国内英语新闻:Chinese lawmakers file 522 motions at annual parliamentary session

BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese lawmakers have filed about 522 motions to the secretariat of the third session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC), an official said Tuesday.

According to Guo Zhenhua, an official with the secretariat of the session, the number is about 13 percent more than that of last session and 511 of them concerned legislation in various areas ranging from election procedure, court system, business to environmental protection.

Since NPC deputies first raised motions at the annual session in 1983, the number had increased sharply from 61 in that year to 1,374 in 2004. It has remained around 500 since 2005.

The deadline for submitting motions at this year's NPC session is midnight Tuesday.