Each March, some 5,000 delegates from across China gather in Beijing for the annual meetings of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s legislature, and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), an advisory body. In practice, the “two sessions,” as the meetings are known, are largely ceremonial—neither body plays a leading role in shaping policy—but they are closely watched for signals from China’s more senior leaders about the shape of politics in the year to come (usually revealed in lengthy speeches) and they are a key moment for the unveiling—and rubber stamping—of new laws.
They are also, as are most institutions connected to Chinese politics, predominantly male affairs. In 2013, 23.4% of NPC delegates were women, the greatest percentage of women since the congress was established in 1954. In the CPPCC, the figure was 18.4% in 2013. (By comparison, 19.4% of the United States Congress are women, according to the Center for American Women and Politics.)
While working on assignment for The Beijing News, Meng Han covered the two conclaves year after year. She found her camera drawn to the supporting roles played by the women at the meetings: dancing in the opening ceremonies, pouring tea, entertaining guests, and shepherding delegates through the cavernous corridors of the Great Hall of the People.
Their work may appear relatively unimportant, but the many government bodies charged with their selection and training devote considerable energy to making sure their physical and political dimensions measure up. In a video published by The Beijing News last year, one “Great Hall of the People Beauty” explains that women must be at least 1.65 meters tall and that they must undergo extensive training, including military drills, before serving at the meetings. At their dormitories outside of Beijing, they must adhere to strict norms of modesty eschewing inappropriate attire and not “wearing pajamas in the hallways even in an all-female dorm.” They must also agree not to leave their dormitories or have contact with “outsiders.” The Great Hall does not recruit these servicewomen from Beijing out of concern, the report says, that they might be tempted to return home during their four-year term. In their training, great emphasis is placed on uniformity. They must walk in perfectly straight rows and guard against so much as the edge of a teacup’s failing to fall in line.
—The Editors
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