But it was his debut at the splendid Great Hall of the People yesterday as a delegate to the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

"The springtime of private business has come," said Qiu when CPC General Secretary Jiang Zemin finished his keynote address.

"The speech has given confidence to people like me," Qiu noted. "As long as we private businessmen work honestly and legally, we are acknowledged as builders of socialism."

In yesterday's speech, Jiang made it clear that "all legitimate income, from work or otherwise, should be protected," and "it is improper to judge whether people are politically progressive or backward simply by whether they own property or how much property they own."

Bai Yansong, a delegate from China Central Television, said what impressed him most from Jiang's address was that the Party is thinking in a dynamic way: creating new ideas in response to the emergence of various factors.

"If you talked about private business 10 years ago, you would definitely be out," remarked Bai. "But now, it is all natural. The speech indicates that the Party is marching forward with the times."

Commenting on the theory of the "Three Represents," Xi Jinping, acting governor of East China's Zhejiang Province, said the theory as the main theme of the address was "historic."

"It tells us which way we should go, which flag we should hold and what goal we should achieve," said Xi.

"It is a continuation of Marxism," Xi added.

The theory requires that the Party represents the development trend of China's advanced productive forces, the orientation of China's advanced culture and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people.

Cao Jingxing, deputy head of Phoenix InfoNews Channel from Hong Kong, said that the "Three Represents" are very important for the nation's ongoing development.

"It not only sums up our development experience of the past, but also clears away blockades for the development of the future," said Cao, who was in the Great Hall of the People covering the congress.

The theory is at the core of economic development because non-State industries have been, and are playing, an increasingly important role, said Cao.

(China Daily November 9, 2002)