Pomp and Pride at People’s Congress in Beijing
By KEITH BRADSHERMARCH 6, 2017
BEIJING — Big political gatherings are intended to inspire a combination of awe
and national pride, and the annual full sessions of the National People’s Congress in Beijing are no exception.
The Great Auditorium of the Great Hall can seat about 10,000 people,
but the most sought-after seats are those allocated to the Communist Party leadership on the stage at the front of the room.
The National People’s Congress draws representatives from all over China, including some
nominally representing Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing has long claimed.
These days the Standing Committee of the Congress, which meets much more often than the full legislature, has some skill in drafting laws,
but the full annual session is virtually free of serious dissent from official policy.
While most delegates arrived in clumps on Sunday morning for the start of the congress, the generals arrived
in a 200-strong phalanx, wearing crisply pressed uniforms and many of them carrying briefcases.
With thousands of Chinese and foreign journalists now showing up to cover the congress, the building’s managers have resorted to stretchy tape
and smartly dressed security officers to keep unwanted guests out of important meetings.
