By Du Shangze, People’s Daily
The COVID-19 is a crisis, a major test, and a war, said Chinese President Xi Jinping, and also
general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee when joining a
deliberation with deputies from Hubei Province at the third session of the 13th National People’s
Congress (NPC), the country’s top legislature.
This year, the “two sessions”, China’s top legislature and political advisory body, were shortened
due to the novel coronavirus epidemic, so the central leadership also reduced the number of
meetings with regional delegations. Nevertheless, President Xi specifically requested to join
deliberation with deputies from Hubei, saying he must visit them as they were representatives of
the 60 million people in the province.
Hubei and its capital city Wuhan, as the former epicenter of the epidemic, witnessed the transition
from anxiety and panic to confidence and composure in epidemic response, as they are backed by
the country and the 1.4 billion Chinese people.
Having gone through extraordinary adversity, deputies from Hubei province shared their
experience with the general secretary.
Ying Yong, an NPC deputy and also secretary of the CPC Hubei Provincial Committee, said that
President Xi had urged the whole country to help Hubei during the hardest time. “The central
government even managed to guarantee fish supply as we have a love for fish. Hubei and Wuhan
are never alone,” he said.
“I’ve been through too much in my life, but to turn the table in such a short period of time is
unimaginable," said deputy Yu Cheng, citing a senior citizen from a community in Hubei.
Yu, who works for Wuhan Second Light Industry School, worked as a volunteer in a
neighborhood to contribute to community relief effort. “What we delivered to residents were not
just daily necessities, but more importantly, the love and care from the CPC Central Committee
and the people of the whole country,” she said, bowing to President Xi in a gesture meant to
express the gratitude of Wuhan residents.
The deputies’ remarks touched the general secretary who flew to Wuhan for inspection at a critical
moment in the fight against the epidemic this March.
He once said, the heroic city of Wuhan would definitely be remembered by history. Meeting the
Hubei delegation, he once again called Wuhan a heroic city and its people heroic people,
extending his sincere greetings and heartfelt gratitude to CPC officials and people of all ethnic
groups in the province.
The CPC Central Committee followed the situation in Hubei every day, Xi said, adding that he
knew there were still 7 cases under treatment, and 297 asymptomatic cases under medical
observation. No new confirmed cases outside Wuhan had been reported since March 5, he added.
Hubei people know only too well the immense difficulties they have suffered. Going through the
freezing-cold winter, the province finally embraced a warm spring and regained its vitality. The
vibrant Wuhan is coming back, remarked deputy Yan Zhi.
During the deliberation, Xi reiterated that despite the achievements in epidemic prevention and
control, the province must remain vigilant and never slacken its efforts.
Having analyzed the situation both in and outside China, he warned the deputies that even the
slightest negligence may lead to a huge disaster.
From a long-term perspective, Xi said that one urgent task for the province is coordinating
epidemic prevention and control as well as economic and social development.
The president called for continuous efforts so that the hard-earned achievements in fighting
COVID-19 would not be made in vain.
He also said that the measures Hubei had taken and the lessons it had learnt in this battle against
the disease would be useful experience to prevent and control any potential epidemic in the future,
calling them a huge contribution the province had made.
