The oldest is 101 years old this year, and the youngest two are "post-85" party members who have died. Today, the list of recipients of the Party's highest honor, the "July 1st Medal", was officially announced, and 29 meritorious party members with an average age of 85 years old were awarded this honor, including 4 centenarians.
Ma Maojie, a "first-class hero who crossed the river", Zhang Guimei, a "female principal of Dashan", Huang Wenxiu, a "model for poverty alleviation", and Chen Hongjun, a "hero of defending the country and fighting the border", were awarded the "July 1st Medal". It is worth mentioning that Zhang Guimei also spoke on stage as a representative of meritorious party members.
Since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has established the highest honor system with "five chapters and one book" as the main trunk, and the awarding of the "July 1st Medal" for the first time also means that the five highest honors in China have been awarded.
29 Meritorious Party members: the average age is 85 years old, there are 4 centenarians
An inventory of the bureau found that there were 29 recipients of the "July 1st Medal" awarded this time, including 8 women and 21 men.
They were exemplary representatives of various periods, including Ma Maojie, a first-class hero who crossed the river during the revolutionary war years, and Sun Jingkun, a veteran of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea; Lu Yuanjiu, the founder of the aerospace industry in the early days of the founding of New China; Xin Yuling, a pioneer in the cause of thoracic surgery; Zhang Guimei, a schoolgirl who took root in the mountains in the new era; and Ai Aiguo, a representative of the craftsman spirit.
As for why these 29 people were awarded the first "July 1st Medal"? Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the People's Republic of China and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, awarded medals to the recipients of the "July 1st Medal" and pointed out in his speech that the recipients of the "July 1st Medal" are all from the people, rooted in the people, and are ordinary heroes who are based on their own duties and silently dedicated. Their deeds can be learned and done, and their spirit can be traced. They have proved with their actions that as long as they strengthen their ideals and convictions, strengthen their will to struggle, and strengthen their perseverance and tenacity, they can see it in ordinary times, stand up at critical moments, and be open-minded at critical moments, every party member can make contributions to the party and the people in the great cause of national rejuvenation.
The bureau learned that the average age of the 29 meritorious party members was 85 years old, and four of them were centenarians born in the 1920s.
The oldest is Lu Yuanjiu, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who was born in January 1920 and is 101 years old this year. In addition, Guo Ruixiang, a 101-year-old soldier of the Red Army, Xin Yuling, a 100-year-old former president of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, and Qu Duyi, a former cadre of the International News Editorial Department of Xinhua News Agency, were awarded the July 1st Medal. Among the 4 elderly people, except for Guo Ruixiang, the other 3 failed to come to the scene to participate in the award ceremony.
It is worth noting that Qu Duyi's father was Qu Qiubai, one of the main leaders of the early Chinese Communist Party, and the other recipient of the medal was Li Dazhao's grandson and former vice chairman of the Anhui Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
Among the 29 recipients of the "July 1st Medal," three are deceased party members, including Huang Wenxiu, the "first secretary" of the village who died in the line of duty; Chai Yunzhen, a veteran who made outstanding achievements in the War of Liberation and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea; and Chen Hongjun, a "hero of defending the country and defending the border" who unfortunately died in last year's border conflict. Among them, Huang Wenxiu and Chen Hongjun are the youngest of the 29 meritorious party members, both of whom are "post-85s".
His hands were plastered, and Zhang Guimei, the "Principal of Dashan", spoke as a representative
Before the ceremony began, a familiar figure appeared at the entrance of the Great Hall of the People. Zhang Guimei, principal of Huaping Girls' Senior High School in Lijiang, Yunnan Province, was helped into the venue after getting out of the car, and the bureau noticed that Zhang Guimei's hands were plastered.
Zhang Guimei is one of the recipients of the "July 1st Medal". At the ceremony, she also spoke on behalf of the 29 recipients of the "July 1st Medal".
"My name is Zhang Guimei, and I am an ordinary people's teacher." This is her opening statement.
Zhang Guimei, who has been rooted in the education industry in the mountains of Yunnan for 40 years, founded the country's first all-free girls' high school and helped more than 1,800 girls in poor mountainous areas realize their dreams of college, and she has said in many interviews that her ideal is to "send girls in the mountains to college and stop poverty."
Zhang Guimei also mentioned in her speech that she has been engaged in education for many years, and she has seen girls in mountainous areas who have lost school due to difficulties in countless home visits, and her "heartache is too painful to breathe", so she decided to set up a free girls' high school, hoping to light up the dreams of children in poor areas.
Zhang Guimei, 64, who suffers from a variety of diseases, recently personally sent 150 test takers to the college entrance examination hall, and this year is the eleventh year she has sent the test. "As long as I still have a breath, I will stand on the podium, give my all, and I will die nine times without regret."
In addition to being a female principal, Zhang Guimei is also the director of the Huaping County Children's Home Orphanage, and is called "Mother Zhang" by the children.
After the award ceremony, Zhang Guimei faced the camera and said that she was a student except for her children. "Kids, Mom's back tomorrow."
The July 1st Medal was awarded for the first time this year in four years
How heavy does this medal weigh? What's so special about awarding?
In 2017, the Central Committee issued the "Regulations on the Commendation of Meritorious Honors within the Communist Party of China", which mentioned that the "July 1st Medal" was established by the Party Central Committee and is the highest honor in the Party, and is generally awarded in the year when the Communist Party of China was founded "every fifth and tenth". 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and the first year of the "July 1st Medal".
In March this year, the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China announced at a press conference of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China included the selection and awarding of the "July 1st Medal". Wang Xiaohui, vice minister in charge of daily work of the Central Propaganda Department, once introduced that in the name of the CPC Central Committee, party members who have made outstanding contributions to the party and created valuable spiritual wealth will be awarded the "July 1st Medal."
According to reports, the winners of the "July 1st Medal" will be selected through two methods: evaluation and universal awarding. Under special circumstances, it can be directly awarded by the Party Central Committee, generally once every 5 years, and can be awarded in a timely manner if necessary; universal awarding is the task and characteristics of a specific historical period to determine the basic conditions, and all participants and participants who meet the basic conditions can be awarded.
On the basis of the nominations of the party committees (party groups) of various provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) and the party committees (party groups) of relevant departments (systems), and after preliminary examination, inspection, and deliberation and study, at the end of May this year, the list of 29 preliminary recommended candidates for the "July 1st Medal" was released.
The highest craft is "filigree inlay", with only three strands of hair thin
At about 10:00 a.m., the salute soldiers escorted the "July 1st Medal" into the room. The medal takes simplicity and solemnity as the main design concept, and integrates classicism and epochality.
It is dominated by red, gold and white, and the chapter body adopts the party emblem, five-pointed star, flag, monument and light, sunflower, mountain and river, Ruyi Xiangyun and other elements. Each element has a rich meaning:
Five-pointed star: symbolizes the lofty ideals of the Communist Party and the passing on of the torch
Monumental Light: Symbolizes the party's glorious course and great achievements
Banner: Symbolizes the eternal struggle to realize the revolutionary ideal under the leadership of the Party
Sunflower: Symbolizes the close unity of the whole party of the whole country around the party central committee
Mountains and rivers: symbolizes the ideals and pursuits of Communist Party members
Ruyi Xiangyun: Reflect the prosperity of the motherland
It is understood that this medal was jointly designed and produced by Tsinghua University, the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the Military Museum of the Chinese Revolution, the Beijing Gongmei Group, and the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation.
Xia Xin, a member of the design and production team of the Party and State Medals, said in an interview with the media that it took almost a year from design and production to the sample paper, and the number of changes has been countless.
The "appearance" of this medal has to go through seven steps of smelting, pressing, molding, casting, electroplating, enamel, and assembly, with more than ten processes, accounting for 60% of the total. The finishing touch is the use of the highest technology "filigree inlay", and the filament pulled out is only three hairs.
It is worth noting that unlike the metal medal chain of national medals and national honorary titles, the "July 1st Medal" uses fabric ribbons and uses elements such as sunflowers, rays, and stars. It means that under the sunshine of the party, the medal recipients are dedicated to the party, serve the people wholeheartedly, do not forget the original heart, keep in mind the mission, and forge ahead.
The "Five Chapters" Symbolizing China's Highest Honor Have Been Issued, and it has been learned that since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Party, the Party Central Committee has determined a "1 + 1 + 3" system construction plan, that is, the Party Central Committee has formulated a guiding document, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has formulated a law, and the relevant departments have separately formulated regulations on the commendation of three meritorious honors within the Party, the State, and the army; China's meritorious commendation system has been gradually perfected, and the highest honor system with the "five chapters and one book" as the main trunk has been established.
The "five chapters" in the system refer to the "Order of the Republic", "July 1st Medal", "August 1st Medal", "Friendship Medal" and national honorary titles; "one book" refers to the record of the above-mentioned meritorious honor recipients and their meritorious service books, and since 2017, the "five chapters" have been successively selected and awarded.
In 2017, the "August 1st Medal", the highest honor of the army, was selected and awarded for the first time on the eve of the 90th anniversary of the founding of the army, which was the first medal in the "five chapters". In 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin became the first recipient of the People's Republic of China's "Friendship Medal", china's highest honor to the outside world, and a total of 9 foreigners have received this honor.
The Order of the Republic, the country's highest honor, has now been awarded twice. In 2019, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China, the party and the state awarded the medal to a number of heroic models for the first time, including Yu Min, the "father of China's hydrogen bomb", Yuan Longping, the "father of hybrid rice", Shen Jilan, a deputy to the National People's Congress, and Sun Jiadong, a pioneer in the aerospace industry.
In 2020, in order to recognize those who have made outstanding contributions to the fight against the epidemic, the state decided to add an honorary commendation conference, awarding Zhong Nanshan the "Order of the Republic" and Zhang Boli, Zhang Dingyu and Chen Wei the national honorary title of "People's Hero".
It is reported that the national honorary title is awarded to people who have made significant contributions and enjoyed a high reputation in the economic, social, national defense, foreign affairs, education, science and technology, culture, health, sports and other fields, and the name is generally titled "People", but other titles can also be used. At present, he has been awarded honorary titles such as "People's Hero", "People's Scientist" and "Outstanding Contributor to National Unity".
The award of the "July 1st Medal" marks that all five of China's current top honors have been awarded.
Intern Zhou Huaiyang Nandu reporter Pan Shanju sent from Beijing