Speaking up for the People Deputies to China’s Legislature: the People’s Voice
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LEI Chuang， a postgraduate student at Shanghai Jiao Tong University， was very excited to learn that a proposal of his was being taken up at the annual session of the National people’s Congress （NPC） by Xie Zilong， an NPC deputy and president of LBX Pharmacy.
Lei is a vocal advocate of reducing discrimination against hepatitis B virus （HBV） carriers. Last year， his proposal on HBV-related discrimination was also taken up at the NPC session by Xie. More recently， Lei suggested that anti-HBV drugs be put on the list of medicines covered by health insurance plans.
This year Lei wrote to 568 NPC deputies to advance his proposal. By the time the annual NPC session commenced in Beijing on March 5， he had received replies from a dozen or so deputies， including Yang Xiong， Shanghai City’s mayor， Zong Qinghou， founder and chairman of Wahaha Group， and the aforementioned Xie.
Explaining why he had personally contacted NPC deputies to advance his cause， Lei said， “I trust deputies and have confidence in the NPC system. But we shouldn’t be passive and just wait （to be contacted）； instead， we should be proactive in contacting them to raise our ideas.”
He said that political participation by every citizen is very important. “If participation by ordinary citizens is low， even a good system won’t produce results，” Lei reasoned.
He added that he would like to use his own experiences to inspire people to participate in the political process through the NPC.
Model Citizen
china has a large number of HBV carriers， many of whom face discrimination. In May 2007， the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security， now known as the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security， jointly issued a circular requiring employers not to mandate compulsory HBV tests during recruitment， except for a few specific jobs mentioned in laws and administrative regulations.
Discrimination against HBV carriers caught the attention of legislators at the NPC and political advisors at the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference （CPPCC）. Thanks to their efforts， in August 2007 the Standing Committee of the NPC adopted an Employment Promotion Law， which came into force on January 1， 2008. The law forbids discrimination against carriers of infectious pathogens during recruitment.
Article 30 of the law states， “When an employer recruits， it shall not reject applicants on the pretext that he/she is a carrier of an infectious pathogen.” The edict， however， also articulates that a carrier of an infectious pathogen shall not take up the kind of job that may easily cause the disease to spread. Such positions are specified by laws， administrative regulations and by the health administrations under the State Council.
While the above laws and regulations address HBV-related discrimination during job recruitment， they neglected such discrimination in education.
In 2009， when Lei， then a college senior， applied for postgraduate programs， he was rejected after a test revealed he was HBV-positive.
That year， Lei submitted a proposal on eliminating discrimination against HBV carriers in higher education to CPPCC member Hu Xusheng， who brought the issue to the conference.
In February 2010， three government departments including the Ministry of Education ordered the HBV test to be excluded from physical examinations for school admission.
Nonetheless， these regulations have been brushed aside by some employers and schools， who still require HBV tests during recruitment and admission.
After finishing his undergraduate studies， Lei stayed out of school for one year and spent most of his time fighting HBV-related discrimination.
He conducted a campaign to inform the general public about the disease and expose both companies mandating illegal tests and medical institutions that conducted HBV tests in violation of government regulations.
One blatant case of rule violation he reported prompted the Ministry of Health to issue a notice on further regulating HBV tests on January 30， 2011.
In addition to fighting discrimination against HBV carriers， Lei also pays attention to other issues of public concern， such as greater transparency in public spending.
He has written to 20 universities including Peking University and Tsinghua University， requesting them to publicize their expenditure on public receptions， vehicles and overseas trips. He has heard back from some of the universities.
Lei has also opened a micro-blog account， which now has 120，000 followers. Netizens tell him about problems they encounter， and Lei looks to find solutions.
He believes seeking help from NPC deputies is an effective way to push for solutions. “Efforts made in the past few years have definitely brought about change，” Lei said.
Lei says many things should be done to increase the public’s participation in politics. For instance， the contact information of NPC deputies should be publicized so that more people can talk to them about problems.
A Good Listener
One NPC deputy to whom Lei has turned for help is Xie. Xie says he reads and replies to almost all the emails he receives from the public， and those from Lei in particular had spurred him to action.
Xie is interested in a wide range of topics of public concern， such as medical care and assistance to migrant workers suffering from black lung disease， and a relief fund for parents who have lost their only child. Both issues were brought up in his motions to this year’s NPC session.
Xie was also a deputy to the 11th NPC from March 2008 to March 2013. Many motions he put forward during the period were related to the pharmaceutical industry – he reasoned that he is more able to identify problems and find solutions in an industry with which he is familiar.
After being elected a deputy to the 12th NPC， his interests have broadened.
As owner of LBX Pharmacy， Xie takes advantage of the company’s pharmaceutical chain stores in more than 100 cities across the country to gather public opinions.
In the meantime， he also surfs the Web to learn about hot topics and solicits public opinions through e-mails， micro-blogs and Weixin （WeChat）， an instant voice and text messaging system launched by Tencent Inc.
He and his team also held “public hearings” to select issues to be covered in motions to the NPC. They distributed questionnaires to gather public feedback on the issues and consulted experts.
In the past five years， Xie has put forward more than 50 motions and proposals to the 11th NPC. About a dozen have been adopted so far， and a number of others are being processed.
“I prepare every motion carefully. Most organizations commissioned to handle issues covered in the motions are serious about them. But some aren’t – and the results are lackluster，” Xie said.
“If we’re unhappy with an organization’s work on the motions， we give them an ‘unsatisfactory’ rating， which should pressure them into straightening up immediately，” said Xie. He added that no NPC deputy should shy away from expressing dissatisfaction.
Xie says perseverance is an important and necessary quality for NPC deputies. “I would never expect a problem to be solved through one meeting or one motion. But as long as deputies persist in raising issues at the national gatherings and demand action， problems will be solved sooner or later.”
For instance， Xie has submitted a motion to amend the Drug Administration Law three times. To the best of Xie’s knowledge， the law has now been “lined up” for amendment， behind several other legislative items.
“China’s legal system is yet to reach full maturity， so there are many amendments deemed more pressing for the time being，” he admitted.
Xie said that he has talked to deputies from all walks of life， and arrived at the conclusion that in recent years the government has been paying more attention to their motions.
“The NPC system suits China very well， yet this system should be constantly improved to bring maximum benefits to the country’s 1.3 billion people，” Xie said.
He said that although a small number of deputies have not put much effort into preparing motions， he believed such deputies would find themselves out of the game as the NPC becomes more transparent.
Bridging the Divide
Jiang Jian， president of Qufu Red Cross Hospital in Shandong Province， is another model NPC deputy.
Jiang， already in her 70s， is still active on the frontline of medical service. In recent years， she has given lectures on traditional Chinese medicine to many foreign guests， some of whom have asked her， “Now that you are a ‘congresswoman，’ why are you still working in a grassroots hospital？” In such cases， Jiang would tell them about the NPC and her own experiences as a deputy.
Jiang has served as an NPC deputy since 1988. In the past 25 years， she has put forward more than 1，100 motions and proposals on making and amending laws and promoting economic， political and cultural progress. Most of her motions have been adopted or referenced in the policy-making process.
This year， she has brought more than 60 motions and proposals to the NPC session， which include suggestions on making a budget law， social assistance law， a law on traditional Chinese medicine as well as other proposals on environment protection.
“Every year， I submit motions and proposals totaling hundreds of thousands words. Sometimes the word count runs up to 400，000-plus，” she said.
In the beginning， Jiang focused exclusively on education and health-related issues. Later， realizing that an NPC deputy should represent more than just the industry in which he or she works， she started to branch out to a wider range of issues.
Over more than two decades， she has submitted 140-plus motions and proposals on issues concerning agriculture， the countryside and farmers； another 56 on food safety， and 28 on the rural cooperative medical care system. After the rural cooperative medical care system was implemented， farmers in her precinct thanked her and told her about the changes brought about by the program.
To better learn about the people’s needs， every year Jiang visits rural communities and factories， talking to an average of nearly 4，000 people and recording findings in more than 80 notebooks. “Without doing the research， I wouldn’t dare draft a single motion，” she said.
Jiang believes that enthusiasm alone is not enough for an NPC deputy. He or she should have the capability to participate in discussion and management of state affairs.
In her eyes， the major function of the NPC is to enact and amend laws and oversee the work of the government. A study of law is indispensable. Every year， she reads several boxes of materials from courts， procuratorates and public security bureaus. In addition to studying these materials， she also seeks consultation from legal experts.
Her motions have contributed to the enactment of several laws， including the Law on the Red Cross Society of China promulgated and implemented in 1993， the Social Security Law and Labor Contract Law.
Jiang says she enjoys talking to people， especially when they’re frank in discussing their problems. She added： “As a matter of fact， a deputy is only a bridge between the people and the government. I just want to speak up for the people.”