CPC Central Committee Hosts Gala to Celebrate Lantern Festival

Chinese President and General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Hu Jintao and eight other members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee attended the event, along with representatives from Beijing's intellectual circle.

The eight CPC leaders included Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang.

The gala was presided over by Li Changchun, who extended warm regards to the participants on behalf of the CPC Central Committee.

Mentioning 2010 as an extraordinary year for China's development, Li said the CPC Central Committee, with Hu Jintao as the General Secretary, led the Party and nation to successfully host the Shanghai World Expo and Guangzhou Asian Games.

He lauded the country's victory in combating natural disasters such as the earthquake in Yushu in Qinghai Province and the landslide in Zhouqu in Gansu Province in the northwest.

Noting that the year 2011 marks the 90th anniversary of the CPC's founding and the beginning of the country's 12th Five Year Plan period, Li called for all-around efforts to boost the country's development.

He also called on Chinese intellectuals to contribute more to the building of a well-off society in an all-round way.

Artistic performances were staged at the gathering while the participants were tasting rice dumplings, the traditional food for the Lantern Festival.

Source: Chinaview