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Josephine Ma

Kimmy Chung

China has formally announced it will postpone one of its most important political events of the year because of the coronavirus epidemic.
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s top legislature, made the announcement on Monday, saying the annual parliamentary session would be postponed to “an appropriate time”.
The Standing Committee said it would have to meet again to determine the new schedule.
The annual session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which is usually held around the same time as the NPC, has also been postponed.


Reports of a delay in the “two sessions” – the NPC and CPPCC meetings – appeared in state media last week.
State news agency Xinhua quoted an NPC spokesman as saying that one-third of the NPC delegates were local officials and they need to focus on fighting the epidemic.
In the last few days, President Xi Jinping has said that the epidemic has not yet peaked and the country is at the most critical stage in containing the disease.
More than 77,000 people have been infected and more than 2,500 killed in the epidemic.
Tam Yiu-chung, Hong Kong’s sole delegate to the NPC Standing Committee, took part in Monday’s meeting via videoconference from Hong Kong.
“It was our first time to have an e-meeting, under very special circumstances,” Tam said, adding that the decision to postpone the two sessions passed unanimously out of concern for the delegates.
“It is an issue if all of us gather in one place.
“Not setting an exact date is reasonable and appropriate, as we have to monitor how things go.
“The epidemic will be over, it is just a matter of time … when the epidemic is alleviated and prevention measures taken achieve further progress, the meetings might be resumed then.”
He also said the two sessions would not likely be held online.


More than 5,000 members of China’s political elite – from government, the military, academia, the judiciary and the business world – meet in the capital for about two weeks for the two sessions.
Apart from the high risk of infection at such a big gathering, the meetings would also be difficult for officials from Hubei province to attend. Hubei is the epicentre of the outbreak and under lockdown.
Safeguarding the capital from any major outbreaks is also a high priority, according to Xi’s address to about 170,000 cadres and military personnel on Sunday.
“The safety of Beijing [city] is directly linked to the safety of the Communist Party and national security. We have to ensure there are no imported cases and stop the cases from spreading within the capital,” Xi said.

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News

China

Politics

Hong Kong


No new date set for NPC and CPPCC gatherings
Many of the delegates are local officials and ‘need to focus on fighting disease’



Many of the delegates are local officials and ‘need to focus on fighting disease’.


China postpones top annual political meetings amid coronavirus epidemic

No new date set for NPC and CPPCC gatherings Many of the delegates are local officials and ‘need to focus on fighting disease’

No new date set for NPC and CPPCC gatherings

Many of the delegates are local officials and ‘need to focus on fighting disease’