The power of China's top political advisory body goes far beyond freedom of speech, as its members also enjoy the rights of inspection and inquiry in participation of state affairs, a spokesman of the body said Tuesday.

Zhao Qizheng, spokesman of the annual session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), made the remarks at a press conference a day before the opening of the Committee's annual full session.

It would be inadequate to simply define the activities of political advisors with "freedom of speech" as they are also free to inspect and free to inquire, said Zhao when answering a question from a Voice of America reporter.

"I did say before that the CPPCC has the strongest power of voice. The power, however, lies far beyond the rights to say but also in the authoritativeness and effectiveness of their speech," Zhao said.

The results of political advisors' inspections and investigations are submitted to the central authorities, and the advisors are entitled to make proposals to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, who are obligated to give serious replies, he said.

As a patriotic united front organization of the Chinese people, the CPPCC serves as a key mechanism for multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, with its members from different political groups, ethnic groups, and people of all walks of life.

The CPPCC is an important part of China's political life and a major manifestation of socialist democracy, Zhao said.

The CPPCC practices democracy in a multi-dimensional way, as its members come from a wide range of social sectors and strata, and are able to help with communication between policy makers and the people, Zhao said.

The secretariat of the session has received 360 proposals and 351 text statements from political advisors as of Tuesday noon, according to Zhao.

(Xinhua News Agency March 3, 2010)