Chinese leaders attended a grand gathering in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing yesterday to celebrate the upcoming Spring Festival and extend festival greetings to the Chinese people.

 

 

President Hu Jintao chaired the diverse gathering of 4,000 people from throughout China.

 

On behalf of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council, Hu, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, conveyed festival greetings to all Chinese people. He then expressed his thanks to the friends of China all over the world.

 

Premier Wen Jiabao, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, delivered a speech outlining China's accomplishments and goals.

 

The premier said China had made great achievements over the past year. "Looking into the New Year, we are fully confident in the country's future development," he explained.

 

Wen went on to express his confidence that China would fully implement the scientific concept of development, speed up the building of a harmonious socialist society, and strive to maintain satisfactory and fast development of the national economy to create favorable conditions and environment for the 17th National Congress of the CPC.

 

Wen pledged to continue to boost economic development, deepen reform, and listen to the needs of Chinese citizens. He explained that China must adhere to scientific, harmonious, and peaceful development and "greatly increase social wealth to lay a solid material foundation" for the improvement of people's lives.

 

Wen also highlighted China's reform of the socialist market economy, saying that China must continue to push forward economic, political, cultural, and social reforms to safeguard social justice and protect people's democratic rights. He urged the Party and the government to remain closely connected to the people.

 

 

Wen said the Party and the government must "understand people's concerns, listen to their opinions, care about their difficulties" and take concrete measures to address issues concerning the immediate interests of the people, including education, health care, employment, income distribution, and social security.

 

Wu Bangguo, Jia Qinglin, Zeng Qinghong, Wu Guanzheng, Li Changchun and Luo Gan, who are members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, also attended the gathering.

 

Other participants included leaders of various departments of the central authorities, leading officials of the capital city, representatives of retired senior cadres, leaders of non-Communist parties and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, people without party affiliations, representatives of ethnic minorities, domestic and foreign experts and scholars, as well as representatives from a variety of other groups in the capital city.

 

The gathering was jointly hosted by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council.

 

This year's Spring Festival, the Chinese Lunar New Year's Day, falls on February 18.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 17, 2007)