The Fifth Plenary Session of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top advisory body, was opened on March 3.

Liu Yunlai, a veteran member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and vice chairman of the Jiangxi Provincial Committee of the CPPCC, has come to Beijing with 12 proposals and seven conference speech drafts. This is the 25th time he has come to attend the annual sessions of CPPCC and the National People's Congress (NPC), and the sense of seriousness and responsibility of the event was evident during the course of his interview with China.org.cn.

Liu was elected as an NPC deputy in 1983 and as a CPPCC member in 1993. In the last 25 years, he has submitted over 100 suggestions and proposals. In his hotel room, he had his new set of proposals laid out neatly on his bed, and he revealed that conference notes from previous sessions were in the drawers.

When asked if he felt tired, Liu smiled and said that while attending the annual conferences were more tiring than his daily routine in Jiangxi, he felt only honor and responsibility being here, whether as an NPC deputy or CPPCC member. This is what motivates him to spend several months a year identifying social issues and compiling public opinion on these issues. He is hopeful that his motions, proposals, speeches, and inspection and research results are regarded as useful references that the government could use "to make correct and scientific decisions".

He added that it is commonplace for him to review the annual Government Work Report at least five times. He is usually so keen to read the report that he finds it difficult to sleep on the eve of each year's opening session. Leading by example, Liu believes he illustrates the concept that "CPPCC members should make full use of the people-granted opportunity to participate in politics, perform their functions, and give counsel, never dishonoring one's mission."

Describing some of his more successful proposals, Liu was one of the proponents of the establishment of Teachers' Day 25 years ago when he first came to Beijing as an NPC deputy. The government approved the proposal two years later. Liu was also a strong proponent of the Compulsory Education Law motion, which was put forward during the second session of the Sixth NPC in 1984. That proposal has since been made law.

What he considers to be his most significant proposal, however, was that which calls for the inclusion of juvenile criminals to the national compulsory education system. He has been backing this proposal for the last 15 years. It has not been accepted or approved because of the complexity of the issue, which would entail the participation of many government departments.

Nonetheless, he resubmitted the proposal to the annual session of the CPPCC Jiangxi Provincial Committee in 2004 and, in addition, has started doing something about it himself. He established a school in the Jiangxi Juvenile Correctional Facility, a first anywhere in China.

Liu said he's still the honorary president of the school, and representatives from juvenile correctional facilities around China regularly visit the school to learn more about what they do.

Another highly satisfying aspect of his life is his daughter, Liu Sanqiu, who has also came to Beijing as a deputy to the NPC.

Always a diligent student, Liu Sanqiu obtained her degree from a regular university and by the time she was 34, had worked her way up to a professorship at Nanchang University. She was later promoted to PhD tutor and vice president of the university. She is currently the deputy director of the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Jiangxi Provincial Committee.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Rui, March 7, 2007)