Celebration rally held to mark 55th birthday of China's advisory body

A grand celebration rally was held Tuesday in Beijing to mark the 55th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top advisory body, with an attendance of senior Chinese leaders.

Chinese President Hu Jintao delivered a keynote speech on the glorious course and future development of CPPCC.

The First Plenary Session of CPPCC was held from Sept. 21 to 29, 1949, marking the establishment of the advisory body, just days before the founding of New China which was founded on Oct. 1, 1949.

CPPCC comprises more than 2000 members, including leading figures of non-Communist parties and various major non-governmental organizations and influential figures without party affiliation, representatives of ethnic minority groups and overseas Chinese.

Backgrounder: Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference

At present, the CPPCC consists of representatives of the CPC and non-Communist parties, personages without party affiliation, representatives of people's organizations, ethnic minorities and all social strata.

It also has the representation of compatriots of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan, returned overseas Chinese, and specially invited people.

The main functions of the CPPCC are to conduct political consultation, exercise democratic supervision and participate in the discussion and the handling of state affairs.

The current CPPCC is also known as new Political Consultative Conference as distinguished from the one convened in 1946 following the victory of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression upon the decision taken by the CPC and the Kuomintang in their negotiations in Chongqing as part of the preparations for the formation of a new government.

But hardly before the old CPPCC began to function was it disintegrated in November of the same year when the Kuomintang betrayed the resolutions of the conference and unilaterally proclaimed the convocation of a "National Assembly".

The first session of the new CPPCC was held in Beijing in September 1949. Authorized to perform the functions of the supreme organ of power, the session adopted a "Common Program" which bore the nature of a temporary constitution, proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China, elected a council of the Central People's Government with Mao Zedong as the chairman, and elected the First National Committee of the CPPCC.

The CPPCC ceased to act as the supreme organ of power in September 1954 when the National People's Congress was convened. Instead, it shifted its functions as China's patriotic united front organization for its broad representation. It has ever since played a vital role in the country's political, economic, cultural and social affairs and in international exchanges.

The CPPCC has a National Committee and local committees. With a functioning term of five years, they meet once every year.