The Mass Line: An Important Methodology Used by China …
75
nation will be heightened.” Through hard work, a preliminary victory was achieved
in eliminating the “four pests.” At the same time, Mao Zedong called upon the people
eradicate schistosomiasis. In March 1951, Mao Zedong sent schistosomiasis control
personnel to Yujiang County, Jiangxi Province, to do some investigation, and for
the first time confirmed the county as a place with high schistosomiasis prevalence.
In April 1953, Mao Zedong sent doctors to the county for important experimental
research. On September 27, according to an investigation report from members of
democratic parties, Mao Zedong raised the issue of schistosomiasis prevention and
control, and appointed Xi Zhongxun, then Secretary-General of the State Council,
for the task. In 1956, Mao Zedong issued a call to “mobilize the whole Party and
all people to eliminate schistosomiasis.” In the same year, Mao Zedong instructed
relevant authorities to send two expert teams to the county to inspect schistosomiasis prevention and control. A mass movement was thus initiated in Yujiang County
to eradicate schistosomiasis, which succeeded in 1958. For this achievement, Mao
Zedong praised the creativity of the people with the famous poem line “the six
hundred million Chinese people are all great people like Shun and Yao.” After 1978,
the patriotic health campaign became routine. In 2002, under the wise leadership of
the CPC and thanks to persistence in the mass line, China triumphed over SARS. In
sum, the patriotic health campaign ensured a clean environment, better health of the
people, and a higher capacity for China to pursue sustainable development.
Environmental protection. Faced with the environmental pollution problem
resulted from a lack of experience, Chinese people spontaneously launched many
environmental protection campaigns. A good example is the one led by Li Shuangliang, a retiree of Taiyuan Iron and Steel Company. Since the establishment of the
company in 1974, a slag yard gradually formed on the premise gathering a total of
10 million m
3 of slag, which was not only a waste of resources, but also a source of
heavy pollution in Taiyuan, seriously affecting the production and life of local people.
Due to a shortage of time and funding, company authorities and experts found no
feasible solution to this problem. After he retired in 1983, Li Shuangliang took the
initiative to work on this asking for no input from the authorities. After more than
10 years of hard work of Li and his peer slag yard employees, up to 1.309 million
tons of scrap iron and steel were reclaimed and used to produce all kinds of products,
creating an economic value of RMB 330 million. On this basis, they built 2500 m of
protection slopes around the yard, 20 m wide at the bottom and 13 m high, and planted
more than 70,000 trees, making the yard a beautiful garden. Li Shuangliang spirit
was thus formed, as a symbol of trust in the masses, relying on them, and having faith
in employees for corporate operation. In 1988, Li Shuangliang won the Global 500
gold medal. In addition, as environmental protection became a basic national policy
of China, many people took active actions to report and fight against environmental
pollution, and carry out waste classification and recycling campaigns, making great
contribution to environmental protection in China.
Soil conservation. Soil erosion is a serious problem affecting people’s lives and
production. There was a large-scale mass soil and water conservation campaign in
75
nation will be heightened.” Through hard work, a preliminary victory was achieved
in eliminating the “four pests.” At the same time, Mao Zedong called upon the people
eradicate schistosomiasis. In March 1951, Mao Zedong sent schistosomiasis control
personnel to Yujiang County, Jiangxi Province, to do some investigation, and for
the first time confirmed the county as a place with high schistosomiasis prevalence.
In April 1953, Mao Zedong sent doctors to the county for important experimental
research. On September 27, according to an investigation report from members of
democratic parties, Mao Zedong raised the issue of schistosomiasis prevention and
control, and appointed Xi Zhongxun, then Secretary-General of the State Council,
for the task. In 1956, Mao Zedong issued a call to “mobilize the whole Party and
all people to eliminate schistosomiasis.” In the same year, Mao Zedong instructed
relevant authorities to send two expert teams to the county to inspect schistosomiasis prevention and control. A mass movement was thus initiated in Yujiang County
to eradicate schistosomiasis, which succeeded in 1958. For this achievement, Mao
Zedong praised the creativity of the people with the famous poem line “the six
hundred million Chinese people are all great people like Shun and Yao.” After 1978,
the patriotic health campaign became routine. In 2002, under the wise leadership of
the CPC and thanks to persistence in the mass line, China triumphed over SARS. In
sum, the patriotic health campaign ensured a clean environment, better health of the
people, and a higher capacity for China to pursue sustainable development.
Environmental protection. Faced with the environmental pollution problem
resulted from a lack of experience, Chinese people spontaneously launched many
environmental protection campaigns. A good example is the one led by Li Shuangliang, a retiree of Taiyuan Iron and Steel Company. Since the establishment of the
company in 1974, a slag yard gradually formed on the premise gathering a total of
10 million m
3 of slag, which was not only a waste of resources, but also a source of
heavy pollution in Taiyuan, seriously affecting the production and life of local people.
Due to a shortage of time and funding, company authorities and experts found no
feasible solution to this problem. After he retired in 1983, Li Shuangliang took the
initiative to work on this asking for no input from the authorities. After more than
10 years of hard work of Li and his peer slag yard employees, up to 1.309 million
tons of scrap iron and steel were reclaimed and used to produce all kinds of products,
creating an economic value of RMB 330 million. On this basis, they built 2500 m of
protection slopes around the yard, 20 m wide at the bottom and 13 m high, and planted
more than 70,000 trees, making the yard a beautiful garden. Li Shuangliang spirit
was thus formed, as a symbol of trust in the masses, relying on them, and having faith
in employees for corporate operation. In 1988, Li Shuangliang won the Global 500
gold medal. In addition, as environmental protection became a basic national policy
of China, many people took active actions to report and fight against environmental
pollution, and carry out waste classification and recycling campaigns, making great
contribution to environmental protection in China.
Soil conservation. Soil erosion is a serious problem affecting people’s lives and
production. There was a large-scale mass soil and water conservation campaign in