Lawmaking body convenes annual meeting

Liu Xiaoyan (R), a lawmaker from Longhua District, is interviewed while registering for the annual session of Shenzhen’s legislature Thursday.Sun Yuchen

More than 490 lawmakers will gather for the annual session of the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress (MPC), the city’s legislature, which opens Friday and runs through Tuesday, to discuss hot issues concerning Shenzhen’s urban development and people’s livelihood.

From national strategies and urban development policies to social issues that relate to the citizens’ direct interests, the lawmakers’ proposals carry weight and present many focal points, aiming to chart a blueprint for the city’s development in 2019.

Lawmaker Li Jichao said he is very concerned about the optimization of the business environment in Shenzhen. According to Li, Shenzhen plays a pivotal role and bears great responsibility in the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

“Now, the city has to be fully prepared. I think a good business environment for enterprises is of paramount significance and more funds should be provided to support the development of enterprises, in order to create more advantages for them and improve their overall competitiveness,” Li told Shenzhen Daily as he registered for the meeting at the Civic Center on Thursday.

Lawmaker Zhang Yongqing expects the government to consolidate support for small and medium-sized enterprises. “I hope the government will roll out more preferential policies for SMEs and help them grow into large-scale enterprises like Huawei and BYD.”

Other issues, such as food safety, environmental protection, medical resources, education and talent introduction, also top the deputies’ agenda.

According to Zhang Xiaoli, another lawmaker, food safety knowledge should be written into the textbooks of the city’s primary, junior and senior high schools in order to raise children’s awareness of eating safe and reliable food at a young age.

“As an international metropolis, Shenzhen should pay attention to the promotion of international schools and nongovernment- funded education. In addition, excellent traditional culture should be introduced to the campus so that more primary and secondary school students gain a better understanding of traditional Chinese culture,” said lawmaker Yang Rui.

At the five-day meeting, Mayor Chen Rugui will deliver a government work report and MPC deputies will review the government work report and reports by the local court, procuratorate and the Standing Committee of the MPC, as well as the city’s planned budget report.

Apart from 39 local residents, 11 Hong Kong young people have been invited to attend the meeting as observers for the first time in the city legislature’s history.