China:

The Economist
March 7th, 2009


全国人民代表大会:the National People's Congress=NPC
The NPC is a rubber-stamp affair at the best of times. But this year Chinahas in effect dropped any pretence that it has a serious role. To save money, officials say, it has been shortened to nine days.

In January the government said 850 billion yuan would be spent on health-care reforms over the next three years. In the long run it is hoped this will help stimulate the economy by reducing the tendency to save money for medical emergencies.