Recently, the results of the selection of outstanding alumni of the Open University of China (OUC) were announced, recognising 328 alumni from various industries across the country.
These individuals, with accomplishments as their foundation and technology as their wings, demonstrate resilience, confidence, and a pragmatic, enterprising spirit, writing a unique chapter of progress of the OUC people. From today on, the stories of some alumni will be selected for sharing. By reviewing their outstanding deeds and listening to their life insights, the OUC’s achievements in talent development over the last 45 years are highlighted.
Long Shouju, of Dong ethnic group, is a member of Communist Party of China. She enrolled in the Agricultural Economic Management major (junior college level) at the Open University of China (OUC) in the autumn of 2019. Currently, she is a member of the general Party Branch Committee and the Village Committee in Wushi Village, Wushi Town, Huangshan District, Anhui Province, and also the director of Huangshan Huiqian Planting and Breeding Professional Cooperative. She has been honoured with titles such as “National Model for Women's Meritorious Service”, “National Model for Ethnic Unity and Progress”, “March 8th Red-Banner Pace-Setter in Anhui”, “Excellent Communist Party Member of Anhui Province”, etc. In 2022, she was elected as a delegate to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
In 2001, 23-year-old Long Shouju got married and moved to Wushi Village in Huangshan District, Huangshan City. When she first arrived in the village, her family's livelihood depended solely on three mu of mountain-field and one mu of tea-garden, and they lived in great poverty. Long Shouju has faced many challenges along the way, from working as a migrant worker to earn money for the family, to starting a frozen-food business back in her hometown, and then to setting up a tea-processing factory. However, through her hard work and struggle, she proved herself. By 2017, not only had her family shaken off poverty, but she also transformed from a rural housewife into a leader in poverty alleviation and prosperity-seeking in Wushi Village.
Applying Knowledge and Becoming a Leader in Rural Revitalisation
On the journey of leading ethnic-minority sisters and fellow villagers in poverty alleviation, Long Shouju deeply felt the urgent need to improve her knowledge in agricultural economic management. So, in the autumn of 2019, she enrolled at Huangshan Open University, embarking on a journey to recharge her professional theoretical knowledge.
Long Shouju, who performs excellently at work, also strives for the best in her studies. She changed from a "hoe-holding hand" to a "mouse-holding hand" and through diligent study and practice, she can proficiently operate a computer for text editing. During her school days, she led her classmates to build a study-oriented class and actively provided study materials to her classmates, boosting everyone's confidence in study. Meanwhile, she cared about and helped classmates who needed to retake exams. At the beginning of each semester, she notified relevant classmates one by one about course registration and re-study until they successfully took the exams. As a result, most students in her class graduated with good grades, contributing to the cultivation of practical local talent for rural revitalisation.
Through comprehensive and systematic open-education study, Long Shouju promoted learning through practice and development through learning. While mastering practical agricultural techniques, entrepreneurial knowledge, and marketing methods, she also learned a great deal of policies related to agriculture and rural areas, which broadened her horizons and led to a qualitative leap in her thinking.
With the guidance and assistance of Party committees and governments at all levels, Long Shouju has shown her talent in various fields in Wushi Village, such as planting, breeding, processing industries, leisure and sightseeing agriculture, and rural social undertakings. She led local ethnic-minority sisters to establish the first ethnic-minority-related planting and breeding professional cooperative in Huangshan District. Now, 25 households in the village have joined the cooperative, among which over 70% are ethnic-minority families, and the annual sales volume has reached one million yuan. This has better achieved the goals of leading farmers to prosperity and increasing their incomes, and has shifted the economic growth of Wushi Village to rely on scientific and technological progress and the improvement of labourers' quality.
Relentless Struggle, Gaining High Praise in Multiple Identities
As a student at the Open University of China, Long Shouju served as the study commissary in her class. She studied earnestly and was enthusiastic about class work. In November 2020, she was awarded the title of Outstanding Student at Huangshan Open University; in 2021, she received a scholarship from the OUC; and in 2022, she was named an OUC Outstanding Graduate.
As a village cadre and an enterprise manager, Long Shouju is also full of honours. Besides being named a “National Model for Women's Meritorious Service”, a “National Model for Ethnic Unity and Progress”, and the "Most Beautiful Woman in Poverty Alleviation" in Anhui Province, she also participated in a series of activities on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and was invited to watch the National Day military parade at Tiananmen Square. In October 2022, as an ethnic-minority delegate, she attended the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held at the Great Hall of the People.
Taking on Responsibilities and Being a "Pomegranate Seed" for Ethnic Unity
In an interview with a reporter, Long Shouju expressed her gratitude to the Organisation Department of the CPC Huangshan District Committee and her alma mater, Huangshan Open University, for their cultivation. She attributed her educational improvement to Huangshan City's implementation of the "One College Student Per Village Programme - Village Cadre Training Project". For her, completing her studies is just the beginning, and there are more things waiting for her to explore.
In the future, guided by the rural revitalisation strategy and combined with the actual situation of her hometown, Long Shouju will develop characteristic industries, expand the scale and extend the industrial chain of the cooperative to promote its development. At the same time, she will use information technology to showcase products, trying live-streaming, short- video and other methods to show the mountains, promote the village, and sell more agricultural products. Through continuous struggle, she will continue to lead the way to prosperity in rural revitalization, drive more ethnic- minority sisters and fellow villagers to common prosperity, be a "pomegranate seed" for ethnic unity, and make better achievements in comprehensively promoting rural revitalisation.
By OUC