CHINA 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 Anhui 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 Li Dazhao, 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 Shanghai. 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 Fuzhou 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 Taiwan 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, Fujian 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.