4 | Friday, September 25, 2020 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY CHINA Restoration projects Comrades remembered improve Fenhe River

By LUO WANGSHU in Taiyuan I enjoyed it,” he said. [email protected] According to a government report from Ningwu, since 2011 Thanks to restoration projects the county has invested 203 mil­ along the upper reaches of the lion yuan to control soil and Fenhe River — the second­largest water erosion, and to attract tributary of the Yellow River — in tourists, by greening an area of Shanxi province, residents in the 385,000 square kilometers along upper reaches have been lifted the banks of the river and estab­ out of poverty, and those along lishing pedestrian trails. the lower reaches can enjoy clean Over more than 30 years, 511 water. industrial plants were shut down Wang Guishuan, a 68­year­old in the county along the main villager from Shizhaigou village stream of the Fenhe. No business in Ningwu county, has lived at is allowed within 3 km of the the source of the Fenhe his entire stream. life. The river originates in Ningwu, He used to farm and raise poul­ flows through Jingle and Loufan try, but the establishment of a counties and then enters Taiyu­ park to protect the river’s origin an, the provincial capital. has absorbed the land. Since the A reservoir in Loufan is the park was established, visitors main supply of Taiyuan residents’ began to arrive, and in 2017 he drinking water. Thus, water pro­ opened a homestay to accommo­ tection in Ningwu and Jingle is date travelers. With eight rooms, essential to ensure nearly 4.5 mil­ sometimes fully booked during lion people in Taiyuan have weekends, Wang receives nearly access to clean drinking water. Veteran Hou Bingliang, 88, mourns fellow soldiers in Jinan, Shandong province, on Thursday. The day marked the 72nd anniversary of a 20,000 yuan ($2,900) each year. Since 2017, Jingle has planted major battle in Jinan, when the People’s Liberation Army liberated the city in 1948. Hou and four fellow veterans gathered to pay their “It’s better than farming,” said trees to cover an area of 28,700 respects at a pavilion dedicated to the liberation. WANG FENG / FOR CHINA DAILY Wang, who has moved his farm­ hectares. Forest coverage in the land above the river’s source to county has increased to 22 per­ keep the water clean from farm­ cent, growing at an average 1.4 ing pollution. percentage points annually. In Wang’s eyes, his life is better Jingle was also a national level than before. The environment poverty­stricken area, with more has improved, and his wallet is than one­third of its residents liv­ bigger, he said. ing in poverty. The county hired National Security Law puts Zhang Shicai, a traveler from villagers, mostly from poor fami­ Beijing, said he liked visiting the lies, to carry out environmental origin of the river. protection work, including plant­ “The scenery is pretty and the ing grass and trees and patrolling air is clean. I came to see the ori­ the river. They can earn more gin of Shanxi’s mother river, and than 80 yuan a day. patriotism on right course

National Day flag­raising ceremony “unflattering reviews” that verged ic developments after the found­ Pledges: Nation’s poverty on harassment during the social ing of the People’s Republic of enables students to recognize close ties unrest, Hui said. But society has China in 1949, teachers and stu­ grown to recognize the school’s dents are better placed to under­ fight called most remarkable By CHEN ZIMO in Hong Kong value after it stayed true to its phi­ stand the necessity for a National [email protected] losophy during the challenging Security Law today. I think that the time. Hui has suggested that teachers From page 1 One high school headmaster in For teachers and students, lov­ can draw a comparison with simi­ Hong Kong said the newly imple­ enactment of the ing the nation and the city has lar laws in other countries to give In his speech at the UN meeting, mented National Security Law National Security always been the philosophy in run­ students a broader picture. For Xi said China is set to lift out of pov­ I believe that China will ensure the school continues ning the school, and the pursuit of example, the National Security erty all of its rural residents living has a big role to play its long­standing patriotic tradi­ Law in Hong Kong knowledge, the right values and Law for Hong Kong is more “liber­ below the poverty line by the end of tion after facing mounting pres­ gave them a firm responsibility to society are what al” than the United States’ Patriot this year, which will enable the in helping other parts sure last year to drop its flag­ the school aims for, the educator Act, which was signed into law fol­ country to meet poverty eradication of the world both to raising ceremony during the social belief that their said. lowing the Sept 11, 2001, attacks in target 10 years ahead of its schedule unrest. continued This semester, one more thing an effort to dramatically tighten set out in the 2030 Agenda. fight COVID­19 and to Hui Chun­lung, headmaster of has been added to the agenda — US national security, he said. China has managed to lift 850 end extreme poverty.” the Hong Kong Federation of Edu­ understanding and national security education. The This, Hui said, requires the million people out of poverty cation Workers (HKFEW) Wong caring about their veteran educator believes national teachers responsible for teaching since it began reform and open­ Jeffrey Sachs, Cho Bau Secondary School, told security education will fall into courses related to the National economics professor at motherland was the ing­up in 1978, which accounts for Columbia University China Daily in an exclusive inter­ place naturally with its estab­ Security Law to have extensive nearly 70 percent of global view that the Tung Chung school right thing lished and long­standing patriotic knowledge of the area themselves. extreme poverty reduction, development and global poverty will hold a large­scale flag­raising to do.” education mechanism serving as a He suggested that the Hong Kong according to the World Bank. alleviation at China Agricultural ceremony on Oct 1 to mark Nation­ firm foundation. government provide teachers with Jeffrey Sachs, an economics pro­ University, said China has become al Day, two days after the school Hui Chun-lung, Promotion of the National Secu­ training in the field of national fessor and director of the Center one of the largest contributors to fully resumes face­to­face classes. headmaster of the rity Law, along with the Basic Law security education. This would not for Sustainable Development at global poverty reduction through “We keep this tradition alive HKFEW Wong — the city’s constitutional docu­ only offer students professional, Columbia University, said China’s its South­South cooperation and because we want our students, Cho Bau Second­ ment and the nation’s Constitu­ standardized teaching, but could ary School fight against poverty has been the foreign aid programs. besides having a joyful moment tion — are at the heart of national reduce the current pressure on the most remarkable in human histo­ The new measures announced by together, to recognize the close education in school, he said. city’s teachers, he said. ry, and is an inspiration to other Xi directly target two factors that relationship between Hong Kong With the changing social cir­ Most importantly, he said, the parts of the world. lead to poverty in developing coun­ and the country,” Hui said. The radicals targeted the traffic cumstances, national education in textbooks or class teaching on the “SDG 1 (the first Sustainable tries — public health emergencies A year ago, the ceremony was leading to the city’s international the school has gradually shifted to National Security Law must Development Goal) calls for the and grain security problems. more tense than joyous. On Sept 2, airport in the same district in an developing a sense of responsibili­ “explain the profound things in a end of extreme poverty, and China Meanwhile, China is not only con­ 2019, some 1,200 students from attempt to force it to shut down. ty for the motherland and compli­ simple language” and relate them has accomplished that. The COV­ tributing funds to global poverty the school and its sister primary “I think that the enactment of ance with the law, Hui said. In the to the students’ everyday life, ID­19 pandemic is a big setback for reduction but also its own solutions school marked their new semester the National Security Law in Hong past, the subject mainly involved instead of “merely telling them the the global effort to end poverty, but and experience — the elimination of by holding a flag­raising ceremo­ Kong gave them a firm belief that knowledge of Chinese history and 66 stipulations of the law”. there too, China has shown leader­ absolute poverty through economic ny. their continued understanding traditional culture. “I want our students to see that ship in suppressing the pandemic. growth, the readjustment of income The tradition was threatened by and caring about their motherland The historical and cultural back­ the country needs national securi­ “I believe that China has a big role distribution and targeted poverty a widespread call to boycott was the right thing to do,” Hui ground has laid a solid foundation ty legislation to fend off extrane­ to play in helping other parts of the alleviation, he said. schools, as well as chaotic traffic said. for the new subject in the new ous dangers, just as a family world both to fight COVID­19 and scenes after the Tung Chung MTR Labeled as a “conventional semester, Hui said. For example, staying alert to the outside world to end extreme poverty,” he said. Wang Xiaodong contributed to station, a key transport link to the patriotic school”, the secondary provided with the nation’s modern to protect their family members,” Li Xiaoyun, a professor of rural this story. school, was vandalized. school bore the brunt of some history before 1949 and diplomat­ he said.

tries, nang also has potential in strengthened labor­intensive Central Asian markets as Xinjiang industries with distinctive Xinjiang: Industry gets e­commerce boost is positioned as the core region on strengths, such as nang and tex­ the Silk Road Economic Belt. tiles. Therefore, people, especially From page 1 made. By boosting the industry, was told that it’s a nang factory those in areas of extreme poverty, many people can find employment and they were looking for nang Collective strength can find work in their locality. Abdulxukuer was among the 135 in their locality and lift themselves master bakers to run it. I then After winning the gold medal Meanwhile, the region has also nang master bakers who took part out of poverty, according to a decided to have a go,” the 31­year­ and being inspired by other nang seized development opportunities in the nang craftsmanship compe­ report on Xinjiang’s nang industry old said. master bakers, Abdulxukuer brought by the Belt and Road Initi­ tition on June 28 in the city of published in July. The industrial park now has 402 shared his idea of opening a nang ative to diversify its industrial Kashgar. Although he won the nang pits and 1,200 employees. cooperative with his fellow villag­ structure. gold medal for presenting the Booming business With the help of electric nang pits ers and village officials. “Ten vil­ From 2014 to 2019, the total judges with nang baked to perfec­ The report, jointly conducted by that can be heated up quickly, it lagers have already decided to number of people employed in tion using his family’s recipe, he the regional government and the can currently produce an average join. The village committee has Xinjiang rose from 11.35 million to felt he actually lost. regional association of industry and of 300,000 nang a day. Meanwhile, offered land to set up a small nang 13.3 million, an increase of 17.2 “With support from the regional commerce, said Xinjiang now produ­ its branding and online marketing Abdulxukuer Amar makes nang factory. It will also help us to sell percent, according to the regional government, many nang masters I ces an average of 650 metric tons of team ensures that the industrial at his bakery in Yuepuhu, Xinjiang our nang online. Although it’s a government. competed with had already start­ nang a day, which is sold to 21 provin­ park distributes more than Uygur autonomous region, earlier bold move, the opportunity is too With the implementation of a ed nang cooperatives and were ces and regions around China. Nang 100,000 nang a day to other parts this month. MA KAI / FOR CHINA DAILY good to miss,” he said. series of employment policies, the selling nang online to people is particularly popular among cus­ of China. Abdulxukuer, who started to goal that “each household has access around China. Their businesses tomers in Beijing, Shanghai, Shen­ As a nang master baker of his vil­ while promoting the staple food of learn how to bake nang when he to job opportunities, each person are booming. I never imagined zhen, and Hainan province. lage, Ark quickly worked his way the Uygurs,” Ark said. “People keep was 16, said he will keep his tradi­ has work to do, and each month goes that nang could be so popular and To meet the demand of nang lov­ up to the position of production asking me if there are vacancies in tional bakery to serve the villagers with an income” has largely been marketed this way,” he said. ers, nang industrial parks have been supervisor. His monthly income is the industrial park.” and travelers while running the achieved. Profound changes have In 2018, the regional govern­ set up around Xinjiang. The one in double what it was when he ran a According to research on Xin­ cooperative, which will use elec­ taken place in the life, work and ment decided to boost the devel­ Jiashi county successfully caught the small nang bakery in his village. jiang’s nang industry, more than tric nang pits. “There is no conflict mentality of the people of all ethnic opment of the nang industry attention of Ark Kadeer, with a giant “More than 690 employees here 9,500 jobs have been created in the in embracing new changes and groups in Xinjiang, and particularly because nang is a specialty of Xin­ nang pit built at its entrance. are from impoverished families in nang industry in Kashgar. preserving traditions. My nang in southern Xinjiang, according to a jiang and has over 2,000 years of “I drove by the industrial park nearby villages. We are all glad to In addition, due to the similarity will remain unique and delicious,” recently published white paper on history. Also, nang has more than on my scooter in September last have the opportunity work near in diet between Xinjiang and Abdulxukuer said. employment and labor rights in the 300 varieties and must be hand­ year and saw the giant nang pit. I home and make our life better neighboring Central Asian coun­ Xinjiang has nurtured and region.