Fudan University team gains inspiration from Party history

Young members of the Communist Party of China from Fudan University in Shanghai discussed how Chen Wangdao, the late Chinese scholar and educator, has motivated them in life on Thursday, the day before the 101st anniversary of the establishment of the Party.

Chen completed China's first translation of The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1920. Over a century later, a team of 71 Party members have been volunteering to share Marxist theories with the public through an exhibition centered on the manifesto at Fudan for over four years.

"The power of faith and truth is the original aspiration keeping our team together. We'll make full use of historical resources and continue spreading the Party's theories to more people and regions," said Xu Yayun, the Fudan team leader.

The team has done research on the Party and trained to tell Chen's story at the exhibition.

Despite the latest COVID-19 wave in Shanghai, team members have revised their presentation notes for the exhibition and created themed courses for online instruction.

According to Xu, over 20 team members have devoted themselves to the development of key industries or remote, underdeveloped areas in several regions, including Shanghai, Guangdong and Hebei provinces.

Qian Weicheng, the former team leader and an alumnus of Fudan, has been working as assistant to the Party secretary of Dahe village in Pudong New Area since January.

During the fight against COVID-19, Qian was involved in tasks including community management, organizing nucleic acid tests and designing solutions to meet the needs of the community.

"I'm new to the field and sometimes challenged. However, the virtues of persistence and determination I gained from voluntary work drove me to overcome difficulties and strive to serve residents," Qian said. "I believe it will still support me in the future."

Qin Yanhui, a team member and postgraduate student in pharmacology from Fudan, said she has a new understanding of volunteering from her work at the exhibition, when she shared Chen's story with 70 applicants who hoped to join the Party at the university.

"Based on my presentation, the applicants explored its background, designed online courses and read further stories of the Party's history," she recalled.

"It reminded me my duty as a docent reached further than I thought, in terms of strengthening people's faith in the Party. I will do this valuable work with a higher sense of responsibility and encourage more people to overcome difficulties with faith that generates strength," Qin added.

"Our ancestors were determined to realize their dreams despite adversity, and it inspired me to pursue my career in pharmaceutical research and contribute to the industry's development," said Qin, adding she will pursue a doctoral degree focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of diseases like cancer and Parkinson's.