'Extraordinary transformation era' for city
Some representatives from foreign consulates and enterprises in Shanghai, along with winners of the city’s Magnolia awards, attend the opening ceremony of the first session of the 13th Shanghai Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
The first session of the 13th Shanghai Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference began work yesterday.
The day was dominated by work reports to conclude the five-year period of the 12th committee.
“The past five years have been an extraordinary period of historic transformation with historic achievements in our country,” Wu Zhiming, the committee’s chairman, said at the opening of the new session, which was held in the Shanghai Expo Center.
“We thoroughly implemented and executed the important guidelines and instructions on the work of the CPPCC and Shanghai,” he added.
Wu said the committee had convened 186 special-subject consultation meetings, organized over 130 inspections for its members, conducted approximately 600 special investigations and researches and submitted more than 100 reports to the government in the past five years.
The 12th committee members submitted a total of 4,583 proposals to the government, covering topics from the building of a pilot free trade zone, a global center for science and technology innovation, drafting the 13th Five-Year (2016-2020) Plan, and construction of an international cultural metropolis, said Li Yiping, the committee’s vice chairman.
Li said more than 99 percent of proposals had been resolved; the rest were still being handled.
Among the proposals to have made headlines are the extension of Metro operation times, promoting garbage sorting and cooperative efforts to tackle haze pollution.
“We shall continue dedicating ourselves to building Shanghai into an excellent global city and a modern socialist metropolis with international influence; to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and realization of the Chinese Dream; and to the fulfillment of the people’s aspiration for a better life,” Wu said.
Some representatives from foreign consulates and enterprises in Shanghai, along with winners of the city’s Magnolia awards, also attended the opening ceremony.
David Storne from the Luxembourg Consulate said he looked forward to seeing the political advisers helping to make the city cleaner.
“I think one of the main preoccupations of foreigners here may be the pollution,” said Storne, who has lived in the city for five years. “I saw already in the past five years a lot of improvement and I think the government will keep going in that way. So I’m very optimistic.”
Environmental issues are a key concern for Jan Van der Borght, representative of Antwerp Port Authority who has lived in Shanghai for more than 10 years and regards the city as his home town.
“I would like to see Shanghai develop more as a garden city, giving a little more space to green environment here,” Van der Borght said.
As Shanghai has made very clear its ambition to further develop as a center for innovation, he also hoped the government could fine-tune its services and policies to encourage business to move in that direction.
He said local universities could deliver more talent demanded by industries and the government should make it easier for new enterprises to attract highly educated fresh international talent.
