ANALYSIS: Xi Jinping faces big dilemma as coronavirus threatens China's showpiece political event
Cinemas are closed, schools are shut, and the gates of theme parks are locked — such is the aversion to allowing group gatherings while COVID-19 continues to spread.But plans for the National People's Congress — a huge meeting often dubbed abroad as China's rubber-stamp parliament — remain underway.
"Cancelling it hasn't happened since the Cultural Revolution," Chinese University of Hong Kong's political analyst Willy Lam said. "I think at this stage, the possibility of cancellation is big, because there's not only the risk of spreading the infection, but also if the deputies [delegates] were together in Beijing, they may post hostile and embarrassing questions to the top officials about the outbreak."
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