Xi Jinping asked the cadres to "raise their hands", Xi said｜The sun is blazing

China News Service, June 16th, "Whose family lives in a house like this? Raise your hand!" No one answered.

"If anyone has a direct relative living in a house like this, raise your hand!" Still no one answered.

This was a scene 24 years ago, in a shantytown in Fuzhou, where Xi Jinping, then governor of Fujian Province, questioned the cadres accompanying him.

On July 2, 2000, it was hot in Fuzhou in the middle of summer. Under the scorching sun, at the hottest time of the day, Xi Jinping came to Cangxia Community for research. The wooden house was small and stuffy. After asking the residents about their living conditions in detail, he asked questions to the cadres around him one after another.

"Do you know why we chose this time to conduct research in the shantytowns? We want you to personally experience the suffering of the people." "We are the people's government. We must remember the word 'people' in front of the government and put ourselves in their shoes."

Eight days after Xi Jinping's inspection, the renovation project of the Cangxia shantytown area kicked off. In May of the following year, the resettlement housing for 3,441 households and nearly 10,000 people was completed.

"Who among the people doesn't love a good official? They turn their tears into rain" and "Serve as an official and benefit the people, thus fulfilling their life's mission." More than 30 years ago, Xi Jinping expressed his respect for Jiao Yulu in "Nian Nujiao: Remembering Jiao Yulu".

From Shaanxi to Beijing, from Hebei to Fujian, from Zhejiang to Shanghai, from the grassroots to the leaders of the Party and the country, in Xi Jinping's heart, the word "people" is of paramount importance.

On November 15, 2012, the day he was elected General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Xi Jinping said in a meeting with Chinese and foreign journalists, "The people's yearning for a better life is our goal." In his speech at the beginning of his new term, he mentioned "the people" 19 times.

During his local inspections since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, at the grassroots level, in rural areas and in poverty-stricken areas, Xi Jinping's greatest concern has always been "what the people need."

In Fuping, Hebei, he sat cross-legged on the kang of a farmer's home and asked about their needs and well-being, "Do you have enough food?" "Do you have quilts?" "How far is the school for the children?"

In Weiyuan, Gansu, he visited drought-stricken villages to learn about water problems, took a bucket of water and tasted the water directly, "Where does the drinking water come from?" "Let me taste it";

In Shizhu, Chongqing, he worked with villagers in the poor households to calculate their household accounts, “how much is the minimum living allowance?” and “how much is the medical expenses and how much is reimbursed?”

Over the past decade, the grand political commitment has been embodied in the sense of gain that is within reach for 1.4 billion people: nearly 100 million people have escaped poverty, basic pension insurance covers more than 1 billion people, basic medical insurance covers more than 1.3 billion people, and more than 1.4 billion people have achieved a well-off society in all respects...

On May 22 this year, Xi Jinping visited Shandong. At the Sunshine Coast Greenway in Rizhao, he explained Chinese-style modernization to the citizens in this way: To promote Chinese-style modernization is to make the people's lives better and better.

The next day, at a symposium with enterprises and experts that was described by the outside world as "preparing for the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee," Xi Jinping made a meaningful statement:

"We promote reform and development, in the final analysis, to enable the people to live a better life. After the 18th CPC National Congress, I proposed that we should put the people first, adhere to the people-centered approach, and the people's yearning for a better life is our goal, which must be implemented in all aspects of the whole process of comprehensively deepening reform."

In the shanty towns of Fuzhou, on the kangs of Fuping, on the coast of Rizhao... letting the people live a better life has been Xi Jinping's consistent goal.

Last November, in a speech during his visit to the United States, Xi Jinping once again talked about the importance of "allowing every Chinese to live a good life" in his heart.

"When I was less than 16 years old, I lived and worked with farmers in a small village in northern Shaanxi. I knew what the people were worried about and what they hoped for. Half a century has passed since then. Being among the people makes me feel at ease, and being with the people gives me strength."

Xi Jinping said, I will be selfless and live up to the people. This is my lifelong belief.

｜Produced by the "Xi Yan Dao" studio of China News Network