8 Facepalm-worthy Lines from a Member of China’s Congress

Meet peasant representative Shen Jilan, a living example of how China’s version of a parliament really works.
8 Facepalm-worthy Lines from a Member of China’s Congress
Caption: Shen Jilan arrives for the opening session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 5, 2013. Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images
Larry Ong
Journalist
|Updated:

Shen Jilan, China’s longest serving parliamentary representative, always votes “aye” at annual sessions of China’s congress.

“To be a people’s representative is to listen to the Party,” Shen told state media in 2010. “I have never cast a ‘no’ vote.”

The 85-year-old grandmother has been a Shanxi province peasant delegate since the very first session of the National People’s Congress in 1954. The NPC is the largely ceremonial Communist Party-controlled congress that vets and passes laws. During her tenure, Shen has always raised her hand—or pressed the green button when voting went digital—in support of all motions that the legislature has tabled.

To be a people's representative is to listen to the Party.
Shen Jilan
Larry Ong
Larry Ong
Journalist
Larry Ong is a New York-based journalist with Epoch Times. He writes about China and Hong Kong. He is also a graduate of the National University of Singapore, where he read history.
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