三月看两会：让梦想照进现实

　　Turning two sessions proposals into reality can be a long but rewarding process, report He Na and Peng Yining in Beijing.

　　For four years, He Youlin, an educator and deputy to the National People's Congress, repeatedly proposed the relaxation of China's family planning policy.

　　Although the proposal was rejected on several occasions, he continued to raise the issue andeventually achieved his goal.

　　"I just did what an NPC deputy should do, but I received more support and trust than I everexpected," he said.

　　As the two sessions, the annual meetings of the NPC and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, open this week, such proposals have come under the spotlight once again.

　　Reform of various aspects of national policy, including family planning, re-education through labor, and medical security, was originally proposed by members of China's largest decision-making bodies.

　　During the past decade, suggestions and recommendations from deputies have become the driving force behind China's political and economic change.

　　He, principal of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Middle School in Zhongshan, Guangdong province, said turning a proposal into reality isn't an easy or straightforward task.

　　For the first two years of the campaign, his was a lone voice among the deputies.

　　His proposal failed to attract the attention of government departments, and he didn't receive areply. At one point, he was approached with a suggestion that he should shelve his proposal tosave time for more worthwhile endeavors.

　　"Of course, I didn't give up because I knew my proposal was based on facts. I learned about the struggles people faced and the real problems caused by the strict family planning policy during the past three decades. Also, the people I had interviewed were waiting for good news," He said. "The situation improved in the following two years when the National Health and Family Planning Commission dispatched staff to meet me and explain its point of view."

　　He's tireless efforts and perseverance, in tandem with a small number of NPC deputies andmembers of the CPPCC, paid off. In November, the CPC leadership decided to relax the familyplanning policy nationwide. The reform stated that if one member of a couple is an only child,they will be allowed to have a second child.

　　"I consider the committee's change of attitude to be a huge step forward. I'll continue to handin family planning-related proposals this year, because although the policy has been relaxed, inmy opinion the moves don't go far enough. I will call for all limits on the size of families to bethe removed to help relieve the rising problem of labor shortages," He said.

　　The family planning proposal isn't his only success. Some of his other proposals have alsobeen adopted, such as greater financial input in elementary education.

　　"I am a deputy from the grassroots, so what I say during the two sessions should represent the people, so their voices can be heard. The road to seeing a printed proposal become areality is a bumpy one, but I will continue to travel it. It's rewarding to see people's livesimproving and to know that I have played a part in that improvement," he said.

　　Social progress

　　Xie Chuntao, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, said the motions proposed by NPC deputies and CPPCC members have an obvious effect on the development of social progress and improvements in people's welfare.

　　He said deputies and members devote alot of time and energy every year to visiting people to collect suggestions for proposals and become fully conversant with the problems they face. Once a deputy's round of visits has been concluded, they conduct research and consult the data to compose practical reports that will ensure extensive discussion of hot issues during the two sessions.

　　When formulated, the proposals are sent to the relevant government departments, which are obliged to reply to the deputies and members within a certain period.

　　"Proposals from deputies are the best way of lodging an appeal," said Sun Chunlong, founding director of the Longyue Charity Foundation, one of China's leading advocates of improved welfare for Kuomintang veterans of World War II.

　　Sun said his efforts to incorporate all surviving KMT veterans into China's social welfare network were in vain until he found an NPC deputy who was willing to propose the issue at the two sessions. "I tried everything, including sending letters to the government and making appeals via the media, but nothing worked," Sun said.

　　"Then an NPC deputy from Hong Kong read my story on Sina Weibo (China's Twitter-like social networking site) and said he wanted to help."

　　With Sun's help, Wang Mingang, a business tycoon and NPC deputy, drafted a proposal and presented it at the two sessions in 2013. The proposal was adopted and four months later, the Ministry of Civil Affairs announced that all surviving KMT veterans of World War II would beincorporated in the social welfare network, something that had been denied them before.

　　"Deputies have more power and influence than the average person and grassroots organizations," Sun said. His proposal gained widespread attention and at least five other deputies indicated their support by shelving similar motions. "When more deputies participate,the possibility of change increases," he said.

　　Because the new regulation is still thin on details, including the exact monthly allowance to be paid to each veteran, Sun will continue to lobby for amendments. "I will fly to Beijing during the two sessions and try to talk to more deputies about the issue," he said.

　　Last year, 99.8 percent of the 5,403 proposals submitted by CPPCC members garnered replies from the related government departments, according to a report published at a CPPCC meeting in February. While 24.2 percent of the proposals have been adopted, 61.7 percent are awaiting further processing. When proposals are not adopted, the departments have to explainthe decision to the deputies involved.

　　According to the NPC secretariat, the quality of the proposals from the 2,987 NPC deputies ishigh. With its relevance to and influence on all the major social aspects of daily life, including people's livelihoods and measures to eliminate corruption, the proposal system has bolstered the powers of the NPC.

　　To ensure that the opinions of different ethnic groups are heard, each of the country's 55 ethnic groups has at least one representative at the meetings. There are 409 deputies from these groups, accounting for 13.69 percent of the total number of delegates, while female deputies account for 23.4 percent and workers and peasants for 13.42 percent. Male Han Chinese representatives account for the remainder.

　　Celebrity deputies

　　"We need to admit that some people question the effect of the deputies and members' involvement in the management of the country," said Xie from the Party school. "I think that's because a large number of people are unfamiliar with the way the NPC and CPPCC work.Also, some of the media reports on the sessions focus heavily on celebrity deputies andmembers. That results in the voices of grassroots deputies and members not being heard."

　　Moreover, a very small number of deputies and members use the sessions for their own ends, according to Xie, who urged greater supervision of the deputies and members to ensure that they have correctly discharged their duties. He said the number of deputies and members fromthe grassroots should rise.

　　He, the middle school president, agreed, saying: "Some deputies are only interested in theirown ambitions and problems, not those of the people. I know a NPC deputy who is the chairman of a business. Instead of handing in proposals about hot social issues, he mainlypromotes and talks about his business and its products during the meetings."

　　Chen Gong, a CPPCC member from Beijing, said she collects more than 200 opinions everyyear as a member of the Beijing Dongcheng district committee of the China National Democratic Construction Association, a group mainly composed of people from the world ofcommerce.

　　Chen said all the issues people raise with her, ranging from drain-cover management to foreign policy initiatives, will be sent to the relevant government departments. In her experience, 30 to 50 percent of them are noted or adopted every year, such as her 2012 proposal about the development of Beijing's culture industry, which was adopted and overseen directly by themayor.

　　Chen said she spends a lot of time talking with those she represents and conducting research before drafting each proposal.

　　"I know that my proposals can make a real difference, and so I have to be responsible forthem," she said. "I am a representative of the people, and speaking on their behalf is what I do."

　　让两会的提案照入现实的过程虽然漫长，但定会收获丰硕的果实。

　　教育工作者贺优琳是一名人大代表。整整四年了，每次的人大会议上，他都大力提议放开计划生育政策。

　　虽然他的提案屡次遭拒，但是这份不变的坚持终于促成了国家“单独二孩”政策的出台。

　　他说：“我只不过是做了人大代表应做的事。我所得到的巨大的支持和信任，真的是远远超出了我的预期。”

　　而在今年两会上，类似的提案又一次成为了公众瞩目的焦点。

　　人大会议作为最高国家权力机关，掌握着国家重大问题决定权。很多涉及到包括计划生育、劳动教养及医疗安全在内的国家政策方面的改革，最初都是由人大代表们提出的。

　　在过去的十年里，来自人大代表们的提议和建议已经成为一股重要力量，推动着中国政治和经济的变革与发展。

　　贺优琳现任广东省中山市孙中山纪念中学校长，他说：“让一项提案成为现实，绝不是一件能一蹴而就的易事。”

　　在贺优琳宣传放开计划生育政策的头两年，几乎没有得到任何其他人大代表的支持。那时，他的声音是孤独的。

　　当时，他的提案总是得不到政府部门的重视与回应。甚至一度还有人建议他暂时搁置计划，腾出时间来做其他更有意义的提案。

　　“我当然没放弃，因为我知道我的提案是有理有据的。我很了解在过去三十年中，严格的计划生育政策给人们的生活带来的困难和问题。还有那些之前我做调查时采访过的人，他们一直都等着我的好消息呢。”贺优琳说，“不过我努力的后两年情况改善了不少，因为国家卫生计生委开始派人同我见面，并且向我解释他们对此事的看法。”

　　在贺优琳的带动下，一小部分大代表和政协委员也开始支持他的提案，终于，他们不倦的努力与坚持有了回报。去年11月，国家决定在全国范围内放开计划生育政策，实行“单独二孩”政策，这意味着，只要夫妻双方一人为独生子女，即可生二胎。

　　“我觉得卫生计生委对我的提案的态度转变是一步巨大的飞跃。今年的两会，我将会继续递交有关进一步放开计划生育政策的提案书，因为在我看来，虽然目前的政策已经有了松动，但放开力度还并不够。我会进一步说明，在当今劳动力短缺问题日益严重的情况下，因计划生育所减少的这部分人口将从哪些方面限制社会发展。”

　　然而，计划生育政策的放开并不是贺优琳的唯一值得骄傲的成果，他的其他一些提案也被采纳，比如，要求国家向小学教育注入更多资金。

　　他说：“我是一名来自普通大众的人大代表，所以我在两会上的发言，一定要代表老百姓的心声，这样，政府才能听见他们的诉求。把一纸提案变成实实在在的现实将是一段崎岖的旅程，但我会继续前行。看到人们的生活改善了，知道自己曾经为这改善做出了贡献，一切就都是值得的。”

　　代表们的努力推动社会进步

　　中共中央党校教授谢春涛认为，人大代表和政协委员提出的议案，对于促进社会进步、增进人民福祉有显著作用。

　　谢春涛说，人大代表和政协委员每年会投入很多的时间和精力与群众接触、交谈，为提案收集意见和建议，因此他们往往对很多社会问题了解深刻。在与群众交流之后，他们会通过调查研究、数据采集，撰写实践性很强的提案，用于两会期间深入地讨论这些社会热点问题。”

　　提案撰写完成后需要递送至相关的政府部门，他们将会在规定的时间内对人大代表或者政协委员的提案给出回复。

　　“人大代表的提案是提出上诉的最好的办法。”龙越慈善基金会理事长孙春龙说。他是在中国为国民党抗战老兵谋求社会保障和福利的领头人。

　　孙春龙说，他旨在将中国所有健在的国民党抗战老兵纳入社会保障的努力之前一直没有任何结果。他说：“我试了很多种方法，包括给政府写信，或者通过媒体上诉，不过这些方法都没有成功。”不过后来，在找到一位支持他的人大代表后，情况有了改变。这名代表愿意在两会上帮他提出这个议案。

　　“后来，一位来自香港的人大代表在新浪微博看到了我的事，说他愿意帮我。”孙春龙说。

　　在孙春龙的协助下，香港的巨商王明刚以人大代表的身份，起草了一份议案，并于2013年的两会递交。议案通过了!四个月后，民政部宣布，将原国民党抗战老兵纳入社会保障范围，虽然放在从前，这是老兵们所享受不到的权利。

　　孙春龙说：“相比普通老百姓或者是基层组织，人大代表有更大的权力和影响力。”有了人大代表的帮助，他的提案获得了广泛的关注，至少又有五名代表向他表示，他们愿意暂时搁置其他类似的提案全力支持他的这个。对此，他说：“参与的人大代表越多，改革的可能性就越大。”

　　由于目前的政策尚且粗糙，很多细节问题没有来得及处理，这就包括，给每名老兵的月津贴数额等等。宋春龙表示，他将继续努力，争取实现政策的完善。他说：“今年两会时，我会飞到北京去试着跟更多的人大代表谈谈这个问题。”

　　今年二月，一次政协会议发布报告显示：去年，在政协委员提交的共5403份议案中，99.8%的议案获得了有关政府部门的回复;这当中，又有24.2%的议案获得了通过，61.7%的议案等待进一步的处理。一旦议案未获通过，政府部门需要向该委员解释原因。

　　全国人大常委会委员长表示，人大代表提供的2971份议案的质量都很高，对社会生活的方方面面都有涉及或影响。从改善人名生活水平到消除腐败现象，这些议案十分有利地加强了人大的力量和作用。

　　为确保来自少数民族的意见也能够顺利传达，全国55个少数民族，每民族至少有一人作为人大代表出席会议。今年的两会，少数民族有409个，占到了总代表数的13.69%;女性代表占到了总数的23.4%;来自一线的工人、农民占到总数的13.42%。

　　“明星”代表与“草根”代表

　　“我们要承认，的确有一些人质疑人大代表和政协委员在国家管理当中的参与度和他们所发挥的作用。”中共中央党校教授谢春涛说，“我认为这会因为有相当一部分人不熟悉人大和政协的工作方式。而且，一些关于两会的媒体报道把“明星”人大代表和政协委员当成了焦点，因而无法展示来自基层的代表和委员诉求的传递。”

　　另外，谢春涛说，不排除有少数人大代表和政协委员在利用两会为自己谋求利益，因此，这就意味着代表和委员们也需要接受监督，确保他们正确履行职责。他还表示，来自应当提高来自基层的代表和委员的数量。

　　人大代表、中学校长贺优琳表示同意，他说：“一些代表关心的只是他们自己的利益诉求，不是人民群众的。我知道一个人大代表，他是一家公司的总裁。他的议案不是关于社会热点，反而在会议上为他的企业和产品做宣传。”

　　陈工是来自北京的一名政协委员，她说，作为中国民主建工会(主要构成人员来自商业界)北京市东城区的一员，自己每年都会收集200多条群众意见和建议。

　　陈工说，人们向她提出的所有问题，不管是地下井盖的管理，还是对于外交政策的提议，她都会提交给相关的政府部门。以她的经验，每年有30%-50%的建议会被认可或采纳。2012年，她递交的关于北京文化产业发展的提案就被政府接受了，并由市长亲自监管实施。

　　陈工说，她花了很时间同她所能代表的人们交谈，而且，在递交每份提案之前，都做了研究调查。

　　“我知道，我的这些提案对于改变社会问题有很大的作用，所以我一定要对它们负责。”她说，“我是人民的代表，替人民说话是我的职责。”