
BEIJING, June 12 -- President Xi Jinping has praised the deeds of a late forestry professor, who championed poverty alleviation through afforestation, saying he could be a role model for members of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
Xi made the remarks in an instruction letter in praise of Li Baoguo, who taught at Hebei Agricultural University. Xi called him an excellent intellectual and likened him to the "foolish old man on the Taihang Mountains," the main character of a Chinese fable who relentlessly tried to remove the mountains in front of his house.
Xi urged party members, cadres, educators and scientists to learn from Li, whose tireless, selfless work and spirit was for the masses.
Li will be remembered as a man who was not afraid of getting his hands dirty, as he would spend more than half the year directly involved in afforestation projects and worked closely with villagers to help them lift themselves out of poverty. He successfully afforested more than 1.4 million mu (93,000 hectares) of barren mountains.
He died of heart attack on April 10. He was 58.
Li was posthumously awarded the title of "Excellent CPC Member," the top award an individual can receive for deeds that serve the people or the state.
Five made-in-China hi-tech breakthroughs
Beijing Style: Hot pants
HK-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge to open to traffic
China opens its first combined transport service to Nepal
Students take stylish bikini graduations photos
Charming dancing students pose for graduation photos
Guizhou, Yunnan section of Shanghai-Kunming railway connected
Naked models transformed into landscapes, birds and even DRAGONS by body painting artist
World’s biggest cruise ship Harmony of the Seas to start maiden voyage
Top 20 hottest women in the world in 2014
Top 10 hardest languages to learn
10 Chinese female stars with most beautiful faces
China’s Top 10 Unique Bridges, Highways and Roads
Abortive careers
West traps itself by politicizing lone wolf
Lenders threaten borrowers with nude pics
Local dog meat festival shouldn’t be canceled forcefullyDay|Week