New conference mode

Jiang said he was impressed by how Wang ran Friday's seminar, asking the scholars to drop their written drafts and talk about whatever they wanted.

"Wang said that he had read all of our written drafts and he did not need to hear them again, so everyone can get directly to the point," Jiang said on Sunday.

The seminar is more like a casual chat than a formal conference, and most of the scholars were relaxed when each of them made a 10-minute speech, Jiang said.

Wang wore a gray-colored suit and a light-blue shirt without a tie, which made Jiang feel at ease.

"I spoke for more than 10 minutes because I was so eager to express myself during the free-speaking seminar," he said.

There were no cliches, no slogans and no taboo topics at the seminar, he added.

Zhou Shuzhen, a politics professor with Renmin University of China in Beijing, who also attended the seminar, said when a scholar started a speech by talking about "distinguished secretary Wang", the scholar was stopped by Wang and told not to be so polite, according to a report by the Xinhua News Agency.

During the seminar, Wang said: "It's not permitted to read your draft word-for-word during my conference. All of you should learn to think deeply," the report said, citing Zhou.