China’s top legislator stresses upholding NPC system

Zhao Leji, the newly elected chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), presides over the first meeting of the 14th NPC Standing Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 14, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING – Zhao Leji, China's newly elected chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the national legislature, on Tuesday stressed upholding and improving the system of people's congresses.

Zhao made the remarks while presiding over the first meeting of the Council of Chairpersons of the 14th NPC Standing Committee. Zhao also called for efforts to continue to improve the quality and level of the NPC's work.

Zhao Leji, the newly elected chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), presides over the first meeting of the 14th NPC Standing Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 14, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

The first meeting of the 14th NPC Standing Committee was held after the first meeting of the Council of Chairpersons of the 14th NPC Standing Committee.

Liu Junchen, Guo Zhenhua, He Xin, Hu Xiaoli, and Ouyang Changqiong were appointed as deputy Secretaries-General of the 14th NPC Standing Committee at its first meeting. They also pledged allegiance to the country's Constitution, with the ceremony presided over and overseen by Zhao Leji.

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Zhao Leji (right), the newly elected chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), oversees an oath-taking ceremony held by the 14th NPC Standing Committee to pledge allegiance to the Constitution at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 14, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Zhao also visited staff with Chinese media organizations and thanked all journalists engaging in the coverage of the NPC session.

The annual session of the NPC is an important window to tell China's stories well and show its image, Zhao said.

He expressed the hope that the media continues to tell stories of China's whole-process people's democracy well.

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On Sunday, Zhao greeted journalists from several organizations, including the People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency and the China Media Group.