Chinese and foreign journalists were invited on Sunday to cover
the upcoming annual sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing.
The Fifth Session of the Tenth NPC will open on March 5 and the
Fifth Session of the Tenth National Committee of the CPPCC will
begin on March 3, according to the general offices of the NPC
Standing Committee and the CPPCC National Committee.
The NPC is the top legislative body in China, while the CPPCC is
a broad-based national advisory organization consisting of experts
and citizens from all walks of life.
The CPPCC plays a supervisory role and accepts suggestions and
criticisms which relate to major state affairs and policies and
other important issues.
A press center will be set up at No. 3 Compound, Jiaoyu Street,
Xidan, Xicheng District, Beijing, to be responsible for the
arrangements of Chinese and foreign correspondents to cover the two
meetings.
The press center will formally begin operation on Feb. 26.
Chinese correspondents from Beijing-based state media who want
to cover the meetings are required to send their applications to
the press center; local correspondents who want to come to Beijing
to cover the meetings, to send their applications to their local
NPC delegations who will deliver those applications to the press
center.
Applications from Hong Kong and Macao correspondents should be
sent to the liaison offices of the Central People's Government in
the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions,
respectively.
Taiwan reporters who want to cover the meeting should send their
applications to China Travel Service (Hong Kong) Limited and China
Travel Service (Macao) Limited, which are authorized by relevant
governmental departments.
Resident foreign correspondents in China who want to cover the
meetings are required to send their applications to the press
center, and foreign correspondents who will come to China for the
events should send their applications to the Chinese embassies or
consulates in their countries, or to other visa-issuing
organizations authorized by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The press center's deadline for applications is March 5. To
facilitate journalists' work, the press center opens on Sunday two
websites providing information relevant to the meetings:
www.npc.gov.cn and www.cppcc.gov.cn.
(Xinhua News Agency February 4, 2007)