More Grassroots Members at Party Congress

Fewer government officials but more grassroots members, such as workers and farmers, have been elected deputies to the upcoming National Congress of the Communist Party of China, a senior Party official said on Tuesday morning.

The 18th National Party Congress, which is scheduled to convene in the second half of the year, will see 30.5 percent of its 692 delegates coming from the frontline of production and work, said Wang Jingqing, vice-minister of the Organization Department of the CPC.

The figure is 2.1 percentage points higher than at the 17th National Party Congress five years ago. Wang said the move is in line with the Party’s efforts to better represent its members, as it has pledged to include more grassroots delegates, such as migrant workers.

On the other hand, fewer government officials -- 2.1 percentage points lower than five years ago, totaling 1,578 -- were elected delegates to the congress, which is held every five years.

The elected delegates -- a total of 2,270 comprising people from various sectors such as economics, science and technology, national defense, politics and the judicial system -- will need to pass a qualification check to get final approval to attend the congress, Wang said.

President Hu Jintao and another eight members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee were included in the list of names, Xinhua News Agency reported.

About 50 more delegates than five years ago will attend the congress, the report said.

In addition, more young delegates will take part in the congress, Wang said. The average age of the delegates is 52, with a total of 114 delegates under 35, accounting for 5 percent, 1.9 percentage points higher than at the last congress.

The youngest delegate, Jiao Liuyang, a golden medal winner in the 200-meter women butterfly swimming event in the London Olympics, was born in 1990.

The elected delegates will represent more than 82 million CPC members.