【正确答案】Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning and welcome!
Now I will first give the floor to Mr. Li Lianning, deputy secretary-general of the NPC Standing Committee.
Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the Press Conference of the Second Session of the 11th National People's Conference. I'm honored and pleased to have Mr. Li Zhaoxing, deputy secretary-general and spokesman of the session with us this morning. I'm sure you are all very familiar with him. Mr. Li will first speak about the agenda of the session, and then answer questions related to the agenda and the work of the People's Congresses.
This Press Conference will last for about one hour. First I will give the floor to Mr. Li, he will brief you on the agenda of this session and the relevant information related to the People's Congresses.
The Second Session of the 11th National People's Congress will open on the morning of March 5. It will last for eight and a half days, and close on the morning of March 18.
The agenda of this session was adopted at the just concluded preparatory meeting, and 171 member presidium were elected. Wang Zhaoguo was elected the secretary-general of this session. Following the preparatory meeting, the first meeting of the presidium was held, which appointed 14 standing chairpersons. The program of the session was adopted, and the executive chairpersons of the plenary meetings were specified. Li Jianguo, Wang Wanbin, Li Zhaoxing, Zhao Shengxuan and You Quan were appointed deputy secretaries general of this session. A decision was made on the methods of voting on bills and proposals at the session. The deadline for submitting them was set at 6 p.m. of March 9.
There are 6 items on the agenda of this session, deputies will heed and deliberate on the following reports, Report on the Work of the Government, the Work Report of the NPC Standing Committee, the Work Report of the Supreme People's Court, and the Work Report of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and deliberate and approve the Report on Planning and Report on Budget. This session is full of crucial meanings for moralizing the Chinese people of all nationalities, in an united effort to shore up the confidence, over come difficulties, and promote the sound and fast growth of the society and economy, and achieve new successes in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
Now I'd be happy to answer your questions.
Now the floor is open. Please first identify your media affiliation. In order to give more journalists a chance to ask questions, please limit yourself to one question only.
I'm with China National Radio. Will the 4-trillion-yuan economic stimulus package of the Chinese government be approved by the National People's Congress or its Standing Committee? And how to avoid duplicate construction and inefficient investment from the point of view of NPC supervision?
The global economic crisis has had a major impact on the Chinese economy. In order to promote a steady and relatively fast growth of the economy, at the end of last year, the Chinese government proposed an economic stimulus package, worth RMB 4 trillion Yuan. According to this economic stimulus package, the central government will invest RMB 1.18 trillion Yuan over the next 2 years, to generate a total of 4 trillion Yuan of local government investment and social investment. The investment to be made by the central government will be listed in the annual central government budget, and submitted to the National People's Congress for approval. The 100-billion-yuan of the additional central government investment decided in the fourth quarter of 2008, has already been earmarked, to meet the needs of various projects. 30-billion-yuan has been disbursed in 2008. The State Council has made a report to the NPC Standing Committee, and the money will be funded by the surplus revenue of the 2008 central budget. The remaining 70-billion-yuan will be listed in this year's budget and be disbursed in 2009. This is consistent with legal procedure.
The 130-billion-yuan of additional investment decided on early this year, will also come from 2009 annual budget. In spending the 4-trillion-yuan of new investment, the state has taken the following measures to prevent duplicate construction and inefficient investment from the source. They are as follows: First, we will focus on the priority projects and determine the destination of investment on the scientific basis; Second, we will tighten scrutiny and select the best projects according to due procedure; Third, we will strengthen supervision and inspection to ensure the effective and proper use of additional investment and avoid duplicate construction and inefficient investment. To examine and approve the 2009 plan for national economic and social development, and the 2009 central government budget, an important item on the agenda of the Second Session of the 11th NPC, the session is to carefully review the two documents, and strengthen the supervision of their enforcement as part of the NPC Standing Committee's supervision work for this year.
And I want to tell you that Chairman Wu Bangguo said on Dec. 27, 2008, that if we comprehensively analyze changes in the situation, take full account of the various challenges facing us, make careful arrangements and plans, shore up confidence, boost our morale and work in a pragmatic manner, we will be able to implement the policies of the central government, these are sustaining economic growth, boosting domestic demand, adjusting the structure of the economy and giving top priority to ensuring people's well-being. And we will surely be able to minimize the negative impact of the international financial crisis on our economy, and achieve sound and fast growth of Chinese economy and society.
Thank you. Mr. Li, I'm from the Russian News Agency. Traditional question for this congress, could you give some details about China's military budget for 2009? Will you, and do you have any specific figures on that? Thank you.
Thank you for raising this question that gives me this opportunity to set the record straight, because some of your colleagues have spread some untrue information in this regard.
As you know, China firmly follows the road of peaceful development, and we strictly handle affairs according to the UN Charter, and the Norms of International Relations. China's defense expenditure for this year will increase modestly, and let me share with you the details of this. If you are really interested in, I hope you will take out your pen, and note pad, because I can assure you there are a number of figures involved. And your memory alone, will not serve the purpose.
China has always paid attention to controlling the size of defense expenditure, and set the defense expenditure at a level that ensures the coordinated development of national defense and economy. China's defense budget for 2009 will be RMB 480.686 billion Yuan, an increase of RMB 62.482 billion Yuan, compared with the actual spending of the previous year, and this represents an increase of 14.9%. In 2009, the defense budget will account for 6.3% of the total national budget, this represents a small decrease from the levels of previous years.
The increased defense spending for 2009 will be mainly used for the following purposes: increase the salaries and benefits of our servicemen; we will adjust the subsidies and allowances of servicemen, so that our servicemen will enjoy rising living standards in line with the development in China's economy and society, the rising income of civil servants, and the rising standards of living for urban and rural residents in China. I'm sure you know that in China, we have a tradition, the military loves the people, and the people support the military, so as the general public live better lives, the servicemen also need to improve the living standards appropriately.
Secondly, we will increase spending on informatization in the arm's forces to meet the needs of revolution in military affairs. We will appropriately increase the spending on equipment and supporting facilities, and increase the military's ability to carry out defensive operations in IT assisted conditions; Thirdly, we will increase spending on competitive building program of the military, so that they can better carry out tasks, such as disaster relief, counter- terrorism and stabilization, as well as other non-combat, emergency operations. And we will ensure that the military will be able to counter the variety of security threats, and accomplish diversified military tasks; Fourth, we will increase spending to those armed forces stationed in the earthquake-hit areas in Sichuan, so that we can better help with the reconstruction of local infrastructure.
We know that China has a population of over 1.3 billion. We are not as large as Russia, but China's territory is about 9.6 million square kilometers, and we have over 3 million square kilometers of adjacent waters under the jurisdiction. So taking all these factors into consideration, China's defense spending is relatively low in the world. The share of China's defense spending in all our GDP is about 1.4%, while the figure for the United States is about 4%, and for the UK, France and some other countries above 2%. China's limited military power will be solely used for the purposes of safeguarding sovereignty, and territorial integrity. This will not pose a threat to any country.
In accordance with our Budget Law and International Defense Law, we strictly control budgetary allocations for defense expenditure. Each year, the defense budget is listed in the draft national budget and submitted into the NPC for examination and approval. In 2007, the Chinese government formally joined the UN Standardized Instrument, for reporting military expenditures, and submitted reports to the United Nations every year since then. In this sense, there is no such thing as so-called hidden military expenditure in China.
I'm with Phoenix TV. This year the NPC session will last for eight and a half days, which is shorter than the previous NPC sessions. Why is this? Do you want to save the budget for organizing the conference or do you want to avoid the passive situation which you were in last year? My second question is this, the people's congress of the Guangdong province has given its own deputies 1,000 Yuan each in order for them to improve the quality of their bills and proposals. Some people have countered this by saying that being elected as people's deputies is an honor and it carries corresponding duties, so the people's deputies shouldn't receive additional subsidies. Do you think this practice is consistent with the law and if it is, should it be rolled out across the country?
The defining features of the work of the NPC is to act strictly in accordance with laws and due procedure. The moderator said at the beginning of this press conference each journalist should keep to only one question, but you have raised three questions at a time.
Without establishing any precedent, I am still willing to answer all three of your questions. This year's NPC session is shorter than before, this is because of the agenda of the session and because this year, it is a regular session. We don't have any items such as electing state leaders on the agenda of the session this year. You've said that the shorter period of the session this year may be related to our desire to cut waste. I think that's true, because we have been practicing economy all the time, and it's actually set out in China's Constitution that the state practices economy and opposes waste. We are not only practicing economy on matters vital to the state. For example, as I've said before we will try to avoid duplicate construction and inefficient investment. On small matters, we also want to avoid waste as well. Each time you come to the Great Hall of the People, you may see every room is brightly lit, but actually when there are no official functions in the Great Hall of the People, the staff will turn off the light as they leave the room.
You may not know this, but a few years ago, we carried out a reform concerning the state banquet held by our president and premier in honor of visiting head of state or head of government on a state or official visit. After the reform is carried out, the menu is very short. There should not be more than three courses and one soup, and liquor will not be served during the state banquet.
You also mentioned the second reason for shortening the period of the NPC session. I think that's an unnecessary worry. We don't want to avoid the so-called passive situation that we were in last year, there is no such thing. There are so many of you here in this room coming to cover the session. It shows that we are actually at ease and very open-minded, and I know that more journalists and news officers of foreign embassies in China have registered to report the NPC session this year.
You also mentioned the practice that some local people's congresses and their standing committees have offered subsidies to people's deputies in order to facilitate their work. As for whether such subsidies should be provided and the methods of providing subsidies, I think it's a decision for the local people's congresses and their standing committees to make on their own.
I'm with CCTV and CCTV.com. Mr. Li, you served as China's foreign minister and held many press conferences in that capacity, now you are the chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the National People's Congress as well as the spokesperson of this NPC session. Is the current job more challenging? And how do you assess the progress China has made in advancing democracy and the legal system over the past years?
There is a saying in China that some people keep asking questions that they should not ask about. And I think half of your question fits this description and I have so much to say in answering that question.
The foreign affairs committee studies, deliberates and drafts external-related legislation under the leadership of the NPC and its Standing Committee. We also assist the Standing Committee in exercising some of its supervisory power. Each member of the committee has a vote. And the members will make decisions collectively. And that's quite different from the practice in government departments, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where I used to work.
And let me provide a bit of explanations here. Before yesterday at least dozens of journalists both at home and abroad asked to interview me. I don't know how they got the news, but they believed that I might become the spokesperson of this NPC session, except that they didn't mention the word "might" in asking for interviews with me. Actually, I was appointed the spokesperson of this session at 10:50 (50 past 10 o'clock) this morning.
It might not be proper to use the word "appointed". The decision was taken at the just concluded presidium meeting that I would be the spokesperson of the session.
As some one new to the foreign affairs committee, I've been learning on the job. People's position will change, but for me what has not changed is, I'm still the son of my motherland, a servant to my people, a friend of my friends, a student always eager to learn.
Over the past year, I've spent a lot of time reading and rereading China's Constitution. And what has impressed me most is a sentence in the general principles of the Chapter of the Constitution which reads, "all power in the People's Republic of China belongs to the people."
And in our work, my NPC colleagues and I have frequently reflected on the words of General Secretary Hu Jintao, he said we must establish the party for public interests, govern for the people, and always serve the people whole-heartedly.
Over the last 30 years of reform and opening up, the NPC has been enacting legislation on a scientific and democratic basis. By the end of January this year, there are 231 pieces of legislation that are currently effective and in force. There are over 600 administrative regulations, over 7000 local regulations and over 600 regulations on the exercise of autonomy and other separate regulations. The socialist law system with Chinese features has basically taken shape. We've also increased supervision over administrative power, promoted judicial justice and improved our judicial and procuratorial work and systems in light of China's conditions. Our citizens' awareness and knowledge of laws and the level of the rule of law in our society have been constantly improved.
I'm with Taiwan TV station. The National committee of CPPCC has carried out personnel exchanges with Taiwan. Does the NPC have similar plans? And as the spokesperson of this session, do you want to visit Taiwan?
You can't be more right. I want very much to visit the beautiful treasure island of China—Taiwan, as soon as possible. I've never been there before. Actually it is a dream that I've always cherished. Over the years, I've been to many places, and in many places that I went to I can not but think of the precious and beautiful island of Taiwan. For example, once I visited Qinghai Province on an official trip, and I visited a mountain by the name of Sun and Moon Mountain. And at that point, I can not but think of the Sun and Moon Lake in Taiwan.
And when I was reading, my mind often went to Taiwan as well. For example, I read about the story of Nv Wa, a legendary figure in China's history who tried to repair the sky. Of course she worked very hard, but she forgot one place, that is the sky over Ya'an, a scenic spot in China. And that's why it rains quite often in that place.
And let me continue with the legendary story I've read, Nv Wa forget to repair the sky over Ya'an, because she sent two very beautiful and high-quality materials to other places, and that's the sky over the island of Taiwan and the island of Hainan.
So I want to see my great motherland achieve peaceful reunification as soon as possible. I'm so excited to see that positive changes have taken place in the relations across the Taiwan Strait and the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are now conducting friendly exchanges and peaceful cooperation. In his important speech delivered to the symposium marking the 30th anniversary of the release of the message to compatriots in Taiwan, General-Secretary Hu Jintao made it clear that we looked forward to normalizing economic relations across the Taiwan Strait and institutionalizing the economic cooperation across the strait. The two sides of the Taiwan Strait may negotiate and conclude a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement in this regard, and establishing an economic cooperation mechanism with cross-strait features and so on. We very much want to have consultations and discussions with the Taiwan side in this regard and make active progress.
I'm with People's Daily. Some overseas media have said that China has only carried out economic restructuring and has made little progress in political restructuring. How do you respond to such a comment? And what plans does China have in advancing political restructuring?
I don't know which foreign media organization or which foreign journalist made that claim, I think it would be even better if he or she were present here today and asked me this question. Actually we've always believed that without democracy, there can be no socialist modernization. China has embarked on a reform that is comprehensive in nature. This covers economic restructuring, political restructuring, cultural restructuring and social restructuring.
Over the last 30 years of reform and opening up, we have been improving the system of the Party and the state's leadership, the system of people's congresses, the system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC, the system of regional ethnic autonomy, the system of primary-level democracy, administrative management institutions, the legal system, decision-making mechanisms and the system for the restraint and oversight of power. These represent notable achievements in political restructuring. The long-term, sustained and fast growth of the Chinese economy and our social harmony and stability show that China's political system fits our national conditions and generally meets the requirement of the economic and social development.
Of course, the kind of reform we've carried out may not be the one desired by some politicians in Western countries. What we've carried out is the self-improvement and development of the socialism with Chinese features. In light of the evolving situation in China's economic and social development, and the increasing need to protect the people's democratic rights and safeguarding social equity and justice, we need to further improve China's political system. We will adapt to the people's increasing enthusiasm for participation in political affairs, continue to expand people's democracy, develop primary-level democracy, expand the patriotic untied front, and comprehensively implement the basic strategy of running the country according to law. We will speed up the administrative management system reform and improve the mechanism of restraint and oversight so as to make steady progress in political restructuring.
I'm with Shaanxi Daily. In recent years the CPC Central Committee has attached importance to improving people's welfare. Does the NPC have legislative plans in this regard?
We have already set that the aim and outcome of maintaining economic growth is to improve people's well- being. In the year 2009, the central government budget will spend more on projects related to people's welfare. We will develop education as a matter of priority. We will speed up establishing a good medical and health care system. We will promote employment and reemployment. We will improve the social safety net. And we will provide more support for government-subsidized housing projects.
I'm with Legal Daily. Some people have asked the question that where are our people's deputies, because they think they lack proper access to the people's deputies. How would you respond to such a view?
I found that sometimes the simpler the question, the more important it is. Where are the people's deputies? They gathered here in Beijing for the annual session. But to really answer your question, I think it is fair to say that the general public have adequate access to the people's deputies. First of all, the NPC deputy is a part-time responsibility. The deputies have their own jobs. They come from the people, and they have direct and close contacts with the people. Secondly, in recent years, in order to enable people's deputies to further play their role, the NPC Standing Committee and the Committees of provincial people's congresses have each year organized the NPC deputies to carry out research and inspection tours to visit the ordinary people across China.
Thirdly, to better enable the people's deputies to communicate with the people and their constituencies, since the First Session of the 11th National People's Congress, various localities have established almost 260 deputy's groups, according to their location and profession to help them get together and organize activities. These deputy's groups have drafted plans for action. They've appointed convenient and contact persons. Through holding round table discussions and e-mails, the deputy's groups have helped the deputies to better carry out research, and to stay in touch with the local people. We will continue to improve the contacts and communication between the people's deputies and the people in the light of the evolving situation.
On behalf of India, how is the financial crisis affected China's ability to give donations to poor countries around the globe?
The international financial crisis has had a quite big impact on China, but we also noted that many other developing countries have also suffered from the impact of the financial crisis. There is a Chinese saying, which is, you will only know who your true friends are in an adverse situation. The financial crisis is having a severe impact on developing countries around the world. Under such circumstances, we treasure all the more our solidarity and cooperation with our fellow developing countries.
Under the current circumstances, we have not cut back on our assistance to some developing countries, or lowered the level of cooperation with these countries. While the entire Chinese people are united in a joint effort to overcome the current difficulties, and to ensure the sound and steady development of our economy and society, we have also increased the assistance to other developing countries within the realm of our capability. And we've continued to implement the cooperation agreements we've signed with some developing countries.
The Chinese people will never forget who we should be grateful to. We'll not forget the strong and consistent assistance provided by so many countries and their people around the world to China, especially those assistance coming from developing countries. For example, without the support of friendly countries, particularly those in Africa, the People's Republic of China wouldn't have resumed its rightful seat in the United Nations back in 1971.
Last year's Beijing Olympic Games was a great success, and everybody had a good time. We should not forget the strong support provided to China by so many countries and their people, when we bid for the right to host the Olympics. We are also grateful for the support provided by many countries for Shanghai's successful bid to host the World Expo. The Expo will be held next year. At the same time, we consider the difficulties experienced by other developing countries as our own difficulties. We are willing to provide assistance to these countries within the realm of our capabilities.
Not long ago, President Hu Jintao paid a state visit to some African countries, he said solemnly during the trip that the Chinese government will deliver on the commitments we made at the Beijing Summit on China-Africa Cooperation held over two years ago in this very Great Hall of the People.
I'm also pleased to see the good cooperation that is being conducted between China and India, the country you come from, in many areas.
We have two more questions.
I'm with Xinhua News Agency. Some economists have blamed the difficulties experienced by some enterprises on the implementation of the Labor Contract Law, they've called for amending and even suspending the Labor Contract Law. How would you comment on this?
In view of the actual situation of employment relations in today's China, in view of the low percentage of signing Labor Contracts, the preference for short term contracts, and regular employment practices, the Labor Contract Law provides for the formation, fulfillment, change, dissolution, and termination of labor contracts. It provides the legal guarantee for improving the system of labor contracts, specifying the rights and responsibilities of the employer and the employee, protects the lawful rights and interests of labors, and constructs and develops a stable and harmonious employment relationship. The Labor Contract Law lists remunerations, social insurance and others as essential items in labor contracts, and makes clear the duties of both parties to the labor contracts. These are essential for standardizing employment relations. The Labor Contract Law has a provision for labor contracts without a fixed term. This is not the saying as the so-called iron rice bowl or life-time employment. The Labor Contract Law has been enforced for over a year, and I think it is fair to say that, the overall situation of its implementation has been good. The law needs to be better implemented and publicized.
Laws embody the will of the people. In drafting the Labor Contract Law, the Standing Committee of the NPC followed the principle of scientific and democratic legislation, and sought the view of various stakeholders, after four reviews, extensive research and provisions, and balancing the rights and interests of various parties; NPC deputies adopted the Labor Contract Law with a high percentage of affirmative votes.
The difficulties experienced by some enterprises are caused by a number of factors. The outbreak of the international crisis is mainly triggered by regulatory deficiencies in the US financial system. And the financial crisis has caused a global economic recession. The international financial crisis has had a severe impact on China's economy, and brought enormous pressure on Chinese enterprises. The implementation of the Labor Contract Law and the promotion of harmonious and stable employment relations, will help tackle the international financial crisis in a long term. Under the current circumstances, it's all the more important to better coordinate employment relations, encourage the employers and employees to work together to overcome the current difficulties, and achieve a win-win situation for both parties.
I'm with China Accountancy Newspaper. I'm very honored to ask this question. Now the attention of many people is focused on how the government will spend the 4 trillion Yuan of investment. But what I'm concerned about is how the government manages its own finances. Can the government manage its own finances, in the same way as businesses manage their money? And how can we ensure the good value for money in the spending of the RMB 4 trillion Yuan?
I think I'm not very equipped to answer your question, because I don't even know how to spend my own money well, or how to manage the finances of my own family. But anyway, thank you for raising this important and sensitive question. I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to turn this challenge into an opportunity.
Actually, the whole country is now fighting the international financial crisis. We have full confidence and high morale. And we hope to turn the challenge into opportunity and I'm confident that we will succeed in doing so. In 2009, the Chinese government will implement a proactive fiscal policy. In order to tackle the international financial crisis and maintain steady and relatively fast economic growth, the Chinese government has made a resolute decision to effect a major change to our fiscal policy based on the correct reading of the situation.
The Chinese government will expand fiscal spending. The spending will go into the following areas, infrastructural projects, particularly those in rural areas. We will also spend more on government-subsidized housing projects. We will spend more on education, public health, and other social programs. We will spend more on the reconstruction efforts of earthquake-hit areas, on energy conservation and pollution control, and ecological conservation. We will spend more on independent innovation, technological upgrading, on the services industry, on the building of railways, roads, airports, and so on.
Secondly, we will advance the reform of taxes and fees. We will implement the structural tax cut program to reduce the tax burden of our enterprises and citizens. We will spend more on the consumption-oriented income tax reform. We will boost the capacity of the enterprises to make more investments, and the ability of the consumers to spend more. We will also spend more on independent innovation and technological upgrading as I've said a moment ago.
We will implement a reform of the fees and expenses for processed oil products. We will make the tax burdens more equitable/We will spend more on energy conservation and pollution control. We will reduce the administrative fee collection for over a hundred items. We will increase the export tax rebate &certain products. We will reduce or remove the taxes over certain export items. We will cut the stamp taxes on buying or selling stocks. And we will only levy such taxes on one party of the transaction.
You are from the China Accountancy Newspaper, you raised a very specialized question, even our young interpreter may not know about all the contents in the answer to your question. So I hope you can excuse him.
Third, we will increase the income for people in low-income group, and vigorously boost consumer demand.
Fourth, we will further optimize the structure of fiscal spending to further improve and support projects related to people's well-being. We will increase subsidies to the rural areas. We will provide more support for agricultural production. We will make an even greater effort to boost the development of public programs in rural areas. We will advance reform and development endeavors in the rural areas, so as to improve the well-being of the rural residents. We will spend more on education, health and medical services, employment, government-subsidized housing projects, and culture. We will strictly control general expenses and reduce the expenses used for government operation.
Fifth, we will vigorously support scientific and technological innovation. We will further promote energy conservation and pollution control. We will advance economic restructuring, and achieve transformation in the pattern of economic growth. We will promote scientific innovation and technology upgrading for the enterprises.
We will steadily advance the compensation system for the use of resources and for damage done to the environment. All these endeavors are consistent with the spirit of China's Constitution. According to Article-26 of China's Constitution, the state protects and improves the people's living and ecological environment; the state prevents pollution and others damages done to the environment. The second paragraph of this article also says, the state encourages and supports afforestation programs. Spring is coming, so I would like to take this opportunity to encourage all the people present, both journalists and our staff to do more in terms of planting trees, landscaping efforts, and protecting the earth.
I'm with China News Agency. I want to ask you a question about external relations. Not long ago, Mr. Tang Jiaxuan said it's important to improve the relationship between China and France. How do you see the future of China-France relations? And what's the position of the Chinese government on improving relations with France? I also want to ask a question about the auction of the rabbit and rat heads, the bronze statue stolen from the 01d Summer Palace. How do you look at this episode? And do you think this event will affect China-France relations?
I want to share with you a sentence in the preamble of China's Constitution. It reads, "the future of China is closely linked to the future of the world." China is willing to live in peace and friendship with all countries in the world. We hope to achieve common development and win-win progress with other countries. China deeply values the friendly relationship between China and France, and we deeply cherish the friendship between the people of our two countries.
And we all remember that numbers of old generation of Chinese leaders studied in France, including late Premier Zhou Enlai, Mr. Deng Xiaoping, and one of my predecessors, marshal Chen Yi.
Personally, I'm full of sentiments towards the French culture. There is a saying, nothing will block the progress of an adjust course. I believe the friendly relations between China and France are such an adjust course, no force will be able to block its progress.
You mentioned the recent auction, there have been many reactions to that event, and a lot of comments among the Chinese people. Some Chinese people have expressed their anger. The spokesperson of the CPPCC, Mr. Zhao Qizheng, and the spokespersons of the Foreign Ministry and of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage have all made their comments concerning this incident and they made their views very clear.
The recent auction has triggered many reactions. Personally, I think it has to do the location of this auction. The auction took place in Paris, the city has a glorious cultural tradition. It has played a positive role during the European Renaissance. It is home to the great writer, Victor Hugo, who knew right from wrong and always upheld justice. People are naturally surprised and even shocked at the auction of cultural objects stolen or illegally taken from a developing country—China.
And may I say that the auction will not add anything positive to the good tradition of the country in which the auction was hosted. It will only achieve the opposite effect. Culture knows no national boundaries, but people in that profession all have their motherland. So whatever your nationality, you should know that your behavior should not bring shame on the reputation of your home country. And even the person engaged in the auction, may not gain from the auction itself. In China, there is a saying, a gentleman may love money, but the money should come from a legal source. I think the profits from the auction of cultural objects, plundered from another country will not be counted as coming from a legal source.
And even if, the auction went off smoothly and was a success, and the person involved gained a lot, and put away the money in his/her home. Will you be able to enjoy such gains without a remorseful heart? You've hurt the dignity of a people, who have never done anything wrong to hurt the interests of your own mother country. And you've gained a lot from this business, can you feel happy in that circumstance. Would you feel embarrassed, or even pathetic? Like people in other countries, the French people also love freedom. France has a neighboring country— Spain, this country has produced a great writer, by the name of Cervantes. He has once said, true freedom lies in knowing right and wrong yourself, and doing the right thing. If you do not respect the dignity of others, your own dignity will also be hurt.
I also want to add one point, that is, Paris is home to the headquarters of UNESCO. In 1976, this very organization adopted an international convention, and all the signatories to that convention agreed to return stolen cultural objects to the country of origin.
I really have so much to say on this subject, all of you present are well-educated, and journalists are sometimes called kings without crowns. I hope in this capacity, you will do something that will help raise the ethical standards of people around the world. And let's work together to build a harmonious, peaceful, and happier world. (A world where we live together happily.)
Sorry, I may have gone on for so long. And I've kept you hungry. But I have some important news for you.
The opening and Closing as well as plenary meetings of the Second Session of the 11th NPC, will be open to Chinese and foreign media. Discussions held by large number of delegations will also be open to the media. Several press conferences will be held during this year's session, leading officials of departments under the State Council will be invited to answer questions concerning China's efforts to tackle the international financial crisis, and maintain steady and relatively fast economic growth, China's foreign policy and external relations, and its efforts to boost domestic demand and promote employment, while maintaining economic growth.
Upon the closing of the session on March 13th, Premier Wen Jiabao will meet Chinese and foreign press and answer your questions. The press center of this session will organize several group interviews with NPC deputies and senior officials from government departments, and handle requests for individual interviews. It will release information on the daily events for coverage on its web page and through other means. I want to thank Mr. Li Lianning, the deputy secretary-general of the NPC Standing Committee, for moderating this press conference. And I want to thank Sun Ling, attache with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for providing translation.
I want to thank you members of the press for coming. Goodbye!
In the interests of time, I have to bring this conference to a close. I want to say thank you to the spokesperson, and thank all of you for coming. I wish you every luck and success in covering the NPC session.