Remembering Lei Feng, China's 'Good Samaritan'

(Ecns.cn) – The campaign to make the public more aware of the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation reaches a climax today on "Learn from Lei Feng Day," as the government hopes to bring the altruistic figure's unique spirit into the current age.

Known for devoting almost all of his spare time and money to selflessly helping the needy, Lei, a common PLA soldier who died at the age of 22 in 1962, has become a memory shared by generations of Chinese.

The Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee said last week that nine programs will be launched to promote Lei's spirit of selflessness.

The Ministry of Education also launched a project last week requiring primary and secondary schools to add "Learn from Lei" performances as criteria for assessing the "comprehensive quality" of students.

In response to the call, Beijing has rolled out a series of activities to promote Lei Feng to students, such as encouraging them to compose poems, document their good deeds in diaries and devote themselves to helping others, noted the Beijing News.

Remedy for moral decline?

It has been months since the debate broke out over whether one should offer help to an injured stranger on a street in China, yet the problems of public trust and moral decline continue to plague the country's social development.

As more and more people struggle with values and lose their faith in others, it is high time for the public to regain confidence and rebuild a moral society, experts say.

Calling upon the public to emulate Lei's spirit in a modern way is worthwhile, because he still represents the mainstream values of the Chinese nation, said Luo Shugang, executive deputy head of the Publicity Department.

Luo said one of the best ways to emulate Lei in daily life is to join voluntary services, which have no time, geographical or professional restrictions.

For young generations, the activities must be closely associated with the changing times, added Luo. It is better to gradually educate youngsters to perceive social realities such as the gap between the rich and the poor and the justice systems, rather than just tell them they should be selfless or dedicated, he said.

Role model needed more than ever

According to a survey conducted by a research center at Fudan University in Shanghai, 10.2 percent of the college student respondents said that they knew about Lei Feng and were well aware of his stories, while 83.9 percent claimed that they had at least heard of him, reported the Xinmin Evening News.

However, when the students were asked about the official "Learn from Lei Feng Day," only 28.3 percent knew when it actually took place, while the other 71.7 percent had no idea about it all.

After they were briefed about Lei, 91.4 percent agreed that the Lei spirit should be strongly promoted in society, and 95.5 percent showed that they were willing to learn from the altruistic icon.

On the issue of offering help to an elderly person who falls down in the street, 54.2 percent of the college students said they would immediately offer assistance, while 34.1 percent emphasized they would make sure there were witnesses or other evidence before helping out.

Obviously, lawsuits arising from people attempting to help others in the street such as the "Peng Yu" and "Xu Yunhe" incidences have discouraged the public from being eager to help strangers.

Pushing the campaign

In its report in October 2011, the Sixth Plenum of the 17th CPC Central Committee called for steps to promote the permanent implementation of a campaign to learn from Lei Feng. It was the third time the campaign was promoted at the top leadership level, according to China Daily.

It is hoped that every individual will draw motivation from Lei Feng, carry forward the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, act on socialist morals and develop good social customs, as these are very important to social integrity, noted Luo Shugang.

Of course, the Lei Feng spirit has also evolved with time, and the campaign should take on more innovative forms and new content to adapt to new circumstances. The focus on Lei should be on his attitude in life, which inspires the public to be good people, said Luo.

No one would deny that Lei was good person. In a People's Daily article, he was described like this: "Born in late 1940 in central China's Hunan province, Lei was orphaned at the age of 7. He started working in a steel mill in 1958, and became an army recruit in 1960 at the age of 20. Lei is known for devoting almost all of his spare time and money to selflessly helping the needy.

He died from injuries sustained from being hit on the head by a pole while helping a fellow soldier direct a truck on August 15, 1962.

In a diary dated just five days before his accidental death, he wrote, 'From now on, I will love and respect people more, always learn from the masses with a humble heart like a primary student, and be a servant of the people.'

A year later, Chairman Mao Zedong called on the entire nation to follow Lei's example. Since then, March 5 of every year is designated as 'Learn from Lei Feng Day'."