A Brilliant Context｜Xi Jinping’s “boat” metaphor

It's the Dragon Boat Festival again, and dragon boats are chopping the waves.

Boats have been an important carrier for Chinese people to express their aspirations since ancient times.

From the sobriety that "the relationship between the party and the people is like the relationship between a boat and water, 'water can carry the boat, it can also capsize it'" to "'boldly explore in practice', 'never wait for the rabbit to catch the boat'" Resolute, and then to the profound understanding that "our cause is like a boat sailing against the current, if we don't advance, we will retreat"...General Secretary Xi Jinping often uses the metaphor of "boat" to lead more than 1.4 billion Chinese people to strive for the first place.

In the autumn of 2017, Nanhu, Jiaxing, Zhejiang. The General Secretary stood on the shore and looked at the rippling waves in the distance for a long time. He said with emotion: "The little red boat carried a huge fortune, sowed the fire of the Chinese revolution, and started the cross-century voyage of the Chinese Communist Party."

For more than a hundred years, the Communist Party of China has led the Chinese people to ride the wind and waves, "from small boats to giant ships, sailing to the glorious other shore."

General Secretary Xi Jinping believes that the relationship between the party and the people is like the relationship between a boat and water.

"We must always remember that our ship is sailing on the vast sea of ​​​​the people, and the water can carry the boat or capsize it." The general secretary used the "boat" as a metaphor, pointing out that people's hearts are the greatest politics, and warned all party members to "never lose people's hearts".

The red boat in South Lake taken on July 27, 2022.

When he joined the team in northern Shaanxi, he was regarded by the villagers as a "hard-working young man"; when he was working in Fujian, the locals often called him "the governor of the common people"; after he became the general secretary, an old man in the mountains asked "What do you call him?" "You?" He introduced himself with a smile, "I am a servant of the people"... General Secretary Xi Jinping always keeps this in mind, puts the interests of the people at the top of his heart, and leads the people to put the interests of the people first. The longing for life gradually becomes reality.

Since the new era, there has been the persistence of "no matter how busy you are, you must take time to visit and see the villagers", the responsibility of "trying to make the people feel fairness and justice in every judicial case", and the " Offending hundreds of people, we will live up to 1.4 billion" actions, as well as running around with trouser legs rolled up in the heavy rain, thoughtfulness in asking the elderly to sit down when taking photos, and the warmth of holding the hands of fellow villagers tightly...

At a meeting not long ago, when a scholar spoke and mentioned that “the next round of reforms will strive to give more groups a stronger sense of gain,” the general secretary affirmed: “This sentence is the finishing touch. The people’s sense of gain is real.”

"'Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it.' We must keep this truth in mind and never forget it." In the heart of General Secretary Xi Jinping, the word "people" holds the most weight.

Just after the beginning of spring in 2023, the first provincial class started after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

At the “critical node” of the new journey, facing the “critical minority”, the General Secretary clearly clarified some understandings: “Promoting Chinese-style modernization is an exploratory undertaking, and there are still many unknown areas that we need to boldly explore in practice. , to promote career development through reform and innovation, we must not sit back and wait for the rabbit to catch up. "

The situation is constantly evolving, and so are the tasks. There are many contradictions and problems that we have not encountered or dealt with before. The general secretary’s attitude is clear and targeted: if we stick to past understandings and experiences, “it will be difficult to adapt to the changed reality and effectively promote work.”

On April 25, 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping inspected the Chenglingji Hydrological Station in Yueyang City, Hunan Province.

During his trip to Zhejiang in the spring of 2020, the General Secretary investigated and thought all the way. "I feel that the current situation is very different. The environmental conditions for large-scale entry and exit have changed. New ideas for leading development must be proposed based on the new situation."

Shortly after returning to Beijing, he proposed for the first time at a meeting of the Central Financial and Economic Commission the major decision of "building a new development pattern with the domestic cycle as the main body and the domestic and international dual cycles reinforcing each other."

In recent years, the General Secretary has pushed forward many deep-seated reforms that have been discussed for many years but have stalled. Grasping the facts, grasping the crux, and solving problems through investigation and research are his consistent working methods.

This year coincides with "another important year for comprehensively deepening reforms", and the main task is to plan for further comprehensively deepening reforms. In recent months, from Tianjin to Hunan, from Chongqing to Shandong, the General Secretary has conducted in-depth field investigations at the grassroots level. He has also held symposiums on promoting the rise of the central region, developing the western region, and further comprehensively deepening reforms to listen to opinions and suggestions from all parties.

He said: "When the Party Central Committee makes major decisions and formulates important documents, it conducts in-depth research and listens to opinions from all sides. This is the consistent practice and fine tradition of our party."

"The development of things is like sailing against the current. If you don't push it, it will go backwards; in any job, opportunities and challenges coexist. If you don't seize the opportunity, you will not be able to seize it, and the only thing left will be challenges..."

This passage comes from an article published in the "Zhijiang News" column of Zhejiang Daily in 2005. The author was Xi Jinping, then Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee.

General Secretary Xi Jinping often uses the phrase "sailing against the current" to describe the hardship and perseverance on the road to national rejuvenation.

When communicating with the deputies of the National People's Congress, he warned everyone: "Faced with increasingly fierce competition in comprehensive national strength, our cause is like sailing against the current. If we do not advance, we will retreat." When interacting with foreign dignitaries, he spoke earnestly: "Traveling in today's world is like sailing against the current. If we do not advance, we will retreat. As leaders of various countries, we have no reason to retreat, only the option of moving forward."

This year's Two Sessions "came to the group", the General Secretary talked about the hard-won achievements and precious experience, emphasizing that "environmental protection has a long way to go, and we must continue to do a good job." He said: "As long as you see that we are moving forward, we must maintain our composure."

"Corrosion and the fight against corruption have existed for a long time, and if we relax even a little bit, all our previous efforts may be wasted." The general secretary demanded that we continue to promote the construction of party style and clean government and the fight against corruption at all times, and always sound the charge.

"Eradicating poverty is not the end, but the starting point of a new life and a new struggle." The general secretary is committed to making rural revitalization a common action of the whole party and the whole society.

In Shanghai, he pointed out that "a city must not only have height, but also temperature"; in Xinjiang, he urged "increase efforts in economic development and improvement of people's livelihood"; in Guangxi, he demanded "gradually narrowing the urban-rural gap, regional gap, ethnic gap, gap"……

On May 22, 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping inspected Rizhao Port in Shandong Province.

"The Communist Party spends all its energy on making the people live a good life. It must be better than ever before and it cannot stop."

Today, China is prosperous. From building a moderately prosperous society in all respects where "no one can be left behind" to common prosperity where "no one can be left behind", the "giant ship" of China is moving forward all the way.