Process of Founding and Key Achievements in History

The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is an organization of the patriotic United Front of the Chinese people. It is also an important organ for the development of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC, and an important forum for promoting socialist democracy in the Chinese political system. The Communist Party of China, various democratic parties, democrats with no party affiliations, people's organizations and public figures from all walks of life jointly founded the CPPCC shortly before the birth of New China.

In commemoration of the International Labor's Day, the CPC Central Committee issued a call on April 30, 1948, proposing the convening of a new political consultative conference to set up a democratic coalition government. This call won an immediate appreciative response from various democratic parties, people's organizations, democrats with no party affiliations and overseas Chinese, who participated in the preparation of the new political consultative conference later.

● On September 21-30, 1949, the First CPPCC Plenary Session was held in Beiping(now Beijing). Altogether, 662 representatives, including those of the Communist Party of China (CPC), democratic parties, mass organizations, various localities, the People's Liberation Army, ethnic minorities, overseas Chinese and religious groups, attended the session.

Exercising the functions and power of the National People's Congress (NPC), which had not yet been established, the session proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China as the will of all Chinese people. It adopted the Common Program of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the Organic Law of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the Organic Law of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China.

During the meeting, it was decided to make Beijing the capital of the republic, designate the five-star red flag as the national flag, declare the song of "March of the Volunteers'' as the national anthem and the common era calendar was adopted.

During the session, the chairman, vice-chairmen and members of the Central People's Government, as well as the first National Committee of the CPPCC were elected. Mao Zedong was made the first chairman of the CPPCC National Committee.

● On June 14-23, 1950, the Second Session of the First CPPCC National Committee was held.

At the meeting, the draft Law of Land Reforms of the People's Republic of China, the Report on the Work of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee and the Report on the Handling of the Proposals Moved at the First CPPCC Plenary Session were passed.

The meeting greatly promoted CPPCC's self-construction, participation in the deliberation and administration of State affairs and political consultation. In addition, the pattern of New China's national emblem was also decided at the meeting.

● On December 21-25, 1954, the First Session of the Second CPPCC National Committee was held.

The Constitution of the CPPCC was adopted at the meeting. According to the document, the Common Program should be replaced by the country's constitution.

● Chairman Mao Zedong in 1956 wrote the principle of "long-term co-existence and mutual supervision" to define the relationship between CPC and the country's democratic parties in his article entitled "On Ten Relationships."

In January 1982, the National United Front Working Conference added "utter devotion, honor and responsibility'' to the original guideline of "long-term co-existence and mutual supervision."

● On August 6, 1965, the Fourth CPPCC National Committee held a tea party in honor of Li Zongren, a prominent Kuomintang politician, his wife Guo Dejie and also Cheng Siyuan, who had just returned from overseas.

● In February 1978, CPPCC restored its work after the "cultural revolution" (1966-76).

● On June 15, 1979, Deng Xiaoping, chairman of the Fifth CPPCC National Committee, said during the opening of the second session of the committee that China's united front had changed into an alliance of socialist laborers and patriots in support of socialism, under the leadership of the workers and on the basis of the alliance of workers and farmers.

● In December 1983, the Third Session of the Standing Committee of the Sixth CPPCC National Committee passed an important report that corrected the mistreatments of some CPPCC members during the "cultural revolution."

● On April 10, 1988, Li Xiannian, chairman of the Seventh CPPCC National Committee, said on the closing of the committee's first session that political consultation and supervision of government operation should become a system.

On April 12, 1988, the First Session of the Standing Committee of the Seventh CPPCC National Committee decided to establish 13 special committees to make political consultation and supervision a system.

● On March 8-19, 1994, the Second Session of the Eighth CPPCC National Committee revised the Constitution of CPPCC for the third time in history. The latest revised CPPCC constitution added participation in the deliberation and administration of State affairs into the main functions of CPPCC.

● In January 1995, the Ninth Session of the Standing Committee of the Eighth CPPCC National Committee adopted the Regulations of the CPPCC National Committee on Political Consultation, Democratic Supervision and Participation in the Deliberation and Administration of State Affairs.

● In March 1998, the First Session of the Ninth CPPCC National Committee was held in Beijing and a group of new leaders were elected at the meeting.

Composition and Functions of the CPPCC

Under the leadership of the CPC, the CPPCC consists of representatives of the CPC, eight democratic parties, democrats with no party affiliations, various people's organizations, every ethnic group and all walks of life, compatriots from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, and returned overseas Chinese, as well as specially invited individuals, reflecting the interests of various social strata.

According to the principles of "long-term coexistence, mutual supervision, sincere treatment with each other and the share of weal or woe'' between the CPC and the democratic parties and democrats with no party affiliations, the CPPCC conducts political consultations on major state policies and important issues concerning the well-being of the people, and exercises democratic supervision through proposals and criticisms. The primary functions of the CPPCC are to conduct political consultations and democratic supervision, and organize its member parties, organizations and personages from various ethnic groups and walks of life to discuss and manage state affairs. All activities of the CPPCC are guided by the Constitution of the PRC.

CPPCC National Committee

The National Committee serves a term of five years. It has a chairman, a number of vice chairmen and a secretary-general. Each year the National Committee holds a plenary session presided over by the Standing Committee of the National Committee. The Standing Committee consists of the chairman, vice chairmen, secretary-general as well as a number of members.

Nine Special Committees of the Ninth National Committee

The Ninth National Committee of the CPPCC has nine special committees including the Committee for Handling Proposals, the Committee for Economic Affairs, the Committee of Population, Resources and Environment, the Committee of Science, Culture, Health and Sports, the Committee for Social and Legal Affairs, the Committee for Ethnic and Religious Affairs, the Committee of Cultural and Historical Data, the Committee for Affairs of Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan Compatriots and Overseas Chinese, and Committee for Foreign Affairs.

CPPCC Ninth National Committee Leadership

Chairman: Li Ruihuan

Li Ruihuan, chairman of the eighth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), was reelected the supreme leader of the ninth CPPCC National Committee.

His principal duties are to unite all sectors of society, confer on state affairs and provide ideas for the top bodies of Chinese government for reference. The achievements he had scored over the past five years fully demonstrate that he is qualified to the noble and sacred post.

Li, born into ordinary peasant family in Tianjin's Baodi County, September, 1934; worked as construction worker in Beijing Third Construction Company, 1951-65; attended spare-time architecture engineering institute, 1958-63; and received college certificate.

Inventor of the "simplified calculation method," which updated the traditional "lofting method" in carpentry, Li was known as young "Lu Ban", a legendary master carpenter in ancient China.

Li has both practical experience at the grassroots level and college education. He joined Communist Party of China (CPC) in September 1959 and served as deputy secretary of the Party Committee of Beijing Building Materials Company after 1965. He was prosecuted from 1966 to 1971 during the "cultural revolution". After 1971, he held leading posts in civil construction units, including vice-chairman of Beijing Municipal Trade Union Federation and vice-chairman of All-China Youth Federation.

In 1982-84, Li served as secretary of the CPC Tianjin Municipal Committee and acting mayor and then mayor of Tianjin. Between 1987-89, he became member of the Political Bureau of CPC Central Committee, secretary of the CPC Tianjin Municipal Committee, and Tianjin mayor.

From 1992 on, he has been a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and was elected chairman of Eighth CPPCC National Committee in 1993.

During his tenure of office as Tianjin mayor, he went all out for institutional restructuring, with focus of attention placed on improving urban housing and public transport conditions. He organized and implemented the project of "diverting water from Luanhe River to Tianjin" and a chain of construction project around Tianjin. With many eminent deeds performed for local residents, he has been highly praised by locals for his practical style of work.

People of Tianjin still remembered very well his call-in radio and TV programs broadcast or televised through which he directly answered residents' inquires, all in concrete terms.

Li was elected member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and member of the Central Committee's Secretariat at the Fourth Plenary Session of 13th CPC Central Committee in 1989, to take charge of ideological work. He is renowned for his profound study and open-mindedness in the intellectual circle. And he published two books "Ideas on Urban Development" and "Ideas On Doing Practical Things for People".

Since he chaired the Eighth CPPCC National Committee in early 1993, he has injected new vigor and vitality into the CPPCC's work with his enlightened views and practical attitude.

The CPPCC's basic functions in the past were political consultation and democratic supervision, to which Li added new contents -- participation in and deliberation of state affairs, after assuming office. Then, CPC Central Committee issued a notice to Party committees at all levels, and urged the committees to create conditions for the work of local CPPCC committees. As a result, the CPPCC's status in China's political life has greatly been raised.

During late November to early December 1993, Li paid official visits to Nepal, India and Pakistan. That was the first time for a Chinese leader to visit foreign countries in the name of the chairman of the CPPCC National Committee after New China was founded in 1949. Li's diplomatic activities has raised the level of the CPPCC's foreign contacts.

Within the framework of China' general foreign policies, the CPPCC has conducted exchanges with foreign countries at various levels in the past five years. By 1997, it has forged ties and conducted friendly exchanges with 98 institutions from 68 countries and four international organizations.

Li Ruihuan sets great store by the method of study. At the 21st meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eight CPPCC National Committee, he recommended a unique study method, which integrates theory learning with the review of experiences and study of practical work.

On the one hand, reading books is kind of study and so is application and more important at that, he said. On the other hand, he added, the process of book reading is in fact a process of learning and applying theories.

With regard to his personal life, Li develops a wide range of interests, with a particular liking for Beijing Opera. And his other hobbies include playing tennis or table tennis and going for fishing.