President Xi Jinping has called on Chinese youth to dedicate themselves to the country’s modernization drive by serving where the nation needs them most, and young people in various grassroots positions have responded with firm determination.
Ahead of China's Youth Day that falls on May 4, Xi, wrote back to a group of volunteer teachers working in a primary school in Karajol Township, a remote border area in Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the northwest.
"Your efforts have not only promoted local education and ethnic unity but also contributed to prosperity and stability along the border," Xi said in the letter.
"President Xi's reply letter thrilled me. I will remain committed here, work on improving my teaching skills, and strive to be a guiding light for more children on their path of growth,"said Li Lei, one of 23 volunteer teachers who have been working at the school for the past three years.
At the village school, located just 47 kilometers from China's border, most of the more than 290 students belong to the Kirgiz ethnic group. Since August 2022, it has served as the first pilot school in the prefecture under the national volunteer teacher program launched for China’s western regions.
Recently, the volunteers, all born in the 1990s, wrote to President Xi to share their experiences and reaffirm their commitment to serving in China's border areas.
"We reported to President Xi on the changes we’ve observed here, such as improvements in the school, the students’ study habits, daily lives, and academic performance," said Wang Yizhi, a fellow volunteer teacher at the school.
Over the past three years, the 23 teachers have made more than 2,000 home visits, taught science classes, and developed a range of after-school programs for their students.
"We have learned a lot from our teachers. Their sense of humor, patience, care, and every act of love stay with us in our hearts," said a student at the school.
In his letter, Xi noted that more young people, like the teachers in Xinjiang, have chosen to serve as volunteers in the country's western regions and rural areas over the years, demonstrating their spirit of dedication and sense of responsibility.
He urged the young people to stand firm in their ideals and convictions, cultivate patriotism, develop outstanding skills, and work hard to contribute to Chinese modernization.
In 2003, the Chinese government launched the "Go West" program with the aim of bringing new ideas and vigor into the country's western regions with large ethnic minority populations and border areas. Over the past two decades and more, more than 540,000 college graduates and post-graduates have responded to the government's call to engage in voluntary service in more than 2,000 county-level areas, according to the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC). The young volunteers have been supporting the development of various fields at the grassroots level, such as education, agriculture, and health care.
On the occasion of Youth Day, the Central Committee of the CYLC held a meeting to advance the 'Go West' program.
"We will build service platforms and expand retention channels to help more capable young people stay in the western regions and take root at the grassroots level through the 'Go West' program," said Zhang Zhaohui, an official overseeing volunteer initiatives at the CYLC.
"As young university teachers, we will closely align with the strategic development needs of the country and its regions, ensure our students acquire real skills through innovative practice, and cultivate a youthful force for China's modernization," said Liu Shuai, a member of the robotics design team at the University of Science and Technology Beijing.
"I graduated in 2017 and applied three times to teach voluntarily at Yongxing School in Sansha City. I will nurture these children -- the hope of our motherland -- with great care, and work hard to help them grow into the backbone of our country," said Hong Meishu, a teacher at Yongxing School in Sansha, in south China's Hainan Province.
Xi's call for youth to support China's modernization sparks strong response
