Two Sessions

The Two Sessions (Chinese: 两会) is the collective term for the annual plenary sessions of the National People's Congress and of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, which are typically both held every March at the Great Hall of the People in Xicheng, Beijing around the same dates.^[1][2] The Two Sessions last for about ten days.^{[3]: 61–62}

Two Sessions
Simplified Chinese	两会
Traditional Chinese	兩會
Literal meaning	two sessions
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Liǎnghuì Wade–Giles Liang3 Hui4

For Chinese Protestantism, see Lianghui (Protestantism).

During the Two Sessions, the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) hear and discuss reports from the premier of the State Council, the president of the Supreme People's Court, and the procurator-general.^{[3]: 61–62}

Other uses of the term

Further information: Internet censorship in China

During the 2011 Chinese pro-democracy protests, the term for the Two Sessions in Chinese, lianghui, became a covert means of avoiding Internet censorship.^[4][5][6] When PRC censors attempted to limit news of the Arab Spring by disabling internet searches for Chinese words such as "Egypt," "Tunisia," and "jasmine", protest organizers urged bloggers and activists to call planned protests lianghui. If the government were to censor this dissenters' circumlocution, it would effectively block internet news about the governmental NPC and CPPCC meetings.^[4]

See also

• Politics of the People's Republic of China