Behind the Golden Curtain

The annual session of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) draws nearly 3,000 delegates assembled in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. 70% of the delegates who are elected by China's provinces, autonomous regions,municipalities and the armed forces are loyal and lifelong members of the Communist Party.Under China's 1982 constitution, the NPC is the most powerful organ of state and China's parliament. In truth, it is little more than a rubber stamp for party decisions. The real decision-making power at the national level in China is vested in the Chinese Communist Party and its elite Central Committee.