My name is Deng Xin. I am a hostess at the Shaxian County Radio and Television Station, and a graduate of the Shaxian county workstation at the Fujian branch of the OUC.
Twenty years ago, I graduated from a secondary specialised school and became a hostess. I loved my job, and worked hard to learn the correct forms of pronunciation and expression through imitation. In this mindless way, a hostess can achieve a certain level of external accomplishment, but a genuine understanding of politics and culture cannot be imitated.

I was lucky enough to meet the “north star” of my education, Mr. Hong Huagao, at the Shaxian Radio and Television University (Shaxian RTVU). Over the course of six years of studying law at both the junior college and undergraduate levels, Mr. Hong was my guide, helping me gain an understanding of this field and put to use what I was learning in a flexible manner. I also advanced from being a mere passive hostess who only spoke words others had written to someone with the ability to collect, edit and broadcast news.

Deng Xin, female, 38, majoring in Law at the Fujian branch of the Open University of China (OUC).

Besides broadcasting local news, I also have my own special show called "Political and Legal Issues". When I produce a show, I often think of what Mr. Hong taught me about the legalities the stories cover. I choose a case for every show, and analyse it.

One episode of the show was especially memorable for me. It was the day before the Spring Festival, and as my colleagues and I were discussing the topic of the show, a shivering young man covered in gauze appeared before us. His name was Chen Shengguo, and he was a 20-year-old migrant workerfrom Guizhou who had been working in construction in Shaxian County. Two months earlier, he had suffered a serious head injury at work, and was taken to hospital by his employer, who paid the emergency fee and left him there. Chen spent several thousand yuan, his entire savings, but couldn’t afford the follow-up treatment, leaving him at risk of going blind.

As we all know, before the Spring Festival, the issue of peasant workers claiming their wages and gaining injury compensation had become a hot topic. I decided not only to help Chen, but also to use his story on the show to teach workers how to protect themselves. I invited Mr. Hong Huagao to be a consultant on the show and carefully reviewed the relevant laws and regulations, such as labor law, to understand the procedures for claiming workplace-injury compensation. Mr. Hong volunteered to go to the project site with me to collect evidence, and at the financial office there I found the records of Chen’s salary, proof that he had worked there even though no contract had been signed. After that, I went to the hospital for a statement of Chen's injury, collected all the medical documentation, sought help from the labour supervision department[This is a government department? yes], strove to verify his level of disability, and asked for legal advice from well-known law firms. In the end the court awarded Chen Shengguo fifty thousand yuan in medical expenses and injury compensation from his employer.

As a law student, I saw the power of the law, and knowledge of it, not only to compensate Chen, but to change the lives of thousands of workers. As a television personality, I have also seen the power of education, which is not only the foundation of individual careers, but of a harmonious society.

A random meeting brought me a lifelong teacher. I am very grateful that I was able to become acquainted with Mr. Hong at the Shaxian RTVU, and am convinced that the best teacher is like a boat with knowledge as its sails. A time will come when I ride the wind and the waves, and steer my boat across the vast ocean with its sails hoisted high. (This speech won second prize in the OUC “My Learning Story” speech contest.)

By OUC