The Chinese People’s Congress, the annual session of the full parliament in Beijing, will meet on May 22. The session, which typically lasts ten days to two weeks, was actually scheduled for March 5, but the corona crisis made that impossible.
According to the Chinese authorities, the corona outbreak in the country is now sufficiently under control to bring the People’s Congress together.
Epidemic under control
Correspondent Sjoerd den Daas calls it “symbolic” that the People’s Congress now continues. “With this, China mainly wants to show that it is controlling the epidemic.” This was also the case when Xi Jinping visited Wuhan on March 10, when the city where the Covid-19 virus was first detected was still in quarantine.
Another important body, the consultative CPPCC, will also meet from 21 May. As a rule, a total of at least 5,000 delegates from all over the country attend these meetings: some 3,000 will attend the People’s Congress and another 2,000 will attend the CPPCC.
Strict quarantine measures
“How they will approach this in practice is still a big question mark,” says Den Daas. There are certainly strict quarantine rules in Beijing for people who come from outside the Chinese capital.
For example, everyone who visits the city must first go to home quarantine for two to three weeks. In addition, a negative corona test is necessary to travel to the city alone. After the quarantine period, a negative test must again be taken in order to move freely in the city.
It is not known whether all 5000 delegates will have to undergo these measures. It is also unclear whether global media will be welcome from May 22, as is the case in other years.
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