First session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference begins; China and the US sign agreement to set up military hotline communication link
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    • Xinhua has reported that the first session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) started in Beijing on March 3. Some 2,195 CPPCC National Committee members attended the opening session. This annual event would cover many important national issues like: income distribution, price hikes, medical and health care, clean government and anti-corruption campaign, various developmental plans delivered by the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and restructuring of central departments under the state council, etc. Founded in 1949, the CPPCC is supposed to be an open forum for discussion across society1.

    On the military front, last week saw an agreement between the Chinese defense ministry and the US defense department for setting up a hotline communication link. This agreement was aimed at establishing effective communication between Chinese and US military officials in various emergency situations. It is also reported that the two sides have signed an agreement on launching military archive cooperation to find US military personnel missing during the Korean War2.

    Before the crucial Presidential election in Taiwan, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh has said that his economic policy is in favour of “opening-up cross-strait trade” but not at the cost of national interest. Criticising the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) move to push the ‘cross-strait common market’, Frank Hsieh said that the KMT do not have any right to push this kind of policy without the consent of the people of Taiwan3.

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