Three Chinese men have separately applied to register the name
of Zheng Jiuwan, a village official and a model Communist Party of
China (CPC) member, as a trademark for farm produce and other
products.
The three, from Shandong and Zhejiang provinces in east China, had
submitted their applications to the Trademark Bureau of the General
Administration for Industry and Commerce of China (GAICC), said
Zhou Baoguo, a trademark official with the Industry and Commerce
Bureau of Yongjia County, Zhejiang Province, where Zheng's home
village is located.
The Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee named
Zheng as a national model CPC member in June, calling on all Party
members to learn from Zheng's spirit of selflessness, being just in
dealing with villagers' affairs and serving the villagers with
heart and soul.
Zheng was also named a "Pioneer of the Times" by Zhejiang
Province.
One of the three, Jin Tao, head of the Liaoyuan Intellectual
Property Right Affairs Office based in Wenzhou city of Zhejiang,
said, "I hope I can successfully register Zheng's name as a
trademark and present it as special gift to Zheng to express my
admiration."
Jin submitted his application in March and the GAICC began
dealing with it in July. "I never thought that others had already
applied, and they all sought a trademark for farm produce and
sideline products."
The other two applicants, one from Yuhang District of Hangzhou,
capital city of Zhejiang Province, and Dezhou, a city in Shandong
Province, were unavailable for comment.
Zheng said, "If my name can be registered as a trademark, which
will bring benefits to local people of my hometown, I won't
object."
Zhang Yinghua, an associate professor with the Media and
International Culture College of Zhejiang University, said,
"Applying Zheng's name as a trademark shows how outstanding CPC
members are still admired and adored by the general public.
Zheng, 55, became the secretary of the Jiugang Village Committee
of the CPC in 1987.
Jiugang, a remote mountainous village, lags far behind other
economically developed villages in Zhejiang Province.
Under the leadership of Zheng, the village's per capita annual
income rose to the 2,000 yuan (US$250) last year from 600 yuan
(US$75) nearly 20 years ago when he first took the post of
secretary of the village CPC committee.
However, the per capita income of 2,000 yuan was less than half
of the per capita income of Zhejiang Province for last year.
Zheng became seriously ill last October and has undergone two
operations. He is recovering gradually at his home and still serves
as the leading Party official of the village.
Villagers raised more than 60,000 yuan (US$7,500) to pay his
medical charges.
"We would do all we can to help Zheng, even if all the villagers
have to beg for money," one villager said.
Liu Xianhao, a 75-year-old villager, described Zheng as
"selfless". "He cares for fellow villagers wholeheartedly and deals
with our affairs justly."
Liu said Zheng contributed his own money to promote the
development of village economy and improve the living standards of
villagers.
"We hope Zheng will recover as soon as possible," said Liu.
(Xinhua News Agency August 5, 2006)