Premier Wen Jiabao headed a delegation of state leaders who visited with students at the Tsinghua Library May 4, in commemoration of Communist Youth League Day.
Accompanying the premier were Vice Premier Wu Yi, State Council member Chen Zhili, Minister of Education Zhou Ji, and Zhou Qiang, the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League.
In the third-floor reading room of the library, Premier Wen asked students how they planned to celebrate Youth Day. When students told him about the wide range of sports and recreational activities planned, such as kite flying, football matches, and aerobics exercise get-togethers, he said teasingly, "The life on campus could be more active..."
He emphasized to students that China intends to make three breakthroughs during the campaign against SARS by developing a speedy, reliable diagnostic test for SARS, developing a treatment for the virus, and improving people’s immunity to the deadly illness. He said that there were many things for the students to study, and it is better to have a broader knowledge.
The premier had high praise for the outstanding contribution made by Tsinghua in the anti-SARS campaign, especially the University’s creation of a thermal imaging device to determine body temperature, as well as the invention of biochips that can be used for diagnostic tests and other SARS-related purposes.
After the discussion, Premier Wen stopped by a popular wooded area on campus where many students from the student art club enjoy extracurricular rehearsals. He gave a short speech to the crowd, saying: "Dear students, the Communist Party and government are concerned about you and hope that you will be continue to study hard, get more physical exercise, and be prepared to do your part for the good of the nation."
Student representatives gave the premier an armband of the type worn by anti-SARS volunteers printed with the characters “Redbud Commando," paper cranes for the medical staff who are fighting against SARS, and an anti-SARS t-shirt.
Before the premier left, the group joined together for a rousing rendition of “Unity is Strength.”
The delegation was accompanied by Tsinghua leaders Gu Binglin, Chen Xi, Wang Dazhong, He Jiankun, Zhang Zaixing, Zheng Yankang, Cen Zhangzhi, Yang Zhenbin, and others.
