Pema Tso, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) from Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, poses for a photo in front of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing during her attendance at this year's annual two sessions. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Pema Tso, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) from Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, is committed to helping the world better understand China and the autonomous region and to further spreading the Chinese voice with her academic studies.

Pema Tso, an anthropological expert from the Institute of Ethnology at Tibet Academy of Social Sciences, said that she is obliged to follow a problem-oriented research approach in the fulfillment of her political obligations.

She noted that she has paid great attention to the lives of elderly people and closely followed the development of elder care services in local pastoral areas over the past few years. She added that conducting in-person research among grassroots people is of utmost importance to her.

Several years ago, Pema Tso spent several months with senior residents at an elder care center in Lhari county of Tibet's Nagqu city to collect first-hand materials for her anthropological studies. She found that many of the residents were there because their families had no time or energy to take care of them at home, and had concluded that an elder care center would be an ideal place for them to live a happy life in their old age.

Later, Pema Tso wrote her findings into a study paper. She emphasized that the country's institutional building of elder care services has become a concrete channel for elderly herdsmen to benefit from national development.

During a recent visit to the Department of Civil Affairs of Tibet, Pema Tso learned more about the autonomous region's efforts to further improve the lives of local herdsmen and other disadvantaged groups.

Pema Tso noted that she will continually take a down-to-earth attitude in her academic studies, closely participate in the publicity of national policies, acquire more knowledge about other disciplines, give full play to her professional knowledge in promoting exchanges between different cultures and civilizations, and present to the world a panoramic view of China and of Tibet.