Deputies maintain close contact with people

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The second annual session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) scheduled to open on March 5 will gather some 3,000 deputies from all walks of life. The obligations for the national legislators are actually far more than those to be fulfilled during the session.

According to Chinese laws, people's congress deputies – both at the national level and grassroots levels – should maintain close contact with the voters of their electoral districts and the masses of the people, listen to and convey their opinions and demands, and strive to serve the people.

“Being a deputy is not just an honor, it also means some extra responsibilities as we represent the interests of the masses of people, not just ourselves,” Li Yanping, deputy to the 13th NPC from China's southwest Chongqing Municipality, told CGTN.

As a veteran doctor and deputy head of the megacity's traditional Chinese medicine hospital, Li has made frequent visits to grassroots hospitals in different towns, giving training to staff there and collecting their opinions. She also provides free medical services to patients in remote villages.

NPC deputy Li Yanping provides medical treatment to a patient suffering from rheumatism in a remote village in Chongqing. /CGTN Photo

“Through medical reforms in recent years, the whole sector has seen massive changes, but it's still far from matching people's growing demand for qualified medical services. I can only put forward high-quality proposals on behalf of them by staying abreast of the latest situation in all respects,” Li said.

Li's practices are applauded by people who expect more positive changes.

“We are faced with many challenges, such as the shortage of high-level medical talents. Our villagers will not receive adequate treatment if the problem fails to be addressed. It would be great if our deputies can voice our concerns to the legislative body,” Zhang Xiachang, president of a town-level hospital in Chongqing, told CGTN.

Deputies talk with medical practitioners in a town hospital in Chongqing municipality. /CGTN Photo

Now the country has a total of 2.62 million people's congress deputies, covering the national, provincial, municipal, county and township levels. To guarantee all deputies serve people better in an institutional way, the Standing Committees at all levels are exploring different mechanisms, such as establishing liaison offices to streamline the communication between deputies and the people.

In the town of Xiangyang located in southwest China's Sichuan Province, villagers have another channel to voice their appeals after such a facility was set up in 2012.

Under this mechanism, local deputies work in shifts to receive villagers who come with various issues. They then work out related proposals and hand them over to relevant government departments for settlement. Now, such mechanisms have spread across the country.

Villagers communicate with deputies at the liaison office in Xiangyang township, Sichuan Province. /CGTN Photo

“It's of course a good platform. Thanks to it, we know where we should go when we need help, especially as it pertains to public interests. Otherwise, we can only resort to government officials directly who are always occupied with various affairs,” said Zhong Shidou, villager of Xiangyang township.

In many places, Standing Committees of the people's congress also organize deputies to conduct field research on certain issues regularly to collect first-hand information for proposals.

Li said, no matter the form, listening to people's voices and speaking for them are what she will persist in doing during her term. She expected to share what she will get during the upcoming session - another way to have close contact with her voters.

(CGTN's Luo Caiwen also contributed to this story)

(Cover photo: Outside of the liaison office between people's congress deputies with villagers in Xiangyang township, Sichuan Province. /CGTN Photo)