Senior government officials and delegates to this year's session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference were told to 'maintain meeting order' and be quiet on sensitive topics, instructions they appeared to obey to the letter.
Few delegates were seen leaving the meeting for long breaks as chairman Jia Qinglin delivered his 90-minute work report. At previous annual gatherings, many delegates would take long tea breaks or walks outside the hall while the chairman read his lengthy, scripted speech.
'Senior party leaders required all delegates and senior government officials to avoid taking long breaks during the work report because it could make the whole gathering look disorderly,' a source with the conference organising committee said.
Delegates were also clearly told in meetings before the main gathering that they should avoid references to sensitive topics and not say anything that could distract media attention from the 'constructive nature' of the conference.
'All delegates were well informed about this rule before they entered the meeting hall,' the source said.
All senior officials, such as ministers and heads of ministerial organisations, were also told about the rule before the meeting, the source said.
Delegates and ministers partly confirmed the rules, with most of them rejecting questions they would usually answer.
