Voices from two sessions: National reading day should be set up

Zhu Yongxin, deputy secretary general of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and vice chairman of the China Association for Promoting Democracy [File photo]

China should establish its own national reading day to encourage the reading of more books. That's one of the proposals raised by Zhu Yongxin, deputy secretary general of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

"I have been stressing this proposal at the annual two sessions for 14 years but it hasn't been adopted yet," Zhu said. The reason for its rejection is the existence of World Reading Day, which falls on April 23 annually. It is considered unnecessary to set up a similar celebration.

Zhu said many countries, such as France, Japan and the US, celebrate both their own reading festivals and the world day, and that China should follow the trend, especially when its population reads far less than other countries.

"Reading plays a critical role in shaping of national literacy and improving people's cultivation. I shall never give up this proposal," said Zhu.

According to statistics from the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication, each Chinese read 4.56 paperback books on average in 2014 while the number was 7 in the US and 8 in Japan. The plan to encourage reading was included in the 2015 Chinese government work report.