CGTN: Father's Day: Words from Xi Jinping's father to his son

2023-06-19 17:04:05

BEIJING, May 19 /PRNewswire/ — BEIJING, June 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Father’s Day, which falls on the third Sunday in June, is a time when people say thank you to their fathers or reminisce about the times they shared.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s bookshelf has a picture of him pushing his father Xi Zhongxun in a wheelchair while his wife and daughter walk beside him.

Xi Zhongxun (1913-2002), a farmer’s son-turned-leader, always considered himself a member of the working people.

A simple life

The Xis are traditionally strict with their children and live a simple life. Xi Zhongxun regularly told his children to be frugal and set a good example.

As his daughter Xi Qiaoqiao recalled, Xi Zhongxun picked up stray grains of rice and bun crumbs from the table and wiped the soup bowl with a bun.

When Xi Jinping was a child, he wore his sisters’ used clothes and shoes. When he was working in Zhengding, north China’s Hebei Province, he took a patched mattress with him. While working in Ningde, southeast China’s Fujian Province, he requested that his office and dormitory not be renovated.

On many occasions he also emphasized the importance of family education and virtues. “Regardless of how times have changed, family values, family education and family formation must be emphasized so that the millions of families become important points for national development, ethnic progress and social harmony,” Xi Jinping said.

Since taking office as general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Xi Jinping has repeatedly called for austerity and opposed extravagance and waste.

Xi Zhongxun’s family tradition was a mirror, a standard, and a guide for his children.

“State affairs come first”

On October 15, 2001, a rare family reunion was held to mark Xi Zhongxun’s 88th birthday.

However, Xi Jinping, then governor of Fujian Province, was absent due to a busy schedule. He then wrote his father a sincere letter expressing his regrets.

“You work quietly for the Chinese people, which inspires me to devote my whole life to serving the people,” Xi Jinping wrote in the letter.

After reading the letter, Xi Zhongxun showed understanding for his son’s absence and told his family and friends, “Work comes first and state affairs come first. To serve the people is the greatest piety.”

A good family tradition influences the working style of the party and the government.

Since the 18th CCP National Congress, Xi Jinping has traveled to 14 contiguous areas of extreme poverty at the time and conducted more than 50 poverty alleviation inspections.

From “seeing real poverty” to earnestly “eradicating poverty,” he has shouldered historical responsibility firmly.

“No matter what position you hold, serve the people sincerely, consider the people’s interests wholeheartedly, maintain close ties with the people, and always be available to the people,” Xi Zhongxun once said to his son.

With these words, Xi Jinping never forgets what inspired him to be a servant of the people.

Father’s Day: Xi Jinping’s father’s words to his son On Chinese President Xi Jinping’s bookshelf is a picture of him pushing his father Xi Zhongxun in a wheelchair while his wife and daughter walk beside him. CGTN

View original content: