The closing session of the National People’s Congress session finalized the transition to the new leadership of President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. In public comments on Sunday, Xi stressed plans to diminish China’s wealth gap and excessive official privilege. From AP:
The new leadership has stressed it will make a priority of social spending and other measures to spread prosperity more evenly and narrow a politically volatile gap between China’s wealthy elite and poor majority, as well combat endemic corruption that has angered the public.
“In face of the mighty trend of the times and earnest expectations of the people for a better life, we cannot have the slightest complacency, or get the slightest slack at work,” Xi told the nearly 3,000 delegates at the congress’ closing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in the heart of Beijing.
“We must resolutely reject formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance, and resolutely fight against corruption and other misconduct in all manifestations,” Xi said.
Xi, already the country’s overall leader since being named Communist Party general secretary in November, was installed as president during the 13-day session ending Sunday, and the party’s No. 2 leader, Li Keqiang, was named premier.
Premier Li Keqiang held a press conference Sunday, during which he was asked a number of pre-screened questions on a range of topics, including environmental degradation, reform of the re-education through labor system, and U.S.-China relations. Foreign journalists at the event live-tweeted his comments:
Li Keqiang has 3 rules for next 10 yrs. 1. No new govn’t buildings 2. Gov payroll will decrease 3. Entertainment budget will decrease.
— malcolmmoore (@MalcolmMoore) March 17, 2013
Li: no matter how deep the water, we must wade into it. There is no choice. The country’s future depends on it. #reform
— Damien Ma (@damienics) March 17, 2013
Li Keqiang laughs during response to @charleshutzler question: When will China stop hack attacks against the US?
— April Rabkin (@AprilRabkin) March 17, 2013
Li Keqiang breaks into full laughter while responding to hacking question
— April Rabkin (@AprilRabkin) March 17, 2013
Li on environment: it’s no good to be poor in a beautiful environment, nor any good to be well-off and live with environmental degradation
— Mark MacKinnon/马凯 (@markmackinnon) March 17, 2013
China Daily asks Li about time table on re-education through labor reform.
— Eric Fish (@ericfish85) March 17, 2013
Li: Plan on Re-education through labor reform may be unveiled by the end of the year.
— Eric Fish (@ericfish85) March 17, 2013
Journos around me chiding me for bothering to raise my hand. Allegation that I’m contributing to charade this is an actual press conference.
— Mark MacKinnon/马凯 (@markmackinnon) March 17, 2013
NYT has not been invited to Li Keqiang’s inaugural press conference Sunday. I was so looking forward to showing off my new red suede shoes!
— Andrew Jacobs (@AndrewJacobsNYT) March 16, 2013
Interesting – Li Keqiang says he knows many foreign journos didn’t get to ask a question…
— Mark MacKinnon/马凯 (@markmackinnon) March 17, 2013
Nobody asked a question that wasn’t pre-screened RT @ericfish85: Nobody asked how Li’s experience in Henan affected his view on AIDS policy.
— Mark MacKinnon/马凯 (@markmackinnon) March 17, 2013
This is literally true RT @malcolmmoore: Li Keqiang is now putting questions to himself on behalf of the foreign media.
— Tom Lasseter (@TomLasseter) March 17, 2013
Strikes me that Xi and Li were more philosophical this morning than usual, but still steadfastly dull.
— malcolmmoore (@MalcolmMoore) March 17, 2013
Well, show’s over. This was the reform and good governance speech. Li invoked rule of law and transparency more than I expected.
— Damien Ma (@damienics) March 17, 2013
South China Morning Post also posted live updates from the press conference.
