Liu puts best foot forward to help needy

Liu Li's job as a foot masseuse may seem a lowly calling to some, but she says it not only provides her with food and clothing, but also keeps her in touch with the kind of people she represents as a National People's Congress deputy.

The farmer's daughter from Anhui province struggled from an early age to make her way in life, and this makes her an ideal advocate for the disadvantaged at the congress's annual session.

Liu, 34, the eldest of five children, was forced to drop out of primary school when she was 14.