Who will attend China's upcoming 'two sessions'?

(People's Daily Online)

16:25, March 01, 2013

Number of NPC deputies remains basically unchanged in recent years.

The 12th National People's Congress (NPC) has 2,987 deputies, same as the 11th NPC and similar to the previous NPCs in recent years.

Under China's electoral law, the number of NPC deputies is limited to 3,000. The number has been set after being changed several times, said Han Dayuan, a professor of constitutional law at Renmin University of China.

The number of NPC deputies almost doubled after construction of the Great Hall of the People completed in 1959.

Huairentang Hall of Zhongnanhai was the meeting place for the first and second NPCs. When talking about the number and election of deputies to the third NPC, Peng Zhen, former chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC, said that only more than 1,200 people attended the first and second NPCs because of the limited meeting venue. That was no longer a problem after the Great Hall of the People was built.

Peng added that the number of NPC deputies should be increased so that they can better represent China's increasing population.

The 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) has 2,237 members, the same as the previous one.

【1】 【2】 【3】

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