CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Wednesday, September 9, 2020 | 5 CHINA

Experts on COVID’s front lines Motorcade for heroes Award: Nation Scientists can to help world economy recover learn from Xi’s From page 1 As the pandemic is still raging glo­ bally, Xi said China will continue to enhance international cooperation in epidemic control, support the ‘solemn’ words WHO playing a leading role in the global fight against the disease, share Speech on patriotism, self­sacrifice anti­epidemic and treatment experi­ ence with other nations, and provide and diligence seen as inspirational aid to countries and regions with poor capabilities to deal with the By ZHANG ZHIHAO felt, encouraging and moved us to pandemic. [email protected] tears,” Li said at a homecoming During his speech, Xi summarized ceremony for the COVID role mod­ China’s spirit of combating the out­ China’s scientific community els to the academy in Beijing. break, which features putting peo­ should learn from President Xi “These role models are the shining ple’s lives first, nationwide solidarity, Jinping’s speech on the nation’s embodiment of the top qualities sacrifice, respecting science, and a pandemic battle and triumph, and our nation demands of us.” sense of mission for humanity. carry into the future the torch of Li said the scientific community In the fight against the epidemic, patriotism, self­sacrifice and dili­ should learn from these role mod­ people’s lives have always been put gence embodied by role models els, be loyal to the cause of the Par­ first and foremost, Xi said, adding from the fight against COVID­19, ty and the people, dedicate that China is willing to do whatever the nation’s top engineering acad­ themselves to the endless pursuit it takes to protect people’s lives. emy said on Tuesday. of science and truth and whole­ Noting that strong Party leader­ On Tuesday, Xi presented the heartedly contribute to the ship is the most reliable support for Medal of the Republic to noted res­ nation’s rejuvenation without the Chinese people in times of troub­ piratory disease expert Zhong Nan­ seeking fame or self­interest. le, Xi said the fight against the epi­ shan, as well as granting the Zhong said in the ceremony that demic has also demonstrated that national honorary title “People’s the awards represent the full socialism with Chinese characteris­ Hero” to Zhang Boli, a traditional acknowledgment of the medical tics is the fundamental guarantee Chinese medicine expert; Zhang and healthcare personnel working for resisting risks and challenges Dingyu, head of Jinyintan Hospital at the front line by the Party and and improving the capacity for in Wuhan, Hubei province; and the nation. national governance. Chen Wei, a military biomedical Zhong said there is still much He noted that the Chinese econo­ expert. for him to learn, given how new my is steadily turning for the better as These COVID role models technologies like big data, artificial the country has coordinated epidem­ received the awards for their out­ intelligence and cloud platforms ic control with economic growth. standing contribution in novel cor­ have revolutionized medicine. Aft­ “China has become the first major onavirus­related basic research, er hearing Xi’s speech, Zhong said economy to return to growth during vaccine development and treat­ he is motivated to take on new sub­ the COVID­19 pandemic and has ment. Zhong, Chen and Zhang Boli jects, and he hopes other scientists taken the lead in the world in both are also academicians of the Chi­ will follow his lead. epidemic control and economic nese Academy of Engineering. Zhang Boli said the honorary recovery,” Xi said. “This has demon­ Li Xiaohong, the academy’s title feels “too heavy for one person strated China’s strong ability to president, said Xi’s speech has to bear”, adding that the honor recover and its enormous vitality.” highlighted the solidarity, tenacity, belongs to all 42,000 medical per­ China will continue to advance eco­ altruism and profound respect for sonnel who rushed to Wuhan’s aid. The motorcade carrying the recipient of the Medal of the Republic and experts given the national nomic globalization, firmly uphold science and human lives show­ “President Xi’s speech under­ honorary title of “People’s Hero” is accompanied by motorcycle escorts on the way to the Great Hall the multilateral trading system, cased in the nation’s battle against lined the truthful meaning of mak­ of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. There, the role models were commended for their contributions ensure the stability of global industri­ the COVID­19 pandemic. ing people’s health and lives the in the country’s fight against the COVID­19 pandemic. GAO JIE / XINHUA al and supply chains, and work with “His words were solemn, heart­ paramount priority,” Zhang said. the international community to help the world economy recover, he said. “We will also stand ready to work help the country come through the with other countries to make global crisis. governance more inclusive, the mul­ Millennials proud of their role in battling pandemic I am a millennial and a journal­ tilateral system more efficient and ist. Our generation was born and regional cooperation more robust,” earing a mask is no reminded me of our the epidemic. I’m proud to say, I saw many raised in the best era since China’s he added. longer mandatory in fight against the With heartfelt pride, I watched young faces in the Great Hall of the opening­up. We haven’t experi­ many cities in China, novel coronavirus national heroes like respiratory People. Half of all the medical work­ enced war; we live in an age of an and in the Xinjiang in Wuhan, Hubei disease expert Zhong Nanshan ers who went to Wuhan were mil­ economic boom. This time, the UygurW autonomous region, all province. receiving awards from President lennials. The younger generation pandemic pushed our generation WHO: Official domestic COVID­19 patients were It was my first Xi Jinping. played a key role in this fight. Dur­ to try our best to safeguard our discharged from hospitals two Meng Zhe time attending a The efforts of medical workers ing the SARS outbreak, the older nation. praises medical days ago. The novel coronavirus, Reporter’s ceremony as a par­ helped the nation get the virus generation protected us. This time The pandemic turned into a great which is still raging in many coun­ log ticipant, although I under control. As a young reporter, it was our turn to protect them. patriotic education for many young­ tries, is now largely being kept have reported from I asked myself why should we During my 82 days of conduct­ sters. Tuesday’s events gave us a infrastructure under control in China. the Great Hall of gather here to celebrate our victory ing interviews in Wuhan, I was chance to review our patriotism. Days of shuddering in fear of the the People many times in my over the novel coronavirus? often moved to tears by the sacrifi­ When I opened the Moments fea­ From page 1 virus seem a long time ago for career. This time, it was a great With a united will, the Commu­ ces of the residents. There were ture on my WeChat app, many many Chinese. honor for me to attend the ceremo­ nist Party of China and the Chinese firefighters, doctors, volunteers as friends had posted what Zhong said, Van Kerkhove asked people to cele­ On Tuesday, a ceremony at the ny as one of the 1,499 people com­ people will always make people’s well as reporters, all fighting the that nothing can defeat the Chinese. brate the success safely. “Make sure Great Hall of the People in Beijing mended for their roles in fighting lives and health the first priority. coronavirus in different ways to Yes, nothing can defeat the Chinese. that any type of gatherings that hap­ pen are done in a very safe way, when you still have your physical distancing, Pakistan would start this month. all the measures in place,” she said. Meanwhile, the vaccine is being She echoed the words of WHO Hard­driving researcher optimized for mass­production, Director­General Tedros Adhanom and current evidence suggests an Ghebreyesus, who said on Monday annual production of 300 million that countries need to invest in their fights enemies of health doses should be achievable, she healthcare systems. said. But the exact length and Van Kerkhove praised China’s By ZHANG ZHIHAO ture and dancing. She also worked strength of the protection can only public health infrastructure, saying at the university’s cafe. be known for certain after the there is a system in place to deal with One quality of Major General After graduation, Chen was phase three trial. infectious disease outbreaks, a sys­ Chen Wei’s that people rave about is drawn to the cutting­edge research Ma Enhao, Chen’s 22­year­old tem for surveillance and a ready, the speedy way she does things. topics and state­of­the­art equip­ son, said his mother dropped every­ trained workforce for tracing cases, Peers of Chen, the Chinese mili­ ment at the Academy of Military thing when she realized how seri­ testing, isolation, quarantine and tary’s top biomedical expert, said Medical Sciences. She entered the ous the COVID­19 virus was and care for patients with both severe she walks, talks and eats very fast so academy’s microorganisms and rushed to Wuhan, Hubei province, and mild symptoms. that she can use the time saved to epidemiology branch in 1991, and with her team and equipment on “This entire system that was in battle the demons of public health. now has become the head of the Jan 26. Ma said he is used to his place, that was activated in China, has For nearly three decades, the academy’s bioengineering institute. Chen Wei, a recipient of the “People’s Hero” national honorary title, mother leaving abruptly — Chen been activated in many countries 54­year­old scientist from Zhejiang Chen said she still remembers arrives at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday for a left the family four times in 2014 to now,” said Van Kerkhove, an epidemi­ province has been at the front line how her first experiment at the meeting to commend role models in the country’s fight against the assist in the Ebola control effort in ologist from the United States. fighting some of the world’s most dan­ academy made her cry while alone COVID­19 pandemic. LI XIANG / XINHUA Sierra Leone. Bruce Aylward, a Canadian physi­ gerous pathogens, including anthrax, in the lab. “I was cultivating a “I know she was throwing herself cian and epidemiologist who was the smallpox, the bubonic plague, Ebola batch of solution but didn’t notice into danger, but I also know she can’t co­head of the first WHO­China and the coronaviruses responsible for the tubes weren’t working proper­ keep up with her intensity at work.” coronavirus into the human body, refuse the call of duty,” he said. “She Joint Mission on COVID­19, agreed, SARS, MERS and COVID­19. ly. So on Chinese New Year’s Eve, I Chen said that given the difficul­ thus training the body to produce was sleeping less than four hours a noting the public health infrastruc­ On Tuesday, she received the returned to the lab and saw that ties of her research topics, she antibodies that recognize the virus day in Wuhan. Her hair turned gray ture at all levels in China. honorary title “People’s Hero” from two months of hard work had all always feels like there is not enough and fight it off. and she lost a lot of weight. But when Aylward said he found it particu­ President Xi Jinping for her contri­ leaked on the floor. Words could time. When the COVID­19 outbreak I saw on TV that her vaccine had larly striking that China is able to bution to COVID­19­related basic not describe how sad and helpless began, Chen told a senior scientist Trials going well made it into clinical trials, I couldn’t transmit national guidance to more research and vaccine development. I felt.” that they should be able to create a According to The Lancet, a well­ help but feel very proud.” than 1 billion people every week and “People often ask me: ‘Chen Wei, “The incident taught me to be vaccine in three months. “I still known British medical journal, the On Feb 26, Chen’s birthday, the is able to keep people well­in­ can you tackle less devilishly diffi­ meticulous, especially when work­ remember what the senior scientist phase two clinical trial for the vac­ head of her academy sent her a formed. cult topics?’” she said. “But when I ing against the clock. But it also told me: ‘Three months is still too cine has found it to be safe and able birthday greeting. Ma said his What struck him mostly, he said, think about how these pathogens taught me that scientific research slow, can you do it in two?’” to induce an immune response. mother’s only reply was, “No choice was the “sense of individual responsi­ can be used in war or terrorist can be a very lonely and difficult Chen rose to the challenge and Chen said the phase three trial, but success”. bility that we saw in the Chinese peo­ attacks and cause catastrophes for undertaking, and you need a great created the Adenovirus Type 5 Vec­ which will include more partici­ “She has that fire in her that is ple”, citing their strict observation of countries and their people, I just deal of passion to push through tor vaccine candidate that entered pants, is being conducted overseas unique to military researchers,” he social distancing in hotels, trains, res­ feel compelled to craft a biological that monotony.” phase one clinical trials on March and is going smoothly. said. Hoping to follow in his moth­ taurants and various places. bulwark against them.” Zhang Xiaopeng, a colleague of 16, making it the first clinical trial Last month, regulatory bodies in er’s footsteps, Ma also recently “Their sense of responsibility for When Chen was studying chemi­ Chen’s at the bioengineering insti­ of its kind in the world. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan graduated from college with a keeping the world safe, keeping their cal engineering at Tsinghua Uni­ tute, said she has an intense work The vaccine, dubbed “Ad5­nCoV”, approved the phase three trials of degree in microbiology. “As a young communities safe, for doing the right versity in the late 1980s, she was ethic and often stays up all night in uses a weakened common cold Chen’s vaccine candidate in their adult, we should spend our youth thing, was probably the most striking fashionable and popular, with silky the lab doing research. “I often work virus to introduce a section of the countries. The trial in Saudi Arabia serving our country and the noble thing that we saw — that sense of col­ long hair and a passion for litera­ till midnight, but even so, I couldn’t genetic material from the novel began in August and the one in cause of science,” he said. lective responsibility,” Aylward said.