Political advisors pay tribute to quake victims

BEIJING - Political advisors attending a Friday meeting stood in silent tribute for victims of Saturday's deadly quake that jolted southwest China's Sichuan province.

During a presidium meeting of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng proposed to mourn for the quake victims and the soldiers who died in the rescue work.

The earthquake that measured 7.0 on the Richter scale hit Sichuan's Lushan county on April 20. It has left at least 196 dead and 21 missing so far.

Expressing sympathy to quake-affected people and gratitude to all rescuers and relief workers, Yu, chairman of the 12th CPPCC National Committee, urged political consultative organizations at all levels to contribute to quake relief work under the guidance of local Party committees and government departments.

During the meeting, attendees listened to a report about the preparation of a meeting on steadily pushing forward urbanization.

Yu, who presided over the meeting, urged political advisors to go into the grassroots for inspections and come up with ideas for their political consultation work.