BEIJING, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- The full list of members of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) has been released.
Consisting of 2,158 names, the list was approved at the 24th session of the Standing Committee of the 12th CPPCC National Committee, which concluded Wednesday.
A total of 859 are from the Communist Party of China (CPC), 40 percent of the list. All 56 ethnic groups of China are represented.
The average age of members is 56, and 1,971 of them hold college degrees or above, with 105 members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Authorized by the CPC Central Committee, You Quan, head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, addressed the session on Tuesday, saying that the nomination of members had upheld the leadership of the Party, as all members were nominated by Party organizations.
He said the process had been democratic as all the non-Communist parties, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and personalities of no parties had been consulted.
All the nominees had gone through meticulous examinations in terms of their political stance, integrity of character and public image, You said.
According to You, the list is highly representative, as it includes government officials, entrepreneurs, military officers, members of non-Communist parties, personalities of no parties, experts and scholars, personalities from Hong Kong and Macao, representatives of minor ethnic groups and religions.
A draft amendment to the CPPCC charter was passed at the session and will be submitted to the first session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee for deliberation. The charter was last amended in 2004.
The session also approved the work report of the Standing Committee of the 12th CPPCC National Committee and a report on proposals. Both will be submitted to the first session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee.
The CPPCC is an important vehicle for multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC, and the key to socialist democracy.
