Li, who has been serving as the director of the Chongqing TV Station since 1997, said, "I have been keenly aware of the heavy responsibility I am shouldering since I was elected as a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's legislature."

He said that the first issues he pays close attention is the reform of the governmental system. He noted that the absence of the reform would make it impossible to invigorate the state machine, would lead to corruption easily and increase people's financial burdens as well.

The second issue he pays great attention is to solve the problem of the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor while maintaining an appropriate economic growth rate.

Li said as a NPC deputy, what he has heard the most is how to ensure the impartiality of income distribution. "It is quite normal to have the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor in the primary phase of socialism in China," he said, adding that the government should prevent the gap from widening by using the macro-economic policy to exercise regulation. "Only this way will it be possible to ensure social stability and enable the entire people to see the prospects of development and enjoy the tangible benefits brought by reforms," he said.

The third issue he pays close attention is the issue of agriculture and farmers. As a leading official working at the county level for a decade, He has a good understanding of grass-root units and farmers. He said the problems calling for urgent solutions include farmers' excessively heavy financial burdens and insufficient inputs in the farming sector.

Li said that as a NPC deputy, he will give priority to these issues in discussing the government work report, air his views freely and cast his votes carefully.

(Xinhua News Agency March 1, 2003)