Chen is also keeping a sharp eye on hot social issues and trying to dig deep for the causes behind the superficial.

Sun Zhigang, a 27-year-old designer who traveled to Guangzhou in search of work, was beaten to death when he was detained for failing to provide any residence permit or identification card in 2003.

The crime appalled the nation, revealing the abject conditions of China's migrant population. Chen believed the incident was triggered by improper administrative measures that had existed for a long time.

In 1982, the State Council issued a regulation to house and send home vagrants and beggars. The regulation aimed to provide temporary aid to the needy, but was misused by many local governments who turned it into public security methods targeting those peasants without urban residence permits.

Chen believed it was a chance for the government to redress the unscientific regulation, which impaired human rights and limited the normal flow of labor.

Chen proposed to the NPC the establishment of a taskforce to study the regulation on housing and sending home vagrants and beggars. The State Council later recalled the regulation.

"If you liken judicial work to a production line, then we are feeding violent conflicts at the beginning and producing harmonious relations represented by justice and fairness at the end," Chen explained.

Understanding China's unique conditions

Understanding China's unique conditions is an important part for Chen's work as a deputy to the NPC.

"China has thousands of years of civilization. It's too complicated. The historical cultural deposits sometimes are our strengths and sometimes our burden," Chen said.

"We can only build democracy and ruling by law based on China's unique reality instead of being totally idealistic or theoretical, " Chen said.