The Fourth Session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), opened in Beijing on March 5, as about 3,000 NPC deputies gathered from all over the country to raise suggestions and motions regarding the jobs of the Communist Party of China and the State, along with the enactment and modification of major laws. 

Elected by the people to represent their interests, NPC deputies from all walks of life remain true to the people's aspiration and work in concert with the people. They seize every opportunity to conduct surveys and research, and listen to the people's opinions, suggestions and voices. At the NPC annual session exemplifying democracy and the rule of law, deputies put forward motions and suggestions based on their findings and provide advice about the Work Report of the Government, the Work Report of the NPC Standing Committee and law modification motions, among others in line with the people's interests. Through them, the voices of the 1.4 billion Chinese people are heard in the Great Hall of the People. With opinions and suggestions proposed by deputies from various fields and industries, the reports and draft laws are constantly polished, refined and improved. They eventually become laws that protect the people's interest and reflect their concerns. 

We interviewed some NPC deputies and compiled the following messages about their motions and suggestions.   

NPC deputies suggest to alter drunk driving punishment

At the 2021 "two sessions," multiple National People's Congress (NPC) deputies proposed the modification of the punishment standard for drunk drivers. 

Drunk driving has ranked No. 1 in all criminal cases concluded since 2019. The Criminal Law was amended in 2011 to penalize drunk drivers due to the rising public pressure, said NPC deputy Han Deyun, and it has effectively curbed the dangerous crime that jeopardizes people's safety and property. But it has also gone a bit too far, with many drunk drivers who did not cause direct public harm receiving criminal punishment. 

Discussions concerning the punishment standard revision focused on increasing the limit of blood alcohol levels and adding more lenient punishment for drivers who plead guilty and accept penalties. 

Suggestions on tackling coronavirus variants submitted 

Zhang Boli, a deputy to the NPC and president of the Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, submitted suggestions to the NPC on the containment of COVID-19 variants, calling for the establishment of a national coronavirus strain bank. So far, at least eight new virus strains have been identified in 77 countries, with China detecting variants in multiple imported cases. Zhang noted that China has substantially curbed the spread of the virus, but with the change of temperature, the pressure rises for preventing the coronavirus from re-entering the country and causing a new epidemic. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a virus strain bank to better understand and fight COVID-19 variants. 

HK deputies voice support for improving the HKSAR's electoral system 

NPC deputies from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Chen Yong, Chen Xiaofeng and Chen Manqi voiced full support for improving the electoral system in the HKSAR. Chen Yong noted that legal means should be employed to ensure safe and proper future development of the Chinese people, including the 7.5 million Hong Kong residents. The electoral system should be changed to ensure that Hong Kong is administered by people who love the country, and the system should be conductive to protecting China's national sovereignty and security, according to Chen Xiaofeng and Chen Manqi. 

NPC deputies advocate modifications to China's sports law 

NPC deputies Wang Shiling and Gao Mingqin proposed the acceleration of the process of modification to the Law on Physical Culture and Sports at the NPC's annual session. The modifications aim to promote the national fitness campaign and physical education in school, as well as provisions about the sports industry and sports arbitration, according to the deputies. Enacted in 1995, the sports law has been revised twice before its latest proposed revision was incorporated into the top legislature's plan for legislation in 2018. The significant development of China's sports in recent years creates a solid foundation for the modification, which seeks to revamp the country's sports management system, Wang added.   

NPC deputy advances establishment of Yangtze River ecological court

You Quanrong, an NPC deputy and president of the Hubei Provincial Higher People's Court, suggested an ecological court be set up for the Yangtze River in central China's Wuhan of Hubei Province at the Fourth Session of the 13th NPC. The proposed ecological court seeks to ensure that the Yangtze River Protection  Law will be enforced uniformly throughout the basin and to provide legal guidance for the conservation of the river, according to You. The NPC Standing Committee passed the landmark law in December 2020 as the country's first legislation on a specific river basin. 

Weng Guoxing makes suggestions on medical development 

Weng Guoxing, a deputy to the NPC, urged the combination of medicine and engineering to advance medical development at the Fourth Session of the 13th NPC in Beijing. The cardiologist suggested that medicine will evolve as other disciplines advance and that platforms for such a combination should be set up in hospitals or universities. Weng explained that there are three major steps for the interdisciplinary development platform, namely increasing the investment in basic research, training talent and determining the specific direction of research.  

Ren Xianliang calls for enhancement of cyberspace governance 

The vice chairman of the NPC Social Development Affairs Committee, Ren Xianliang stressed the importance of promptly improving cyberspace governance and solving bottleneck problems. According to Ren, the former vice minister of the Cyberspace Administration of China, with nearly 1 billion netizens, China sees countless information generated and spread on the internet every day. Therefore cyberspace governance must be enhanced to prevent the internet from being fraught with rumors, fraud and traps. We should upgrade legislation on internet security, content management and digitalization, among other things, as well as speed up the introduction of laws and regulations on new technologies and clamp down on harmful information pursuant to the laws, Ren added. 

NPC deputy proposes mandatory security checks at hospitals 

Ding Lieming, an NPC deputy and chairman of a pharmaceutical company, submitted his suggestions on setting up mandatory security checks at hospitals to the Fourth Session of the 13th NPC. The suggestions come as China has seen a string of violent acts against doctors in recent years, which have fueled public anger. Ding explained that in most cases, the crime was premeditated, with instrument of crime prepared in advance. Therefore, security checks at the entrance of hospitals or key areas can help intercept dangerous objects that could cause harm in hospitals. 

Deputy submits suggestions on development of smart city 

NPC deputy Zhao Wanping submitted suggestions on the development of new smart cities to the Fourth Session of the 13th NPC. Since the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020, health QR codes and online supervision have served as a strong defense against the pandemic, demonstrating China's achievements in smart city construction. However, information isolated island, insufficient and unbalanced digitization development, along with other issues, were exposed in China's response to the pandemic. Zhao underlined the importance of accelerating commercialization of key technology findings like big data and artificial intelligence to tackle the problems of developing smart cities. 

(National People's Congress 2021 ISSUE 1)