As the traditional Spring Festival, or the lunar New Year, is drawing near, Chinese leaders have called on former senior officials of the state and the Communist Party to extend their heartfelt New Year greetings to them.

The former senior officials included former President Jiang Zemin, former Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) Li Peng and former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji.

The former senior officials thanked President Hu Jintao and other leaders for their visits, and gave their best New Year wishes for the people of all ethnicities in the country.

Meanwhile, they expressed the hope that the whole Party and the people of all ethnicities throughout the nation will devote themselves to the establishment of a comparatively prosperous socialist society and make breakthroughs in the socialist drive with Chinese characteristics around the CPC Central Committee with Hu Jintao the general secretary.

(Xinhua News Agency January 28, 2006)