XI JINPING, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, yesterday conferred the July 1 Medal, the Party’s highest honor, on model CPC members.

    A total of 29 CPC members who have made “outstanding contributions to the Party and the people” received the honor, some posthumously. This is the first time the medal has been awarded as the CPC is set to celebrate its centenary tomorrow.

    Over the past 100 years, the Party “has written a splendid chapter in the history of the Chinese nation’s development and that of humanity’s progress,” said Xi.

    In the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Xi draped the medals around the necks of the recipients, shook their hands and congratulated them.

    Xi addressed the attendees after presenting the medals.

    Over the past 100 years, generations of CPC members have worked hard and made selfless contributions in the pursuit of national independence and the liberation of the people, as well as in striving for a prosperous and strong country and the people’s well-being, said Xi.

    Xi said the recipients of the medal embody Party members’ staunch faith, fighting and dedicated spirit, integrity and devotion, and loyalty to the Party’s fundamental tenet — putting the people at the very center of their hearts and wholeheartedly serving the people.

    Xi also told CPC members to work diligently, maintain high morale, tackle challenges and continue the fine traditions of hard work and plain living, and to put public interests above personal interests.

    The recipients of the medals all come from the people and are rooted in the people. They are everyday heroes who have fulfilled their duties and made contributions, said Xi.

    They include a veteran of the Red Army and those who fought in the War of Liberation and the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. They also include a volunteer who has spent decades serving her community, a Uygur village official resolutely fighting ethnic separatist activities, a welder, a weaver, a veteran diplomat and a police detective.

    A battalion commander who sacrificed his life defending the Chinese border, a Party official who was sent to a village to fight poverty and died on the front line, and a war hero who worked in obscurity after retiring from the military were awarded the honor posthumously.

    Zhang Guimei, the principal of a senior high school that offers free education to girls from impoverished families, called herself an “ordinary teacher” when she delivered a speech on behalf of the honorees after receiving her medal.

    According to figures released last year, the CPC has more than 91 million members.

    Xi called on the Party to follow the example set by the awardees, saying every CPC member can make accomplishments for the Party and the people in the great cause of national rejuvenation.

    Xi called on CPC members and officials to boldly advance toward the second centenary goal of fully building a modern socialist country, as well as the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

    (Xinhua)