CCTV9英语新闻：Proposals address reading and university reforms（在线收听）

On the agenda at this year’s Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, cultural proposals are finding a voice. They include promoting reading among the public, and college education reform. 

2016 is the first year of the 13th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development. Members of the CPPCC are offering their suggestions, and for the third consecutive time, promoting reading among the public is on the agenda. Sculptor Wu Weishan is Director of the National Art Museum of China. 

“I think reading is a spiritual thing. It means much more than books. Good works of paintings, music, sculpture can also be good ‘reading’ materials, which can show a lot about the country,” he said.

And with technological developments, reading habits have made a major shift to e-books.

“It’s important to maintain the habit of reading. Digital devices, such as cellphones, are just tools which carry information. What matters most is what you read with it,” said Gao Hongbo, CPPCC member.

Higher education is also a key issue up for discussion. Last year, the government issued a blueprint for building world-class universities in China, though opinions differ as to implementation.

Yuan Guiren is the Chinese Education Minister.

 Chinese Education Minister Yuan Guiren

Yuan Guiren, Chinese Education Minister, said, “We should not just focus on the big government-funded universities. Private colleges and vocational higher schools are also important in our country’s higher education. 

“When we talk about building world-class universities, these should be taken into consideration too. There’s still a lot of work to do, so we must keep working hard to achieve that goal.”

This year’s session of the CPPCC lasts until March 14.