On the afternoon of March 5, 2023, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, took part in a deliberation with fellow lawmakers of the Jiangsu delegation during the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC). At the meeting, Wei Qiao, an NPC deputy who started her own business upon returning to her hometown in Jiangsu, shared her story as a "new farmer" in the new era. "We are currently cultivating over 20,000 mu (1,333.33 hectares) of rice, achieving a yield of 1,100 jin (550 kilograms) per mu. Through digital management, we have greatly improved labor efficiency and effectively boosted the incomes of farmers in the neighboring areas," Wei told Xi. During the session, Wei put forward the suggestion on implementing a support plan for new farmers to build up strength in agriculture, which was prioritized for handling by the NPC Standing Committee.

Wei was elected as an NPC deputy, participated in NPC sessions, deliberated reports, submitted her proposals, and saw them put into practice. This epitomizes how the country's nearly 3,000 NPC deputies faithfully perform their duties in accordance with the law and is a genuine representation of Chinese democracy characterized by its breadth, authenticity and effectiveness.

Democracy is a fundamental principle that the CPC and the Chinese people have steadfastly upheld, and people's democracy is a banner that the CPC has always held high. In September 1954, the first session of the first NPC was convened at the Huairen Hall in Zhongnanhai, Beijing. The first Constitution of the People's Republic of China, adopted at the session, stipulated that "All power in the People's Republic of China belongs to the people. The organs through which the people exercise State power are the National People's Congress and the local people's congresses at various levels," marking the nationwide establishment of the people's congress system, a new type of political system in which the people are the masters of the country. The people elect deputies to form the people's congresses, which exercise State power on behalf of the people.

The 1954 Constitution, the Organic Law of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China and the Organic Law of Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments of the People's Republic of China stipulate the duties of deputies to the people's congresses. In April 1992, the fifth session of the seventh NPC deliberated and adopted the Law on Deputies to the National People's Congress and to the Local People's Congresses at Various Levels, which comprehensively regulates the nature, status, rights and obligations of deputies; their work during sessions and activities between sessions; guarantees for their performance of duties; and oversight of deputies. As a fundamental law that guarantees and regulates the work of deputies to the people's congresses at all levels, it has undergone three amendments, in 2009, 2010 and 2015, with a fourth amendment currently in progress.

Entrusted with the important mission by the Party and the people, China's deputies to the people's congresses conscientiously fulfill their sacred duties with a high sense of responsibility. The current Law on Deputies to the National People's Congress and to the Local People's Congresses at Various Levels stipulates that the work of deputies during sessions of the people's congresses at their respective levels, as well as their activities during the intervals between sessions, all constitute the performance of their duties. Their work during sessions mainly includes participating in plenary sessions of the people's congresses, plenary meetings of delegations and group meetings to review motions and reports; submitting motions, inquiries and proposals of recall in accordance with the law; putting forward suggestions, criticisms and opinions on various aspects of work; and participating in various elections and voting procedures of the people's congresses. During the intervals between sessions, deputies conduct inspections and investigation and research on specific issues in accordance with arrangements, participate in law enforcement inspections, sit in meetings of the standing committees of the people's congresses at their respective levels and sit in meetings of the people's congresses and their standing committees of their original electoral units. The activities of deputies during the intervals between sessions are mainly collective activities, with group activities as the basic form. They listen to and reflect the opinions and demands of voters in their original constituencies or the original electoral units through various means.

Xi has emphasized that the key to the people's congress system's strong vitality and marked strengths is that it is deeply rooted in the people. Deputies to the people's congresses in China do not break away from their respective production and work and maintain close ties with the general public, which is an essential advantage of the system of people's congresses.

On May 16, 1955, the CPC Central Committee issued the Notice on the Inspection Work by Deputies to People's Congresses. Subsequently, on May 18, the 16th meeting of the Standing Committee of the first NPC adopted the Notice on the Inspection Work by Deputies to the National People's Congress, which proposed that, in preparation for the second session of the first NPC scheduled for July 1955, deputies are requested to "take time before June 20 to conduct inspections in the areas where they were elected, in their places of origin, or in other regions". This marked the inception of inspection work by NPC deputies.

In May 2005, the CPC Central Committee forwarded the Several Opinions of the Leading Party Members Group of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Further Enhancing the Role of NPC Deputies and Strengthening the Institutional Development of the NPC Standing Committee, which specified that deputies to the NPC should conduct centralized inspection tours at the end of each year and investigation and research on specific issues during the middle of each year. In September of the same year, the NPC Standing Committee organized the first investigation and research on specific subjects for NPC deputies.

The CPC Central Committee has attached great importance to work related to deputies. Multiple Party congresses and plenary sessions of the Central Committee have made major decisions and put forward clear requirements regarding giving full play to the role of deputies and strengthening and improving deputy-related work. A series of important guiding documents have been issued, leading to more institutionalized and standardized practices for deputies in fulfilling their duties. The content and forms of their engagement with the people have also become more diverse.

Drawing upon their unique advantage of being elected from among and rooted in the people, deputies have actively participated in centralized inspection tours, thematic research, and activities of deputy groups. Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, approximately 21,000 NPC deputies have participated in investigation and research on specific issues, producing 1,267 reports. Deputies have taken the lead in publicizing and implementing major decisions and policies of the Party and the State, listening to and reflecting the aspirations and concerns of the people, and promoting problem-solving and policy improvements from the perspectives of law and institutional mechanisms, thus serving as a vital bridge linking the Party and the State with the general public.

Practice has demonstrated that the system of people's congresses conforms to China's national conditions and realities. Deputies to the people's congresses at all five levels, elected through democratic procedures, faithfully represent the interests and will of the people, exercise power for the people, serve the people, and subject to the people's supervision, effectively ensuring and realizing the people's position as masters of the country.

(Contributed by the Deputies Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress)