Centenary commemoration for late Chinese leader Jiang Zemin held in Beijing

China

Centenary commemoration for late Chinese leader Jiang Zemin held in Beijing

2026-08-17 10:42 Last Updated At：14:57

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called for efforts to learn from late leader Jiang Zemin at a grand gathering held at the Great Hall of the People in commemoration of Jiang's birth centenary.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivered a speech at the gathering.

Xi said the gathering was held to pay the deepest tribute to Jiang's great achievements, deeply study his noble demeanor, and inspire the whole Party and the people of all ethnic groups in the country to continuously advance the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

"Comrade Jiang Zemin was an outstanding leader enjoying high prestige acknowledged by the whole CPC, the entire military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups. He was a great Marxist and a great proletarian revolutionary, statesman, military strategist and diplomat. He was a long-tested communist fighter and an outstanding leader of the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. He was the core of the third generation of the Party's central collective leadership and the principal founder of the Theory of Three Represents," Xi said.

Jiang was born into a patriotic intellectual family on Aug 17, 1926, in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, and passed away due to leukemia and multiple organ failure in Shanghai at 12:13 on Nov 30, 2022, at the age of 96.

Jiang's life was a glorious and fighting one. During his revolutionary career of more than 70 years, he remained unswervingly firm in communist ideals, utterly loyal to the Party and the people, and resolutely committed to the cause of the Party and the people.

After the fourth plenary session of the 13th CPC Central Committee, faced with the complexity of the domestic and international situations and the grave challenges posed by the serious twists and turns world socialism had experienced, Jiang led the Party's central collective leadership -- firmly relying on the whole Party, the entire military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups -- in safeguarding the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and successfully advancing the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics into the 21st century.

Relief hub works non-stop to distribute vital supplies in Colombia after earthquake

A major relief supply distribution center is operating around the clock at the western edge of the city of Pereira, capital of Colombia's Risaralda Department, sorting and dispatching aid to the neediest affected communities following a devastating earthquake.

The quake struck cities across western Colombia at 7:34 local time on Aug. 10, leaving at least 289 people dead, 3,935 injured and 320 missing, according to data released by the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) on Sunday. Pereira is one of the most severely impacted cities in the region.

At the largest relief supply distribution hub in Risaralda Department, from dawn until late into the night, supplies ranging from food and drinking water to medical provisions and daily necessities, arriving from across the country and even internationally, keep pouring in. The relief supplies are quickly sorted, packed, and dispatched to the victims who need them most.

"The volume of supplies is increasing, and we hope to receive even more because the demand is truly enormous. In the past couple of days, for instance, we have experienced shortages of some food packages. We still need grains, new undergarments, basic toiletries, and protective masks, and these are running low. In short, the needs are quite urgent right now. Almost everything that an ordinary household requires is needed," said Viviana Lucía Barney, a staff member of the Municipal Government of Pereira.

From morning to night, the center has been bustling not only with officials but also with waves of volunteers who have stepped forward on their own initiative. Over the past five days, more than 1,500 volunteers have contributed their time and energy, working in rotating shifts to handle everything from hauling cargo to sorting and packing.

"Seeing the ruins, seeing people who have lost family members, lost their homes, and seeing how many have lost everything, it truly breaks my heart. This disaster has also given us many ways to get involved in the relief work. We are volunteering from 6:00 to midnight, but everyone divides the shifts according to different time slots," said a volunteer.