XI JINPING, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, will present the July 1 Medal to outstanding Party members at a ceremony to be held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing tomorrow morning.

Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, will also deliver an important speech at the ceremony.

The July 1 Medal, established by the CPC Central Committee, is the highest honor of the Party.

It will be awarded for the first time to distinguished Party members on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC.

The medal, with red, gold and white as its main colors, adopts key elements such as the Party emblem and the five-pointed star.

The accolade will be granted every five years to celebrate the Party’s major anniversaries. This year, 29 people have been chosen as the first recipients of the medal.

The medal is also the fifth in China’s highest order of honor system, in addition to the “Medal of the Republic,” the “August 1 Medal,” the “Friendship Medal” and the national titles of honor.

China will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the CPC this week with a series of activities.

Tiananmen Square, where the centenary celebration is expected to be held Thursday, was closed to the public from June 23 and will reopen Friday morning.

Measures are in place prohibiting flying of any aerial objects that may affect safety of flight activities during the celebration.

Meanwhile, a delegation from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government led by Carrie Lam, chief executive of the HKSAR, will depart for Beijing today to attend the celebration.

The delegation includes Paul Chan, financial secretary of the HKSAR Government, Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang, Commissioner of Police Chris Tang, Director of the Chief Executive’s Office Eric Chan, and other government officials.

The Press Center for the Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the CPC  yesterday hosted its first press conference on the Party’s history and literature in the new era.

The CPC has been staunch in safeguarding the interests of developing countries and  helped provide Chinese wisdom for humanity and Chinese methods to global issues, Qu Qingshan, president of the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee, told reporters at the press conference.              (SD-Xinhua)