China Proposes Postponement of Its 'Two Sessions' in March from freemexy's blog

China Proposes Postponement of Its 'Two Sessions' in March China has proposed postponing its annual "Two Sessions" meetings in March of the national legislature and top political advisory body pending a final decision next Monday, according to state media Xinhua News.To get more news about China Two Sessions, you can visit shine news official website.
Observers say the call, once finalized, will highlight the Chinese government's priority in fighting the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.Deliberations of the nation's major policy issues, including its annual military budget and future economic outlook, will also be delayed. Challenging year ahead The delays suggest a challenging year ahead politically and economically for China's top leadership, analysts say. "Now is a critical moment for China to fight the epidemic and stop the spread of the virus. (We) have to stay focused and make all-out efforts," Zang Tiewei, a spokesperson for China's National People's Congress (NPC), told Xinhua News after the close of an NPC standing committee meeting.Zang added that NPC delegates in one-third of Chinese provinces are playing a leading role on the front line fighting the deadly virus. Thus, it is necessary to consider postponing March's meetings — a proposal to be discussed later this month, he added.
Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political science professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, agreed, saying it is only practical for China to push back the meetings, as disrupted transportation will make it difficult for delegates from across the country to travel to Beijing. Cabestan said it is too dangerous to gather some 5,000 members of the nation's political elites without exposing them to the risk of cross-infection. The postponement, he said, will also send a message. "What it says is that there's a clear priority given by the leadership to fight against the virus and epidemic. It transcends everything, including Two Sessions, but also putting the economy in place and resuming economic activities," he told VOA. Cabestan said Chinese authorities are now doubling down on restrictive measures to contain the health crisis, although there remains public discontent with the way Chinese governments at all levels managed the outbreak and how they still fail to effectively contain it.
Dissidents who refuse to be silent about the outbreak risk being jailed.The fact that Chinese President Xi Jinping still manages to install some of his protégés to handle the crisis in Hubei province shows that his authority isn't weakened, according to Cabestan. On Thursday, Ying Yong, the former mayor of Shanghai, was appointed to replace Hubei Party secretary Jiang Chaoliang. Wang Zhonglin, former party secretary of Jinan in Shangdong province, replaced Ma Guoqiang, the party leader of Wuhan. Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, is where the virus first surfaced.Jiang and Ma were fired because of their botched responses to the outbreak, although the two had previously said it wasn't within their power to disclose the outbreak.