Four hundred and ninety-one motions were submitted to the Secretariat of China's annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) by the deadline of Monday noon. Compared with 325 motions last year, the number increased by 51 percent, which, according to the Secretariat, reflects deputies' increasing ability to perform their duties.

Among the topics, the motions focus heavily on the country's further reform and opening-up.

"Many motions reflect the shift in economic engines. Many deputies ask to push for the legalization of big data, artificial intelligence and automatic driving," said Guo Zhenhua, director of the group for handling motions under the NPC Secretariat.

Guo said a large number of the motions focus on amending laws in the business sector, such as protecting property rights.

For topics related to people's livelihood, the lawmakers proposed amending laws in order to protect the elderly, women and the youth. Some have also proposed laws on protecting people's personal information.

Controlling pollution is also a hot topic. One of the motions is to introduce a law to protect the Yangtze River.

"Following the legal process, the Secretariat will analyze the motions carefully and draft processing reports which will be submitted to the Presidium of the NPC Standing Committee," Guo added.

Apart from motions, the Secretariat also received nearly 8,000 suggestions from deputies, compared with 7,139 last year. Some touch on very specific issues such as helping small companies ease their funding pressures, and opening a senior care market. All these suggestions will be reviewed and then sent to departments concerned after the NPC session. 

(Cover: Staff of the Secretariat of the second session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) handling suggestions in Beijing, China, March 12, 2019. /CGTN Photo)