Zhang Jinhai, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress and an employee at the Wetland City Construction Promotion Center in Dongying city, East China's Shandong province. [Photo/by Zhang Xiaopeng]

Zhang Jinhai, an employee at the Wetland City Construction Promotion Center in Dongying city, East China’s Shandong province, has embarked on a new journey to perform his duties as a re-elected deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC).

"I feel immensely honored and proud to be re-elected an NPC deputy, and the responsibility on my shoulders is heavier than ever," said Zhang, who has worked as a sanitation worker for 30 years.

Having grown up by the Yellow River, Zhang became a sanitation worker after retiring from active military service in 1993. He was elected a deputy to the 13th NPC in 2018. Since then and based on his own daily work, Zhang has earnestly performed his duties as an NPC deputy through conducting surveys and giving lectures in local communities, villages, enterprises and institutions, with rich results.

In the past five years, Zhang has submitted 51 suggestions in total, participated in 67 symposiums and law enforcement inspections and 86 on-site surveys. He has also given 18 deliberative speeches, 32 public lectures and received 65 press interviews.

As a grassroots NPC deputy engaged in wetland city construction and environmental sanitation, Zhang said he has visited places such as the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve and the old path of the Diaokou River more than 20 times for field research, talked with relevant department officials and experts and put forward 31 proposals on ecological protection and the improvement of the local living environment.

In one proposal, Zhang wrote that he has found that over time, the sediment deposited at the mouth of the Diaokou River has raised the water level, resulting in adverse effects on the flood control of the lower reaches of the Yellow River. He suggested that the local government improve its comprehensive treatment of the old Diaokou River, and give full play to law-based ecological protection and the high-quality development of the Yellow River basin.

Zhang said that he felt great responsibility as a sanitation worker, after witnessing the adoption of a resolution on comprehensively strengthening ecological and environmental protection and promoting the fight against pollution at the fourth meeting of the 13th NPC Standing Committee.

“I exchanged ideas with other legislators at the meeting on promoting the construction of supporting facilities for all links in waste classification, and on accelerating the implementation of urban and rural domestic waste classification and treatment,” Zhang said.

He suggested that cities at or above the prefecture level upgrade their supporting facilities at the waste classification terminal link, including domestic waste incineration power plants, landfills, kitchen waste treatment plants, renewable resources disposal sites, hazardous waste comprehensive treatment plants, and construction waste disposal sites, to make sure all the classified wastes are properly disposed of.

Zhang has also actively participated in compiling an implementation plan for the urban domestic waste classification system in Shandong province.

Entering a new term of duty as an NPC deputy this year, Zhang said he has made a new proposal to standardize and strengthen property management in residential areas to address such issues as inadequate services, as well as dirty and disorderly residential environments.

 “Property management is directly related to people's happiness,” said the NPC deputy. He said he will continue to closely focus his attention on people's concerns and shoulder the mission of speaking for the people.