The 1st Session of the

11th 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first atteste ...

National People's Congress The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. With 2,9 ...

held its annual meeting from March 5 to March 18, 2008 in the Great Hall of the People in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China, in conjunction with the 2008 CPPCC. The 10-day plenum elected China's new government leaders. Up for confirmation for a second term were President Hu Jintao and Premier

Wen Jiabao Wen Jiabao (born 15 September 1942) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the Premier of the State Council from 2003 to 2013. In his capacity as head of government, Wen was regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic polic ...

. The State Council went through important personnel and structural changes following the 17th Party Congress.

Zeng Qinghong Zeng Qinghong (born 30 July 1939) is a retired Chinese politician. He was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, China's highest leadership council, and top-ranked member of the Secretariat of the Central ...

's Vice-Presidency came to an end and the position was taken by

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...

. Three new Vice-Premiers were confirmed and took office, with rising star Li Keqiang ranking first in this group.

Government Report

Premier Wen Jiabao delivered the government report on March 5, 2008, reviewing the work from the past five years. The main points that come out of the report were * Rebuilding of snowstorm hit areas in Southern China. Rebuild power, communications and water infrastructure in Hunan, Anhui, Guangdong, Sichuan and Hebei.China's Cabinet sets tasks for new term_English_Xinhua
/ref> * Control of inflation and maintain price stability for basic necessities, food and essential commodities. * Regulation of excessive investments in fixed assets. * Education reforms which include free nine years of education and education initiatives to assist with the rural regions. * Increase resources towards energy conservation, more efficient technologies and reduction of emissions.

State Council Reform

A massive reform took place in China's cabinet, the State Council of the People's Republic of China. Several ministries were consolidated to form super ministries. The several "superministries" The state council will also create the National Energy Commission which will oversee national energy strategy, security and development. While the National Development and Reform Commission will continue to control the administration and regulation of the energy sector. The State Food and Drug Administration will be incorporated and come under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health. Therefore, the Health ministry will take over the responsibility for food and drug safety. The People's Bank of China will increase its coordination role between all the financial executive agencies, namely the National Development and Reform Commission and the Finance ministry.

Election results

* No other candidates formally stood for these positions, although votes were cast for other

write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

s."Hu Jintao Re-Elected As China President"
Associated Press, March 15, 2008.

Premier's Press Conference

Premier

held a press conference on March 18, 2008. He introduced the new Vice-Premiers, Li Keqiang,

Hui Liangyu Hui Liangyu (, Xiao'erjing: ; born October 1944) was a Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China in charge of agriculture. Biography Hui was born in Yushu, Jilin Province. He is a member of the Hui ethnic minority. Starting in 1969, h ...

Zhang Dejiang Zhang Dejiang (; born 4 November 1946) is a Chinese retired politician. He served as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress, roughly the equivalent of a speaker of parliament in other countries between ...

and Wang Qishan. Wen addressed the direction of the government in the next five years. He also addressed the ongoing Tibetan protests. Wen asserted that the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...

was "masterminding" the protests in Tibet. Wen said that 2008 could be a very difficult year for the Chinese economy because of both international and domestic reasons.

Notes

External links

NPC Official WebsiteNews Centre of the 2008 National People's Congress
{{National People's Congress

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...