The development of a socialist morality should be stressed and
strengthened during the process of building a well-off society in
an all-round way and the advancement of the socialist modernization
drive, Chinese President Hu Jintao said on Tuesday.
Hu, also general secretary of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China (CPC), made the remarks when he met 53
newly selected national "moral models" at the Great Hall of the
People.
He said the campaign to select these role models, launched by
the Civilization Office of the CPC Central Committee, All China
Federation of Trade Unions, Central Committee of the Chinese
Communist Youth League and All China Women's Federation on
September 1, will significantly improve the moral standards of
Chinese citizens.
Morality is a key factor to the country's development, social
harmony and the people's happiness, Hu said.
"It's part of the building of a socialist spiritual civilization
that a social environment, in which men and women are equal, the
elderly respected, the young protected and the poor supported, and
people are tolerant to each other, should be established," he
noted.
He urged all Party members and all the people to learn from the
moral models and practise the socialist sense of honor and
disgrace.
Li Changchun, member of the Standing Committee
of the Political Bureau of CPC Central Committee, also attended the
meeting.
In March last year, a nationwide morality drive was launched in
the form of Hu's list of eight honors and disgraces amid worries
that some Chinese people have lost their direction and have blurred
the difference between right and wrong during the country's rapid
economic development.
The Eight Honors and Disgraces are as follows: Love the country,
do it no harm; Serve the people, never betray them; Follow science,
discard superstition; Be diligent, not indolent; Be united, help
each other, make no gains at other's expense; Be honest and
trustworthy, do not sacrifice ethics for profit; Be disciplined and
law-abiding, not chaotic and lawless; Live plainly, work hard, do
not wallow in luxuries and pleasures.
(Xinhua News Agency September 19, 2007)
