China starts annual parliamentary session

e second session of China's 12th National People's Congress (NPC) opens at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2014. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

The 12th National People's Congress (NPC), China's parliamentary body, opened its second annual session Wednesday morning at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.  [Special coverage]

Premier Li Keqiang will deliver his first government work report at the opening meeting, chaired by Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee and executive chairperson of the session's presidium.

Nearly 3,000 NPC deputies from across the country attended the opening meeting along with top Party and state leaders Xi Jinping, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli.

A silent tribute was observed at the opening meeting for victims of a terrorist attack at a train station in southwestern Chinese city of Kunming, in which knife-wielding assailants from Xinjiang killed 29 civilians and injured another 143 late Saturday.