The International Children's Day falls on Thursday this year. President Xi Jinping has paid much attention and given loving care to the healthy growth of children. Following are remarks made by Xi around International Children's Day over the past years.
PATRIOTISM
Ahead of the International Children's Day in 2016, Xi extended greetings to children of workers on the Dachen Islands in East China Sea.
The Dachen Islands are located off Taizhou Bay in Zhejiang Province. In 1956, 467 young volunteers went there to cultivate the virgin land.
Xi's letter was written in response to 12 pupils who are descendants of those volunteers. Xi said their grandparents were most beloved people.
Xi hoped they would learn from their grandparents, love the Communist Party of China, the motherland and the people, and make contributions to the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
INTEGRITY
In 2015, speaking to some 3,000 members of the Chinese Young Pioneers (CYP) organization and teachers at the CYP's quinquennial congress in Beijing on International Children's Day, Xi encouraged children to love their country, to be good people and to contribute to social progress.
"Being a good person is to live -- first and foremost -- with integrity, and also with knowledge and responsibility," he said.
"In you, I see the future of our nation," Xi told the young pioneers.
Xi said "The socialist modernization drive, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will be obtained with your hands."
"A person can have a lot of aspirations but the most important are about the motherland and its people," he said. "You should aspire to seek truth and serve the country."
SOCIALIST VALUES
Ahead of the International Children's Day in 2014, Xi visited a primary school in Haidian district in northern Beijing, attending school activities and meeting students, their parents and teachers.
While wishing children across the country a happy holiday, Xi stressed that children are the future of the country and the hope of Chinese people.
"All sectors of society should work together to nurture the seeds of socialist values in their heart so that the values can take root and germinate," he said at the meeting.
WISH CHILDREN GROW BETTER
In 2013, Xi called for efforts to nurture and prevent harm to children as he visited the Beijing Children's Palace on the eve of International Children's Day.
"Our best wish is that children can grow better," the president said.
The government should create a better environment for children's study and growth and teachers and parents should hold the responsibility for youngsters' education, Xi said.
He also called for efforts to crack down on actions that harm children's rights and their health.
