Looking Back With Pride

At the end of this year's two sessions, many deputies and members will be standing down from their roles. Here, four outgoing deputies to the National People's Congress and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference reflect on their five-year terms as representatives, the proposals they have introduced and the differences they have made to people's lives.

ZHU LIANGYU a deputy to the National People's Congress from Beijing

When I was elected in 2013, I was the only NPC deputy representing more than 4.5 million security guards nationwide, so I told myself to speak and work for this group.

During my five years as a deputy, I have submitted more than 80 documents to the NPC, including two motions, and most of them earned replies from the central government and helped the security industry. That motivated me and brought a sense of achievement.

In 2014, I submitted a motion to add a new offense to the Criminal Law - that of attacking the police. Protecting those who protect us is important, so when the amended law was published later the same year, I was excited that my suggestion had been adopted.

I remember the day after my election: I was full of energy, and immediately started a three-month survey of more than 40 security companies in Beijing because I wanted to know what they needed most.

I conducted questionnaires, identifying where the workers came from and what jobs they had done before. Finally, I prepared an 8,000-word report.

Once, I went to the Beijing West Railway Station and found the place crowded and disorganized. Residents and employees of local companies complained about the mess, mainly caused by vagrants and street vendors.

I took a photo and sent it to the NPC. A few days later, the area had been cleaned up and many of the vendors and vagrants had left.

I felt proud of my report, but my son, who was then 11, said: "Dad, you were one of the people cleaned away before."

His words shocked me, and I had to concede that it was a thoughtless way of solving the problem. In 1993, when I first came to the capital from Heze, Shandong province, I didn't know where to go or how I would live. I saw many people being "cleaned away" - some of them were low-paid security guards.

Since then, I've thought twice about reporting issues, and always take advice before acting.

After talking with other deputies during the two sessions, I realized that the best way to improve the lives of security staff was not just to call for higher wages, but to use the law to regulate the industry and ensure my former colleagues are respected.

To implement these ideas, I suggested the government should provide more education and training for members of this group and revise the regulations on the management of the industry.

My years as a deputy have been a fruitful period of personal growth. I have got to know a large number of people. They trust me to do my best for them.

Even if I am not re-elected as a deputy next year, I will continue to work on behalf of security guards. I will continue to protect the city with the passion I had when I first joined the profession almost 25 years ago.

Zhu Liangyu spoke with Cao Yin.

REHANGUL YIMIR an NPC deputy from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region

On Friday, I sat with President Xi Jinping and told him the things I really wanted to say. Surprisingly, I didn't feel nervous. Being an NPC deputy has given me the ability to identify and solve people's problems. It has also transformed me from a shy factory girl into a confident mother-to-be.

I was only 24 when I first attended the annual NPC session in Beijing. As a factory girl from southern Xinjiang, I was a little intimidated during meetings at the Great Hall of the People. I felt quite small among the other deputies, many of whom were officials and made suggestions about national issues.

I remember being so nervous when I had to deliver my first speech during a panel discussion of the Xinjiang delegation that I wanted to cry. But I could not be shy, because I needed to let my voice be heard - that's the point of the NPC.

In five years as a deputy, my suggestions have focused largely on employment and poverty alleviation, including a proposal that led to the construction of a textile factory in southern Xinjiang that will eventually employ 5,000 people.

This year, as a township official in Kashgar prefecture, I submitted a suggestion about vocational training in local communities. Many Kashgar residents cannot find work in factories and they have no skills, so they remain in poverty.

I am looking forward to receiving replies from the relevant departments. My previous suggestions have all received detailed replies, and I feel proud when I see them become law. I never knew I could be this powerful, but I know I need to put this power to good use.

My suggestions may not have an immediate effect at the macro level, but they are important. These are not things that have just popped into my head, but the result of much research. They are things the locals really need.

A lot has happened during the last five years - I graduated from a vocational school and got married, and will soon become a mother.

Last year, my husband and I bought a car, but I still remember that my family was so poor I almost married a man just because his family promised to buy us a bicycle. It was then that I knew I had to change my life, so I decided to work in a textile factory in Zhejiang province and take my destiny into my own hands.

If I met myself from five years ago, I would say: "Rehangul, relax and stop being nervous. All deputies are equally important."

If I am re-elected as a deputy, I will draft more suggestions about improving people's lives.

Rehangul Yimir spoke with Cui Jia.

GE JIANXIONG a member of the Standing committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a professor at Fudan University in Shanghai

Before becoming a member of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee, I worked as a political advisor and also as a lawmaker in Shanghai.

I was elected as a deputy to the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress in the 1980s. Back then, few deputies knew how to write their suggestions, so some came to me for help.

I am 72, so I was on the verge of retirement 10 years ago. However, the CPPCC National Committee has provided me with an important platform and greater influence.

For example, as a member of the Standing Committee, I have the chance to speak with the country's top leaders, such as Premier Li Keqiang and Wang Qishan, head of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and ask them questions,

Every time I have questioned top officials, I have received detailed replies. They did not avoid my (sometimes blunt) questions and gave me equally forthright answers.

I have been a member of the committee for 10 years, during which time I have submitted five or six proposals every year, and I am happy with all of them.

My suggestions are always serious because they involve important issues. Some have been implemented, while others have not yet been adopted.

As a political adviser, I pay great attention to social issues. Also, many people have given me good source materials.

Every year, I selected what I thought were the most important issues and submitted them to the CPPCC National Committee.

My proposals were wide-ranging. Some required extensive knowledge of certain fields, while others were prompted by my observations of people's daily lives.

For example, this year, I suggested upgrading drivers' licenses by adding English on one side to provide bilingual information.

Nowadays, thousands of Chinese people go abroad, but it is still a problem for them to use their driver's license overseas because they require an English translation of their details, backed by an official stamp. In some cases, drivers require official notarization, which they have to pay to obtain.

I chose to submit a number of proposals about specific topics, such as national security. I received many responses, some from the top leaders.

I rarely turn down media requests and give as many interviews as possible during the annual meeting of the CPPCC National Committee in March.

As a member, I am public property and my job is to talk on behalf of other people.

Ge Jianxiong spoke with Luo Wangshu.

TANG GUANJUN an NPC deputy and director of the Changjiang River Administration of Navigational Affairs in Hubei province

NPC deputies come from the people and should serve the people. Being a deputy is an honor, but also a responsibility. When I was first elected, I was told that each deputy represents 670,000 people on average. I am proud to speak on their behalf.

If I don't do my job properly, it means 670,000 people have no voice, so I believe that every deputy should understand their role and how important it is.

I believe deputies are the people's spokespeople.

To carry out my role, I set a goal of speaking from ground level, telling the truth, speaking for the people and making quality suggestions.

Another deputy once told me that deputies who wish to submitgood motions are required to go into the field and conduct thorough research.

I totally agree with that. A deputy has to understand the real world and people's needs. We need to understand ordinary people's lives and challenges, but also make suggestions with a politician's vision and formulate good motions based on the State's strategic plan and people's needs.

I was honored to be elected as a deputy five years ago. Back then, I did not have much experience, so I felt like I was walking on thin ice. With honor comes responsibility.

I started to investigate my specialist field - navigation issues on the Yangtze River - and submitted two motions every year, making 10 in total.

Excluding the motions I have put forward this year, all of my suggestions have been considered by the government. Some have already been acted upon, while others have been listed in the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20).

For example, in 2013, I suggested the construction of another lock at the Three Gorges Dam to allow more ships to pass through and further raise the shipping capacity of the Yangtze River.

Back then, vessels faced long delays crossing from one side of the dam to the other because only a limited number of ships could pass through the lock every day. The average wait was 46 hours.

Once, I saw as many as 1,000 ships waiting at the congested lock. The people working on them told me the delays cost them a lot of money.

I submitted the motion in March, 2013. In August of the same year, the State Council approved it, and ordered the Three Gorges Office to conduct preliminary research into building new locks.

Last year, the central government issued plans to develop the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and a suggestion I made was accepted.

I don't know if I will be re-elected as a deputy for the next term. I can't say that I have done a perfect job, but I have done my best and I have a clear conscience.

Tang Guanjun spoke with Luo Wangshu and Liu Kun.

ZOU JIANPING an NPC deputy from Jiangsu province and former director of the Nanjing University of the Arts

The most memorable moment in my five years as a national legislator came in February 2014.

I was invited to a meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, which was voting to approve a national memorial day to honor the 300,000 victims of the Nanjing Massacre in 1937.

As a native of Jiangsu province, whose capital is Nanjing, I had already suggested establishing the memorial two years earlier.

All the lawmakers voted "yes", and nobody expressed any doubts. The day had long been anticipated by many people because the suggestion wasn't just the result of my efforts alone.

Since the mid-1990s, an annual memorial ceremony has been held at the provincial level on Dec 13, the date that Japanese troops captured Nanjing and started the massacre.

However, Jiangsu residents gradually realized that the massacre was not just a matter for Nanjing - it was a major historical event for the entire nation, and the provincial memorial wasn't significant enough.

Designating a day to remember the victims was first proposed in 2005 by Zhao Long, then-vice-chair of the Standing Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Congress, but it didn't receive a response.

I decided to reintroduce the suggestion to the NPC in March 2012, after hearing Takashi Kawamura, mayor of Nagoya, Japan's fourth-most populous city, deny that the Japanese army had perpetrated the massacre.

I was also inspired by Zhu Chengshan, then-curator of the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre.

At the end of 2012, I was delighted to receive a reply from the top legislature saying the procedures to enact my suggestion would begin soon.

The massacre should be remembered by the whole nation, and around the world. I believe the designation of a national memorial day is an indication of the State's highest will and the desire of the Chinese people.

Even though that was three years ago, I often meet people who pat me on the shoulder and say, "Good work in making the proposal come true!"

If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to be better qualified for the role, because NPC deputies represent the people.

I haven't thought about being a deputy in the next five-year term. I've been a deputy for three consecutive terms and I'm already in my 60s. We should hand the baton to the younger generation.

Zou Jianping spoke with Zhou Wenting.