Wang Ming, a veteran political adviser, sat in the first row of seats on the shuttle bus that took him and other members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference to the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on the morning of March 5.

The party was traveling to the opening of the second annual session of the 12th National People's Congress, but unlike some of the other members, who hoped to hear Premier Li Keqiang set targets for GDP and CPI growth, Wang expected something different.

"I look forward to hearing about important moves on social reform!" he told the 60,000 followers of his micro blog on Sina Weibo, a major Chinese social networking site.