Jing Degang, secretary of the Party Committee and President of the Open University of China (OUC), and Liu Chen, deputy secretary of the OUC Party Committee, held an exchange meeting with Lu Xin, former vice president of the China Central Radio and TV University (CCRTVU) and a senior comrade who fought with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the war against US aggression.
On the morning of 30 October 2020, the OUC held a ceremony to grant commemorative medals on the 70th Anniversary of the Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) Entering the DPRK to Fight in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, as well as a Youth Forum entitled "Carrying Forward the Spirit of the War of DPRK Resistance against US Aggression, Striving to become Youth of the Times,” with the aim of thoroughly studying and implementing the guiding principles of the important speech of General Secretary Xi Jinping made at the conference to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the CPV Entering the DPRK to Fight in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. The event was also designed to pay homage to revolutionary heroes who sacrificed their lives fighting in the war against US aggression in the DPRK, inspire young teachers and workers to inherit and carry forward this fighting spirit, help each other, make unremitting efforts for progress, and strive to build a global first-class university.
Liu Chen, deputy secretary of the OUC Party Committee, presented a commemorative medal to Lu Xin, a senior comrade who fought in the war and former vice president of the CCRTVU. Lu Xin held a discussion with young teachers and told them stories about the war.
The Korean War broke out in 1950. During the war, which Mao Zedong regarded as “sharing a common lot with China,” often citing a famous Chinese idiom "The lips being lost, the teeth feel cold,” Lu Xin and thousands of other Chinese young people responded to the call of the country and joined the army. In 1951, Lu Xin became a student of the eighth class of the third division of the East China People's Revolutionary University, and later served as a nursery nurse in the kindergarten of the 23rd army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. In 1954, she went to North Korea and served as a cultural educator at the headquarters of the volunteer army. Ms Lu, who is now in her eighties, is still filled with great passion about her experiences. She recalled the long-distance bus ride when she traveled all the way from Ningbo to the barracks to receive education on the outlook on life and "three major disciplines" of the 23rd Army. Her memories took us back to the days suffering from cruel blows when many volunteers had their noses, ears, and even their legs cut off due to the extreme cold in North Korea. She also recalled the extremely hard days in the army when many soldiers had suffered from night blindness due to lack of vitamins after eating "fried noodles” with no vegetables for too long. In a war with a great disparity in combat capacity between the enemy and our army, with China in a disadvantageous position, and no matter how hard the environment was and how fierce the enemy was, the soldiers of the volunteer army always carried forward a spirit of bravery, indomitability, and heroism, had no fear of death and sacrifice, and managed to overcome all difficulties and dangers with high morale, firm self-confidence, and optimistic attitudes, which had helped them to defeat the invaders and win the final victory.
In his concluding speech, Liu Chen pointed out that 70 years ago, the CPV shouldered the great trust of the people and the expectations of the nation, and held high the banner of justice by safeguarding the peace and resisting aggression. After two years and nine months of bloody battle, the CPV created a miracle with their perseverance, wisdom, and blood, and even with their lives, and won a great victory in the war of resisting US aggression. Today, standing at a historical intersection of the two centennial goals, the Party members and cadres should thoroughly study the spirit of general secretary Xi Jinping's important speech in commemoration of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japan and the 75th Anniversary Symposium for Victory in the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the Conference on the 70th Anniversary to Commemorate the CPV Entering the DPRK to Fight in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. In the new era, we should move forward bravely, take responsibility in our practice, and constantly apply the Party's original intention and mission by drawing strengths from the revolutionary spirit of former fighters.
Liu Chen stressed that we need heroes in times such as these. We need the nourishment of heroic spirits and the great power gathered from patriotic feeling and heroic spirit. As young people in the new era, we should cherish our hard-earned happy life, recognise the risks and challenges facing us in all aspects, and uphold the revolutionary spirit of the older generation in the DPRK war against US aggression. Guiding by the principle of “seizing the day and living up to the great moment,” we should actively devote ourselves to the construction and development of the university on the basis of our own work, so as to promote the implementation of the OUC Comprehensive Reform Plan, and contribute to the construction of an education system serving life-long learning for all.
By Dong Lichao ,OUC