The 1962 and 1963 Sessions of the National People's Congress of Communist China

Abstract

After much delay and amidst little publicity, the 1963 session of the National People's Congress of Communist China finally convened in Peking on November 17, 1963.1 This was the second consecutive year in which the Congress had met under a cloak of mystery. After failing to meet in 1961, the 1962 National People's Congress had convened only after a prior postponement and was held with extremely little fanfare.2 Both the 1962 and 1963 Congresses met behind closed doors. Except for a few published documents (the most informative being the press communiques released following the close of each Congress), no reports were made public. Thus in comparison with past meetings, held annually and amidst considerable publicity, the 1962 and 1963 sessions of the National People's Congress stand out as new puzzles in the Communist Chinese riddle. The degree of secrecy surrounding the 1962 and 1963 meetings of the Congress was truly phenomenal. This was true both within China and with respect to the outside world. Unlike past meetings of the Congress where speeches of various officials and delegates and other activities were reported (sometimes in detail), official and other releases on the recent Congress sessions were held to a bare minimum. Even the mainland China press reported very little except for a half-dozen identical Hsin Hua News Agency releases issued mainly at the time of the opening and closing of each Congress. In 1962, for example, only one speech, Chou En-lai's Government Report to the Congress, was made public. In addition, a brief resolution passed by the Congress on Chou's Report was made available.3 In 1963 only a press communique issued at the close of the Congress, a resolution on the economic plan and budget and a resolution on the new Congress election were published.4 In addition to the lack of official communiques, the press was singularly devoid of informal news and comments on the 1962 and 1963 sessions. Of the three leading China mainland dailies, the Jen-min ik-pao, the Ta-kung Pao and the Kwang-min Jik-pao, only the Jen-min Jik-pao, devoted