CPC encourages members to volunteer

Updated: 2012-02-29 14:57

(Xinhua)

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BEIJING - The constant smile on Xia Lin's face often leads people to forget that she has been confined to a wheelchair for 20 years.

The 24-year-old woman, who lives in the eastern Chinese city of Wuhu, has been confined to a wheelchair since 1992, two years after she was diagnosed with poliomyelitis. Her father died when she was seven, and she now lives with her mentally-disabled mother.

However, Xia found a silver lining in 2010 when the local Communist Party of China (CPC) branch in the subdistrict of Zheshan launched a volunteer program to help people in need.

Today, nearly 1,000 CPC members serve in more than 20 One Meter of Sunshine (OMS) volunteer teams in Zheshan, and they provide a range of services, including help with household duties, psychological consultation, medical care and legal advice.

Meanwhile, the CPC's Wuhu municipal committee has expanded the program throughout the city of 3.8 million people.

Xia can contact OMS members whenever she needs help.

"The volunteers even bought the Lunar New Year goods for me and many come to visit me during holidays. They are just like the sunshine to me," Xia said.

"We hope Party members can play an exemplary and vanguard role in serving the community and strengthening ties between the Party and the people," said Wang Tingguo, the chief CPC official of Zheshan.

Wang Baojian, a 73-year-old retiree and OMS volunteer in Wuhu, has found pleasure in helping his neighbors. He is known in his community for taking care of school children during summer and winter holidays when their parents have to work.

"Serving the people was the admission oath I took when I joined the Communist Party. I am happy to see children play in my home and I can still contribute to society although I've retired," he said.

Volunteer service emerged in China after the country launched the reform and opening-up drive in the late 1970s, and hundreds of thousands of volunteers contributed to the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

One year later, the fourth plenary session of the 17th CPC Central Committee called on Party members to make headway in volunteer service and explore ways to make a difference in their neighborhoods.

In 2011, the sixth plenary session of the 17th CPC Central Committee decided to "intensively carry out 'learn from Lei Feng' activities," and take measures to hold such activities on a regular basis.

Lei Feng, a young soldier, is known as a role model of selflessness, dedication and thrift. He died in an accident at the age of 22. In 1963, the late Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong launched a campaign, calling on the nation to learn from Lei's example. March 5 of every year was later designated "Lei Feng's Day."

"It is a call made by the Party to meet the demands of the development of the times and the people," Luo Shugang, executive deputy head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, said at a press conference on February 27.

The OMS is just one example of China's grassroots Party member volunteer services, which have sprouted rapidly across the country.

In Guangyuan, Sichuan province, the municipal CPC committee asked 50,000 Party member volunteers to spend the 2012 Lunar New Year with empty nesters and rural children left behind by their parents working in cities.

In the city of Haining, Zhejiang province, a "365-Party-member volunteer workshop" was set up in the community of Baiyang, aiming to put volunteers on duty to help residents year-round.

And in Zhengzhou, capital city of central Henan province, volunteer service has become a factor in offering honors and promotions for Party members.

Party members can learn about the needs of the people around them through volunteer service, which is very important for the CPC as a ruling party, said renowned sociologist Wang Kaiyu.

Serving the people is the tradition of the CPC, and Party members' volunteer service will boost the cohesion of the Party for both its members and the public, said Yang Genqiao, a researcher with the Marxism Institute of the Anhui Provincial Academy of Social Sciences.

"A Party that helps people will be very attractive to members of the public," said Yang.

However, Yang said volunteer service for Party members is still a novel concept in China, and there is much room for improvement in various aspects, from organization to the quality of such services.