Chinese youth stand at forefront of times bursting with commitment: offfcial
The Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) started its 19th national congress in Beijing on Monday with the attendance of nearly 1,500 delegates who carry the trust of 73 million league members across the country.
Leaders of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the state, including Xi Jinping, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi attended the opening session. Cai Qi delivered a speech on behalf of the CPC Central Committee.
President Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, as well as other leaders were greeted by applause when they arrived ahead of the opening.
The CYLC national congress is being held at a time when the nation has embarked on a new journey to build a modern socialist country at all fronts and as it marches toward the second centenary goal, and also the first national congress for the CYLC after the 20th CPC National Congress.
The speech of Cai and the CYLC national congress, serve as a loud bugle call that mobilizes young people and unite them closely around the CPC Central Committee, encourages them to devote to the historic missions of building China into a modern socialist country and advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts, analysts said.
Bugle call
In his address, Cai said under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee, the CYLC has taken Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as its guide since the 18th CYLC national congress. The CYLC has strengthened its political consciousness, advanced nature and ability to represent the people, and enhanced its leadership, organization, and services.
Realizing China’s Second Centenary Goal of building it into a great modern socialist country in all respects and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization are the central task of the CPC and also the theme of the Chinese youth movement and the youth work in the new era, Cai said.
Cai urged the youth in China to strive to be the new era’s great young generation with ideals, a sense of responsibility, grit, and dedication.
Continued efforts should be made to deliver new results that are worthy of the times and history, and true to the expectations of the people, Cai added.
Cai called on the CYLC to further unite the country’s young people and lead them in forging ahead on the new journey and making still greater contributions in the new era.
Delegates to the congress shared their excitement and inspiration from the speech with the Global Times.
“It was my honor to attend the congress, which reflected the CPC Central Committee’s deep care for youth’s development and ardent expectations for our contributions,” Song Biao, a Technician School teacher and May 4 medalist, told the Global Times.
Technicians can shine as long as they keep refining their skills. From the smallest screw, to the C919 aircraft, China’s road from a manufacturing giant to a manufacturing power need more young people to join hands, Song said.
Li Yanbo, a material scientist from Jiangsu delegation, told the Global Times he is propelled to keep enhancing research abilities and innovation. Li vowed to better apply artificial intelligence in chemical and material research, tackle key problems and contribute national technological breakthroughs with solid research results.
Call of the time
With a global vision, Chinese youth stand at the forefront of the times bursting with commitment: young people commit to pursuing lofty ideals with a firm belief in Marxism, communism and socialism with Chinese characteristics, read China’s first white paper on its youth, which was released in 2022 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CYLC.
As of 2023, more than 3.7 million young people have received training and instructions through the Young Marxist program. The CYLC issued a management rule in February to optimize the selection of trainees and mentors, and the operation of the program.
Zhang Yiwu, a Peking University professor with expertise on cultural studies, told the Global Times that Chinese youth share weal and woe with the country and the people and they display the sterling quality of living up to responsibilities.
Since the 18th national congress of the CYLC in 2018, more than 500,000 youth vanguard teams have been formed and 9 million youth mobilized in various missions serving the most urgent needs of the nation, China Youth Daily reported on Sunday.
In the battle against COVID-19, the youth fought at the front line. Among the 28,600 nurses who aided Hubei Province in early days of the outbreak, 90 percent were post-80s and post-90s, according to official data. More than 5.5 million youth in 320,000 task groups worked on the front lines of the fight against the virus – providing medical care, transporting supplies, and building facilities.
At China’s remote borderland, young soldiers devoted their blood and life to safeguard every inch of national territories; in the blue sky, generation Z can pilot the country’s most advanced utility aircraft to chase their dream; on the internet, young content creators break the boundary of states and introduce a true, vivid China to the world.
According to Zhang, Chinese youth have combined their striving for “personal goal” with the Party and the nation’s “big blueprint.”
Each year, Xi delivers his wishes and expectations for young people around the May 4, China’s Youth Day, in tribute to the patriotic legacy of the May 4th Movement that took place in 1919.
This year, Xi encouraged young students to make greater contributions to rural revitalization when he replied to students at the China Agricultural University (CAU) who participated in a program called “science and technology backyards.” The program trains high-level agricultural talent, and serve rural and agricultural modernization.
Yan Tianqi, a rural revitalization volunteer, was inspired by pioneers and the Monday speech. “I will follow the Party’s leadership and dedicate myself to rural revitalization through volunteering, building villages into a modern, green and culture-rich countryside,” Yan told the Global Times on Monday.
In the report Xi delivered at the crucial 20th National Congress of the CPC in October 2022, Xi noted a nation will prosper only when its young people thrive.?He called on the youth to steadfastly follow the Party and its guidance, aim high but stay grounded, and dare to think big and take action but make sure to be productive.
“As you endeavor to build China into a modern socialist country in all respects, your youth and vitality will bloom in full splendor,” Xi said.
(Global Times)
