts with the 7th Plenum of the 16th CPC Central Committee for further review.
The draft report to the 17th Party congress and the draft amendment to the CPC Constitution have been solicited opinion within certain group of people. Delegates of various departments and regions to the 16th Party congress and newly-elected delegates to the 17th congress have put forward opinions and suggestions.
The 17th CPC National Congress is “a very important meeting to be held at a time when China has entered a key stage of reform and development”, according to the August meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.
The congress will review the Party’s work in the past five years since its 16th National Congress, and is expected to make strategic arrangements for the overall advancement of China’s reform and opening up and socialist modernization drive, as well as for the overall advancement of the grand project of Party building, according to the meeting.
A new CPC Central Committee and a new Central Commission for Discipline Inspection will be elected at the congress. Decorated with red Chinese knots and lanterns, the media center for the upcoming 17th national congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was made available on Monday to both domestic and overseas press.
The media center, based in the Beijing Media Center Hotel adjacent to the headquarters of China Central Television, will handle applications of overseas journalists for covering the congress. A total of 1,033 overseas reporters from 258 media organizations of 42 countries and regions, including 342 reporters from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, have signed up at the center, and the staff started receiving reporters on Monday morning, according to the center.
“Officers at the center were very cooperative with our interview requests and providing information about the congress,” said Yang Chao, deputy director of news department of Taiwan-based Eastern Multimedia Group. “These services show that the mainland is offering increasing transparency to the press.
“Taiwan media keep a close watch on the congress. We will focus our coverage on the review of the past as well as the outlook for the next five years, and mainland’s policy towards Taiwan,” Yang said.
China’s leadership reshuffle and energy issues would be of most interest to Japan’s Jiji Press at the congress, said Jitsuko Maruyama, one of the agency’s six correspondents to cover the congress.
“We hope our interview requests will be processed more efficiently,” said the Mandarin-fluent reporter who is about to cover the second CPC national congress in her career.
The congress convenes once every five years.
The center is divided into seven parts, with a newly-added photo service room and broadcasting service room.
The center will also help arrange coverage of activities related to the congress.
The telephone numbers of the reception office for journalists from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan are: (8610)68520600, 68520700; the fax numbers are: (8610)68529200, 68529300.
The numbers of the reception office for foreign journalists are: (8610)68520200, 68520300, 68520500; the fax numbers are: (8610)68576400, 68576500.
An official website for the media center, www.cpcnews.cn, was also launched. The website feeds journalists with the latest news, important reports, high-profile activities and the content of press conferences.