Li Peng to put his stamp of authority on work report
Parliamentary Chairman Li Peng will present the work report of the NPC Standing Committee to the plenary session of the NPC next week.
An NPC official said this was a departure from past practice. In previous sessions, such a report was delivered by NPC vice-chairmen only.
The semi-official China News Service quoted deputies as saying that Mr Li delivering the report himself would enhance its 'sense of authority and seriousness'.
The NPC official said half of Mr Li's report this year would be forward-looking, detailing work to be done in the coming year or so.
In similar reports in previous years, the emphasis was on work accomplished in the past 12 months.
Analysts said Mr Li's report would focus on legislation to be introduced, as well as ways and means to ensure more effective NPC supervision of the Government, prosecutors and the judiciary.
A Western diplomat said Mr Li, also a member of the Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, was anxious to use the legislature as his power base. The diplomat said Mr Li wanted the legislature to have a bigger say, particularly over economic policy-making, which is the responsibility of his rival, Premier Zhu Rongji.
