DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Monday, July 26, 2021 | 7 CHINA Medal laureate touts his family’s spirit of service Li Hongta followed in the footsteps of his well-known relatives

By Hou Liqiang also a prominent figure. Li Baohua, the Academy of Social Scien- path to glory [email protected] whose given name is a homophone Path to glory ces who went on a business trip to of “protect China” in Mandarin, profile Beijing with Li Hongta after Li Bao- Gu Huijing uses a laptop to check a car’s condition at her school As head of the Civil Affairs headed Anhui’s CPC provincial com- hua was transferred to the capital. in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. provided to china daily Department of Anhui Province, Li mittee before he was promoted to The official thought his father Hongta rode his bicycle to work governor of the People’s Bank of Chi- would dispatch a car to receive the most of the time, although he had na in 1978. son. He was wrong. He and Li took a the option of using a government-is- Despite his father’s success, Li bus to their destination in Beijing. Teenage girl wins car sued vehicle due to his ranking. Hongta didn’t lead a privileged life. “It is impossible for us to use his car,” His name may sound strange to Just 19 days after Li Hongta was Li Hongta told the official. some Chinese people. His grandfa- born, he was sent to a nursery. He After working with the Hefei com- competition, crashes ther, however, is a widely known fig- only went back to his parents after mittee of the Chinese Communist ure not only in China, but also he was 6 years old. When he was 16, Youth League for about nine years, Li around the world. He is grandson of he joined the People’s Liberation Hongta was offered a chance to work , one of the founders of the Army, and later became a worker at at another provincial post. When he through stereotypes Communist Party of China. a chemical plant in Hefei, Anhui’s was consulted about which depart- Born in 1889, Li Dazhao was also capital, in 1969. ment he wanted to go to, he said he one of the leaders of the 1919 May A reporter with Guangzhou Daily, was willing to work with the civil By YE ZIZHEN in Beijing Fourth Movement, a patriotic cam- a newspaper in the capital of Guang- affairs department as it is a govern- and PEI PEI in Shenzhen paign against imperialism and feu- dong province, once asked Li Hong- ment body that “directly serves the dalism. In March 1920, Li Dazhao ta if his background had ever helped people”. When girls play with cars, Many people think and Chen Duxiu, another CPC him in his official career. According to the People’s Daily, Li they’re serious. vehicle maintenance co-founder, launched Marxism the- “No, my family would never even Hongta was made deputy head of the It was at primary school that Gu ory research institutes in Beijing think about helping me get promot- department in 1987. He was in charge Huijing first became interested in is a job for men. and . The institutes gradu- ed,” he answered, as seen in an of allotting residential units to auto-robots and cars after watch- That’s a stereotype. ally established contact with think- online transcript of the newspaper’s employees in the department. In total, ing some car-themed movies. ers in other regions and began interview with him in 2015. he allotted almost 200 units to work- Born in 2004 in Shenzhen, I don’t think gender planning the Party’s founding. In 1978, Li Hongta entered poli- ers. During his time there, though, he Guangdong province, Gu decided has anything to do Li Dazhao was executed after tics and became deputy secretary of never thought about making use of to major in automobiles when she being captured by a warlord in 1927. the Hefei committee of the Chinese the opportunity to improve his own was in junior high. with choice of As the Party celebrates its 100th Communist Youth League by win- living conditions. Back then, his fami- She’s driven by passion, but she occupation.” anniversary, Li Hongta was one of ning a multicandidate election. ly lived in an old apartment that was is also a realist. “I think the future the laureates of the July 1 Medal, the As a leading official, his father was only 50 square meters. of the automobile industry is Gu Huijing, winner of a vehicle highest honor of the Party conferred bright because we cannot live with- maintenance competition in often too busy to talk with him. He Li retired as head of the depart- Guangdong province to outstanding CPC members. But could hardly remember a family and ate. After learning what had hap- ment in 2008. Instead of enjoying out food, clothes, houses and vehi- he won the medal not because of his meeting that was not themed with pened, his father not only criticized retirement, however, he chose to join cles,” she said. grandfather. He got it for his exem- the revolutionary tradition. “He was him, but also returned the other bags the China Charity Federation, and In April, she won first prize at a vehicle maintenance competition plary role as an outstanding Party strict with us,” he recalled. to the sender, along with cash for rais- devoted himself to helping people provincial competition for vehicle became a trending topic on social member. One of Li Hongta’s most unforget- ins Li had eaten. living in poverty in central and west- maintenance in Dongguan city, media platform Sina Weibo, gener- Li Hongta was born in 1949, long table memories of his father hap- “My father told me that we only ern China. which drew 33 teams from differ- ating heated discussions over gen- after his grandfather was killed. pened in the 1960s, when Li Baohua have one privilege. That is to serve the “To make contributions to people ent cities across the province. der and career choices. However, he inherited the ideals of still worked in Anhui. Once, someone people,” he recalled. “As a Party mem- living in poverty in my remaining “I thought it couldn’t be that “Women should not be influ- the Party co-founder to be frugal sent several bags of raisins to his ber, we should not accept gifts for any years is something that makes me hard to repair cars when I started enced by old-fashioned thinking, and stay committed to the well- home as gift while his father was out. work we do.” happy. It’s also my duty as a veteran to take courses, but I was totally and should do whatever it takes to being of the Chinese people. Raisin was rare back then. A child A reporter with Anhui Daily once Party member,” he was quoted as wrong,” Gu said. discover their interests and Li Baohua, Li Hongta’s father, was at the time, Li opened one of the bags interviewed an unnamed official at saying by Anhui Daily. When she started learning in strengths. There are more possibil- 2019, she was frequently confused ities out there,” one commenter by the different parts, routes and wrote. nated in too, although circuit diagrams of automobiles. Gu said: “Many people think they will have to undergo a 14-day Apart from lessons in mathe- vehicle maintenance is a job for people vaccinated in Fuzhou quarantine and follow seven-day matics, English and Chinese, the men. That’s a stereotype. I don’t health monitoring. “It’s necessary course covers chassis mainte- think gender has anything to do By HU MEIDONG in Fuzhou because it’s about keeping people nance, engine reassembly, and cir- with choice of occupation.” and CHEN MEILING safe,” he said. cuit diagram recognition. “For me, When she told her parents that Besides the vaccination service, the most difficult part is reading she wanted to major in automo- Shih Hsiao-hsiao, a 25-year-old Shih helps Taiwan people with the circuit diagrams,” she said. biles, they were surprised. office worker in Fuzhou, pro- things like updating their permits, Preparation for the competition “They thought I was joking. But vince, has received about 30 to 50 getting telephone lines, bank cards, started two months after she they respected my decision and phone calls every day in recent and applying for social insurance entered the school. gave me advice: I should take months from Taiwan people who and driver's licenses. She said that “Competition within our school responsibility for my decisions, no want to be vaccinated against COV- people like to talk to her because she is intense, so I had to work hard to matter how hard things will be in ID-19. can understand their needs. stay in the running,” she said. the future,” she added. Shih, who is also from Taiwan, was After graduating from Jinan Uni- Though still a sophomore, she Gu is positive and energetic employed by online platform Tailu- versity in Guangdong province, was required to compete against when she speaks. In her spare time, tong last year. Shih chose to stay in the mainland seniors. she enjoys photography and play- On March 29, with support from because of the many perks offered to From 8 am to 5 pm, Gu had les- ing chess. the local government, the app young people from Taiwan, such as sons as usual. But at night, she Tangping or “lying flat” — a Chi- opened an online appointment housing and entrepreneurship sub- attended a training camp with nese youth trend about working channel for Taiwan people aged 18 sidies. about 30 students. less, or not at all — is becoming a and older who are in the mainland, Shih Hsiao-hsiao at her office in Fuzhou, Fujian province. provided to She was unable to return home Her teacher once tried to per- contemporary buzzword, but for to be vaccinated in Fuzhou. By July china daily during this year’s Spring Festival suade her to give up as she was a Gu, that’s not her way. 14, 823 Taiwan people had made an because of the outbreak. Together sophomore, wasn’t as knowledgea- “I have a goal and I will work appointment on the platform and with about 100 Taiwan people in ble as the seniors, and no women harder to make it happen,” she 318 had received their second dose. able to make an appointment one or eager to be vaccinated. One man Fuzhou, she joined in activities had ever been selected for the com- said. “I will be responsible for my “This service meets the urgent two workdays in advance and can even drove from Sanming (also in organized by the local government petition before. “But I insisted that choices.” needs of Taiwan compatriots. We get vaccinated at one of two hospi- Fujian) to Fuzhou on a workday including a cultural festival and I would carry on,” she said. Thanks to her outstanding per- are very thankful to be able to get tals in the city upon presenting a val- for his shot,” she said. making lanterns, to “feel the At 170 cm, even though she formance at the competition, Gu free vaccinations here,” she said. id certificate. The vaccines are from Huang Shou-kun, the owner of an warmth of home”. stands taller than many of her has already received an offer from Because of the epidemic on the Sinopharm or Sinovac, and two dos- art company in Fuzhou, got his inoc- “I have learned a lot studying and peers, she does not have the a college in Shenzhen. island, many Taiwan people on the es are needed. ulations through Tailutong in May working in the mainland, and I’m strength to move some of the heav- She said she wants to choose a Chinese mainland have postponed Shih and her colleagues provide and June. happy to have made many friends. I ier car parts. But her constant career related to automobiles in plans to return, and have shown great assistance through the process. He said that he was worried about hope to help more Taiwan residents training and hard work won her the future, but before that, she has interest in the vaccine, especially as They help people make appoint- the lack of vaccines in Taiwan and here live a good life,” she added. the only spot to represent her another mission to complete. the island currently faces a shortage ments, accompany them to the hoped that his family could come to school at the competition. “The first thing to do when I of supplies, she said, adding that Tai- hospital and call them after to find Fuzhou to get vaccinated, as well. Yang Jie in Fuzhou contributed to “My record for reassembling an turn 18 is to get a driver’s license. wan residents cannot register on out if they are experiencing any Chao Yen-pin, a student in Fu- this story. engine is 26 minutes, 30 seconds I can’t wait to drive.” some vaccination platforms using side effects. She also set up a zhou, got his vaccinations through less than the school record,” Gu mainland travel permits. WeChat group for faster commu- his university. He said that his par- Contact the writers at said. Contact the writers at Through Tailutong, people are nication. “Many Taiwan people are ents in Taiwan plan to get vacci- [email protected] A woman winning first prize in a [email protected]

and helped the company win the tion of olive oil. Longnan Garden prize at the olive oil competition in City Olive Technology Development Village’s ‘liquid gold’ garners international acclaim Greece. has said it is cooperating with the That was not the first time domes- National and Kapodistrian Univer- LANZHOU — When an interna- uid gold”, is used widely in food, cos- and initiate technical exchanges. wagon as demand for high-quality tic olive oil had won recognition on sity of Athens to extract compounds tional olive oil competition metics and medicine. In the 1960s, Pedro J. Rodriguez Sanchez, a olive oil in China increases, especial- the international stage. A product from the oil to increase the indus- announced its winners in Greece the Albanian government gifted Chi- Spanish olive seedling expert, was ly among well-off urban families, created by the Longnan Xiangyu try’s added value. last month, excitement rippled na more than 10,000 olive saplings, one of the early contributors to Zhao said. Olive Development Company earned Though olive trees are an import- across the village of Daoqi in north- which were then planted in many recent olive exchanges. He arrived This year, Longnan’s olive cultiva- that honor in July last year when it ed species, their resettlement in Chi- western China. “The award-win- parts of the country on a trial basis. in Longnan in 2009, when only half tion area grew to 42,000 hectares. competed with 430 samples from 17 na has not simply copied their ning olive oil was made from our Longnan began to plant olive trees in the local olive tree seedlings had Over 40,000 households have profited countries to nab the top Double Gold successful development in their fruit,” said Ru Ciming, a 50-year-old the early 1970s, and experts conclud- survived. His technical guidance from the olive sector, which has award at the Athena International homeland. In China, the trees have olive planter from the village locat- ed that the area was ideal for olive helped raise the survival rate to over become a local pillar industry. “Every Olive Oil Competition in Greece. followed a path of foreign coopera- ed in the city of Longnan, Gansu trees due to its climate and soil condi- 90 percent. drop of olive oil we produce is an Olive oil exchanges in Longnan tion and localization, said Jiang province. tion. After years of experiments and Zhao Haiyun, an official in charge example of the exchange and integra- have continued to prosper despite Chengying, a researcher with the The variety of olive trees in Ru’s promotion, it is now the largest olive of promoting the olive industry in tion between China and other the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, Gansu Research Academy of Forest- orchard was introduced from Spain. cultivation base in China. Longnan’s Wudu district, said that nations,” said Li Gang, general manag- Fernando Lugris, Uruguayan ry Science and Technology. In the eyes of locals, the foreign trees In recent years, the local olive oil many more European experts have er of Gansu Times Olive Technology, a ambassador to China, visited sever- “The olive trees have been a have not only pulled the city, once industry has continued to expand as arrived since Sanchez. They have major olive oil producer in Longnan. al Longnan olive oil companies to bridge of exchange and cooperation among the least-developed areas in Longnan has enhanced cooperation visited orchards to offer guidance to In 2019, the company spent more deepen cooperation in terms of vari- between the East and the West China, out of poverty, but have also with Mediterranean countries that farmers and have helped companies than 6 million yuan ($927,336) in ety introductions and technology while contributing to China’s cause brought them international boast a long history of olive plant- improve their processing and stor- introducing two advanced olive oil exchanges. of reducing poverty in its western renown. ing, including Italy, Greece and age procedures. production lines from Italy. Li said Many local olive oil companies regions,” Jiang said. Olives originated in the Mediterra- Spain. The enhanced cooperation They have also helped the district, the lines have improved processing are also working with European nean, and their oil, often called “liq- aims to introduce better varieties as well as the city, jump on the band- efficiency and the quality of olive oil countries on the biological utiliza- Xinhua