As a national legislator at the "two sessions," Ge Shuqin, Party head of a village in central China's Henan Province, has found she has advantages when speaking in group discussions.

Ge usually speaks for a longer time than many others during discussions, which see reports and major issues being deliberated, because she is from the grassroots.

Making the people's voices heard more is a focus of the annual national legislative session, set to close Friday, and the political advisory session that was wrapped up Wednesday.

"Everyone was eager to share their thoughts and we hardly had enough time," Ge said.

Though time was limited, Ge and the other two village Party heads in her group were given more time, so that they could present their experiences related to farmers and people's life in rural areas.

"Other lawmakers were also very interested in knowing more about the difficulties we face during work," Ge said.

During discussions at the "two sessions," lawmakers and political advisors, ranging from renown entrepreneurs and sports stars to doctors and primary school teachers, provide China's decision making process with a broader picture of what is going on in the country and what the people really care about and need.

In this way, the people get their voices heard and responded to.

On March 10, Du Liming, a national legislator from southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, was visited by three officials with the National Development and Reform Commission at his hotel, only four days after he made a suggestion about shipping on the Yangtze River at a group deliberation.

The officials met Du to report to him on the progress of the project he mentioned, after the top economic planner learned about Du's suggestion from State Council official attending the deliberation.

As of Tuesday, deputies to the 13th National People's Congress have filed 491 proposals and 8,000 suggestions, concerning issues including people's well-being, green development and cultural development, to the secretariat of the legislative body's second annual session.

"Collecting the opinions and suggestions made by legislators and political advisors is important for the State Council to comprehensively learn the latest situation and to launch more forward-looking and targeted policies and measures," said Ding Xuedong, an official with the State Council.

More measures have also been introduced at this year's "two sessions" to enable legislators and political advisors to more efficiently deliberate and discuss, including a condensed version of the work report of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress available on smart phones.

"We have seen less empty words and cliches, and heard more voices from the grassroots," said Xu Xianshu, a national lawmaker.

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)