Wuhan in China Declared a Clean Area After 5 Months... Yanghui Observed at the End of Next Month

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] The number of COVID-19 cases in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), has reached '0'. It has been just over five months since the first case was reported in December last year. As Wuhan, which was the most severely affected area, stabilizes, the holding of China's largest political event, the Two Sessions (Lianghui - the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference), is coming into view. It is anticipated that China will officially declare the end of the war against COVID-19 through the Two Sessions.

At 9 a.m. on the 5th (local time), Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council, is delivering the 'Government Work Report' at the opening ceremony of the National People's Congress (NPC) held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

According to the National Health Commission of China (NHC) on the 27th, as of midnight, the number of confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases in Wuhan was recorded as zero for the first time, making it a clean area. Chinese state media such as CCTV, Xinhua News Agency, and People's Daily prominently reported that all COVID-19 patients in Wuhan have been discharged and that not a single patient remains, using green as the background color to signify a COVID-19 safe zone. The phrase "Victory of Wuhan" appeared frequently.

Wuhan's transformation into a COVID-19 clean area holds symbolic significance for China. This region was the first in China to experience the outbreak and suffered the most severe spread. However, the fact that it has recovered has given the central government confidence to declare the end of COVID-19.

As the Chinese government's confidence in ending COVID-19 grows, the possibility of holding the Two Sessions, which was postponed once in early March, is also increasing. The Two Sessions reveal overall economic policies, including the economic growth target, making it an opportunity to gauge China's policy plans for this year. Especially if the COVID-19 stabilization continues during the upcoming Labor Day holiday (May 1?5), expectations for the Two Sessions will further increase. In Beijing, where the Two Sessions will be held, schools are gradually returning to normal, with senior high school students starting to reopen sequentially on this day.

The likelihood of the Two Sessions being held at the end of next month is gaining weight. The day before, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) held its 17th meeting via video conference and reportedly weighed the date for the Two Sessions. Xinhua News Agency reported, "The NPC Standing Committee reviewed the draft decision on the timing of the NPC plenary session." Although the exact date of the Two Sessions has not been disclosed, this suggests that the outline of the timing has been established. Article 2 of the NPC Organizational Law stipulates that "The NPC Standing Committee shall notify the attending deputies of the opening date and agenda at least one month before the NPC session." According to this regulation, it is possible that notification to each people's deputy will be made immediately after the Standing Committee meeting. Bloomberg has left open the possibility of holding it from the 23rd to the 30th of next month.

Meanwhile, at the Standing Committee meeting on this day, draft amendments to the Solid Waste Environmental Pollution Prevention Law, the Biosafety Law, and the Copyright Law, as well as legal adjustment proposals for the Hainan Free Trade Pilot Zone, were intensively discussed.

Legislative expert Zi Zhengfeng from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences predicted that the Two Sessions will be held soon and said, "As the spread of COVID-19 subsides, these topics that can provide new stimuli to China's social and economic development will be at the center of the Two Sessions' discussions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.