Power of belief: How CPC members make a difference

BEIJING, June 25 -- Nearly 100 years after its founding, the Communist Party of China (CPC) continues to thrive in the world's most populous country, with its membership growing from over 50 at the very beginning to more than 91 million today.

And what's more eye-opening to observers in the West is that the CPC has never lost its appeal to younger generations -- more than one-third of CPC members are now under the age of 40, as shown by official figures.

While countless CPC members sacrificed their lives during the revolutionary years, today's China has seen young CPC members carry forward their forefathers' revolutionary spirit and show a strong sense of duty and responsibility in contributing to national development.

Xinhua has spoken with some CPC members aged around 40 from different provinces, whose personal experiences provide a glimpse into how the power of belief makes a difference in today's China.

STANDING ON THE PEOPLE'S SIDE

Guangdong Province in south China is the vibrant forefront of the country's reform and opening-up. Deng Juan, 43, is a procurator with several honors to her name in the People's Procuratorate of Guangzhou City, the provincial capital.

Deng still remembers the day in November 1996 when she, then a third-year high school student, joined the Party.

"I continued to be moved by the stories of national heroes like Lei Feng -- a Chinese icon of altruism -- and inspired by the deeds of the outstanding CPC members around me," she said. "That's when I began to develop the idea of joining the Party to serve the people and contribute to China's development."

Now 25 years into her CPC membership, Deng sticks to her original aspiration and fulfills her duty as a CPC member through her dedication to everyday procuratorial work, from handling each case with care to listening closely to the views expressed by the parties concerned.

Among the cases she handled was one concerning false litigation, in which the parties involved colluded to obtain a court order of payment in order to embezzle state assets.

The diligent investigation by Deng and her co-workers led to the recovery of 109 million yuan (nearly 17 million U.S. dollars) of the losses caused to state assets.

Deng is working with a procuratorial team of 23 members with an average age of 34, of whom 17 are CPC members. The team was named an outstanding team of the year in 2020 for its handling of cases across procuratorial agencies.

"The cases we procurators are dealing with concern the people, and need to be handled from the perspective of the people, with the aim of seeing that the people's concerns are better addressed," said Deng.

FOCUS ON THE MEANINGFUL

Zhang Lijiang, 39, is from east China's Zhejiang, a key province in China's digital economic development.

For Zhang, the meaning of Party membership evolved from a laurel of excellence in his student days to a sustained source of strength inspiring him to act as a responsible entrepreneur today.

Zhang joined the Party when he was about to finish his senior year of high school in 2001.

Having been a straight-A student throughout his student years, Zhang gradually realized that Party membership for him meant pursuing excellence through hard work and making a difference for the people around him.

After graduating from a computer science program at Zhejiang University, he worked as a product manager at China's tech giant Alibaba, and then climbed to senior positions at two tech startups.

"There were opportunities to make quick money, but I managed to stay clearheaded in front of temptations and focused on what's meaningful," he said.

Zhang settled on harnessing big data to help small businesses grow and aid government departments in going digital and smart in their services. In July 2015, he started his own tech company.

PASSING ON THE REVOLUTIONARY SPIRIT

East China's Jiangxi Province, a landmark of the CPC's revolutionary movements, is home to cities and rural settlements that were crucial to the operations of the Party and the Red Army -- the predecessor of the People's Liberation Army -- in the early 20th century.

A CPC member with a 20-year standing and the grandson of a Chinese Red Army soldier, Liu Yang is a guide at the Ruijin Central Revolutionary Base Memorial in Jiangxi.

Liu began working as a guide at revolutionary-themed tourist sites in 2007, and has so far hosted more than 1,000 groups of visitors.

"Whenever I tell the stories of the sacrifices and contributions made by locals at the revolutionary base for the cause of the whole nation, there are visitors who are moved to tears," said Liu.

His memory of receiving a group of elderly visitors in 2008 is particularly fresh. At a scene recreating the course of Red Army soldiers crossing the swamplands, a visitor suddenly knelt down on the ground, crying "Hong Jun Ba Ba," which translates to "Red Army Father," when he heard that many Red Army soldiers had died there.

A surprised Liu later discovered the reason. The old man's father had been a Red Army soldier who had sunk into a swamp during the Long March and was saved by a squad leader. The rescuer himself, sadly, had been swallowed by the swampland and died.

Having been a guide for 14 years, Liu considers passing down the revolutionary spirit to be a mission of significance and has vowed to contribute to the cause by sticking to his role.