More females in China's national legislature
This year's Two Sessions are witnessing a change as more younger and more female deputies can be seen at CHINA's National People's Congress (NPC).
Born in July, 1995, Xu Ping is the youngest deputy among the 2975 deputies of CHINA's National People's Congress (NPC) who came to Beijing for the ongoing Two Sessions.
The 24-year-old comes from Qingchuan County in Sichuan Province. When the devastating Wenchuan earthquake shook Sichuan, she was barely a teenager. But she quickly turned tragedy into triumph by setting out on a mission.
"I think the best character of this young generation is that we are full of youth, spirit and creativity. We see things from different angles and we generate diverse thoughts. So I believe the future is there for us as long as we work hard." said Xu Ping.
During the past year, she devoted her time and energy on helping lift women and children out of poverty. Her dedication and mission has made her one of the youngest deputies at the Great Hall.
"The reason I am here is that I pay a lot of attention to the rights of women and children. I want to use my own power and strength to solve more problems for them. We can speak more for ourselves. I believe it is a reflection of the development of our society," she said.
The NPC deputies are still overwhelmingly male and older, but changes are happening.
The proportion of female deputies has increased from around 20% to nearly 25% in the last 10 years. And when it comes to age, 18 of the 28 deputies born after the 1990s are female.
Xu Ping said her focus on this year's Two Sessions is on women and children's right, and she's eager to see more women engaged in CHINA's annual political season.