China's wealthy well-represented among legislative delegates

Of the 1,271 people identified as the richest in China, a record 203 are delegates to China’s National People’s Congress or the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, The New York Times reported, citing figures from the Hurun Report. The combined wealth of these individuals totals US$463.8 billion. This week the two bodies, which function as the national legislature and a political advisory body, convene for their yearly meeting, known in Mandarin as lianghui, or “two meetings”. The Chinese Communist Party has long worked to bring wealthy elites into the fold, and for delegates a seat on either body usually brings with it political access.