Dou Yanli, a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), attends the annual NPC session in Beijing. [Photo/npc.gov.cn]

Dou Yanli, a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), has been an active supporter of mental health education in schools.

Dou, vice-principal of the Experimental Middle School in Liaocheng city, East China's Shandong province, devoted herself to teaching after joining the school faculty in 1997. One year later, she was diagnosed with systemic sclerosis, an autoimmune disorder, and told she would have an estimated life expectancy of 10 years.

Facing the challenge, Dou, who is by nature open-minded and optimistic, decided to live a meaningful life each day and help students build resilience, a commitment that has never wavered.

After she was elected as an NPC deputy in 2018, she has spared no efforts to speak out for the people. She has submitted over 20 suggestions and motions, focusing on topics such as incorporating mental health courses into the compulsory education curriculum and raising teachers’ salaries.

In 2020, as a member of the Liaocheng Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, she launched a program to offer mental health services through various events and targeted interventions, which were welcomed by students and parents.

In addition to educational concerns, Dou also called for efforts to curb telecom and online fraud in a suggestion proposed at the fourth session of the 13th NPC last year. Her motion included building anti-fraud centers, improving public awareness of fraud prevention and strengthening multi-department coordination to crack down on scams.

About 40,000 people involved in telecom and internet fraud cases were prosecuted nationwide, and more than 2,000 public interest litigation cases of personal information protection were handled in 2021. In recognizing such progress, Dou said she hopes schools can also help students become aware of such scams in their daily life and learn more about related laws and regulations. 

Dou Yanli (C) and other deputies to the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) attend the annual NPC session in Beijing. [Photo/npc.gov.cn]

Dou Yanli talks with students about mental health. [Photo/npc.gov.cn]