China Politics
Chinese soldiers stand guard in front of the Great Hall of the People at Tiananmen square in Beijing, China, Thursday, March 5, 2009. China's National People's Congress is a largely powerless body but it represents one of the country's last displays of old style communism. Ethnic minority delegates from around the country attend the meetings wearing traditional costumes, a conceit which allows the government to argue that the nation's different cultures co-exist harmoniously. Little is decided at these gatherings though. The NPC functions largely as a rubber stamp body for policies put forward by the Communist party's elite.
