Beijing honors 10 'Role Models' for 2018

The Chinese capital Monday announced its 10 "Beijing Role Models for 2018" and honored them in an award ceremony aired on Beijing Television (BTV).

The 10 people selected as last year's role models are Song Xi, a female student at Peking University and a veteran who participated in naval escort in Somali waters; Li Dongfang, an intangible cultural heritage artisan who has been making statutes for national treasures in the Gobi desert; Zhou Ye, a principal at a school for hearing-impaired children; Liu Baozhong, a bus driver who has driven the same bus line for a decade; Tian Qin, a woman who has cared for seven seniors for years; Liang Ping, a community manager who has kept her streets polished to a shine; Lang Enge, the leader of a ski team of farmers who made many people fall in love with ice and snow sports; Cheng Gang, a researcher who developed new drugs using Chinese standards; Yuan Yongping, an entrepreneur who designed up to a hundred of garment patterns; and Xia Boyu, a double amputee who climbed to the peak of Mount Everest on his prosthetic legs.

In addition, the Beijing municipal public civilization guide corps, the "6o15" Chaoyang honorable conduct group, and the reporter Jin Lei made the annual "Special List of Beijing Role Models." Fifty other people, including Fu Chao, also received honors as nominees who made the final round for the award.

The selection for the annual role models started from the community level. Candidates included outstanding people working in urban management and regulation, implementation of the urban master plan, and preparation for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

All townships and subdistricts of Beijing participated in the selection process, including 91.2 percent of all residential communities. In total, 9,874 candidates received community recommendations.

After appraisal by the organizing committee, 130 people made the weekly and monthly lists, which were open to public voting and committee panel voting to select the finalists for the annual honors.

The Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Beijing Municipal Committee, the General Office of the Beijing Commission for Guiding Cultural and Ethical Progress, Beijing Media Network, Beijing People's Broadcasting Station, and BTV together sponsored the award ceremony. Du Fei, a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, also participated in the TV program.

The TV special featured biographical film clips of the role models. Han Meilin, a famous Chinese artist, Cai Guoqing, a well-known military folk singer, Lyu Siqing, a renowned violinist, and other celebrities presented the awards to the role models. Lei Jia, a military folk singer, Zhang Yingxi, a bel canto singer, Wang Li, a young female soprano, and Jiangyang Zhuoma, a prestigious ethnic minority singer, performed songs to honor the spirits of these role models.

The Beijing municipal government is calling the city's residents to learn from these role models, and start from small acts like keeping their neighborhoods clean and conserving energy.

The role models are also taking the lead in a series of newly launched activities to engage with more people on public service. They were also invited to participate in the China Football Association Super League and CBA events, the 2019 New Year countdown and other activities, so that the influence of Beijing Role Models can be far-reaching.