Foreign news
What can we learn from President Xi Jinping’s childhood?
Children across the country received greetings from Chinese President Xi Jinping on the occasion of International Children’s Day on Tuesday.
In a reply letter dated May 30 to members of the Chinese Young Pioneers at a primary school in east China’s Jiangsu Province, Xi called on learning the Party’s history and having a firm faith to follow it from a young age.
Xi often shows his concern for children’s growth. He frequently writes to children, visits schools, drops in at their homes, watches them play sports games and practice calligraphy, and joins them in activities such as planting trees.
President Xi has on many occasions shared his childhood memories. We explore how President Xi spent his childhood and whether these experiences have made who he is.
Frugal habits
President Xi’s family, a revolutionary one, had a tradition of adopting the frugal lifestyle.
In an interview with CCTV in 2003, Xi recalled having to wear flowery hand-me-down clothes and shoes from his elder sisters.
Taking responsibilities
Ahead of the International Children’s Day in 2014, President Xi visited a primary school in Haidian District in Beijing and called for fostering socialist values among children.
While attending a Young Pioneers ceremony, Xi told the students about his “crying story.” “I cried because I wasn’t old enough to become the first batch of the Young Pioneers,” he said. Then children all laughed when Xi asked: “Is it embarrassing to cry for this?”
He then recalled his excitement after finally being able to join the organization while calling on the Young Pioneers to stand ready for taking forward the cause of socialism.
Patriotism
During that visit, Xi also encountered a group of students who were practicing calligraphy with the characters “Jing Zhong Bao Guo,” meaning “serving the nation with absolute loyalty.”
The phrase comes from the story of Yue Fei, an ancient military commander known for his patriotism. Yue’s mother tattooed these four Chinese characters on his back to remind him of the importance of unswerving loyalty to the nation.
Xi told the students, as a child, he was very inspired by the story of Yue, which he learned from a picture book his mother had given him.
“I said it must have been a great pain to have those words tattooed on the back, but my mother said that although it was painful, he remembered it by heart,” Xi recalled.
“This (Jing Zhong Bao Guo) has become the pursuit of my life,” Xi added.
Importance of physical exercise
Ahead of the Teachers’ Day in 2016, President Xi visited his alma mater Bayi School, where he spent his primary and junior high school years.
Stopping at the soccer field where students were training, Xi, a soccer fan, recalled the old days when he played on the same field, which is grass now but was dirt and mud 50 years ago.
Physical exercise is imperative to cultivating one’s temperament and will power, Xi told the students.
A pair of skating shoes
During a trip to a 2022 Winter Olympics facility in Beijing in 2017, President Xi shared his story with the young ice hockey players practicing there.
“I could only go skating on frozen Shichahai Lake,” Xi said, recalling his teenage years.
He said he loved skating and always wanted to have a pair of skating shoes, while his younger brother liked playing ice hockey. But they could only afford buying one pair. So he gave the chance to his younger brother.
Foreign news
California Transport Agency Seeks Partnership With NiDCOM On Creative Arts, Others
California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) on Friday sought the partnership with the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) on creative arts, climate change, green jobs, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) conversion and technology industries.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a three-man CalSTA delegation led by its Secretary, Mr Toks Omishakin, said this while paying a courtesy visit to Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO of NiDCOM, in Abuja.Omishakin said that CalSTA was one of the global largest agencies that had leading policies around the world in relations to climate change.
He added that for the last 40 to 50 years, the agency had engaged governments around the world to establish policies with better outcomes and impacts for the environment, including climate change.
According to him, Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa and for many years, the country has led African continent with her broad economy.
“So, very rarely that California engages countries in Africa, most of our agreements are with countries in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America.
“California does not have any agreement with countries in Africa when it comes to improving green jobs related to climate change .
“This visit is about how we can potentially set up a California-Nigerian partnership that is specifically addressing issues around climate change, green jobs, technology, creative arts and CNG conversion, these are the areas we want to specifically concentrate on.
“For instance, the creative arts industry all around the world, people know the industry that you call Nollywood, and Afro-beats more than ever.
“In addition, when it comes to United States of America’s creative industry like Hollywood, where a lot of film production happens, movies are made, TV shows are filmed just few miles way from Los Angeles.
“But when it comes to music like the Grammys and award shows for musicians across the world, it is held in Los Angeles, in the State of California.“Furthermore, when it comes to music in Africa. Nigeria is the epic centre for both music industry and movie industry and it’s the same thing for California, so there’s potential for partnership”, Omishakin said.
Responding, Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman of NiDCOM expressed appreciation for the visit led by Omishakin, a Nigerian-American who made Nigeria and the United States proud.
According to her, Nigerians are the best anywhere in the world and Omishakin is an example of Nigerians who are excelling in different fields all around the world.
“We are glad to welcome you home and we are glad that you’re talking business , and how California will be investing in Africa and Nigeria specifically.
“On your visit, you will see a lot of sectors where there can be more partnership with Nigeria.
“Also, part of your visit and tour, you will be meeting with the Transportation Minister and you will see one of the CNG conversion centres at the SMEDAN office, and also you will see products that are made in Nigeria that can be exported to California.
“Most importantly, we look forward to the partnership, bearing in mind that Nigeria is the biggest on the continent”, NiDCOM boss said.
She expressed optimism that in spite of the challenges facing Nigeria, the country would grow economically under President Bola Tinubu Administration.
The NiDCOM boss, who said that the President’s agenda was to build a one trillion economy, added that Nigerians needed to believe in government and themselves as well.
NAN reports that members of CalSTA delegation, who paid the courtesy visit included Mr Aditya Ramji, a Professor from the University of California, and Mr Giles Giovinazzi, Senior Advisor for CalSTA.
NAN
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