Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), stressed the importance of strengthening national unity under the new situation on Wednesday at a national conference on ethnic work.

Jia urged participants to seriously study and implement the recent instructions of Hu Jintao, state president and general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

"Firmly hold to the main theme of a common unity and progress for all ethnic groups and closely center on task of promoting national unity and achieving a common progress for all ethnic groups," said the CPPCC chairman, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau.

In his speech, the top political advisor called for persisting in upholding socialism with China's own characteristics and firmly taking the road toward resolving ethnic problems with China's own characteristics; persisting in implementing a scientific concept of development and making efforts to promote a sound and fast economic and social development for ethnic groups and minority areas; persisting in and perfecting ethnic regional autonomy and make substantial efforts to protect the legal rights of ethnic minorities; and persisting in the fundamental demand for promoting social harmony and ceaselessly consolidating and developing an equal, united, mutually-supporting, and harmonious socialist national relations.

Strengthening national unity depends on the strengthening and improving of the Party leadership on the ethnic work, Jia stressed.

Vice Premier Hui Liangyu also addressed the conference. Different areas and departments should unify their thinking and action to Hu's instructions as well as the major decisions and arrangements made by the Central Authorities, said the official, who is a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

The meeting was presided over by Du Qinglin, vice chairman of the CPPCC National Committee and director of the United Front Department of the CPC Central Committee.

Present at the meeting were heads of provincial level United Front departments and ethnic work commissions from across the country.

(Xinhua News Agency December 25, 2008)