A proposal by a political advisor has sparked heated debate at the ongoing annual session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, or CPPCC, China's top advisory body.

One advisor Sun Shuyi proposed in a group discussion to spend 30 billion yuan, or over 4 billion US dollars, to build a "Chinese cultural symbolic city" in the late Chinese philosopher Confucius' hometown of Jining, in east China's Shandong Province.

During the discussion, many other political advisors, however, directly spoke against the proposal. One was quoted saying, "I am a taxpayer and I don't want my money to be spent that way".

The Beijing News carried a commentary on Tuesday, saying that such open debates at this year's CPPCC meeting are the manifestation of China's democratic politics.

The paper applauded that the CPPCC meeting has become an open forum where the ruling CPC, non-Communist parties and people without party affiliation discuss state affairs freely and on an equal footing.

The paper continued further by saying the CPPCC has become an occasion that ensures free discussion and guarantees that different voices can speak up.

In conclusion, the paper suggested that debates should not only be a normalcy for democratic politics, it should also be a common practice in all fields in the society.