Han Qide was re-elected chairman of the Central Committee of the Jiu San Society, one of China's eight democratic parties, here on Thursday.
The 9th National Congress of the Jiu San Society, which concluded in Beijing on Thursday, elected its 12th Central Committee composed of 225 members.
In addition to Han's re-election, Chen Kangfu, Feng Pei'en, He Keng, Wang Zhizhen, Shao Hong, Xie Xiaojun, Zhang Taolin, Lai Mingand Ma Dalong were elected vice chairpersons.
Han stressed all the members of the Jiu San Society should adhere to the belief of pursuing the political party system with Chinese characteristics and make efforts in improving multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.
"The Jiu San Society will use the scientific outlook on development to guide its work and make development as the top priority while participating in and deliberating on state affairs," he said.
The Jiu San Society now has more than 105,000 members, mainly senior and leading intellectuals in the fields of science and technology.
"The society has made many suggestions that were valued and adopted by the central government," Han said.
"To help more university graduates find jobs, our society suggested encouraging more graduates to work in grass-roots schools and public institutions. To combat SARS, the society suggested establishing a transparent epidemic-reporting system," he said.
Han stressed that most suggestions were made after thorough debate among society members, stressing "in such a democratic way, our final editions of suggestions are always much better than the first ones."
Han was born in east China's Zhejiang Province in 1945 and joined the Jiu San Society in 1995. He graduated from Shanghai No.1 Medical College in 1968 and then worked for 10 years in several clinics in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
From 1979 to 1982, he furthered his studies at the Xi'an Medical College and got his master's degree. He was a visiting scholar in the United States in the 1980s and was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1997. Han is now vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
The congress urged all Jiu San Society members to study and implement the essence of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
The congress also examined a work report by the society's 11th central committee and approved a draft amendment to the society's constitution.
At the end of 1944, a number of progressive scholars organized the Forum on Democracy and Science to strive for victory in the Anti-Japanese War and political democracy. The forum aimed also at developing the anti-imperialist and patriotic spirit of the May 4 Movement of 1919.
In commemoration of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and in the world anti-fascist war on Sept. 3, 1945, it adopted the name Jiu San Society, meaning Sept. 3 in Chinese. On May 4, 1946, the society was formally founded in Chongqing.