Party delegates show their personal side

In her 32-year career as a nurse, Yang Ruihui offered intensive care to 92 elderly people during their last days.

As the delegate to the 18th National Congress of Communist Party of China (CPC) told of her story of tending dying patients to reporters on Monday, the silence in the well-packed conference hall resembled that at a death bed.

"All families have elderly people and everyone will eventually grow old," the 53-year-old nurse from northwest China's Shaanxi Province said in an emotional voice. "I never forget my glorious duty as a Party member in my entire career."

During the weeklong congress that ends on Wednesday, dozens of Party delegates with different backgrounds met reporters from around the world in the media center.

While some took the occasion to explain the complexities of present China and offer outlook on its future development, others used personal experiences to illustrate the importance of Communist ideals and spirits, which many think are on the wane in a better-off society.

"Our work is mundane and ordinary in nature, but as long as we do it whole-heartedly and with love, we will gain the trust and support of the public and show the true reputation as a Communist," Yang said.

Fifty-year-old Ju Xiaolin is one of the 26 migrant worker delegates elected to the congress. They represent over 250 million migrant workers nationwide.

Meeting media on Monday, Ju said in pursuing higher work ethic, he always looked up to a co-worker named Wang Jianhua, who was a model Party member.

At night when others were eating or taking a rest, according to Ju, Wang would write down everything about work in detail and on the next day see to it himself that everything be strictly followed.

"He was my role model, and I always learned from him," said the technician who only had high-school diploma but had compiled a construction textbook on his own.

During a panel discussion on Nov. 10, he broke down in tears while reading aloud an original poem of praise directed toward President Hu Jintao.

"It has been found, it has been found, the new expectations of my heart, on the morning of Nov. 8, 2012, on the podium of the Great Hall of People, in the resolute voice of Hu Jintao..." read Ju's poem, which was inspired by a political report delivered by Hu to the congress on Nov. 8.

At a press conference on Nov. 9, Party theorist Li Jingtian used a story he heard during the SARS outbreak in 2003 to demonstrate the "avant-garde nature" of Party members.

When a hospital needs a nurse to tend the patients suffering from SARS, two Party members got into an argument as both wanted to be picked, said Li, executive vice president of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

The younger nurse said:"I haven't got married, so I have no worries," Li was told, while the elder one replied: "I'm married and have a child, so I have no regrets."

"When I heard the true story, I sincerely felt that I should be proud of being a CPC member," said Li. "In life-or-death situations, Party members have the courage to sacrifice themselves."

At the congress, Liang Wengen, founder and board chairman of the Sany Group, one of China's machinery giants, was under immense media spotlight for his identity as a private businessman and one of the wealthiest people in China.

As Liang met reporters on Sunday, the businessman delegate recounted his circuitous path to CPC membership and pledged his allegiance to the Party.

He applied several times to join the Party over a period of 18 years before finally being accepted in 2004, two years after the CPC amended its Constitution to allow private business people into the Party.

Before the 16th National Congress in 2002, the CPC only allowed workers, peasants, members of the military and intellectuals -- who were considered to be part of the proletariat -- to become members.

"As a Communist, I will unswervingly put the Party's interest at first when it is in conflict with that of myself," Liang said, stressing that "he was not telling a lie."

"My property, even my life, belongs to the Party. This is the quality a Communist must have," he added.