In Beijing, the people’s circus is underway

Reporting from Beijing — 

Inside the Great Hall of the People, it’s all canned speeches and stilted words of praise for the Chinese Communist Party. Yes, it’s the annual National People’s Congress. Yawn.

But take a step outside. There, it’s pot-bellied paparazzi chasing after celebrity delegates and more costume changes than a Vegas diva.

Think Democratic National Convention (or Republican, if they’re the party in power) meets the Academy Awards.

The term “rubber stamp” accompanies references to the congress in Western news reports often enough to be an epithet. But as the only legislative session of the year in the world’s largest country, it is nonetheless a political spectacle worth watching -- if not for clues about China’s direction, then at least for a look at the antics of the attendees.

People come to talk policy. And to get their photos taken with the rich and famous, go to parties and show off their wardrobes.

“It’s a big stage on which to present yourself,” said Piao Huishan, a 60-year-old delegate from Jilin province in the northeast who wore a long green coat and carried a white snakeskin clutch. “Almost all women delegates carry big luggage full of clothes. They’re changing outfits all the time. We pay attention to each other. Sometimes I see what someone else is wearing and it makes me want to wear something nice next time.”

During the 10-day event, which ends Sunday, much of the action has taken place outside the Great Hall, which overlooks Tiananmen Square. Half of the square was transformed into a parking lot with rows of air-conditioned buses and black sedans arranged in near-perpendicular perfection. A lone Rolls-Royce stood out among the predictable black Audis and Mercedeses.

Paparazzi trolled the steps of the Great Hall. The cameras zoomed in on the delegates representing China’s ethnic minorities -- the elaborate headdresses with jangling silver coins, the silk robes in shades of fuchsia and lime, the big furry hats. Many twirled their photogenic headgear obligingly for the cameras.

On the prowl

More elusive were the celebrity delegates of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body of 2,237 leading figures of industry, culture and sports that convenes at the same time in what are known as the lianghui, or two meetings.

Out-of-shape photographers suddenly found themselves in a mismatched race from the steps of the Great Hall of the People into Tiananmen Square with China’s gold-medal hurdler, Liu Xiang. Singer Song Zuying almost gave journalists the slip, disguised in a long black leather coat, tall boots and very short shorts, with oversized sunglasses covering her face.

Often journalists just watched one another running after whomever they saw someone else running after. With 2,981 members of the National People’s Congress and all those attending the People’s Political Consultative Congress, few can recognize all the faces.

“You have to be sure you photograph their name tags as well,” said Zheng Qusheng, a photographer for the Industrial and Commercial Times who was working his 10th National People’s Congress.

When they couldn’t find celebrities, the paparazzi contented themselves with endless shots of the attractive young women in long scarlet coats and white gloves who served as hostesses for the event.

Press badges

More than 3,000 journalists are credentialed to cover the meetings, all wearing different colored badges -- green for foreign press; brown for Taiwan (which Beijing doesn’t consider foreign), Hong Kong and Macao; blue for Chinese domestic media, which have the greatest access to the deputies and the largest number of reporters, about 1,900 this year.

From Metallurgy News to the China Sports Daily, virtually all publications sent reporters to the congress because it is the one time of year that they have access to the people in power.

Many of the journalists throw softballs (“What are your wishes for the Chinese people in this new year?”); others run after the deputies and grill them.

At times, the deputies bristled at the aggressiveness of the Chinese journalists.

Hubei province’s governor, Li Hongzhong, was so outraged by a question about a case in which a waitress killed a local official who had sexually assaulted her that he confiscated the reporter’s tape recorder.

“Which newspaper do you work for?” demanded the purple-faced (according to Chinese news reports) governor.

“People’s Daily,” answered the reporter, Liu Jie, referring to the leading newspaper of the Communist Party.

“What kind of question is that for a government mouthpiece?” the governor retorted.

Li Datong, a veteran journalist who used to be an editor at China Youth Daily, said that such a publicly reported confrontation between a journalist and top official would have been unthinkable a few years back.

“These meetings were so boring in the past,” Li said. “People didn’t dare to ask hard questions. Things were very tightly controlled. We’ve actually made great progress in that journalists are demanding answers on behalf of the public.”

Time to shop

Between the sessions, the delegates have a chance to revel in the capital’s offerings -- not just the museums and monuments, but also the luxury malls, of which there is an abundance.

At a Gucci store on the east side of the city, a uniformed military officer wearing a badge for China’s ballistic missile defense on his left arm was mulling over a dozen totes and handbags with a saleswoman. A Rolex-wearing associate in street clothes offered advice while clutching an orange Hermes shopping bag and a leather (man)purse -- the indisputable accessory of choice for middle-aged Chinese businessmen.

Queenie Yu, a saleswoman next door at a Dunhill store, said two men who said they were staffers for officials spent $2,000 and $3,000 respectively on shirts, belts and shoes.

“You can tell when the delegates are here,” she said, “because the nice cars are lined up outside.”

barbara.demick @latimes.com

david.pierson@latimes.com

Nicole Liu, Tommy Yang and Lily Kuo of The Times’ Beijing Bureau contributed to this report.