Is China getting ready to restart political meetings as coronavirus wanes?

Setting a date for the annual meeting may be on the agenda at Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in Beijing

But the health risk to thousands of delegates ‘remains high’, observer says

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China watchers are looking for signs of when the annual parliamentary sessions might be held. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 12:00pm, 19 Apr 2020Updated: 1:19pm, 12 May 2020

As China seeks to bring the Covid-19 outbreak under control, signs are emerging that the authorities are paving the way for their annual parliamentary sessions.

The meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) from April 26 to April 29 will be closely watched as it might decide on the date to hold the meeting of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislative body.

Xinhua reported on Friday that the NPC Standing Committee would consider a range of proposed legislation during the meetings. It did not say whether the committee would set a date for the NPC session but observers said it could be one of the items on the agenda.

Gu Su, a professor of philosophy and law at Nanjing University, said “they might confirm the NPC plan as the Standing Committee is the one calling the shots”.

But the health risks of staging an event involving thousands of delegates were “still substantial”, he said.

“The Standing Committee only involves about 200 members, who mostly stay in Beijing, but the NPC gathering will involve thousands of deputies and support personnel.”

China announced in February that the annual “two sessions” of the NPC and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), originally scheduled for early March, would be postponed because of the Covid-19 epidemic, which has sickened more than 83,000 people across the mainland and killed more than 4,600.