Newly-elected Chinese President Hu Jintao was renamed vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the People's Republic of China Sunday morning, and 60-year-old Wen Jiabao was approved by law-makers to succeed Zhu Rongji as premier.
Hu and Wen were voted in by 2,948 NPC deputies at the 6th plenary meeting of the First Session of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature.
Through secret balloting, 64-year-old Xiao Yang was re-elected president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC), while Jia Chunwang, 64 became the procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP).
CMC vice-chairmen Guo Boxiong and Cao Gangchuan, along with CMC members Xu Caihou, Liang Guanglie, Liao Xilong and Li Jinai, were also approved at the meeting, presided by executive chairman Zeng Qinghong of the session's presidium.
China's Constitution stipulates that the candidate for the premier of the State Council be nominated by the President, and the candidates for vice-chairmen and members of the CMC be named by the CMC chairman; and all candidates be subject to voting at the NPC.
According to the rules of election and appointment adopted at the NPC session, the appointment of the above posts and the election of the president of the SPC and the procurator-general of the SPP follow the single-candidate system, that is, they were appointed or elected from the equal number of candidates by secret ballots. The candidates only need a simple majority.
(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2003)
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