IT helps legislators perform tasks better

Yuan Haibo, third from right, a deputy to the National People's Congress, visits a farm in Qujing, Yunnan province, on Feb 23 to find jobs for farmers. [Photo/Xinhua]

Soon after presenting suggestions on strengthening wetland protection to China's top legislative body in March last year, Fu Yuhang was invited to join an online chat group.

The group updates information on how government bodies handle proposals made by Fu, a deputy to the National People's Congress.

The chatroom, which is similar to a WeChat group, not only includes NPC deputies such as Fu, but also has officials from the NPC Standing Committee and those in charge of environmental protection from government agencies and judicial authorities.

"Joining the group enabled me to read reports provided by officials to see whether the environmental problems mentioned in my proposal had been solved. I could also contact them to exchange ideas about an issue online or by phoning them," said Fu, who is also an environmental engineer from Sichuan province.

She said that compared with offline meetings, which involve travel costs, the chat group has greatly improved communication efficiency and contributed to deputies' work.

Submitting motions and suggestions to the NPC, the country's top legislature, is a major task for deputies, who are elected by the people to represent the public's interests.

At the upcoming annual sessions of the NPC and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's top political advisory body, NPC deputies and members of the CPPCC National Committee will submit more motions and proposals. They will also make suggestions and give their opinions on issues concerning the nation's social and economic development.

In recent years, new technologies have helped NPC deputies and members of the CPPCC National Committee improve their work.

In February last year, the NPC Standing Committee's General Office launched an information platform to put all the steps involved in handling motions and proposals on the internet, including submissions, communication and feedback.

Introducing such a platform — the initiative of Yang Zhenwu, secretary-general of the NPC Standing Committee — had been in the works for a long time.

Yang said at the launch ceremony for the platform, "We'd like to optimize technologies to offer deputies comprehensive, accurate, convenient and efficient services to perform their duty."