 |
|
REHANGUL YIMIR an NPC deputy from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region |
On Friday, I sat with President Xi Jinping and told him the things I really wanted to say. Surprisingly, I didn't feel nervous. Being an NPC deputy has given me the ability to identify and solve people's problems. It has also transformed me from a shy factory girl into a confident mother-to-be.
I was only 24 when I first attended the annual NPC session in Beijing. As a factory girl from southern Xinjiang, I was a little intimidated during meetings at the Great Hall of the People. I felt quite small among the other deputies, many of whom were officials and made suggestions about national issues.
I remember being so nervous when I had to deliver my first speech during a panel discussion of the Xinjiang delegation that I wanted to cry. But I could not be shy, because I needed to let my voice be heard - that's the point of the NPC.
In five years as a deputy, my suggestions have focused largely on employment and poverty alleviation, including a proposal that led to the construction of a textile factory in southern Xinjiang that will eventually employ 5,000 people.
This year, as a township official in Kashgar prefecture, I submitted a suggestion about vocational training in local communities. Many Kashgar residents cannot find work in factories and they have no skills, so they remain in poverty.
I am looking forward to receiving replies from the relevant departments. My previous suggestions have all received detailed replies, and I feel proud when I see them become law. I never knew I could be this powerful, but I know I need to put this power to good use.
My suggestions may not have an immediate effect at the macro level, but they are important. These are not things that have just popped into my head, but the result of much research. They are things the locals really need.
A lot has happened during the last five years - I graduated from a vocational school and got married, and will soon become a mother.
Last year, my husband and I bought a car, but I still remember that my family was so poor I almost married a man just because his family promised to buy us a bicycle. It was then that I knew I had to change my life, so I decided to work in a textile factory in Zhejiang province and take my destiny into my own hands.
If I met myself from five years ago, I would say: "Rehangul, relax and stop being nervous. All deputies are equally important."
If I am re-elected as a deputy, I will draft more suggestions about improving people's lives.
Rehangul Yimir spoke with Cui Jia.
