BEIJING, March 3 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Jia Qinglin on Thursday vowed to "actively yet prudently" carry forward democratic oversight, and contribute to the transformation of the country's economic development pattern.
Jia made the remarks in a report delivered at the opening meeting of the Fourth Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body, which opened in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Thursday.
In the work report, Jia pledged that the CPPCC would give top priority to performing its functions to promoting scientific development and accelerating the transformation of China's economic development pattern in 2011.
The CPPCC would take as its "binding duty" to promote social harmony and stability in 2011 and participate in the deliberation and administration of state affairs in a practical and effective way, according to Jia, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee.
He said the CPPCC would integrate targets set forth in the Twelfth Five-Year Plan for 2011-2015 period with its key tasks this year and properly balance maintaining steady and rapid economic development, restructuring the economy and managing inflation expectations.
The CPPCC would continue to pay attention to and improve the people's welfare, Jia said, adding it would also focus on major issues such as strengthening and making innovations in social administration and making it more scientific.
He said the CPPCC would pay closer attention to the economic and social development of ethnic minority areas.
"The CPPCC will continue to intensify the campaign to bring prosperity to border areas and their residents," he said.
Jia also promised to broaden contacts with relevant political parties, organizations, social groups, influential figures and the public in Taiwan.
He said the CPPCC would actively promote the implementation of the cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) and further expand cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation in the areas of economics, trade and culture.
"Over the past year, the CPPCC...made important contributions to responding to a variety of risks and challenges, promoting sound and rapid economic and social development, scientifically formulating the Twelfth Five-Year Plan," Jia said.
He said the CPPCC also made important contributions to advancing peaceful development of relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and expanding China's friendly foreign contacts.
The annual session of CPPCC National Committee this year is scheduled to conclude on March 13. More than 2,000 CPPCC National Committee members, from across the country, will discuss major issues concerning the nation's development during the session.
Top Communist Party of China (CPC) and state leaders Hu Jintao, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang were present at the opening meeting.
Founded in 1949, the CPPCC consists of elite members of the Chinese society who are willing to serve the think tank for the government and for the country's legislative and judicial organs.
As an open forum where the ruling CPC, non-Communist parties and people without party affiliation discuss state affairs freely and on an equal footing, the CPPCC has been the manifestation of China's socialist democracy.
CPPCC National Committee members submitted 5,678 proposals over the past year, covering a spectrum of issues with regard to education, housing, employment, finance, industrial restructuring and modernization of agriculture, among others, according to the CPPCC National Committee's Standing Committee.
As of Feb. 20 this year, 5,273 proposals had been handled, the Standing Committee said Thursday in a report delivered at the opening meeting.
Shi Jie, a CPPCC National Committee member and lawyer from Sichuan Province in southwest China, said he was glad to see his proposal of criminalizing the act of "drunk driving" was adopted.
This year, he is to propose meting out heavy penalties for jaywalkers and hope his proposal will be useful again.
Wang Haibo, a CPPCC National Committee member and agricultural expert from north China's Hebei Province, spoke highly of Jia's report. He had paid special attention to Jia's remarks on people's livelihood in the work report.
"I have brought with me 12 proposals this year. All of them touch on issues concerning people's livelihood such as the reduction of income gap and improvement of welfare for migrant workers." he said.
