China reaffirms it will stick to socialist path

 　　BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Wu Bangguo reaffirmed on Friday that China would unwaveringly keep on the socialist¹ path of political development with Chinese characteristics.

　　"We need to thoroughly² understand the intrinsic nature of China's system of people's congresses; confidently uphold our unique characteristics; be fully³ aware of the essential differences between this system and Western capitalist countries' systems of political power," Wu said.

　　"We need to remain sober-minded and take a firm and clear stand on major issues of principle," he added while delivering a work report of the Standing⁴ Committee of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) at the parliamentary annual session.

　　He said it's primarily because of the socialist path with Chinese characteristics, China has been able to maintain long-term political stability and social harmony, safeguard national unity⁵ and ethnic⁶ solidarity⁷, and sustain development at a speed rarely seen in the world.

　　"We must cherish it even more and adhere to it for a long time to come," he said.

　　The people's congress system is the fundamental political system in China, which has more than 2.7 million lawmakers at various levels, who are elected by respective constituencies, directly or indirectly⁸.

　　Fang⁹ Ning, a political expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said it's true that that people's congress system has materialized the long-cherished "strategic development" for the country and ushered¹⁰ China into the current situation with great development potential.

　　The reason, he said, is that the system can realize the integration¹¹ of the leadership of the Party, the position of the people as masters of the country and the rule of law. The integration is crucial because it can ensure that the people's congress system make decisions and laws based on the country's fundamental, long-term, and overall interests.

　　Chinese lawmakers push forward stipulation¹² and implementation¹³ of national and local policies, through conducting field studies, collecting public opinions and submitting motions and suggestions.

　　During the fourth session of the 11th NPC in March 2011, NPC deputies submitted 8,043 proposals, 6 percent more than that the previous year. After that session, the NPC Standing Committee passed the proposals to 177 governmental departments and closely monitored the handling of the proposals.

　　Song Xinfang, a NPC deputy from Shandong Province, said,"Compared to the Western political system, the people's congress system excels in representing the people and listening to their wishes."

　　In its 58-year history, the people's congress system has been evolving to make it more representative. In 2008, Hu Xiaoyan became the country's first NPC deputy from migrant workers, a 250-million-strong group that has emerged along with China's rapid industrialization and urbanization over the past 30 years.

　　Since elected, Hu has made proposals regarding issues like improving the working conditions of migrant workers and providing better education for left-behind children whose parents have left their countryside hometowns for jobs in cities. The government has taken note of the advice of Hu and other migrant-worker deputies, issuing policies to improve the lives of the group.

　　In last year's NPC annual session, the top legislator Wu ruled out copying Western-style political systems.

　　On the basis of China's national conditions, China would not, among other things, employ a system of multiple parties holding office in rotation¹⁴, split powers among the executive, legislative¹⁵ and judicial¹⁶ branches of government, or divide the parliament into upper and lower houses, he said.

1 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

2 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

7 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

8 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

9 fang   

n.尖牙，犬牙

参考例句：

• Look how the bone sticks out of the flesh like a dog's fang.瞧瞧,这根骨头从肉里露出来，象一只犬牙似的。
• The green fairy's fang thrusting between his lips.绿妖精的尖牙从他的嘴唇里龇出来。

10 ushered   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
• A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

12 stipulation   

n.契约，规定，条文；条款说明

参考例句：

• There's no stipulation as to the amount you can invest. 没有关于投资额的规定。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The only stipulation the building society makes is that house must be insured. 建屋互助会作出的唯一规定是房屋必须保险。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

14 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

15 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

16 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。