Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, September 6th, title: Not afraid of difficulties and hard work-a review of the anti-flood spirit

  Xinhua News Agency reporters Wang Libin and Yu Xianhong

  The flood is surging, and all places are in desperate situation.

The great flood in 1998 was so fierce and lasting that it was rare in history.

  Under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, the soldiers and civilians of the country surrendered the flood with the heroic spirit of swallowing mountains and rivers, and won the great victory in the fight against floods, forming a great anti-flood fight of "one heart and united minds, not afraid of difficulties, tenacious hard work, perseverance, and daring to win". Spirit.

  Unite your will: Zhuangge casts a monument

  On the banks of the Yangtze River in Jiujiang, Jiangxi, the 1998 Anti-Flood Monument stands majestically.

Not far from the monument is a barge-shaped building more than 80 meters long-Jiujiang Flood Fighting Memorial Hall.

The location of the memorial hall was the breach of the gates No. 4 to No. 5 of the Jiujiang City Dike on the Yangtze River that year.

  Pieces of objects, frames of images, and pictures in the museum quietly tell of the thrilling and moving defense of Jiujiang 23 years ago.

  After the flood began in 1998, most parts of the country experienced heavy rainfall, continued heavy rainfall occurred in some areas, and some places suffered severe flooding.

The Yangtze River has experienced another basin-wide flood since 1954, with 8 peaks successively. The water level of the 360-kilometer section below Yichang and the Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake has exceeded the historical record for a long time. The Shashi River section has a high water level of 45.22 meters.

  Almost at the same time, the Nen River and the Songhua River experienced huge floods exceeding historical records, with three flood peaks successively occurring.

The Xijiang River in the Pearl River Basin and the Minjiang River in Fujian also experienced major floods for a while.

Many cities and vast rural areas along the rivers and lakes in Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia and other provinces are seriously threatened.

  With an order from the Party Central Committee, the army and the people united as one and launched a special war against natural disasters.

The cadres and masses of the disaster-stricken provinces and regions, together with the PLA commanders and armed police officers and soldiers who came to support, fought in unity and turned the tide, fought a thrilling and desperate fight against the flood, and finally ensured the safety of major rivers and lakes, as well as important cities and major traffic arteries. Safety has ensured the safety of people’s lives and property.

  This is a people's war in the true sense.

The People’s Army has invested more than 300,000 people, and local party committees and government organizations have mobilized more than 8 million cadres and masses to participate in flood fighting...

  In 1998, the Yangtze River was flooded with water, and the water level in most of the river sections exceeded 1931.

In 1931, more than 350 main dikes of the Yangtze River breached. Three towns in Wuhan were flooded for more than three months. Most of the Yangtze River Plain, Dongting Lake District, and Poyang Lake District were flooded, killing more than 140,000 people.

In the summer of 98, the Wanli River Embankment stood tall, the cities along the river were in order, and the people lived and worked in peace, in sharp contrast.

  The party and the masses are in one heart: fight hard to win

  On the front line of flood fighting and rescue work, party organizations at all levels give full play to their leadership core and fighting fortress role.

The broad masses of party members took the lead, charged into the battle, and became the backbone of the soldiers and civilians in the disaster relief.

  "The flood will not retreat, I will not leave the embankment!" When the flood struck in 1998, Chen Shentao, the party branch secretary of Jiangji Village, Xingang Town, Jiujiang City vowed.

The Yigong Dike of Xingang Town guards the east portal of Jiujiang, Jiangxi.

Chen Shentao and the villagers struggled together on the embankment for more than 3 months.

  In 2020, my country suffered the worst flood since 1998. Chen Shentao, who has retired, still chooses to guard the Yigong Dike and fight with his son Chen Jian.

Under the leadership of Chen Shentao, the retired military flood prevention and flood fighting party member commando team in Lianxi District, Jiujiang City, where Chen Jian is located, solemnly swears in front of the party flag: "Go to the place where the party and the people need it most, and fight the devil to the death!"

  Facing the huge threat and test of the new catastrophic flood, the vast number of cadres and masses in the disaster area, the PLA commanders and soldiers, armed police officers and soldiers, and public security officers, worked together and worked in unity.

The people of the whole country have demonstrated strong cohesion and have become a strong backing for the soldiers and civilians on the front line of flood fighting and rescue.

The touching story of "difficulties on one side and support from all sides", and the great support and cooperation of "a game of chess across the country" fully demonstrate the tremendous superiority of the socialist system.

  On the banks of the Yangtze River, moving scenes appeared——

  In September 1998, in the resettlement shed on the south bank of Jiujiang Jiangxinzhou, a girl fell to the ground. Her parents named her "Zhijiang".

Zhijiang, who was born in the flood disaster, just graduated from university in 2020, and without a word, he picked up a shovel on the embankment.

In the most strenuous days of the flood, more than 4,000 young adults returned from the local area.

  The great anti-flood spirit has been passed on from generation to generation.

  Improving ability: realizing "An Lan" and "Residence"

  Twenty-three years have passed, and the landscape has changed.

  The "most beautiful shoreline" of the Yangtze River in Jiujiang, the Baili Ganjiang Scenic Belt in Ji'an, and the Baili Scenic Belt in Changjiang, Jingdezhen... In Jiangxi, many new ecological "landmarks" full of poetry and picturesqueness continue to emerge.

  The 1998 flood, especially the severe floods in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, in addition to abnormal weather and concentrated rainfall, also exposed serious ecological damage in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, increased soil erosion, siltation of the middle and lower reaches of the river, and weakened flood discharge capacity. Problems such as weak dikes and low flood control standards in the river section.

  After the 1998 flood, the state increased investment to speed up the governance of major rivers and lakes such as the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, and raise flood control standards.

The middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River will vigorously carry out comprehensive management of water and soil conservation, implement the closure of mountains for reforestation, prevent soil erosion, and improve the ecological environment; build high-standard flood control dikes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River; The land reclaimed and reclaimed was returned to forests, pastures, and lakes in a planned way; the construction of flood control projects focusing on embankment construction was carried out. The main embankment of the Yangtze River was comprehensively heightened and strengthened. The main tributary embankments, as well as the Dongting Lake, Poyang Lake area and other embankments successively Increase the height and thickness.

In particular, the completion of the Three Gorges Project has played a significant role in preventing floods and staggering peaks.

  Water conservancy construction is a major event for the peace and prosperity of the people, and it is related to the long-term plan for the survival and development of the Chinese nation.

  In August 2020, General Secretary Xi Jinping conducted an in-depth investigation and investigation in Anhui, taking flood prevention and disaster relief and river management and lake management as one of the focus of the inspection.

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The Chinese nation has fought against natural disasters for thousands of years and has accumulated valuable experience. We will continue to fight. This fight is not against God, but to respect and conform to nature. Laws, actively respond to natural disasters, and live in harmony with nature."

  Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the party and the government have attached great importance to the protection of the ecological environment, the improvement of the flood control system, and the continuous improvement of flood prevention and flood prevention, disaster prevention and mitigation capabilities.

Thanks to this, as well as vigorously inheriting and promoting the great spirit of fighting against floods, my country successfully responded to the 2013 floods in the Nen River, Songhua River, and Heilongjiang in Northeast China, as well as the 2016 Yangtze River, Taihu Lake and other river basins; in 2020, it won again. The catastrophic flood disaster has ensured the safety of people's lives and property to the greatest extent.

  Under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee, as the country's comprehensive strength continues to increase, along with the ever-increasing modernization capabilities of resisting natural disasters, China's water governance philosophy is undergoing historic changes. China is moving towards the goal of calming the rivers and the people to live in peace.