Soon after presenting suggestions on strengthening wetland protection to China's top legislative body in March last year, Fu Yuhang was invited to join an online chat group.

The group updates information on how government bodies handle proposals made by Fu, a deputy to the National People's Congress.

The chatroom, which is similar to a WeChat group, not only includes NPC deputies such as Fu, but also has officials from the NPC Standing Committee and those in charge of environmental protection from government agencies and judicial authorities.

"Joining the group enabled me to read reports provided by officials to see whether the environmental problems mentioned in my proposal had been solved. I could also contact them to exchange ideas about an issue online or by phoning them," said Fu, who is also an environmental engineer from Sichuan province.

She said that compared with offline meetings, which involve travel costs, the chat group has greatly improved communication efficiency and contributed to deputies' work.

Submitting motions and suggestions to the NPC, the country's top legislature, is a major task for deputies, who are elected by the people to represent the public's interests.

At the upcoming annual sessions of the NPC and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's top political advisory body, NPC deputies and members of the CPPCC National Committee will submit more motions and proposals. They will also make suggestions and give their opinions on issues concerning the nation's social and economic development.

In recent years, new technologies have helped NPC deputies and members of the CPPCC National Committee improve their work.

In February last year, the NPC Standing Committee's General Office launched an information platform to put all the steps involved in handling motions and proposals on the internet, including submissions, communication and feedback.

Introducing such a platform - the initiative of Yang Zhenwu, secretary-general of the NPC Standing Committee - had been in the works for a long time.

Yang said at the launch ceremony for the platform, "We'd like to optimize technologies to offer deputies comprehensive, accurate, convenient and efficient services to perform their duty."

The NPC Standing Committee quickly set up online chat groups to tackle proposals presented by deputies to the 13th NPC during the fifth session of the Congress in March last year. Other measures, including video calls and video conferences, were also introduced to increase communication with deputies.

In addition to joining the online group, Fu attended seminars via video link several times from 2018 to 2022 - her five-year term as a deputy to the 13th NPC.

"All these online methods meant I could perform my work more efficiently, especially during the COVID-19 epidemic," Fu said.

Official data show that deputies to the 13th NPC submitted 9,203 suggestions during its fifth session, mainly covering technology, education, healthcare, development plans and social affairs.

To ensure deputies could track the entire process involved in handling their advice, the NPC Standing Committee set up an online chat group for each proposal and invited government officials to take part in this work.

"In short, the deputies, including myself, were provided with a 'bridge' to directly contact those handling our proposals - accelerating our exchanges of information, and giving us more time for further research and to offer new advice," Fu said.

Li Zongsheng, another deputy to the 13th NPC and a lawyer from Liaoning province, said he has also benefited from such online groups.

"I could follow and be told which stage my suggestions had reached while I made my way from the law firm or court, which meant I could perform my duties as a deputy any time and anywhere," he said.

"Compared with carrying written documents to Beijing while attending annual sessions of the NPC and waiting for calls from its Standing Committee after the sessions closed, the online method is more efficient and convenient, helping us use the time saved to fulfill our duties."

Livestreaming applied

While deputies to the 13th NPC were encouraged to use the internet for their work during their five-year terms, technology also helped members of the 13th National Committee of the CPPCC give suggestions and attend activities.

Regarding the technology as a "valuable assistant", Fan Sheling, a member of the 13th CPPCC National Committee, who is well-versed on rural affairs, was invited to share during a livestream broadcast a survey he conducted on rural road construction. It was the first time he had taken part in a livestreaming session.

The 57-year-old political adviser used a tablet to conduct the session from a mountaintop in Shexian county, Hebei province, where he showed a winding mountain road behind him.

Several other advisers and government officials took part in the session at meeting rooms in Beijing and elsewhere via video link.

During the five-minute broadcast, Fan introduced the process involved in rebuilding roads washed away by flooding in 2016, and his suggestions on improving the rural road management system. A number of political advisers also joined the broadcast from other areas of the country.

CPPCC members nationwide logged on to the livestreaming platform and sent messages to voice their ideas. Their advice was submitted to related departments for reference.

In addition to livestreaming, CPPCC members can now submit proposals via a smartphone app.

Fan, who has been elected a member of the 14th CPPCC National Committee, said he has already submitted five proposals via the app, including one on lowering the legal age for marriage, as part of efforts to address an aging society.

Zhang Yuezhuo, deputy director of the CPPCC National Committee's Secretary Bureau, said, "With these online methods, our activities are not restricted by time or location. For most members, this is a part-time job. They also have their own work to do, so they don't have enough time to meet offline."

Information skills have helped political advisers improve their work, Zhang said, adding that video consultations have also become an innovative way to expand participation by CPPCC members in various meetings and surveys.

"By using video links, more grassroots situations can be presented in detail to people in the meeting rooms, and these links also allow more political advisers from various areas and even the public to join the discussion," he added.

Data show the CPPCC has held 17 discussions via video link in the past five years, enabling political advisers to join the meetings via their computers or mobile phones. It also used video technology for about 350 activities during this period, with 211 of these events taking place last year.

Online meetings have also been introduced for NPC deputies.

Over the past five years, Fang Lan, vice-president of Shaanxi Normal University's Northwest Institute of Historical Environment and Socio-Economic Development and a deputy to 13th NPC, submitted five motions. They mainly covered Yellow River protection, food safety and carbon neutralization. Fang also put forward 24 proposals covering similar topics.

Before COVID-19 struck China in 2020, she visited rural areas to talk with villagers and conduct surveys, but Fang said the frequency of her field visits declined in the past three years.

"I tried my best to conduct research in Shaanxi and contact enterprises and residents by phone to understand their situation, even though it was sometimes difficult to travel to meetings due to the epidemic," she said.

To her surprise, the NPC Standing Committee quickly put many of its activities online.

On Aug 22, Fang attended an online seminar on carbon neutralization with other national legislators after they submitted related motions. During the meeting, officials from the NPC's Environmental Protection and Resource Conservation Committee explained to the deputies how their motions are tackled, and shared ideas about the carbon issue with them.

Fang said she has taken part in several online seminars organized by the NPC Standing Committee.

"Even conferences were held via video link, and the quality of the meetings was fully guaranteed with the inclusion of solid content and strict procedures," she said.

Fang added that before an online meeting was held, she usually received a text message from the NPC Standing Committee, which included the conference time and the online room number.

"I was also told to fully prepare material and summarize the main points of my proposals to ensure I expressed myself accurately and efficiently during the online session. In short, every participant must take going online seriously," she said.

Fang added that she expects the top legislature to continue using online methods and offline surveys to help new deputies better perform their duties and play a bigger role in serving the people and submitting high-quality motions and proposals.