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Beijing, capital of China, is fully decked out for the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to be unveiled on Friday.
Tiananmen Square in the heart of the city is awash with national flags, red lanterns and tropical plants.
As the world's largest political party, CPC now has over 66 million members. Mao Zedong, the founder of New China, was a delegate to the First CPC National Congress. His portrait now hangs on the gate tower.
Beijing residents, known for their concern for politics, are following closely the possible impact of the CPC congress on their life.
"I care more about social security issues. It's inevitable for aged people like me to fall ill, so I hope the medical care system will further improve," says Liu Guorui, a retired worker taking a walk on the square.
Song Weidong, a taxi driver who comes into contact with people from all walks of life every day, is struck most strongly with people's ethical standards. "I feel strongly that success of our education in the future lies in how to improve the quality of every citizen," he says.
In this information era, people's concern about state affairs is also reflected in the cyber world. A latest web survey of over 10,000 netizens shows that better income, employment, housing and the environment are on people's mind. They hope that the Party and government would adopt new policies in these areas to offer them more practical assistance.
Academic circles also hold high expectations for the upcoming CPC congress. Li Qiang, a professor of sociology at Tsinghua University, expressed the belief that the 16th CPC National Congress will become "a new milestone" in China's development in the 21st century.
(Xinhua News Agency November 6, 2002)
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