Top leaders' 'rare details' unveiled

Chinese president Xi Jinping and premier Li Keqiang attend a meeting in Beijing, March 10, 2013. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

BEIJING - "China's New Leaders," an illustrated book with profiles of Xi Jinping and other top leaders of the Communist Party of China (CPC), has been published to mark their first year of governance.

In the past year, many of the proposals raised by the new leadership after taking office have been implemented steadily, said one of the book's editors at Xinhua Publishing House, publisher of the book.

The book, with a length of 40,000 Chinese characters, contains seven feature stories released by Xinhua News Agency after the Party's 18th National Congress last November.

Published in both Chinese and English, the book introduces the life, political career, personality and families of President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and top leaders Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli.

The seven features, released last December, have received great attention at home and abroad and have been carried by more than 4,000 media outlets.

On Nov 15, 2012, Xi, then newly-elected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, and six other members of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau met with the press. With the new central collective leadership coming into being, it is widely believed that the leadership transition of the CPC, with more than 85 million members, was complete.

The book's cover picture depicts Xi visiting "The Road Toward Renewal" exhibition in Beijing on the 15th day after his election as the CPC's new helmsman. During the visit, he called for striving to realize the great renewal of the Chinese nation, which Xi said is "the Chinese nation's greatest dream in modern history."

The profile of Xi is titled "Xi Jinping: Man of the people, statesman of vision," and opens its narrative with his first inspection tour after taking office. Twenty-three days after Xi was elected as Party chief, he arrived in Shenzhen, a south China city which has been a pioneer and testing ground for reform over the past more than 30 years.

The new leadership's open style is a noteworthy political sign and Xi's moves after taking office have allowed people to expect more from China's development, overseas media commented.

When the features were released, some readers collected newspapers that carried the stories. "The book satisfies readers' needs," said the book's editor.

Some netizens say Chinese leaders not only have great political ambitions and practical work style, but also lead a common and happy life like ordinary people, which is quite touching.

The book stands out for its great detail. In Xi's profile, many details about his work and life are made public for the very first time.

For instance, in the 1960s, at the age of 16, Xi volunteered to live and work in rural area in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. In the Shaanxi countryside, he had been engaged in farming, herding sheep, hauling coal carts, building water tanks and carrying manure. Xi was a hardworking, capable young man in the villagers' eyes.

In 1982, when many of his contemporaries were going into business or leaving to study abroad, Xi gave up a comfortable office job in Beijing and went to work in Zhengding county, north China's Hebei Province, where the per capita annual income was less than 150 yuan.

When working as Party chief of Fuzhou, capital of Fujian Province, he took the lead in the country in establishing a mechanism for officials to meet with petitioners face to face. Once, he and other senior officials in Fuzhou met with more than 700 petitioners in two days and solved nearly 200 problems. He introduced the same mechanism in Zhejiang, where he later served.

From the Loess Plateau to the southeast coast, from localities to the central leadership, Xi has had a well-rounded political career and has developed a deep understanding of the conditions of his country and people.

Xi worked for decades in various locations, including Shanghai Municipality and the provinces of Shaanxi, Hebei, Fujian and Zhejiang.

Xi has expressed his deep feelings for the people on many occasions. "Officials should love the people in the way they love their parents, work for their benefit and lead them to prosperity," he said.

As a child, Xi and his younger brother used to wear clothes and shoes handed down from their elder sisters.

On Chinese Lunar New Year's Eve, Xi would always make dumplings while watching the China Central Television Spring Festival gala, and would wait for his wife Peng Liyuan, a renowned and well-liked soprano and opera singer who usually performed in the gala, to return for dinner.

The book also contains more than 80 photos, including photos from Xi's family album rarely seen by the public.

One of the book's authors said the book allows people to see clearly the leadership's governing concept and work style, adding the seven leaders were all born around the time of the founding of New China, have abundant work experience, political achievements, grassroots foundations and sound educational backgrounds.

Some of them have experience administering China's advanced coastal regions, and others are familiar with the country's underdeveloped inland areas, the author said, adding that they are witnesses of globalization as well as the country's reform and opening-up, and that they are capable of leading the Party and people to strive to realize the "China dream" along the socialist road with Chinese characteristics.

According to the publisher and authors, the book is based on full and accurate materials, its characters are distinctive and its writing plain yet vivid. A book that offers such an inside look into the leadership is rare to come by.