This year’s Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, falls on January 22, which is the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar and an occasion for family reunions.
During virtual talks with the general public from across the country before the Spring Festival, President Xi Jinping wished Chinese people healthy and happy lives in the Year of the Rabbit and expressed his hope that the country would enjoy prosperity, on Wednesday.
He spoke to medical workers in a hospital, senior citizens at a welfare home, workers at an outlying oilfield, travellers and staff members at a high-speed railway station, vendors and customers at a wholesale market, and people in an ethnic minority village, and expressed his warm care and sincere concern.
Expressing his greetings to the general public and to those who were working hard at their posts, Xi said his heart was linked to the hearts of the masses.
The president appreciated the efforts and contributions made by the general public to overcome the difficulties and challenges in the past year.
‘Perseverance means victory’
With the management of Covid-19 downgraded from Class A to Class B since January 8, China shifts the focus of its Covid-19 response from infection control to the prevention and treatment of severe cases.
But people’s health remains on top of the government’s agenda as the prevention measures enter a new stage.
Talking about the country’s Covid-19 response, Xi said: “We have now entered a new phase of Covid-19 response. Tough challenges remain, but the light of hope is right in front of us. Perseverance means victory,” Xi was addressing health-care workers and hospitalised patients from the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University in north-east China’s Heilongjiang Province.
While talking via video link to older people and staff at a welfare home in Fuzhou, the capital of east China’s Fujian Province, on the same day, Xi said stricter epidemic prevention and health management measures should be taken at nursing homes and welfare facilities to prevent clusters of infection, as older people were a priority in the Covid-19 response stage.
He urged efforts to increase medical resources and the supply of medical services and drugs, and to prepare for medical treatment of severe cases in particular.
Chatting to villagers in Mianyang, south-west China’s Sichuan Province, via video link, Xi said he was primarily concerned about rural areas and rural residents after the country adjusted its Covid-19 response measures.
He called for improving medical care for those most vulnerable to the virus in rural areas, and ensuring the health of rural residents and their normal running of work and life to the maximum extent possible.
Safe Spring Festival travel
As the first travel rush after the country optimised its Covid-19 policies, the Chinese Ministry of Transport estimated that more than 2.1 billion passenger trips would be made during the Spring Festival season and the number of trips by air, railway and road was expected to double the number of last year, reaching 70.3% over the same period in 2019 before the pandemic hit.
The president asked the passengers if they were heading back home for family reunions or out travelling. He reminded them of safety awareness during their trips, during his talks with passenger railway staff of Zhengzhou East Railway Station.
He called for efforts to ensure safe and sound trips for the people and orderly flows of essential supplies. He also called for efforts to strengthen the monitoring and early warning of extreme weather and the carrying out of out safety overhauls to prevent safety accidents.
Stable energy supply and price
The Chinese president expressed his concern over energy supply and the price of commodities during the Spring Festival season, which both have a greater effect on the people’s livelihood
Noting that winter was the peak season for energy use in China, Xi said no effort should be spared to ensure the supply of coal, electricity, petroleum and natural gas, and to keep their prices stable, during his talk with employees of the Tarim oilfield in north-west China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
When talking to vendors and customers at the Xinfadi wholesale market, a major fresh-produce marketplace in Beijing, Xi said people’s vegetable basket, rice bag and fruit plate were related to thousands of households and were the most basic livelihood of the people.
Smooth delivery, sufficient and diversified provisions, and the stable market price of the commodities should be guaranteed during the holiday, so that people could have a happy and sound Chinese New Year, Xi said.
* This article was originally published by CGTN.
