LEGISLATIVE impotence aside, many of the 3,000 delegates now gathered in Beijing for the annual meeting of China’s rubber-stamp parliament are genuine movers and shakers. Delegates at this year’s National People’s Congress (NPC) include 90 people on a locally published list of China’s 1,000 richest people. To get on it you must be worth at least 1.8 billion yuan ($290m).

　　3000名代表齐聚北京，参加中国一年一度的橡皮图章式议会。尽管立法能力让人不敢领教，但其中很多人都是真正能够呼风唤雨的大人物。今年的人大代表囊括了中国最富有的1000人中的90人――要想为自己博得一席之地，你的身价至少得有18亿人民币(合2.9亿美元)。

　　One delegate is Zong Qinghou (pictured), chairman of the Hangzhou Wahaha Group, a soft-drink maker. Mr Zong is reckoned to be mainland China’s richest man, with a fortune worth $13 billion. There are also billionaires from the technology and property industries, all given sinecures to help keep them inside the Communist Party’s political tent.

　　人大代表宗庆后(如图)，杭州娃哈哈集团(一种软饮料的制造商)董事长，他是人们眼中的中国大陆首富，拥有总资产130亿美元。当然科技与房地产业中亿万富翁也不乏其人，他们拥有的也都是挂名职务，使自身得到共产党的庇护。

　　At last year’s NPC session wealthy legislators came in for sharp scrutiny―and scorn―from citizens scouring news photos for evidence of designer clothing and expensive handbags. This year delegates have been more careful to cover up their pricey status symbols.

　　去年的人大会议上，富有的立法者们因为自己的定制服装以及奢侈手包经受到了公民的严密监视与嘲讽。今年的代表就谨慎了许多，努力去遮掩象征自己地位的高价标识。

　　Yet contradictions remain in clear view. The ultra-rich make up only 3% of the delegates, but many of the rest are regional officials who also enjoy life at the top end of the inequality curve. China’s parliament may not be about rejecting legislation, but it is a good indicator of where influence lies. Many of the new senior leaders that are about to be rubber-stamped into office proclaim a desire to reduce inequality. But when it comes to preserving vested interests, in China as elsewhere, the ayes usually have it.

　　然后这么做却更凸显了矛盾。虽然此次中国顶尖的富人只占代表人数的3%，但是其余的97%多数为地方官员，他们仍然处于不平等曲线的顶端。中国的议会可能并不是要抵触立法，它本身是反映影响力范围的指示器。很多高层领导走马上任时都会表决心，要解决不平等问题。但真到了需要保护自己既得利益的时候，无论是中国还是在别处，他们肯定会投赞成票。