The Party’s rubber-stamp legislature and advisory body convenes annually for the Lianghui, or “Two Sessions,” to enact policies and agendas. More than 5,000 delegates from around the country typically participate.
The Chinese regime announced on May 15 that the conferences wouldn’t be two weeks long as usual. Media reported on May 18 that the conferences will only last one week.
On May 17, Lu Yan, the deputy mayor of Beijing, said the city had entered “wartime” preparations to prevent the virus from spreading.
Meanwhile, a cluster of fever cases recently occurred in Xicheng district of Beijing, close to the Great Hall of the People, the building where the Lianghui is held.
Strict Control
The Lianghui is normally held in March, but it was postponed due to the virus outbreak, which erupted in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019 and quickly spread across the country in January.However, since the announcement, more outbreaks have been reported in northeastern China—Wuhan in Hubei Province and Guangzhou in southern Guangdong Province. Shanghai also announced a new infection on May 18.
Before May 20, all delegates must self-quarantine at home for 14 days; screen and report their body temperatures twice every day; and take a nucleic acid test before their departure for Beijing.
During the Lianghui, it’s possible that all delegates will receive a nucleic acid test again, the sources told HKET.
Then the Hong Kong delegation will board a flight to Beijing on May 20.
In Beijing, they’re only allowed to stay in a hotel designated by authorities, and can only travel to the conference venue. They aren’t allowed to travel elsewhere and aren’t allowed to accept media interviews, according to Ma.
On May 28, the delegation will fly back to Hong Kong directly from Beijing after the conference.
Only a select number of journalists who live in Beijing and applied for access will be allowed to enter the Great Hall of the People, according to Zhang. Other reporters can interview delegates via video conferencing.
Zhang also said that the Lianghui wouldn’t organize a time when journalists can meet delegations from different provinces and ask questions, as is custom in past years. Instead, each delegation will name a spokesperson who will talk to journalists by video conferencing.
Meeting Focus
State-run media Xinhua reported on May 17 that there are seven topics that would be discussed during the Lianghui, chief among them how to prevent the virus from spreading. Other items on the agenda include how to develop China’s economy, how to alleviate poverty, and how to deal with “international challenges.”China’s economic downturn has been exacerbated by the pandemic. The Chinese regime officially reported that the national gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2020 shrank by 6.8 percent year-on-year.