Happiness Is the Fruit of Hard Work—Why is life improving for the Chinese people?

Booming Tourism During the International Labor Day Break

Over the 4-day break surrounding May 1st, the International Labor Day, 2019, over 195 million people were on the road, resulting in a total tourism income of RMB 117.67 billion yuan. Many tourists, about 38 percent of them, spent anywhere between 501 and 1000 yuan per person. Airlines flew 52,725 flights, a year-on-year growth of 5.63 percent. The spiking demand during the break has resulted in a boom for the tourism market.

ALWAYS WITH THE PEOPLE AT HEART

In mid-April of 2019, during the beautiful spring season in Chongqing, General Secretary Xi Jinping traveled a long way to visit the impoverished farmers in Huaxi Village, situated in the deep mountains, and to convene meetings on prominent issues in the poverty reduction campaign. He has made many a trip like this since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, touring around the nation visiting those in poverty.

He has been to the poor Loess Plateau in northwest China, the remote and snowy highland regions in Qinghai and Tibet, the former revolutionary base in the Taihang mountains in north China and the Wumeng Mountains in the southwestern Guizhou Province. He has been to Dingxi in Gansu Province, known as the "poorest place on earth" and also visited Daliang Mountains where it takes a whole day to get to the other side the mountain. Wherever he went, General Secretary Xi listened to the voices of the people, observed their living conditions, and tried to come up with solutions. With these trips, he was fulfilling his commitment to the people, who have been at the most important place in his heart.

"The People" are two words that are of utmost importance. A development concept that puts the people first is a profound answer to the fundamental questions that the CPC has asked of itself: "For whom, with whom, and who are we?" It is a goal that the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at the core has set for itself, and it is the mission and genuine purpose of the CPC members. "Of all the rules to governing a country, the most important one is to bring benefit to the people." This, like a compass, points us toward the values and practices the CPC abides by in governance.

To achieve success, we must never forget where we came from. The CPC came from the people, and we must remain rooted with the people and serve the people. We must remember that our Party does not have any interests of its own other than the interests of the country, the nation, and the people. Seeking happiness for the people is its unwavering resolution and unchanging goal. Just as the people use to say back in the days of revolution: what kind of a party is the CPC? It's the party that will cut its only blanket in half to share it with the people. Over the past century or so, our Party has maintained the same motivation to fight and sacrifice for the revolution; to strive, to grow the economy and to reform, so that our people may lead better lives. It is fair to say that the history of the CPC is one of the fight for the realization of better lives for the people.

The people are the masters of the land, and only the people emerge as the creators of history. Take a look back: the magnificent history of the Chinese nation was written by the Chinese people; the broad and profound Chinese culture was created by the Chinese people; the timeless Chinese spirit was nurtured by the Chinese people; the bright and prosperous future that we are welcoming is also the result of the hard work of the Chinese people. Going forward, we must respect the importance of the people, and their initiative. We must take the people's critique as the sole standard for what we do, and work with the 1.4 billion Chinese people to achieve our goals.

Common prosperity has been an ideal for the Chinese people since ancient times, and it is also the fundamental demand of socialism. What is special about socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era is the joint efforts of the people under the leadership of the CPC to create better lives and advance toward common prosperity. The 19th National Congress held in 2017 proposed the strategy for the country's development for the next 30 years, which contains specific plans for achieving common prosperity, as an important part of the drive to build a strong and modern socialist nation. To achieve this goal, we must keep the people at the center of all that we do. We must make sure that the fruits of development are shared as they are produced, by all and in broad areas, in such a way that people's interests are realized, protected, expanded, and enjoyed to the maximum extent possible.

The principle of relying on and serving the people is the lifeline of the CPC and it is what it has been doing since its founding. We must remember, at all times, that all we do we do for the people. We come from the people and we must rely on the people. We must reach out to them, and make sure that our avocations are agreed and become their voluntary actions. Party members and officials must never believe that they are smarter or superior, and so they can look down upon the people simply because they have more education, visited a few more countries or have been to more places. We must follow the role models that we have over the years, such as Jiao Yulu, Gu Wenchang, and Wang Boxiang — great examples of working with the people and for the people. They were CPC officials that people love, as they had the people in their hearts, and led them in continuous efforts to do great things that really benefited the people. We must learn from them, and work with the people as we pursue economic and social progress of the country. We must know their concerns and expectations, and make sure what we do is what they want, so that they will benefit from reform and development.

MORE SATISFACTION, HAPPINESS AND SENSE OF SECURITY

The CPC and the government have done a great deal to make sure that people feel happier and more secure with their lives. In 2018, employment increased by 13.61 million; close to 100 million students received financial aid; over 6.2 million run-down residential buildings were renovated; 17 cancer treatment drugs were covered in national health insurance; and 13.86 million people were lifted from poverty.

To improve social welfare requires long-term and continuous efforts. We must follow the people's desires for better lives by focusing on livelihood guarantees and improvement, with stronger and more effective measures, to ensure that the people can achieve their goal.

Residents about to move into new apartments

Students exercising on a beautiful campus

Medical bill reimbursement in process

Exercises for the elderly in a retirement home

Everything matters when it comes to people's livelihood, and they must be tackled with persistent efforts. Over the past few years, thanks to the efforts of the CPC and government, we've seen a noticeable drop of issues in education, healthcare, housing, and food safety, although this is still some way off from people's higher demands of living standards. Rome wasn't built in a day — we must tackle these issues with determination, cases by case, year by year. We must fulfill our promises to ensure that every case is resolved and every call is answered, so that people can really see change and benefit from it.

We will not rest until the final goal is achieved, and we must continue our, efforts to win the final battle. By the end of 2018, there were still 16.6 million people living in poverty, and most of them are the poorest of the poor in the direst of situations. We are just two years away from the goal for complete poverty elimination. In this final sprint, we must hold on and fight to the end. Since September 2017 when the State Council issued its guidelines on support to areas of extreme poverty for the final phase of poverty elimination, there have been increased activities in all areas. For this purpose, there must be detailed and effective measures with strengthened implementation to ensure a final victory in poverty-alleviation.

"The flames burn higher when everyone adds firewood" — we will need the input and support from the people for harmony in the society. Currently, the Chinese society enjoys security and order and the Chinese people can live and work in peace. It is widely believed that China is one of the safest nations in the world. A good society must be safe and harmonious as much as its people are prosperous. A complete governance structure must be put in place, led by the CPC committees and run by the government in various levels. It will be a system with the support of the society and broad participation from the public, running under well-established law and order. It will be a system built up with contribution from everyone and used for the benefit of all.

Socialism is the result of hard work, and a worthy life is one in which you have done your best. The great accomplishments of the Republic over the past 70 years are the result of the hard work and relentless efforts of the billions of Chinese people. As we take on this journey, our strong desire for a better life will no doubt become a powerful force driving us forward, to realize our dreams and create a bright future worthy of this great new era. 

Q & A

Q: What are the "Two Guarantees and Three Promises"?

A: To guarantee food and clothing for the poor, and promise them access to compulsory education, basic healthcare, and shelter. Achieving these objectives by 2020 for rural impoverished population is the basic requirement and core indicators of successful poverty elimination.

Expert Comment

Poverty-alleviation efforts must be welcomed by the people and withstand the test of time.

Liu Yongfu (Director, Office of the State Council Leading Group on Poverty Alleviation and Development): Poverty elimination in poor counties and their graduation are the measure of success for the targeted poverty-alleviation and elimination programs, which is why we must make sure that these efforts are carried out in a strict and solid manner, for the whole process covering all areas, to ensure "real cases of poverty are targeted and the measures are effective". With this, we can be sure that people are happy with the results, which can also withstand the test of time.

Social Media Comments

New era, new starting line. Let us build a stage for the hardworking to shine, and build paths for the dreamers to achieve success.

The major hospitals in cities are the "aorta" in a human body, and primary healthcare institutions the "capillaries". To prevent blockages in the aorta, we must make sure the capillaries are dredged.

It is important to make the "pie" bigger for social wealth, but how it is divided will determine the happiness of billions of citizens.

Take a step back to move forward again: when housing prices are over-the-top, "mortgage slaves" aren't necessarily living "the good life": renting may be a better option.

China by the Numbers

2018 Welfare Numbers

• Some 942 million people were covered by basic pension plans, 196 million people had unemployment insurance, and 239 million people were insured for work-related injuries.

• Social security participants: over 1.2 billion, covering 88 percent of the total population

• National social security e-card issued in 230 cities in 26 provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the central government

• Included in national healthcare catalogues were 17 cancer treatment drugs at reduced prices, with 56.7 percent reduction on average. Pilots projects were underway in 11 cities on specified large quantity drug purchases at centralized locations.

• Over 950,000 primary healthcare institutions nationwide, consisiting of 36,000 township health centers; 35,000 urban community health service centers; 248,000 clinics; and 630,000 village health offices.

2018 Statistics on Education

• Total number of students matriculated in institutions of education at all levels: 276 million

• Total number of children in kindergartens: 46.5642 million, with 34.0223 million in public kindergartens, a growth of 4.72%

• Retention rate for 9-year compulsory education: 94.2%, a year-on-year growth of 0.4%

• Gross high school enrollment rate: 88.8%, a year-on-year growth of 0.5%

• Gross higher education enrollment rate: 48.1%, a year-on-year growth of 2.4%