A few blocks from the 1950s-era hall where China's figurehead parliament met yesterday, shoppers at the sleek modern shops in Wangfujing district felt so removed from its workings that they might have been in a different world.
"The National People's Congress (NPC) meets once a year, and we don't know what they do for the rest of the year," said a middle-aged man outside a green-domed department store identified by a neon sign as the Beijing Muslim Building. He would give only his surname, Zhang.
"I'm not criticizing the assembly, but I want them to be more open to change," he said.
The comments reflected the gulf between the NPC and China's fast-changing, increasingly capitalist society.
Officially the "highest organ of state power," the legislature is the powerless face of a closed, secretive communist system.
Chinese leaders depend on it as a way to try to keep in touch with society, but its members have little contact with ordinary Chinese.
"They do what they have to do. We work hard. We have our lives. They have theirs," said Cheng Lan, a 22-year-old student who was whiling away her morning window-shopping.
Despite such a political gap, state media have been filled with reports about issues to be debated during the legislative session -- and many ordinary Chinese had their own opinions.
"We live the good life here in Beijing, but the government must also take care of the countryside," said Wang Yuan, 43, as he left an upscale bakery with a bag of red bean pastries.
"If you don't improve the farmers' lives, the country as a whole will not move forward," he said.
Qin Zhiguang, who was dressed in a black leather jacket and shopping for glasses, said an "anti-secession" law was needed to keep Taiwan from slipping away for good.
"We need to tell Taiwan, `You can go this far but no further,'" said Qin, 35.
"They must know there is a line they can't cross," he said.
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