A member of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, Olympic gold medalist Liu Xiang arrived in Beijing to participate in this year's session. Unlike the previous two years when Liu Xiang was a no-show at the meetings, he has made a proposal this year urging to cultivate and protect high-level sports coaches. According to Chengdu Business Daily, Liu Xiang admitted having a ghostwriter for parts of the proposal.

Cao Lin, a columnist for China Youth Daily, recently wrote an article criticizing the public for fixating its attention on celebrity representatives such as Liu Xiang. Cao believes the political system won't mature as long as people give more attention to these members. However, I disagree. I think the political system is more mature if we do keep a close eye on celebrity participants in politics.

For one thing, the public has the right to monitor whether these superstar representatives are effectively exercising the political rights bestowed on them by the public.

For another thing, questioning Liu Xiang's absence for the past two sessions and the contents of his proposal has more to do with the CPPCC system than him being a celebrity. As the voting and dismissal process of CPPCC members is not transparent to the public, the public has a right to question his ability as a representative. If any CPPCC member fails to represent the public's voice, he/she will definitely be watched more closely. Criticizing a member's proposal or a member's absence are both examples of the public exercising its power of discourse. While discussions may appear to be about celebrity CPPCC members, they are actually serving as funnels to correct the system's flaws. These dialogues benefit our political system and do not make it immature.

Referring to the annual CPPCC session, Cao wrote, "it is a platform of democratic parties participating in and discussing state affairs. Therefore people should put emphasis on the issues themselves and not on the participants'statuses." There is some truth in his words. But how can those members who hold power and wealth represent the people if the public doesn't watch them? Should the general public be forced to ignore the actions of celebrity members simply to claim the reputation of "mature politics" on paper?

The public has great expectations for celebrity CPPCC members and will therefore pay more attention to them. This is good for the country's political development.

(This article was translated by Lu Na.)

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