BEIJING -- Xi Jinping said Wednesday that "historic shifts" have been made in the cause of the Communist Party of China and the country in the past five years. Xi made the remarks in a report to the 19th CPC National Congress in the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing. The five years since the 18th National Congress have been a period of truly remarkable five years in the course of the development of the Party and China, said Xi, noting that the country has been confronted with "sluggish global economic recovery, frequent outbreaks of regional conflicts and disturbances, and intensifying global issues." "We have solved many tough problems that were long on the agenda but never resolved, and accomplished many things that were wanted but never got done," he told more than 2,300 delegates from all walks of life. The five-yearly CPC congress is China's most significant political meeting. Major achievements have been made in economic development, with the country's GDP rising from 54 trillion to 80 trillion yuan ($8.2 trillion to $12.1 trillion), said Xi. More than 60 million people have been lifted out of poverty, with the poverty headcount ratio dropping from 10.2 percent to less than 4 percent, Xi said. The Party and the country also made major breakthroughs in deepening reform, launching over 1,500 reform measures, said Xi. On climate change, he said China has taken a "driving seat" in international cooperation, thus becoming an "important participant, contributor, and torchbearer" in the global endeavor for ecological civilization. The achievements of the past five years have touched every area and broken new ground, and the changes in China over the past five years have been profound and fundamental, he said. Xi attributed the achievements to "the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee, and, more importantly, the result of all Party members and all the Chinese people pulling together in their pursuit." Xi also hailed the "tremendous political courage and a powerful sense of mission." The Party and the country have also seen major steps taken in developing democracy and the rule of law, significant advances made on the theoretical and cultural fronts, and notable progress made in ecological civilization, said Xi. Significant progress has also been made in strengthening and revitalizing the armed forces, work related to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, diplomacy, and in ensuring full and strict governance over the Party, he said. tyvek event wristbandscustom silicone bandsbat fidget spinnerjordan wristband
WANG WENJIN/CHINA NEWS SERVICE More than 80 people with the surname Zhang traveled from Taiwan to Xiamen, Fujian, in August to discover their roots. People are studying their family trees and age-old stories in the hope of reconnecting with long-lost relatives. Zhang Yi reports from Xiamen, Fujian. On June 9, Huang Ching-hsiung woke at about 3 am in his hotel bed in Xiamen, Fujian province. He was too excited to sleep. At daybreak, he was one of a group of 11 members of his family that set out to visit Pujin, a village two hours from downtown Xiamen by road. The settlement has the same name as Huang's home village in Lugang town, Changhua, Taiwan, and most of the residents are named Huang. The Huangs on Taiwan are direct descendents of settlers who arrived on the island centuries ago. Several batches of Fujian residents moved to Taiwan during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in the hope of making their fortunes, and those who were members of the same family banded together as they fought to make new lives. They named the places they settled after their hometowns and retained the customs they had brought from the mainland. Roughly 80 percent of Taiwan residents share blood ties with people from Fujian. About 110 settlements on either side of the Taiwan Straits that share the same village and family names have established official exchange programs, according to the Fujian-Taiwan Compatriots' Association. In the 1980s, the descendants of those early settlers started visiting the mainland to discover their roots, inspired by family histories passed down through generations. Place your feet on the land our ancestors came from, Huang's father told him, shortly before he died 12 years ago.
