Editor's note: In the Gengzi New Year, a war without arms started nationwide. At a time when families should be reunited, a group of OUC students mobilised to help Wuhan and rescue patients there!

The white-robed angels whose deeds have moved people all over the country say: "We are called "warriors", but have chosen this profession, and it is our duty to help fight the epidemic! We shall dedicate ourselves to the interests of the country over our personal interests".

Why are so many taking part in this struggle? Let's pay tribute to them, and tell their stories.

"Dear Party Organisation,

I am writing with great excitement to apply to join the Communist Party of China. As a nurse, it is my duty and mission to save lives and heal injuries. To help fight the coronavirus epidemic, I am determined to join others on the front lines in Wuhan, contributing all of my strength and determination."


This letter was written by Huang Wen, a nurse in charge of the Tongling Municipal Hospital, and a Spring 2010 Nursing graduate of the Tongling division, Anhui Branch, of the Open University of China (OUC), before she left for Wuhan. It expresses her keen desire to join the Party, her passion, and her sense of professional responsibility.

She was born in 1988, and is the mother of a two-year-old from whom she had never been separated for so long. Nonetheless, she did not hesitate to sign up help fight the epidemic. "As an ICU nurse for ten years, I am qualified for this task, which will stand out for me when I look back on my nursing career," she said.

On the afternoon of 27 January, 2020, the first seven medical staff supporting the Hubei medical team set out from Tongling City, five of them, including Huang Wen, students from the OUC's Anhui branch. They included Zhu Wen and Dong Jiaming, Nursing undergraduates from the Autumn 2016 class, Shen Yan, 2011, and Wang Fangyun, 2012.

After the medical team arrived in Wuhan, it received expert training. On the morning of the 29 January, the standard procedures for working and living there were communicated. In order to save time, and for safety purposes, Huang Wen and the others cut their long hair short. "We were ready to go to work as soon as the hospital we were to serve was determined." Huang Wen said that she would follow orders, and do her best to help Wuhan overcome the epidemic. Her goal is the same as everyone's: to win the battle, and bring this terrible event to an end.

Many others from the OUC’s Anhui Branch are also working to help defeat the new disease. These include Pan Chunying, head nurse of the Huangshan People's Hospital and a Spring 2016 Nursing graduate from the Huangshan branch school of the OUC's Anhui Branch; she participated in the construction of isolation wards as a nurse leader during the SARS epidemic. She is among those fighting day and night on the front lines, and displaying the responsibility OUC students feel to help win this battle.

By OUC News Network