I remember when I was teaching at a college near Beijing when the 16th Party Congress was going on. I asked my co-workers (Chinese, college grads) what they thought about it. Much like the PKU student, many seemed unaware, or barely aware that it was taking place. Many simply didn't care at all.

But, unless you are in Hong Kong, or somewhere where there are great magazines/newspapers about current Chinese politics (and all the fighting that goes on behind the scenes), all you would see is the bright, flower-y, red facade of unity. So, it is understandable.

I'm surprised the author didn't consider one reason the farmer was "so happy" was that he/she had been picked to say that by the Chinese Propaganda Network, sorry CCTV. You don't really think Chinese TV would broadcast someone saying what the VOA reporter heard, do you?!

If you pick a random person I'm sure the response would be more "huh?" than anything else.

Raj: I think this article was written for people like you who are smart enough to work that out for themselves.

Vivian Wu and He Huifeng of the South China Morning Post interviewed ordinary folk in Beijing and Shenzhen about their take on the congress. Here are the comments that were published:

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Beijing television director Wang Nan , 29, said that as an ordinary person she cared more about possible traffic jams brought on by the event than the congress itself.

"Voting in the one-party-ruled meeting is just for show, and the results are already set. If it were a meeting between two parties, that would be more interesting to me," she said.

"Maybe those with power and money interests will care more about who will be the next generation of Politburo members."

Farmers' rights activist Xu Jinchuan , from Shandong , said he had been hopeful before watching Mr Hu's report that agricultural policies would be improved.

"Many of the points mentioned in Hu's speech are aimed at improving people's livelihoods," he said.

"But a loss of farmland and the resulting unemployment concerns many farmers, especially when their rights can't be safeguarded in corrupt local courts.

"Landless farmers are full of grudges because without land, sufficient harvests and a secure income, our quality of life has actually deteriorated compared with the 1980s and 1990s, when farmers benefited from reform policies in rural areas."

But Shenzhen electrical engineer Zhuo Yi found cause for enthusiasm in Mr Hu's words.

"I feel excited to hear Hu pledge to increase spending on independent innovation and making breakthroughs in key technologies vital to economic and social development," he said. "Hu's words give us his promise that the government will invest time and money into moving China from a polluting, low-tech manufacturing base into an innovative centre of hi-tech industry."

But Mr Zhuo worried that the efforts might be hijacked by soaring living costs and property prices.

"If technology companies and their staff have to spend most of their time and energy fighting against inflation, how can they devote themselves to industrial innovation?" he asked.

Self-employed Beijing businessman Xi Ming , 33, was concerned with how the party would implement efficient policies to enhance social security for ordinary people. He said did not see much relevance in Mr Hu's report.

"It's harder to make money and maintain a well-off, secure life, especially for young people, who have the burden of rising medical, educational and housing costs and have to take care of the aged," he said.

"In the meantime, I don't believe the party can ensure an efficient government to solve these problems without radically getting rid of official corruption prevailing in various areas."

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http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2af62ecb329d3d7733492d9253a0a0a0/?vgnextoid=dc81565fb94a5110VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD&ss=China&s=News

Is this really important. The world is about to end, why does anyone bother anyhow. Just get busy and try to get with any woman who you can, spend all your money and stop thinking, waste of time! Decadence...

i am a former PKU student from 2001-2007, and i think the VOA reporter didn't find a real PKU student at all. every student of PKU must pass the National College Exams, in which there is politic exam. hard to think about that a PKU student doesn't know the difference between the Party and the State.

Most people in China must be intrested in the 17th Party Congress. Although this is a one-party-ruled country, everyone who lives in it largely depend on the decisions which were made by the members of the Politburo. Our life is boundup with them. Actually, the economic of China is booming, the sociaity is becoming more harmonious. As long as we stick to the scientific outlook of development, people's livelihood will become better than better. Official corruption exists anywhere all around of the world. We must fight against it. So long as there is hope with our country, we will be happy and benefit from the results of the opening and reforming.