Deputies persevere on winding road to change

Moreover, a very small number of deputies and members use the sessions for their own ends, according to Xie, who urged greater supervision of the deputies and members to ensure that they have correctly discharged their duties. He said the number of deputies and members from the grassroots should rise.

He, the middle school president, agreed, saying: "Some deputies are only interested in their own ambitions and problems, not those of the people. I know a NPC deputy who is the chairman of a business. Instead of handing in proposals about hot social issues, he mainly promotes and talks about his business and its products during the meetings."

Chen Gong, a CPPCC member from Beijing, said she collects more than 200 opinions every year as a member of the Beijing Dongcheng district committee of the China National Democratic Construction Association, a group mainly composed of people from the world of commerce.

Chen said all the issues people raise with her, ranging from drain-cover management to foreign policy initiatives, will be sent to the relevant government departments. In her experience, 30 to 50 percent of them are noted or adopted every year, such as her 2012 proposal about the development of Beijing's culture industry, which was adopted and overseen directly by the mayor.

Chen said she spends a lot of time talking with those she represents and conducting research before drafting each proposal.

"I know that my proposals can make a real difference, and so I have to be responsible for them," she said. "I am a representative of the people, and speaking on their behalf is what I do."

Contact the writers at hena@chinadaily.com.cn and pengyining@chinadaily.com.cn