“Gong Ballad” is sung in the era
——Interpretation of the practice of dual support in the new era in Huanggang City, Hubei Province
■Lin Guobing Guo Feng
A gong used during the Jute Rebellion.Photo courtesy of Hubei Provincial Museum
In April, the Qingshan Double Support Cultural Park, the first double support theme park in Huanggang City, Hubei Province, was officially opened, becoming the city’s double support landmark in the new era.
This is the birthplace of the Jute Rebellion. “Little Huang’an, everyone is a hero. One gong sounds, 480,000. Men will fight, women will deliver meals.” At that time, a “Gong Ballad” was widely sung along with the revolutionary fervor in the Dabie Mountains. The history of struggle in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui revolutionary base areas has created a monument of the unity of the army and the people and the common hatred of the enemy.
Entering a new era, “Gong Ballad” continues to be sung in this red land. The military and civilians inherited and carried forward the tradition of dual support, writing a Huanggang chapter of dual support in the new era.
In February this year, officers and soldiers of the Huanggang Detachment of the Armed Police participated in the ice and snow removal mission at the station.Photo by Gong Cheng
In February this year, officers and soldiers of a certain unit carried out an activity to learn from Lei Feng and voluntarily provided haircuts for residents in the area.Photo by Li Zhizheng
In April this year, Huanggang City organized party and government cadres, school students and retired military representatives to the Huanggang Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery to carry out Tomb Sweeping Day memorial activities to commemorate the heroes.Photo by Li Zhizheng
thickness of history
Deep friendship in the “Army Support Bag”
“My son is doing well in the army, so don’t worry! Our family has a good role model, and the younger generations will learn from it!”
This year’s Tomb Sweeping Day, in Chengmagang Town, Macheng City, retired soldier Zheng Zunyuan went to visit his ancestral graves early in the morning and report to his ancestors on his son Zheng Xin’s performance in the army.
In Chengmagang Town, the Zheng family is a well-known family with four generations of ancestors and grandchildren serving in the military. Zheng Zunyuan’s grandfather joined the revolution during the Red Army period, and his father Zheng Shiji participated in the battle to liberate Hainan Island and the war to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea. Influenced by his revolutionary family style, Zheng Zunyuan joined the army in 1982 and served in Northeast China for five years. In 2013, his son Zheng Xin also joined the army.
“It is our duty to protect our family and our country at all times.” When talking about the four generations of soldiers serving in the army, Zheng Zunyuan’s explanation seems to be an “understatement”, but behind it is the profound red historical heritage of the local area.
During the revolutionary war years, a total of 440,000 heroic sons and daughters in Huanggang City joined the revolution, and three main forces of the Red Army were born. People from every household join the army, and every household supports the army as if they were family members.
In Guanyinge Village, Qiliping Town, Hong’an County, many villagers still have a canvas “army support bag” hanging in their kitchens. “This is the historical testimony of our ancestors’ support for the Red Army.” Qin Qiuping, the village party secretary, said that during the Agrarian Revolution, the people of Huanggang tightened their belts and put a handful of dry food in their bags before cooking. If you make more with less, you can concentrate it on giving to the Red Army to make military rations.
“In our village alone, there are 55 Red Army martyrs.” Qin Qiuping said, the “Army Support Bag” is not only hung in the homes of the villagers, but also in everyone’s hearts.
Good traditions inspire good people. “When you are a soldier, you have to fight and charge like your fathers did.” Zheng Xin has been in the army for 11 years and is now a first-class sergeant in a certain army unit in the southern theater. He once went to Lebanon to perform peacekeeping missions with the army and received the “Peace Medal” and the “Peace Mission Medal”. According to statistics, since 2021, Huanggang City has transported more than 5,000 soldiers to the army, and first-class heroes such as Zheng Ziqian and He Guohui have emerged.
response speed
“General mobilization” for pre-support support
A support coordination event allowed the officers and soldiers stationed in training to witness the “Huanggang Speed” of supporting the frontline troops.
In April 2023, after learning that a certain unit from the Central Theater Command would remotely maneuver to Huanggang for training, the Municipal Double Support Office and the Huanggang Military Division immediately launched a support plan for the army and organized transportation, water conservancy, maritime navigation and other departments to hold a coordination meeting to prepare for the training. The troops resolved issues such as training docks, accommodation for officers and soldiers, water, electricity, and fuel supplies to ensure that the training troops can fully carry out training as soon as they arrive. “After a day of high-intensity training, I can take a hot shower in time. Going to Huanggang for training really feels like ‘coming home’,” said a soldier from the training unit.
Whatever the troops need to prepare for war, local governments will ensure what they need. In recent years, Huanggang has held annual Party committee military meetings and military-civilian joint meetings to study and deploy the work of supporting the army and the frontline. It has formulated a “double list” of mutual requests between the military and the local area and practical affairs between the military and the local area. It has successively solved the problems of tap water pressure boosting and There were 49 cases regarding mains power expansion and other issues.
In March 2022, a bus terminal was located next to the camp gate of a certain Zhouqiao army camp. Frequent bus stops and U-turns affected the army’s combat readiness for travel. After learning of the situation, the Municipal Public Support Office promptly coordinated with the municipal bus company to relocate the station to a nearby location based on the principles of convenience for the masses and conducive to combat readiness. “To protect the troops’ travel is to protect their combat effectiveness.” The relocation of the site has received unanimous understanding and support from surrounding residents.
In May 2023, the Xishui County Ministry of Human Resources and Armed Forces reported to the county committee and county government that there were ownership identification issues on part of the land used by a certain ministry. After understanding the situation, the county party committee and county government immediately set up a special team to jointly carry out ownership investigation and other work. In order to ensure the authenticity and completeness of the information for confirming rights and evidence collection, on the basis of investigation and evidence collection, the special work team conducted a comprehensive analysis and demonstration of land source materials, and compiled and improved 17 land-related materials and records. Soon, the ministry’s military land ownership issues were properly resolved.
The temperature of the army
“Military Family Home” warms the hearts of soldiers
In March this year, the oath-taking ceremony for recruits in Jiuzihe Town, Luotian County, was once again held at the “Military Family Home” founded by Wang Kaiming, a “national model of patriotism and military support.” About to enter the military camp, recruit Xiao Chen looked a little anxious.
“At major turning points in life, it is normal to feel confused, anxious or even panicked psychologically.” Wang Kaiming, who has always been careful, discovered Xiao Chen’s abnormality and took the initiative to chat with him to encourage him to face the new environment with a positive attitude. “If you have something on your mind, just write a letter to the ‘Military Family Home’.” As he said this, Wang Kaiming took out more than 20 letters that he had exchanged with soldiers in the army and told him that many of the letters written down were about his journey as a soldier.
Wang Kaiming himself is a soldier. At that time, in order to facilitate exchanges between military families in the village, Wang Kaiming set up a “Military Family Home”. Over the past 20 years, this place has become a “warm home” for military families to exchange ideas, assist the troops in doing their jobs, and relieve soldiers from worries. Nearly a thousand military family members have taken the initiative to join the “Military Family Family” family, and together they have helped batch after batch of young draftees to shed their ideological burdens and take root in the military camp.
“Thank you, Dad Wang!” After being enlightened by the “hometown instructor”, Xiao Chen seemed much more confident.
Caring for soldiers and their families, there are many enthusiastic people like Wang Kaiming in Huanggang City who are making contributions in all walks of life.
The “Supporting the Army Pioneer” bus is a business card of Huanggang’s dual support. The buses with slogans such as “To love the army is to strengthen national defense” shuttle through the city. In September 2023, a group wedding of a certain Zhouqiao army was about to be held, but the wedding cars of 60 couples had not been found. “Please rest assured, troops, we will be responsible for arranging wedding cars.” At the coordination meeting, the person in charge of the municipal bus company stated on the spot. On the wedding day, six newly decorated “Yongjun Pioneer” buses welcomed the bride on time. The “Army Support Pioneer” at the wedding has become a unique memory of the officers and soldiers, allowing everyone to truly experience the warmth of supporting the army in a city.
The sweetness of the day
Run towards happiness on “Aimin Road”
On the eve of this year’s Spring Festival, Wang Lianshan, Minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Arms of Macheng City, returned to Xiaozhai Village, Chengmagang Town, to welcome the New Year and talk about development with the masses.
“Minister Wang, we had a good harvest of Camellia oleifera last year, and we plan to expand it by another 40 acres this year.”
“Last year, my chrysanthemum tea was launched on the ‘E’ Youhaohuo platform, and sales doubled.”
Talking about the development in the past year, the villagers’ faces were filled with happy smiles, “Thank you to Minister Wang for laying a good foundation for us when he was the poverty alleviation team leader!”
Xiaozhai Village, Chengmagang Town, was once a famous poor village. In 2016, according to the unified deployment of the Hubei Provincial Military Region, the poverty alleviation work team headed by Wang Lianshan entered Xiaozhai Village with backpacks. They started by building a strong party branch, organized the branch to conduct research and learn skills, and successively built a number of “people-loving roads” to reach every villager group. With the support of the work team, Xiaozhai Village has successively developed seven leading industries including photovoltaics, chicken raising, chestnuts, chrysanthemums, Chinese medicinal materials, camellia oleifera, and seedlings. The villagers have an annual income of nearly 10,000 yuan.
“Although Xiaozhai has taken off his hat, he can’t relax.” In 2021, Wang Lianshan was named “The National Advanced Individual in Poverty Alleviation” and was transferred to Macheng City as Minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Armed Forces. Although the burden on his shoulders is heavier, he still cares about Xiaozhai Village. During holidays, Wang Lianshan often “goes back to his hometown” to see the lives of the villagers and the development of the village.
“Build the old revolutionary areas better and let the people in the old areas live a better life.” The troops stationed in Huangshan kept in mind the purpose of serving the people. While completing various tasks, they actively supported the rural revitalization of the old areas and provided long-term targeted assistance to 22 villages, working with More than 2,000 households have formed pairs to coordinate the introduction of more than 70 specialty industries.
Huanggang is located on the north bank of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. It has mountains, dense forests, and are dotted with rivers and lakes. Every year, rescue and disaster relief tasks are heavy. According to incomplete statistics, in the past four years, the Huanggang Military Division, troops stationed in Huanggang, and fire rescue teams have participated in more than 120 emergency and dangerous tasks such as flood fighting and forest fire extinguishing, and have relocated or rescued 12,000 people, building a strong foundation to protect the people. The Great Wall of Steel.
“Double Support Vision” Edition Illustration: Hu Shuo
Continuing the tradition of old districts and telling the story of double support
■Director of the Office of the Double Support Leading Group of Huanggang City, Hubei Province Huang Chile
Recently, Macheng Qingshan Shuangyong Cultural Park opened, which is a major event in our work. The construction of the Double Support Park not only integrates the culture of Double Support into the urban fabric, but is also an important measure to tell the story of Double Support based on the position and to cultivate feelings of national defense. Huanggang is a major military and military city in Hubei Province and has a strong tradition of supporting both. To do a good job in the work of dual support in the new era, we need to continue the tradition of the old district, tell the story of dual support well, and continuously stimulate the vitality of dual support in inheritance and innovation.
Protect traditional carriers of dual support. The revolutionary historical relics left over from the Revolutionary War years are an important basis for us to carry out education on mutual support and tell the story of mutual support today. Huanggang City has 1,017 red cultural sites and 5,768 immovable cultural relics sites. For these precious resources, we have implemented protection measures while actively developing their educational functions.
Create a cultural atmosphere of dual support. Huanggang City excavated and compiled local revolutionary historical materials and compiled many red books such as “Jute Uprising” and “Forging Loyal Souls on the Dabie Mountains”, which were widely disseminated and promoted throughout the city. They used regional revolutionary history and stories of dual support to guide local cadres and the masses to strengthen the concept of dual support.
Organize the dual support and co-construction activities well. The dual support and co-construction activities are an important opportunity for military-civilian exchanges. In 2023, the Huanggang City Army Support Team boarded the Navy Huanggang Ship to perform operas for officers and soldiers, organized intangible cultural inheritors to enter the military camp to carry out cultural activities, and continued to write the story of dual support in the new era in various forms.
Last year, Hubei Province’s first large-scale red live-action drama “Hong’an Forever Red” was performed at the Hongxiu Theater in Hong’an County, which not only promoted the development of the red tourism industry, but also allowed the traditional story of two lovers to “fly into the homes of ordinary people.” Practice has proved that telling the traditional story of dual support can not only provide spiritual motivation for us to do a good job in dual support in the new era, but also better demonstrate the political advantages of military-government unity between the military and the people.
Tags: Interpretation practice dual support Huanggang City Hubei Province era Ministry National Defense Peoples Republic China
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