The award ceremony for the July 1 Medal, the highest honor of the Communist Party of China (CPC), was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 29. President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, presented the medals to outstanding CPC members.

A total of 29 people received the honor, including three who were awarded the medal posthumously, with 22 of them attending the ceremony. Three of them are featured in this article: Wang Shumao, a role model in safeguarding the country's rights and interests in the South China Sea; Zhoigar, a guardian of the country's borders on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau; and Shi Guangyin, an individual who leads efforts in afforestation and combating desertification.

Marine rights protection vanguard

Wang Shumao, a deputy to the National People's Congress(NPC) from Hainan Province. Guo Cheng

Born in Qionghai in south China's island province of Hainan, Wang Shumao has been safeguarding China's territorial sovereignty and marine rights and interests in the South China Sea for decades. 

Since 1985, Wang has been deputy head of the militia in Tanmen, a port township among the nearest to Nansha in the South China Sea. For years, the militia has been driving away foreign vessels entering the region. 

The militia has over 100 members and its ships are equipped with the BeiDou navigation system and maritime satellite phones. It provides hundreds of pieces of intelligence information from the South China Sea every year. 

The Tanmen militia has about 60 days of training a year, including a month of regular offshore training and nine days of live-fire training, which include rescue courses, first-aid treatment and sessions such as intercepting entering vehicles. “Local fishermen have been safeguarding the waters for generations,” the 65-year-old veteran fisherman said.

Wang, also a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), always keeps a notebook and pen at hand to take notes when he hears suggestions from fishermen. Their work is the inspiration for the suggestions he submits to the annual NPC sessions, covering topics like promoting recreational fishery and how to increase fishermen's income.

"Community-based NPC deputies like me must listen to the voice of the people. This is my duty," Wang said, adding that now as Hainan has ushered in a new era by building itself into a free trade port, he will pay closer attention to the protection of marine resources, the development of the recreational fishery industry, and the countryside vitalization. He will strive to play a pioneering role and perform his duties as an NPC deputy to seek benefits and development for locals in Hainan, as well as making Tanmen more beautiful.