"Many believe that China will emerge from its period of social transformation in a steady and peaceful manner," added an editorial in the party mouthpiece People's Daily, "But... it is not totally unfeasible that the nation could fall into social turmoil should its public governance fail." The call for the fresh Jasmine rallies was cast as an open letter to China's a rubber-stamp parliament, National People's Congress, which opens its annual meeting on March 5 and is always considered a sensitive moment in the Chinese political calendar.