Last week, I interviewed Chen Jingyu, a leading lung transplant surgeon and legislator from Jiangsu province who is in Beijing for the annual two sessions. I wrote a story about how he has continued to perform operations during his stay in the capital.
The next day, when the story was published, he told me with excitement that the world's top lung transplant experts had read it and suggested he share the article with Western colleagues at international conferences to show the great progress China has made in this field.
When I read his message, I thought "Wow!" As a journalist, I was filled with joy to know my work had helped increase a person's "sense of gain", a concept introduced by President Xi Jinping in 2015.
A similar "wow" moment came on March 5, when Premier Li Keqiang announced while delivering the Government Work Report that long-distance and roaming phone charges would be canceled this year.
I was on the third floor of the auditorium in the Great Hall of the People and could clearly hear the response from the more than 5,000 NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members, which lingered in the air long after the initial burst of applause faded out. Such exclamations of pleasure are rare in a hall traditionally known for its solemnity.
For the deputies, many of whom had traveled from different parts of the country to attend the legislative session, this could be the last year they will need to pay high fees to call loved ones back home. The enthusiastic response came from the bottom of people's hearts, as the government's decision will increase people's sense of gain.
To some extent, my work is similar to the premier's. His task is to increase the entire nation's sense of gain, while my job is to increase a reader's or interviewee's sense of gain.
Increasing people's sense of gain has been a key phrase for governments at all levels in recent years. While presenting the report, Li said on average 35,000 people a day found jobs last year. Tien Puk-sun, a deputy from Hong Kong, said some European nations may marvel at that daily figure, as it is equivalent to the number of jobs their governments can create in a year.
However, there are still many issues ahead that the central leadership must conquer to increase people's sense of gain in China, a growing power on the world stage.
In Shanghai, where I am from, people want to have easier access to imported food products and cosmetics. But in a remote village, people may be eager for their children to have a school with better facilities.
I hope to see the Government Work Report make people go "wow" again in the coming years.
