Members of the National Committee of the 10th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top advisory body, held special panel discussions in this year's session Friday on progress since their last full meeting in March 2004. 

The focuses were CPPCC Chairman Jia Qinglin's report on the work of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee during the past year and Vice Chairman Zhang Huaixi's report on how the proposals of CPPCC members had been responded to in that time.

According to the speeches, the topic of building a harmonious society has been at the forefront of most people's minds.

Yuan Ronggui, a CPPCC member from southwestern Guizhou Province, said, "The work of the Standing Committee has been beneficial in 2004. Paying enough attention to balanced development among regions and solving social problems, Chairman Jia's report is very realistic and practical.

"In particular, I'm interested in the second of the six tasks of the CPPCC in 2005 that Jia set forth in his report: working hard to contribute to the building of a harmonious society. In view of the nature of the CPPCC as a united organization with wide representation and a mission of political consultation and democratic supervision under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), I think we can play an active role in helping the central authorities build a harmonious society. To build a harmonious society requires the mobilization of all favorable factors, good settlement of conflicts, maintenance of social stability and producing a sound social atmosphere, to all of which we can contribute our efforts. And I understand that a harmonious society means both the harmony among people and the harmony between humankind and nature."

Tao Tienan, a CPPCC member who is president of the Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry, said, "Before the session began, I went to the old northeastern industrial bases to conduct an inspection and research with some other CPPCC members. People from the Standing Committee did a lot to help arrange this. We met officials from central government departments to brief us on the background situation and the outcomes they expected from us; they also invited specialists to give us suggestions for on the spot investigation and surveying. Later we received good cooperation from local authorities and wrote a fairly good report based on our investigations.

"I put forward two motions last year, which were both well handled by the government department concerned and given satisfactory replies. This is because the CPPCC is more active now and the government pays more attention to our work and suggestions," said Tao.

Liu Jian, a newly elected CPPCC member who is minister of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, said, "As a new member, I feel a great responsibility on my shoulders. Besides my own administrative work, I will do my best to make suggestions for the state's reform, development and stability and public interests and the building of a harmonious society.

"The idea of building a harmonious society mentioned in Chairman Jia's report is very good, which shows that the Standing Committee has felt the pulse of the times.

"I think the building of a harmonious society is closely related to my own work against poverty. I have been to many underdeveloped areas and had close contact with NGOs working in this field. I think poverty alleviation should be an essential part of building a harmonious society. We should ensure that impoverished people get basic living resources and necessary public services such as education and healthcare. They deserve to share in the fruit of our reform and development. We have achieved a lot as the number of those in poverty has been reduced by tens of millions in recent years. However, we are now faced with new challenges in social development. The income gap is widening and people are becoming more sensitive about their and other people's social status. Not long ago I visited Chicheng County in Hebei Province, which is an old revolution base and is only 200 kilometers away from Beijing. Can you imagine that one third of the county's population still don't have enough food and clothing? In short, I think we should pay more attention to rural and urban vulnerable groups."

Jing Zhengshu, another new CPPCC member who is vice minister of water resources also explained his understanding of building a harmonious society from the perspective of his own work.

Jing said, "Last year, some CPPCC members from its education, science, culture and public health group went to Hunan Province with officials from central government departments to investigate the epidemic situation of schistosomiasis there and to produce a research report. The report drew the attention of the leadership of the State Council and hence the Ministry of Health swiftly adopted five measures to contain the epidemic, including prevention enhancement, investment increase and legislation on disease prevention. The work of the CPPCC members was applauded by people in the affected regions of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, especially Hunan, where the disease is quite rampant and even the director of its provincial water resources department has it.

"Last year the CPPCC also organized its members to travel along the Yangtze River to look at environmental protection of the river delta. Amongst the country's seven biggest rivers, the Yangtze is comparatively clear. But after the Three Gorges Project was built, things are different. It has brought ecological problems to its upper, middle and lower reaches. The CPPCC's work will help improve the maintenance of the Yangtze's health.

"I agree with the idea of building a harmonious society, which is novel and in tune with the overall current situation of the country and our priorities for reform and development. I also think we need to apply it to solve real problems, for example, to strike a balance between people and nature."

"CPPCC has attached itself to a number of key issues of public concern in the past year. And I also appreciate the newly drafted detailed working regulations that help define our work and its procedures," said CPPCC member Chen Demin, also commissar of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corp.

Luo Shaojun, a woman CPPCC member who is a tea specialist, said a harmonious society should be people-oriented.

"It's true that we need high-tech elites. But we also need to treasure numerous ordinary people working in ordinary jobs. Many of them feel lost in today's rapid economic and social transformations and we need to make them feel fulfilled. We also need to narrow the regional wealth gap and allocate resources more fairly. If we have more well off areas, people shouldn't have to flock to a few rich south and southeast regions and big cities. They should be able to stay in their hometowns and make good."

Deng Xiuxin, a CPPCC member who is professor at the Wuhan-based Huazhong Agricultural University, echoed Luo's view, saying that more attention should be paid to the development of central China to make overall national development healthier.

Zhao Chunming, a CPPCC member and former state anti-drought and flood official, said, "The building of a harmonious society should focus on workers and farmers and the allocation of interests is pivotal to it. Now we have too wide a gap between rural and urban areas and it's time for industry to subsidize agriculture as agriculture has done so to industry for many years. As for the CPPCC, we need to incorporate the idea of building a harmonious society into our work plans and put forth new measures to implement it each year."