Local officials in Dongshan County of east China's Fujian Province said they were inspired by Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the Gu Wenchang Memorial Hall on Tuesday, and vowed to emulate Gu, a model Party secretary of the county who dedicated his life to alleviating poverty in Dongshan, once a barren, unproductive island.
Visiting the memorial hall during his inspection tour in Fujian, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, learned about the inspiring deeds of Gu, and urged officials to emulate his example in both personal conduct and governance, and work towards promoting local development during their time in office.
"General Secretary Xi inspected our memorial hall today. I told him about Gu Wenchang's life and the reforestation of Dongshan Island. I think every resident of Dongshan should remember the great changes Gu brought to this place," said Zhu Jiali, a docent of the memorial hall.
"Gu came to Dongshan Island in May 1950, when the place was ravaged by wind and sand, and the locals lived in misery, facing food shortages half the time each year. Secretary Gu attached great importance to combating desertification, and even vowed that 'If I cannot tame the sand, let it bury me'," said Liu Congjie, an associate professor of the Gu Wenchang Academy of Leadership.
"We have a photo of Gu with nine coastal sheoaks. After finding the suitable tree species, people planted 200,000 plants in Dongshan. However, an unexpected cold snap hit the island in the spring, causing the trees to wither. The only remaining nine plants were found in Baicheng Village. At that time, local people were discouraged, but Gu encouraged them, saying that if those nine plants could survive, locals can plant 900 plants, 90,000 plants, and will be able to green the whole island," said Zhang Dongling, curator of the memorial hall.
Under the leadership of Gu, great efforts were made to combat desertification, boost agricultural production, improve irrigation, and develop transportation infrastructure, converting the once-barren island into a thriving green oasis. His commitment to reshaping the county's landscape laid a solid foundation for its comprehensive development and earned him a lasting reputation among the people.
Recalled Xi's visit to the memorial hall, local officials said they were inspired by Xi to learn more from Gu and make more contribution to local governance.
"After General Secretary Xi visited the memorial hall, we trainees of the Gu Wenchang Academy of Leadership greeted him at the entrance. The General Secretary waved to us with a smile and asked about our programs and the academy. We told him that we had been emulating Gu and learning from his great spirit of wholeheartedly serving the people and his determination to combat desertification. He is an immortal monument in our hearts," said Chen Junjie, a cadre trainee of Gu Wenchang Academy of Leadership.
"General Secretary Xi said that officials should bring benefits to the areas they govern. How to use the deeds of Gu to educate Party members and cadres is what we should explore and implement in our future work. We should not only admire Gu, but also emulate him, so that cadres can, just like Gu, carry the Party, the people, the responsibilities and the rules in their minds," said Liu.
"As the secretary of Dongshan County's Party committee, I should not only bring practical benefits to local people now, but also make some efforts to lay a good foundation for future work that will benefit the place in the long run. We will learn from Gu's exemplary deeds, make the county a better place with solid work, and leave no resident behind on the road to common prosperity," said the county's Party chief He Ai.
Local officials inspired by Xi's visit to memorial hall, vow to emulate model official Gu
