BEIJING - She has been a farmer for her whole life. She is also a lifetime national lawmaker.
Shen Jilan stands out among nearly 3,000 National People's Congress (NPC) deputies as the only one to serve at all previous 12 NPCs since 1954. She started out at 25 and turns 89 this December.
According to China's Electoral Law, all citizens aged 18 or above are eligible to be NPC deputies. There are no upper limits. Shen has been elected to the congress 13 times in a row.
She believes herself lucky as she lives long enough to witness China's marching towards a moderately prosperous society by 2020. Most people of her generation are not so fortunate.
Shen is from a remote village in the mountains of Taihang, a revolutionary base of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in North China's Shanxi province.
It was she who proposed the clause on "equal pay for equal work" between men and women, which was written into the first Constitution of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1954.
The ongoing first session of the 13th NPC on Sunday adopted a constitutional amendment, the fifth revision since the current Constitution was formulated in 1982. The latest amendment incorporates major theoretical achievements, principles and policies adopted at the 19th CPC National Congress, particularly Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.
"The revision, a huge state affair to adapt the fundamental law for the new era, has come through the demands of development and the people," Shen told Xinhua.
During an NPC session, deputies submit proposals and suggestions as well as review and vote on legal documents and personnel changes.
