‘People’s heroes’ honoured in the fight against COVID-19

context: The official line is still careful not to cry victory too soon, speaking instead of ‘major strategic achievements’. Yet, the ceremony per se is the most explicit signal so far of the leadership’s confidence in its methods and the way going forward. Netizens deplored that no mention was made of Dr Li Wenliang and the other whistle-blower doctors.

The entire Politburo Standing Committee led by Xi Jinping attended a ceremony held on 8 Sep 2020 in the Great Hall of the People to honour the role models that contributed to the COVID-19 containment efforts.

Zhong Nanshan 钟南山 National Health Commission COVID-19 Senior Expert Panel chair, the figurehead of those efforts, received the Medal of the Republic, the highest state honour. Three others were each declared a ‘People’s Hero’: Zhang Boli 张伯礼, Tianjin TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) University president and strong advocate of TCM; Zhang Dingyu 张定宇 Jinyintan Hospital director, Wuhan’s first epidemic-designated hospital; Chen Wei 陈薇 People’s Liberation Army Academy of Military Sciences Institute of Bio-engineering director, who has been conducting vaccine research.

In his address, Xi Jinping stressed that the fight against the epidemic had proven again

  • the unmatched leadership qualities of the Party
  • the unyielding will of the Chinese people
  • the notable advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics
  • the strength accumulated by the country since its founding
  • the driving force of core socialist values and outstanding Chinese traditional culture
  • the appeal of building a community of shared future for mankind

Achievements notwithstanding, some challenges remain, including

  • pursuing normalisation of epidemic prevention and control measures
  • guaranteeing the ‘six stabilisations’ and ‘six protections’ and the realisation of a moderately prosperous society
  • accelerating the mending of shortcomings in the governance system
  • adhering to the notion of a community of shared future for mankind
  • upholding ‘baseline thinking’ and strengthening awareness of unexpected developments