Based in Li Dazhao’s revolutionary family style

Note: This article is based on a press release published by Shen Junfeng in China Discipline Inspection and Supervision News on July 11, 2005

Interviewing Li Hongta is very difficult thing because he is too busy. On a rainy afternoon in early June, he did not come back until dusk fell...

Revolutionary family style

Li Hongta was born in May 1949. At that time, his father Li Baohua served as the second deputy secretary of Peking City and was busy working for the founding of New China; his mother Tian Yingxuan worked in the party committee of Changxindian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Factory and could only go home one day a week. Li Hongta was sent to a citizen nursery when he was only 19 days old, and was not taken home until he was 6 years old. Li Hongta is the third eldest child in the family, with an elder sister and a younger brother. Usually, his parents are very strict with them and never give them any special care, which makes Li Hongta develop a sense of common people since he was a child.

In the early 1960s, Li Baohua was transferred to the First Secretary of the Anhui Provincial Party Committee, and Li Hongta followed his father to study in Anhui. Li Baohua went against the political trend of the time and insisted on dealing with the situation rather than the person, allowing many problems to be corrected in a relaxed environment. Rehabilitated more than 4,000 rightists who were wrongly classified. This is a pioneering move in the country. He also opened up farmers' markets in Anhui, allowing farmers to sell grain on the market after completing their purchases. Li Baohua lives a very simple life and wears ordinary clothes when going to work. Because he often went to the countryside and factories, some people said that he visited privately incognito. Li Baohua got the nickname "Li Qingtian" because of this. His father's work style of simplicity, hard work, and seeking truth from facts left a deep impression on Li Hongta when he was a teenager.

Li Hongta still remembers that one day, someone sent several bags of Xinjiang raisins to his family. Li Hongta, who was still a teenager, opened a bag and ate it. When Li Baohua came home from get off work and found out, he immediately educated him: "We must remember that we have only one right, to serve the people. Accepting gifts after doing a little work is not what Communists do." Then , he asked his family to return the raisins, and the pack that Hongta had eaten was refunded at a discounted price.

During the three difficult years, Li Baohua’s family lived a very poor life, with no meat dishes on the table. Li Baohua often said to his family: "When the people are struggling to feed and clothe themselves, the life of cadres must also be difficult, and no specialization is allowed. Many things in life are changing, but one thing can never change, and that is *** The purpose of the Communist Party. If this changes, it will no longer be the Communist Party.”

These trivial matters of life of his father’s generation have subtly penetrated into the depths of Li Hongta’s soul. Influenced by the warm revolutionary family style, Li Hongta grew up healthily.

In 1966, 16-year-old Li Hongta signed up to join the army after graduating from middle school. When leaving, Li Baohua said to him sincerely: "Be prepared to endure great hardships. If you can't endure hardships, you won't be an adult!" After joining the army, Li Hongta was assigned to a farm in Hekou, Jiangsu, and became a land reclamation soldier. In those passionate years, he plowed the fields, sown seeds, transplanted rice seedlings, weeded, and soaked the fields, doing everything without fear of hardship or tiredness. At that time, Li Hongta was tall and thin, so his comrades nicknamed him "Prawn". Unexpectedly, he was such a "prawn", but after hard work, his body became strong and strong, and he could carry a load of 100 kilograms on one shoulder. After three years in the army, he was rated as a labor expert, a sharpshooter, and a 10,000-meter swimmer.

In April 1969, Li Hongta retired from the army and was assigned to be an ordinary worker in the Hefei Chemical Factory. At that time, the technical conditions of chemical plants were relatively backward, and harmful gases were very corrosive, so workers had to wear gas masks when working. On the first night, squad leader Bao led the young workers to work and asked Li Hongta to learn from the class. Late at night, when Tip fell asleep and the squad leader was too busy, Li Hongta actively participated in the operation and became Lao Bao's assistant. The squad leader was very happy and said: "It's great to start working on the first day." Because Li Hongta was active and willing to work, he quickly became the backbone of the factory. The class leader Bao became his teacher and good friend, and introduced him to join the Communist Party of China.

In October 1973, the factory recommended Li Hongta to go to college.

Three years passed quickly. After graduating from Hefei University of Technology, Li Hongta returned to his original unit and became a technician. Due to his outstanding work achievements and hard work spirit, Li Hongta was recommended as a representative of the 10th National Congress of the Communist Youth League. In September 1978, Li Hongta was appointed deputy secretary of the Hefei Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League. In May 1980, he served as secretary of the Hefei Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League and member of the Standing Committee of the Hefei Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China. In October 1983, he was transferred to deputy secretary of the Anhui Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League.

Li Hongta relied on his hard work and intelligence to grow from an ordinary worker at the grassroots level to a leading cadre step by step. Who knows how much sweat and effort he put in during this period?

Seats and "private cars"

In 1987, the time came for 38-year-old Li Hongta to leave the Communist Youth League. When the organization department asked for opinions, Li Hongta chose the Provincial Civil Affairs Department without hesitation. He said: "I just want to find a job in a department that does practical things. Civil affairs is especially practical, and it works directly for the people."

Li Hongta came to the Anhui Provincial Department of Civil Affairs as he wished, and took the position of leader of the department. The last time I worked was 18 years. During this period, many people complained about his lack of promotion, but he took it calmly. He believed that his abilities were limited, and it didn't matter whether he was promoted or not. As long as he could work for the people, he would be satisfied.

To be honest, Li Hongta has not been promoted for many years. There are objective reasons and also Li Baohua's reasons. When Li Baohua was alive, he never said hello to his children's promotion. Whenever the leaders of his children's province came to visit him, he asked them to be strict with his children. What Li Baohua did was a "disservice", not "fashionable", and even rarer.

He seemed to have expected that his father would be "unhelpful". He has never raised the issue of his position in front of any leader of the provincial party committee or provincial government.

In Anhui, Li Hongta, a department-level leading cadre, is famous for riding a bicycle to and from get off work every day. The hall had to arrange a car pick-up, so he smiled and said, "It's more convenient for me to ride a bicycle." In this way, he insisted on cycling to and from get off work no matter it was windy or rainy for more than 20 years. Someone once reminded him, if you don’t take the bus, what will the other deputy directors do? Li Hongta said: "We are exercising and it does not affect others' riding in the car. Why do we have to keep in step?" He still "went his own way." In normal times, he has never used the company's car for personal purposes.

One day, a comrade in the office saw Li Hongta walking to work and asked him: "Why don't you ride a bicycle?" He said: "The car was stolen downstairs. Take a ride. There are too many people on the bus, but it’s still comfortable to walk.” When a local reporter interviewed him, he said with a soft smile: “Commuting to and from get off work by bike is so common, there’s nothing to say about it.” , I walk from home to work at the People’s Bank of China every day.”

Over time, the traffic policemen on Changjiang Road and Lu’an Road that Li Hongta passed every day knew this tall, burly, and gray-haired man. The middle-aged man in question is the director of the Civil Affairs Department, and he is so respectful that he always says hello to him when he meets him.

This is inseparable from the influence of family tradition. Once, Li Hongta and a comrade from the Provincial Academy of Social Sciences went to Beijing for a meeting. After getting off the train, they carried the materials and squeezed into the bus. A comrade from the Academy of Social Sciences joked: "I thought I could get a car by following an official. I'd rather go to Beijing and find an employer and get a car." Li Hongta smiled and didn't answer. The comrade from the Academy of Social Sciences asked again: "Then when we go back, your dad should give us a ride in his car, right?" Li Hongta said: "Don't think about it before it's too late. We don't dare to have any 'delusions' about his old man's car."

During the interview, Li Hongta’s lover said that during his more than 20 years as a leader, Li Hongta had worn out 4 bicycles, worn out 5 raincoats, and 7 pairs of rubber shoes. As he grew older, he replaced his bicycle with an electric vehicle in 2003. He also joked that he was "advancing with the times."

Over the years, Li Hongta's civilian consciousness has not changed. He regards riding a bicycle as the best way to understand the living conditions of ordinary people. He wants to make both his work and his ideological realm unique. Detach yourself from the people and become a party member cadre who truly serves the people.

A house of more than fifty square meters

Speaking of Li Hongta’s house, there are many stories.

One night a few years ago, a reporter knocked on Li Hongta’s door. Stepping into the threshold, a foyer of about 8 square meters appears in front of you. A rectangular dining table takes up one third of the foyer. The dining table shakes a little when you hold it up with your hand. An old-fashioned ceiling fan spins slowly overhead. The beds and cabinets at home were bought when they got married more than 20 years ago. Although some were cracked and the paint was peeling, they were still reluctant to throw them away. Li Hongta said, "They are all made of serious wooden boards." In another room, the particleboard cabinet, desk, TV, and bookcases fill the room to the brim. A set of three-seat sofas were placed separately because the space was too small. Li Hongta said humorously that this was just right, and the conversation could be face to face. Because the house is too small, the TV at home is only 20 inches. Li Hongta explained humorously: "I just like small TVs with good definition."

In 1982, the Anhui Provincial Government had such regulations on the housing standards for cadres: "Prefectural, municipal and provincial departments, Bureau-level and equivalent cadres have a building area of ??70 to 95 square meters per household. "However, Li Hongta, who was already at the deputy department level in 1981, moved into a two-bedroom apartment with 55 square meters in 1984. And it is located on the westernmost side of the building, where it is cold in winter and hot in summer. Their family of three has lived there for 16 years. During this period, Li Hongta was transferred to the Provincial Department of Civil Affairs and took charge of the department's house construction and house allocation work four times. He allocated nearly 200 houses, but he never asked for a house for himself. Many comrades in the hall said: "No matter which time he wants a new house, it is reasonable, reasonable and legal." However, every time it was time to allocate rooms, Li Hongta saw that there were fewer people in the room, so he followed the old rules. To do it, we put the masses first and then the cadres, and it was so "late" that he didn't get a new house every time. 1998 was the country’s last welfare housing distribution. This time, Li Hongta had an ideological struggle, but when it came time to allocate housing, he saw that the housing of many young comrades was poor and needed improvement, so he cruelly gave up this last opportunity.

Until 2000, after many comrades in the province "complained", the relevant departments gave Li Hongta a small flat to make up for the shortfall. It was a building facing the street, with people and cars coming and going, and the noise was extremely loud. . Li Hongta had no choice but to let his son live there, and the old couple still lived in the original house.

As the director of the department, Li Hongta's family should not live in such poverty. As long as he shows a little expression or uses the power in his hands to make some arrangements for himself, even if he only gets what he deserves at his level Yes, his family's life will be completely different. But Li Hongta persisted in poverty and was willing to do so without any other ideas. This reminds people of his grandfather Li Dazhao, who spent 80 yuan from his 120 yuan salary as activity funds in order to found the Beijing Communist Group, which put his family life in trouble. The children cannot pay the tuition fees for school, and the family cannot afford briquettes in winter, and it is as cold as an ice cellar. Li Dazhao himself was also frugal in food and clothing, often eating only a piece of flatbread and a green onion, and his clothes were almost shabby. Li Baohua, who just passed away in February this year, found the simplicity of his home unbelievable. The house is a building from the 1970s, with old plywood furniture, artificial leather-covered chairs, and a sofa that is like a pit when you sit down. In 2000, when the relevant central government departments asked him to adjust his apartment, he said, "I'm used to living there and I'm old, so there's no need to adjust my apartment." He also refused to renovate his apartment many times. This respectable family tradition makes Li Hongta's poverty natural and real, without any suspicion of "showing off".

"The revolutionary tradition is passed down from generation to generation, and the purpose is to serve the people." This is a couplet written by Li Hongta and it is also his motto.

? Three "Famous Quotations"

Li Hongta believes in the way of being an official: first, he must do things, and second, he must be clean.

In 1998, after Li Hongta took up the position of "top leader" of the Civil Affairs Department, the Ministry of Civil Affairs advocated the formulation of disaster relief plans. In response to the frequent floods in Anhui over the years, Li Hongta took the lead in proposing a disaster relief plan for cities along the river. After that, he went from county to city, paying close attention to the implementation, and asked to be included in the government work report. As a result, just after the plan was completed, we encountered a flood that was rare in a century. Because Anhui was prepared for the war, the victims were well resettled, which was highly praised by the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

In the summer of 2003, floods occurred in the Huaihe and Chuhe river basins. Li Hongta traveled to the disaster area for more than 20 consecutive days. He was covered in sweat on a sunny day and mud on a rainy day. His clothes were wet and dry. He drank a few mouthfuls of mineral water when he was thirsty and nibbled a few mouthfuls of dry food when he was hungry. Regardless of fatigue, he got up early in the dark. During that time, he lost weight and became tanned. The skin on his arms changed from red to black to "flowery", and the skin faded several times. His voice became hoarse when he spoke, and he became much more haggard. Seeing Li Hongta risking his life so hard, a veteran cadre said affectionately: "From Hongta, we see the revolutionary family style of Mr. Li Dazhao, the revolutionary pioneer, and the spiritual style of the revolutionary descendants."

Anhui It was once a pilot province for the national rural tax and fee reform. In summarizing and reporting on this work, Li Hongta sought truth from facts and raised serious problems in rural preferential treatment recipients and five-guarantee households after the tax and fee reform. In the report written to the provincial government, every line reveals his heart for the common people. His report immediately attracted the attention of the provincial party committee, provincial government and Ministry of Civil Affairs. Comrade Wen Jiabao, then Vice Premier of the State Council, issued an opinion to this effect. In this way, the problem of disadvantaged groups that is easily overlooked in tax reform fees has been effectively solved due to rapid response.

Comrades in the provincial civil affairs department all know that Li Hongta has three "famous sayings": he regards orphans and elderly people as his parents, he regards civil affairs objects as relatives, and he regards orphans and disabled children as his children.

Li Hongta, who has a strong sense of civilians, spends two-thirds of his time at the grassroots level. He inherited his father's work style. When he went to the countryside, he always drove the car simply. He did not say hello to the relevant cities or counties. He often asked the driver to "drive the car to an inaccessible place" and then walked into the village to check on the distribution of relief grains. In this case, you need to produce your bankbook to check whether the preferential treatment and pension are in place. He said: "The more hard work we have, the less pain the masses will suffer." After leaving the people's homes, he went to the villages and towns to learn about the situation, and finally went to the counties and cities to listen to reports. As a result, many comrades are familiar with his "reverse working method" and do not dare to add any water when reporting in front of him.

A comrade once revealed to reporters that giving gifts to Li Hongta was the most embarrassing thing. One year during the Spring Festival, this comrade and his lover came back from his hometown and brought some snacks to Li Hongta. However, Li Hongta sent back items worth several times the value for him to take home, making him no longer embarrassed to give them to Li Hongta. The tower "gives a gift". In a leadership position, Li Hongta is honest and self-disciplined. He has refused gifts and gifts from grassroots and some units several times. When he could not refuse, he handed them over to the organization for processing.

Li Hongta is the kind of person who values ??ideals, spirit, and beliefs very high, but values ??material enjoyment very low. He said: "My ancestors taught me to always maintain a hard and simple style of work and always place myself among the people." When someone asked him: "Many people have disputes about your words and deeds, and even find it incredible, why don't you pursue 'Car, house, seat'?" Li Hongta said sincerely: "After entering the market economy, many people's values ??and outlook on life have changed. In fact, what I do is just my duty as an official, and that's what civil servants should do."

Li Hongta is such a person. He is honest and simple as an official, loyal to the cause of the party, and has deep feelings for the people. Through the vicissitudes of life, a red thread for three generations has made people feel the gold-like noble quality of the Communists! .

Li Hongta Li Hongta, male, Han nationality, born in May 1949, is from Leting, Hebei. He started working in August 1965 and joined the Communist Party of China in April 1978. He has a general university degree. A model of loyalty, cleanliness and responsibility among party members and leading cadres. The son of Li Baohua and the grandson of Li Dazhao. He once served as Director of the Anhui Provincial Department of Civil Affairs and Vice Chairman of the Anhui Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Winner of the National "July 1st Medal" in 2021. ?