Two years ago, Wang Chaobin proposed that farm
taxes be reduced. A member of the National Committee of the 10th
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), he is
now elated that his proposal has been taken up by the central
government.
"I didn't expect my proposal to be acted upon so
soon," Wang said. He put forward his proposal in 2003 when
attending the?First Session of the 10th CPPCC.
When Premier Wen Jiabao
announced last March that agricultural tax would be phased out
within five years, Wang was pleasantly surprised.
"The government's swift response was beyond my
expectation, and shows it takes our proposals really seriously,"
said Wang, who is now attending the Third?Session
of the 10th CPPCC, which opened Thursday in Beijing.
To date, 22 of China's 31 provinces, municipalities
and autonomous regions on the mainland have scrapped all farming
taxes.
"I am totally satisfied with government's response
to our proposals and we, CPPCC members, should perform our duty by
putting forward more well-studied proposals," said Wang, an
entrepreneur from central China's Henan
Province.
According to Zhang Huaixi, CPPCC vice chairperson,
a total of 4,478 proposals were submitted last year, of which 4,263
were taken up for consideration. This is a big jump from
2003?-- the numbers that year were 3,819 and 3,576
respectively.
Last year, proposals concerning agriculture
numbered 300 while those on employment exceeded 200, according to
Zhang, reporting yesterday at the session's opening ceremony.
Raising proposals is one of the major ways the
2,304 current members of the CPPCC, the country's top advisory
body, participate in state affairs. "Both the Party and the
government have paid close attention to many of these proposals,"
said Zhang.
Indeed, many new policy initiatives in recent years
were formulated after taking into consideration proposals raised by
the CPPCC.
One of them is the new green GDP calculation
initiative under which environmental costs will be taken into
account in economic indicators. This is being piloted in 10
provinces and municipalities.
"The CPPCC's proposals should play an even bigger
role in reinvigorating the nation," said Zhang, adding that it will
take a series of measures to strengthen work on proposals.
For example, it will increase proposal tracking to
ensure that they are taken seriously or implemented.
As for Wang, he is preparing to make another
proposal.
(China Daily March 4, 2005)