CGTN: From the people, for the people: What the July 1 Medal honors

Article content

BEIJING, June 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CGTN has published an article exploring the values embodied by the July 1 Medal. Through the stories of this year’s recommended nominees, the article highlights how generations of the Communist Party of China (CPC) members have remained rooted among the people, dedicated themselves to public service, and carried forward the Party’s founding spirit.

Article content

When residents in Chongqing’s Guanyinqiao Subdistrict face a neighborhood dispute, many offer the same answer when asked whom to turn to: “Go to Lao Ma.”

Article content

Article content

Article content

“Lao Ma” is Ma Shanxiang, a 69-year-old Communist Party of China (CPC) member, who has spent more than three decades mediating conflicts in the community. His work has filled more than 280 notebooks, totaling over nine million Chinese characters, documenting thousands of stories of patience, understanding and reconciliation. Over the years, he has received more than 20,000 visits from residents and successfully mediated more than 2,500 disputes.

Article content

Article content

Ma is among the recommended nominees for the July 1 Medal, the CPC’s highest honor, ahead of a gathering marking the Party’s 105th founding anniversary on Wednesday (July 1). At the event, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, will confer the medal on model Party members and deliver an important speech.

Article content

One detail of the medal reflects the values it represents. Unlike China’s national medals, which are worn on metal chains, the July 1 Medal features a woven fabric ribbon – a design personally proposed by President Xi. Modest rather than ornate, it symbolizes that the Party’s highest honor belongs to those who come from the people, remain rooted among the people and devote themselves to serving them.

Article content

Article content

Rooted among the people

Article content

Xi has described July 1 Medal recipients as “everyday heroes” who “come from the people and are rooted among the people.”

Article content

The list of this year’s recommended nominees reflects that idea. Though they come from different professions, they share one defining quality: years – often decades – of quiet dedication in places where they are needed most.

Article content

Like Ma, Wu Yaqin, a community Party chief, has spent three decades in grassroots governance, resolving more than 1,000 community disputes. Rural doctor Uhas Sulayman has recorded more than 100,000 patient visits, saved thousands of critically ill patients and delivered more than 3,200 babies. Village Party secretary Li Liancheng led Xixinzhuang Village from poverty to national recognition as a model village. First-class Merit Hero Wang Yuchang quietly continued serving the people after leaving the military.

Article content

The same spirit also shines through scientific innovation. Petroleum refining expert Chen Junwu devoted his life to advancing China’s refining industry and was still reviewing carbon-emissions reports in his final days. Zhong Jue, the 89-year-old academician, has spent a lifetime helping China overcome key technological bottlenecks in aluminum manufacturing. Agricultural expert Zhao Yafu has spent more than 60 years promoting modern farming in hilly regions, helping farmers increase their incomes by more than 30 billion yuan ($4.2 billion).