Tea break reprieve? China’s ‘Two Sessions’ delegates may get foyer tables and chairs back – if they behave and listen to speeches
A not so subtle reminder for participantsw in the Chinese Peoples’ Political Consultative Conference that it’s not all about the refreshments
Tea breaks – ubiquitous around the world – could return to China’s annual “Two Sessions” meetings officials said on Saturday – if delegates behave.
Nothing, it seems, stops for tea – certainly not the mainland’s delegates in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, who should be seated inside the auditorium listening attentively to officials giving their speeches, rather than sipping their favourite cup of cha.
Not that any brave-and-thirsty delegates would have been able to sit and enjoy a nice cup of Jasmine tea yesterday even if they wanted to. For the second day in a row, all the round tables and red chairs that had filled the foyer of the hall during the first week were missing.
READ MORE: No more idle chatter in the Great Teahouse of the People
They disappeared after falling foul of a new crackdown by officialdom on the ninth day of the sessions.
Their absence was the brainchild of the secretariat of the Chinese Peoples’ Political Consultative Conference – the top political advisory body of the Chinese government – as a gentle “reminder” for delegates to show good manners and, er, actually attend meetings, rather than nip out for yet another must-have-a-cuppa.
On Saturday afternoon members of the special team responsible for maintaining conference discipline, who took away the tables and chairs, were apparently quite pleased with themselves – and also by the look of the unprecedentedly quiet foyer during a CPPCC plenary meeting.
“It’s much better today, right?” a woman in the team said to one of her colleagues, breaking into a contented smile.