‘Touching China’ awards honor citizens

The annual "Touching China" awards, presented by the China Central Television, honored 10 people as China's inspiring role models of 2012 Tuesday evening, according to a report on people.com.cn.

The annual "Touching China" program, which was first broadcast in 2003, honors those who have touched the nation with their tenacity, bravery and wisdom over the previous year.

"In a society where people's attention is always grabbed by bad news, it's necessary to praise people who do good deeds and present moral models to the public," said Wang Zhenyao, a jury member of the program, who is president of the China Philanthropy Research Institute of Beijing Normal University.

Ordinary people who do extraordinary things at work or in their daily lives are honored by the award, said the online voting platform sina.com.cn.

Zhang Lili, a teacher at the No.19 High School in Jiamusi, Heilongjiang Province was honored for saving two students from being hit by a bus on May 8. She suffered serious injuries, the report said.

The award winners' stories moved many people to tears. "In a society where people's moral bottom line is being challenged, this program makes me feel warm and encourages me to care for others," a Web user said on her microblog.

Some commentators took a cynical view. Gu Jun, a professor of Sociology and Political Science at Shanghai University, said the award winners only succeeded in touching China because the government failed to fulfill its duty.