Jia Qinglin, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, casts his vote during the fourth plenary meeting of the First Session of 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 13, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)

BEIJING, March 13, 2008 -- From religious leaders to Hong Kong business tycoons, from Tibet herdsmen to lawyers in foreign companies, people would be attracted to him right from shaking hands with the smiling tall man.

"You can feel his passion, candidness and modesty in his long-lasting and powerful handshake with you," his contacts say. Jia Qinglin, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), was elected chairman of China's top political advisory body, the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), on the second term here Thursday.

Jia is known among non-Communist party members for his superbability in pulling the wisdom of people from different sectors. Clear-minded and sharp-thinking, he has an outstanding capability in commanding the overall situation in a highly complicated circumstance with a down-to-earth and rigorous manner.

PROMOTE DEVELOPMENT

Founded in 1949, the CPPCC is a key mechanism for multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC. Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, Deng Yingchao, Li Xiannian and Li Ruihuan were successively chairpersons of the CPPCC National Committee.

During his five-year tenure as chairman of the 10th CPPCC National Committee, Jia Qinglin, with a down-to-earth and steady working style, has set promoting development of the country as the top agenda for the CPPCC through encouraging suggestions from political advisors to contribute to the country's development. The CPPCC National Committee handled over 23,000 proposals, compiled over 100 reports on inspection tours and submitted over270 survey and research reports in the past five years. Among them, the suggestions about promoting the development of the western region, rejuvenating northeast China and other old industrial bases and boosting the development of the central region resulted in the perfection of the overall strategy of the nation's regional development.

Over the past five years, Jia went to Caofeidian in Tangshan of China's north Hebei Province, where the Capital Iron and Steel Company was relocated, to research its development and environment protection measures. His footsteps also landed in China's west Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to access the latest situation of Beibu Bay economic zone.

He also encouraged political advisors to provide proposals for the government in addressing emerging problems in education, employment, health care and social security to improve people's livelihood.

The adjustment of the government's policies in reducing the price of train tickets during the Spring Festival, the drop in interest rate of personal savings deposit, safeguarding basic interests of migrant workers and improving social security system, all proved contributions of political advisors.

During the annual parliamentary and political advisory meetings, Jia always joined discussions with political advisors from Hong Kong and Macao and listened to their proposals with patience, encouraging them to contribute to the prosperity and stability of their respective regions.

"Feel at home here at the CPPCC," he always said to political advisors from Hong Kong and Macao.

Jia also attached great importance to promote the reunification of the country by strengthening contacts with political parties, organizations and people from all walks of life on the island of Taiwan. Through participating in important activities across the Taiwan Straits, he urged political advisors to join hands with Taiwan people in opposing and containing separatist activities aimed at "Taiwan independence".

In addition, he paid seven overseas visits in the past five years to 25 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America to conduct active, prudent and steady communication and cooperation with related institutions and organizations abroad and to further expand friendly foreign contacts.
 
 MOBILIZE ALL SOCIAL GROUPS

Open-minded as he is, Jia believes democracy and unity are like the "wheels of a car and wings of a bird". He has innovated a joint inspection working mechanism among multi-parties to strengthen the CPPCC's role as the manifestation of China's socialist democracy.

Guided by his conception of pulling the wisdom of all people, particularly grassroots people, the CPPCC is playing a better role as an open forum where the ruling CPC, non-Communist parties and people without party affiliation discuss state affairs freely and on an equal footing.

"The CPPCC National Committee should stick to the multi-party cooperation and political consultation as the basic political system and continue to promote harmonious relations among political parties, ethnic groups, religions, social strata, and compatriots at home and overseas," Jia stressed.

Indeed, those who had worked with him said that they were often impressed by Jia's superb ability to unite with people around him. Jia maintained sincere friendship with non-communist members. One of them was China's most revered writer Ba Jin. In 2005, when Ba Jin was sick in bed, he went to see him in Shanghai. After Ba Jin passed away, he expressed his mourning for the great writer on behalf of the Central Committee of the CPC.

Jia was also close to Hong Kong's business tycoon Henry YingTung Fok, former vice chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC. After he passed away, Jia wrote the preface for the collected works in memory of the tycoon, calling him "a close friend of the CPC".

As the CPC leader who is responsible for uniting leaders of religious groups, he often attends important conferences in religious circle. During his visits across China, he would frequent Buddhism temples, mosques, Catholic churches to have heart-to-heart talks with religion followers. He also has in-depth knowledge of major religions. He can fluently recite large parts from the Buddhism classics.

Jia has also strengthened close ties with representatives from the new social group including lawyers, accountants and senior managers in foreign companies who have joined the political advisory body since the 10th CPPCC National Committee was formed." More attention should be paid to their needs and smooth channels should be established for them to be better voiced," he said.

Foreign media thus reported that his words showed that the CPPCC had become more open and represented people more broadly, a sign of the development of China's democratic politics. This is indeed what Jia has advocated. A proposal put forth by the Central Committee of the CPC, focusing on "political consultation among people from different sectors" and "executing power through election and voting", is regarded by Jia as a guiding role in the work of the CPPCC.

ATTENTION TO GRASSROOTS VOICES

A native of north China's Hebei Province, Jia was born in March1940. After graduating from the Hebei Engineering College in 1962,he came to Beijing and worked in the former First Ministry of Machine-Building Industry as a technician. He was appointed general manager of China National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation in 1978, and became head of the Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Plant in north China's Shanxi Province in 1983.In 1985, Jia was dispatched to work in Fujian and stayed there for 11 years, serving successively as deputy secretary of the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee, the provincial governor, and Party chief of Fujian.

In October 1996, Jia returned to Beijing and served successively as acting mayor, mayor and Party chief of the capital city.

Jia was the one who put forth a high-tech-based "capital economy" concept and development strategy, which he believed would help bring into full play Beijing's unique advantages in education, science and technology, and human resources.

As head of the leading group for Beijing's 2008 Olympic bid, Jia played a key role in bringing the Games to the Chinese capital. After designing and carrying out a successful bidding strategy along with his colleagues, Jia also initiated the idea of "New Beijing, New Olympics", which many believe would guide Beijing's development in a new stage.

In November 2002, Jia Qinglin became member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau. In October 2007, he was reelected to the top leadership of the CPC. In a display of his down-to-earth style of work, Jia visited grassroots units and local households as many as 267 times in his six-year tenure in Beijing municipal government, mostly on the weekends, to learn the actual situation in the city.

With a deep affection toward the common people, he frequently went to the homes of local needy residents, many of whom lived in worn-out and unsafe houses, listening to their problems and conveying the concerns of the Party and the government. After he was transferred to work in the Central Committee of the CPC, he continued to visit grassroots areas. In Tibet, he cared about the income of herdsmen in rural areas. In Hainan Province, he worried about the drinking problem of villages from local ethnic minorities.

In Chongqing municipality, he paid attention to the living situation of residents resettled from the Three Gorges Project. Early this year, he went to the snowstorm-stricken Anhui Province to comfort people there and cleared snow-covered road with citizens of the capital city Hefei amid low temperature. "Although he is in high position, he is easy of approach. He is very amicable to ordinary people and shares common topics with them," say people working with him.

He chats with farmers in folk language. He asks for the difficulty in the daily life of religious groups. He expresses his compliment to a Tibetan singer by simply saying "I like your songs very much."

In Hong Kong, when he received a portrait drawn by a local child, he couldn't help holding the portrait high and taking pictures with the child happily.

That is Jia, who always thinks he is not different from people working around him. He takes active part in the New-Year celebration ceremony with his colleagues and invites journalists and other staff to join him for important activities during his visits and expresses his sincere gratitude to their work. "He has good memory and can remember our names immediately. He always greets us sincerely whenever we meet him," said a journalist.

Jia and his wife Lin Youfang, a classmate of his in the college years, have a son and a daughter. His wife retired to take care of him as soon as Jia came to work in Beijing in 1996. He likes to play tennis and bridge after work.