China honors grassroots role models of 2022

BEIJING -- Awards were handed out to grassroots role models of 2022 on Thursday at a ceremony held by Xinhua News Agency.

The winners -- consisting of eight individuals, one group and a couple -- were honored for performing selfless actions in their work or helping those in need.

Among those awarded was Qin Xiaoqiang, a SWAT officer in Southwest China's Sichuan province who took part in emergency rescue operations after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Luding county in Sichuan in September 2022. After working for 13 consecutive hours and rescuing three buried people, Qin found out that his own father and sister had died in the quake. Shortly after making arrangements for his family, Qin went back to continue his rescue work.

The other winners include a handicapped person who jumped into a river to save a mother and her daughter who had fallen into the water, a couple who dedicated nearly 30 years to guarding a forest farm, a prosecutor who devoted her spare time to voluntary legal services for minors, and a rural doctor with impaired vision who strove to overcome physical obstacles in order to impart knowledge to children in the countryside.

The role models were selected by netizens and experts.

First launched in 2010, this year's award is the 13th of its kind.