Peking University, Beijing, May. 4, 2009: The theme of the 2010 Conference of Important Affairs of State (CIAS), which opened on April 29^th, 2010, is “The Youth and the Era”. This year, which marks the 90^th anniversary of the first activity of the Communist Youth League of PKU, the conference invited top scholars from various fields including politics, economics, humanities and diplomacy to analyze the reform process of China, current events, noble ideals and great responsibilities for the constructing our nation and reviving our people.

On the evening of April 29^th, the opening ceremony, as well as the first discussion, of CIAS was held at the Multifunctional Hall of the Peking University Centennial Hall. Wu Renbao, representative of the Seventeenth Congress of CPC, national model worker, and general director of the Party, village, and enterprise of Huxi Village, gave a splendid speech.

As soon as Chairman Wu of Huaxi Village came into the hall, all the attendants stood up and welcomed him with thunderous applause. Old as he was, he still had a bright and energetic state of mood and waved to the audience in acknowledgement of their enthusiasm.

Sun Liqiang, vice president of the PKU Youth League Committee, delivered the opening speech. He said that because students are the hope of our people, we should keep pace with the times, strengthen the sense of historical mission, and combine the development of individuals with the fate of our nation, and this conference just provides such a platform for us. In addition, given the considerable change of the constitution of the youth on campus, the Youth League Committee of our university is constantly reinforcing the work for graduates on extracurricular activities, and will make more efforts to broaden the platform, increase more programs which are of more participation, and serve and instruct graduates efficiently.

Then, in the accompaniment of nine strikes to a bell, the large curtain of the conference was drawn away and the ninth CIAS officially began.

After the showing of a short video of Huaxi Village, Chairman Wu delivered a lecture on the fifty-year undertaking course and development experience of Huaxi Village. As to the construction of new socialist countryside, he said, “What is socialism? That people can live a happy life is socialism. The contents of happiness consist of a rich life, pleasant mood, and health body. What is the new countryside? We summarize as two groups of attributes: the first group is beautification and purification; the second group is that the countryside looks like a forest from a distance, like a garden at close range, and like a paradise with detailed scrutiny”. He also pointed out that the key to construct a good state of economy, polity, culture, society and ecology is constructing the Party well and living up to the principle that “people enjoy prosperity first while officials face difficulties first”. When referring to the Concept of Scientific Development, he said that “developing is a science; not developing is unscientific”, and “the truth is to improve conditions by ourselves when there are no favorable conditions”, and the reason for the great achievements of Huaxi Village is that people continuously create favorable conditions for development.

In the conference, Chairman Wu showed the sincerity of a peasant and the profundity of a thinker, winning great admiration for himself. He has resided at Huaxi Village for as long as forty-eight years, but every minute he is thinking about change and progress at the right time and thus he could still talk with freedom and ease and gave us some enlightenment with humorous words in his eighties. Almost all the three hundred attendants were deeply attracted by him, the old and wise man where rapturous applause broke out frequently.

In the communicating part, Chairman Wu answered the questions of audience in detail. From his reply, we could clearly feel his great care and high hopes for the youth.

After the discussion, Sun Liqiang, the vice president of the Youth League Committee, presented a gift for him and he left a handprint as a request from the committee of the conference. Moreover, students gave him a mysterious gift—a cartoon picture of Chairman Wu to show their admiration and respect in a popular and special way.

Other members of the Party Committee of Huaxi Village, Sun Liqiang, the vice president of the Youth League Committee, Shi Yunjia, president of Youth League Committee of Graduate School and Office of Youth Affairs, Huang Guan, executive vice president of the Academy and Creativity Department also attended the conference.

The PKU Graduate Conference of Important Affairs of State aims at high-level discussions which takes place once a month. Through the communication of preeminent lecturers and graduates, graduate students will learn a lot from winners and share the precious experience and abundant knowledge of them, which will help students form a good personality and achieve their goals strenuously.

Editor’s Notes:

PKU Graduate Conference of Important Affairs of State was first held in 2002. Each year lots of famous experts and scholars from various circles of society are invited here to interpret policies on the development of China, and to discuss hot issues of society for students of PKU in order to help students form the Scientific Concept of Development and become more enthusiastic to dedicate themselves to our nation. In the past eight years, Wu Shuqing, Fan Xulitai, Wang Yifu, Lin Yifu and many other outstanding guests were respectively invited to make a lecture at PKU. At present, the Conference of Important Affairs of State has become an important campus activity, especially for graduate students.

Translated by: Cao Yixing

Edited by: Jennifer Yan

Source: PKU News (Chinese)