The National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference are being held in Beijing.
China’s “two sessions”, that is, the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference are being held. Nearly 3,000 deputies to the National People’s Congress and more than 2,000 members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference gathered in Beijing from all over the country.
The highest authority in China’s constitutional sense is the National People’s Congress, but it is often referred to as a “rubber stamp” because it is controlled by the CCP and has no real power. The CPPCC is also a non-binding advisory body. But every year, the bills and proposals of deputies to the National People’s Congress and members of the CPPCC are still topics that netizens like to talk about.
Let’s take a look at some of this year’s eye-catching delegates.
“Taiwan Independence Blacklist Punishment Order”
Zhou Xiaoping, an Internet celebrity writer known for his nationalist online essays, joined the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference this year. He said on social media that his proposal includes suggesting that the authorities issue a “blacklist of separatists in Taiwan (Taiwan) Province” disciplinary order, imposing sanctions on those who support “Taiwan independence”.
He said that the targets of disciplinary orders should include core figures and investors who colluded with foreign hostile forces to interfere with the “great cause of reunification”, created divisions, sold secrets, and produced “Taiwan independence” textbooks and TV programs.
“Order the blacklisted individuals to stop all Taiwan independence activities within a time limit, and confess their crimes through public channels or voluntarily surrender,” he wrote.
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This year’s National People’s Congress will last eight and a half days.
“If these people continue to create divisions and cause cross-strait conflicts, then during our special operations against Taiwan, anyone can arrest or kill them. Not only will they not bear any responsibility, but they will also receive a medal of honor for promoting reunification,” he added. .
In the comments section of Zhou Xiaoping’s Weibo account, many Chinese netizens applauded the proposal, saying that his proposal to Taiwan is “strengthening medicinal and ruthless tactics, the way of the king.” However, Taiwanese netizens criticized it as “promoting terrorism.”
The Chinese authorities confirmed for the first time in 2021 that they had formulated a “list of diehards for Taiwan independence” and would punish those on the list. The list included Taiwan’s then Premier Su Zhenchang, Legislative Yuan You Xikun, and Foreign Minister Wu Zhaoxie. However, the announced punitive measures mainly focus on restricting economic trade and entry.
In 2022, after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, Beijing announced that seven others would be added to the list.
Pursue responsibility for “defamation of traditional Chinese medicine”
According to Chinese media reports, Gan Huatian, another member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, proposed to pursue legal responsibility for maliciously defaming and slandering traditional Chinese medicine.
Gan Huatian is a professor at West China Hospital of Sichuan University. He said that at present, Chinese law has no specific binding regulations on the behavior of slandering and slandering traditional Chinese medicine.
He also called on online platforms to strengthen supervision and censor relevant information and videos released.
His proposal comes at a time when the Chinese government is increasing its support for traditional Chinese medicine. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has repeatedly instructed to promote the development of traditional Chinese medicine in recent years, saying that “Chinese medicine is a treasure of ancient Chinese science.”
According to reports, in 2020, Beijing tried to include in a local regulation prohibiting “slandering and defaming traditional Chinese medicine”. Violators may be prosecuted for criminal responsibility, which once caused an uproar. Critics say it will limit free speech and scientific discussion. Amid controversy, the clause was deleted.
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Deputies to the National People’s Congress and members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference gathered from all over the country to Beijing to attend the two sessions.
Cancel the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble
During the “two sessions”, one of the hotly discussed topics among netizens was Zhu Zhengfu, a deputy to the National People’s Congress of China and a Guangdong lawyer, proposed to abolish the crime of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” in Chinese law.
Zhu Zhengfu, a former member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, has been an advocate for the removal of the crime. The crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble has existed in China for decades and has been criticized for being seen as a pocket crime to punish dissent.
“Especially in recent years, a large number of Internet speakers have also been convicted of this crime, seriously eroding the boundaries of freedom of speech,” the NPC deputy said in an interview with Chinese media Caixin.
“The enforcement standards in various places are very inconsistent, and the qualitative lack of seriousness seriously damages the legitimate interests of the people and undermines the people’s respect and belief in the law,” he added.
The topic sparked polarized reactions on social media. The Chinese media “Sichuan Observer” collected netizens’ attitudes towards the crime on its Weibo, and more than 70% of netizens did not approve of the cancellation. Currently, the Weibo survey is no longer available.
However, another media, Phoenix.com, conducted a survey on whether the “crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble” should be abolished. Among the nearly 210,000 voters, 60% supported the abolition.
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Restrictions on public examinations for children of criminals lifted
A proposal brought to Beijing by another lawyer-turned-CPPCC member was also controversial. Zhou Shihong from Anhui called on the authorities to cancel the restrictions on the offspring of criminals being admitted to public office.
According to Chinese media reports, Zhou Shihong believes that the regulation is “extremely unfair” to those affected, because there is no “scientific evidence” that the perpetrator’s relatives must have criminal tendencies, intentions or criminal behavior.
At present, Chinese law does not expressly stipulate restrictions on the children of criminals being admitted to public office, but many positions—such as the police, the judicial system, or important departments—require a “political review” when recruiting, and some parents have criminal records. Those on the record have said they were excluded as a result.
Some netizens supported his suggestion, thinking that modern law should not have a situation similar to the ancient “lianzuo” (juanlian). But opponents say it will lessen the deterrent effect on offenders.
Stop providing online game services to minors
Li Yan, a deputy to the National People’s Congress from Shandong Province, focused on the problem of young people’s obsession with online games.
The president of the pharmaceutical company called on the authorities to completely stop providing online game services to minors in order to prevent children and teenagers from seeking psychological comfort in the “false game world”.
Although the government has imposed restrictions on online game services for minors, some games still do not require real-name authentication, and some “bad online game companies” have circumvented the law, she said.
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China is one of the countries in the world with the strictest regulations on young people playing online games. In 2021, China will take a heavy blow to online games, stipulating that teenagers under the age of 18 can play games for a maximum of 3 hours a week, and they can only play on weekends and holidays.
The strict new rules were introduced to tackle online gaming addiction among minors, authorities said. As Chinese teenagers become increasingly addicted to games, some Chinese state media described online games as “spiritual opiates.”
Certificate of Honor for three-child families
As China’s fertility rate continues to decline, some members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference suggested that the authorities should set up a “Festival of Fertility Culture” to strengthen the guidance of young people’s concept of fertility.
According to reports, Zhu Lianqing, a professor at Beijing Information Technology University and a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, called for the issuance of “honorary certificates” to families with three children nationwide and the selection of “model families.”
He told the Chinese media that it is necessary to change the perception of young people by promoting the fertility concept of “more children, more blessings” and “children around the knees”.
In January this year, China’s National Bureau of Statistics released population data for 2022, showing that the country’s population has shrunk for the first time in 60 years, marking that this populous country has entered an “era of negative population growth.”
China’s fertility rate has been falling for years, prompting the government to issue a series of policies to try to slow the trend, including abolishing the “one-child” policy in 2016 and allowing couples to have two children, a limit that would end in 2021. was widened to three.
Some places also encourage women to have children through tax incentives and childcare subsidies, but these measures have not led to a significant increase in the birth rate.