Ten Chinese people who made an outstanding contribution to their country in 2006 were honored on Monday night at Touching China 2006, presented by China's Central Television.

The organizers collected more than two million votes for the finalists after launching a national voting campaign in December 2007. Forty-three jury members, including renowned scholars and celebrities, selected the ten finalists based on the results of those votes.

The ten finalists include medical officer Hua Yiwei, scholar Ji Xianlin, and charity worker Huo Yingdong.

The finalists' stories and the reasons why they were singled out for the awards will be shown during the two-hour awards ceremony, to be broadcast on CCTV-1 at 19:54.

Touching China has become a popular national event since it was first established in 2002.

(China News Service February 27, 2007)