For those attending the annual NPC & CPPCC sessions, each day is busy but meaningful. We take a closer look at a day in the life of one NPC deputy.

Ma Linfeng is a deputy to the National People's Congress, and deputy director of the Standing Committee of Xinzhou Municipal People's Congress in Shanxi Province.

Ma Linfeng is a deputy to the National People's Congress, and deputy director of the Standing Committee of Xinzhou Municipal People's Congress in Shanxi Province. [China.org.cn]

Immediately after the opening ceremony of the Nation People's Congress session on March 5, she set about amending the proposals she had prepared in detail before coming to Beijing, in line with Premier Wen Jiabao's government work report. She spent her lunch break calling government officials and ordinary citizens to ask them what issues they were most concerned about, and what were their top priorities.

She didn't say how many people she had spoken to by phone. "It's not a small number, but I won't tell you. Otherwise, I might seem to be boasting. I'm just carrying out my responsibilities as an NPC deputy."

Deputies attach great importance to group discussions, where they get the chance to exchange views and opinions with their colleagues. Ma always arrives for discussion meetings ten minutes early. She is not normally disturbed by photographers and journalists and spends her time recording the important points of the discussion. "I listen to the discussions and refer back to the corresponding sections in the government work report. It's a great way to study the work report."

Before lunch, Ma spends time talking to other deputies about the work report. "Premier Wen's report is inspiring and we get quite animated talking about it," she said.

Although she has little free time, Ma takes every opportunity to study and learn. She watches the morning news on TV when she gets up. "There are always some evening activities arranged at the last minute, so I watch the news in the morning. I look out for the latest information about the sessions as well as what has been happening at home and abroad. This broadens my horizons and increases my knowledge."

Before International Women's Day, Ma attended several evening rehearsals for the celebrations. "Then I had to rush back to my room to amend my proposals. I didn't get to bed till 1 a.m."

(China.org.cn by Wang Wei, March 12, 2009)