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Two Sessions 2021
ChinaPolitics

‘Two sessions’ 2021 bite-sized recap: smart courts, government debt and prenatal check-ups top Wednesday’s agenda

  • Top political advisory body CPPCC concludes its week-long meeting in Beijing
  • National People’s Congress will wrap up tomorrow evening with a press conference by Premier Li Keqiang

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An NPC deputy from Hebei province has suggested making routine check-ups for pregnant women free of charge. Photo: AFP
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These are the issues that topped Wednesday’s agenda at the abridged annual sessions of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing:
All over for another year: China’s top political advisory body, the CPPCC, concludes its week-long meeting, while the NPC has just one more day to run. The highlight on Thursday will be a press conference by Premier Li Keqiang, on which the Post will run a live blog.

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CPPCC political advisory meeting closes with call to ‘unite more closely’ with China’s president

CPPCC political advisory meeting closes with call to ‘unite more closely’ with China’s president
Hi-tech justice: New five-year plan says Chinese courts will upgrade to the fourth generation of a “smart court” initiative by 2025. This will include a centralised database for judicial data and a nationwide control hub overseeing all aspects of the smart court initiative.

Defining patriots: In an interview with state broadcasters CGTN and CCTV, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor Lam gives her definition of what being a “patriot” means, speaking after Beijing spelt out its electoral reform plan for the city. Watch the clip.
China’s government debt stood at US$7.1 trillion at the end of last year. Photo: AFP
China’s government debt stood at US$7.1 trillion at the end of last year. Photo: AFP

Pregnant pause for thought: One of the proposals that gained a lot of attention online was from NPC deputy He Jinying, a schoolteacher from Hebei province, who suggested making routine check-ups for pregnant women free of charge.

Stat of the day: With China’s total government debt at 46.55 trillion yuan (US$7.1 trillion) at the end of 2020, the NPC urges regional governments not to “blindly expand” post-Covid infrastructure projects due to concerns about mounting financial risks.
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