The first session of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) kicked off yesterday, opening the floodgates for a flurry of proposals by CPPCC members on the media. The most prominent ones, as usual, concern people's livelihoods. For example, some members have called for low-income groups to be exempt from paying personal tax, while others have urged free train travel during important public holidays. Debate in the media about these and many other proposals will no doubt be fervent.

It's hard to say what sentiments lie behind the media's choice to report certain proposals.

The media's interest on concrete issues during China's two political sessions in recent years has been particularly strong, highlighting the direction of China's social governance and the way problems can be solved in detail.

After decades of rapid development, society's rough edges have become noticeable. The vast scale of development has brought benefits to the people, but problems associated with such development, including at times unsatisfactory infrastructure and soft power, have been causes of concern.

But China can't solely focus on domestic issues. The country needs to prudently formulate civil affairs strategies with its limited resources. Awareness among Chinese people about their rights is awakening. Compared to people's expectations, improvements have come too late for some.

When domestic attention focuses on a concrete issue, media hype inevitably ensues. Only when attention on a certain issue intensifies and shapes public sentiment can the issue be of national strategic importance.

Public opinion has proved that the key to China's social governance is developing people's livelihoods, which demands the country's hefty financial support. However, the public should not link the country's investment with certain issues because of the media's overzealous reporting.

Public opinion always surfaces on concrete problems. Governments of many countries endeavor to solve such problems, and China is no different. China must tackle such issues rationally to not only stabilize the country's strengths in various fields, but also expand the flexibility of its governance.

Each concrete problem needs to be tackled, but there needs to be a system of priority. The extent to which problems can be solved should correspond with social capabilities, rather than the wishes of certain groups.

China faces a historical period of dealing with its concrete problems, which can be supported by improvements to the system and strategic advances. Proposals at China's two sessions reflect public opinions, yet views must strike a balance between Chinese people's short- and long-term interests to establish what problems demand immediate attention.