In Changchun, the capital of northeastern Jilin
Province, a team of foreigners, many of them senior
white-collar workers, have attracted people's attention by driving
dozens of shoppers home from a local mall for free.??
What they have done, as they put it, is to learn from Lei Feng,
a soldier in the early 1960s who was well known for his
selflessness. Lei seems to be undergoing a revival of popularity
among both Chinese and foreigners.
Born in 1940 in Changsha, the capital of central China's Hunan
Province, Lei lost his parents when he was seven. At 20, he
joined the People's Liberation Army and spent all his spare time
and money helping the needy. On August 15, 1962, he was killed when
a truck struck a pole that fell on him.
Lei became a household name in March 1963 when the late Chairman
Mao Zedong called on the whole nation to follow his example. March
5 has been designated as the "Day of Learning from Lei Feng."
"The purpose of organizing this team is to remind people that we
should learn from Lei Feng not only in words, but also in deeds,"
said Han Shuyong, one of the team organizers and founder of a
cultural communications company in Beijing.
The team members come from Germany, Canada, Britain, Brazil and
other countries. They are members of a local club in Changchun, Han
said.
Talking about this activity, Roberto Cavlos Klein, a senior
clerk from Brazil who now works in Changchun First Automobile Works
Group Company, still felt quite excited. "It not only provided me
with an opportunity to relax, but also deepened my understanding of
Chinese people. If possible, I would like to take part in more such
activities."
"As time goes by, many people forget the core of Lei Feng's
qualities," said a shopper surnamed Zhang who took the free ride.
"But I experienced a live Lei Feng today, which makes me know that
the key of learning from Lei Feng is to let Lei's selfless
sacrifice become the quality of our own, whether we are Chinese or
foreigners."
Four sophomores from Northeast Normal
University in Changchun volunteered to work as interpreters for
these foreigners. "I think it is quite meaningful and helpful for
us, as we have done a good deed for others and also practiced what
we have learned," Zhou Simin said.
In the past 40 years, the spirit of Lei Feng has encouraged
Chinese people. Currently, there are more than 30 million
volunteers learning from Lei Feng, according to statistics from the
Central Committee of Communist Youth League of China.
Lei Feng also enjoys increasing popularity in more than 30
countries. He Zhaohai, vice chairman of the China Lei Feng Project
Committee, said countries such as the United States, Japan,
Singapore and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea have
organized activities with the theme of "learning from Lei
Feng."
Every year, there are also thousands of foreign visitors who
come to the Lei Feng Memorial in Fushun in northeastern Liaoning
Province and the Lei Feng Memorial in Wangcheng County in
central China's Hunan Province, he said.
On the website www.leifeng.com, which was launched in March
1999, thousands of messages, including those from international web
surfers, are left in memory of Lei Feng each year, according to the
site's operators.
(Xinhua News Agency March 5, 2005)