Members of China's leading political advisory body pledged Wednesday to focus on practical issues to help improve the quality of life of all Chinese people.

At Wednesday's opening ceremony of the Second Session of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Chairman Jia Qinglin urged members to study major government policies and issues of major concern in society and make suggestions to help enhance social stability in the country.

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"Though CPPCC is held annually, the topics of general interest are by no means the same ones," said Qiu Wenbao, a CPPCC member from the field of science.

Qiu, from Northeast China, plans to focus on the revitalization of the old industrial bases in the region as well as the area's ecological recovery.

Despite originally viewing the CPPCC membership as an honor, he now sees it as a responsibility.

"I must reflect the voices of my fellow citizens and put forward valuable questions," Qiu said.

Though coming from various fields, many members are particularly concerned with farmers' issues.

Liu Zhenxia, a CPPCC member from the field of education, cares in particular about education in China's vast rural areas.

"Improving their education level is my major concern," said Liu, who finds that many farming families cannot afford the expensive tuitions of the key middle and high schools.

Yang Zhifu, a CPPCC member from the field of agriculture and a university professor, received many proposals from farmers before attending the conference.

"It is an urgent task to tackle the problem of farmers losing their land," he said, adding many farmers have lost their land but not been reasonably compensated.

"During land transfers, the farmers should be compensated in order to make a living," he said.

With an eye on the important tasks, the current session of 10th CPPCC National Committee will examine a draft amendment to its charter, said Jia in his report on the work of the standing committee.

In-depth research was conducted and comments were widely solicited from a broad range of people before drafting the amendment, Jia said.

"Rarely in the history of the CPPCC have we listened to such a wide range of comments and discussed issues in such depth as we have done for the amendment to the charter," Jia told the annual gathering of more than 2,000 members.

CPPCC is an organization of the Chinese people's patriotic united front -- which brings together people from different political parties or walks of life.

It is composed of representatives of the CPC, non-Communist parties, personages without party affiliation, mass organizations, ethnic groups and various sectors of society as well as representatives from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, returned overseas Chinese, and specially invited public figures. It is under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

Its main functions are to conduct political consultations and democratic supervision and participate in the deliberation and administration of State affairs, mainly through proposals and suggestions. The CPPCC does not, however, enact legislation.

Reviewing the work done over the past year, Jia said subcommittees of the CPPCC National Committee completed in-depth investigations on a number of major issues, including rural poverty, developing a modern logistics system, defining the government's role in helping people find work and increasing rural incomes in ethnic minority areas.

(China Daily March 4, 2004)