Warm-hearted Lin Xiuzhen

By Li Zheng
0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, August 8, 2011
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Lin Xiuzhen was born in Zaoqiang, Hengshui, Hebei Province in 1946. Warm-hearted and dedicated, she has funded 14 students to finish their university studies. In addition, she has been taking care of six neglected elderly people for decades. As a CPC member, Lin contributes all she has to the society. Her good deeds are too numerous to count.

In the fall of 1993, a boy in Beichen village was enrolled by Shijiazhuang University. Lacking money, he was forced to quit school. After hearing about the boy, Lin immediately began to raise money. She sent the money directly to the parents and signed a confidentiality agreement that they should keep secret from the student, according to Li Baoyi, the former headmaster of Beichen School.

Lin didn't stop there. She helped the local school to mend the classrooms. Knowing that the roof was in need of repair, Lin soon brought the headmaster 2,000 yuan the next day.

Meanwhile, a neighboring village intended to build a primary school, but lacked money. It was Lin who advocated that donations be raised for the effort. She herself donated 1,000 yuan for the cause.

A family in a village nearby had financial difficulties. The parents both suffered from serious diseases. The three kids were all very studious, but the family could not afford their education, and the kids were forced to drop out. At last, Lin funded the three students, one by one, to finish their universities.

One day a man rode to Lin's home. His son was admitted to a university, but he couldn't afford it. Without hesitation, Lin promised to help him. Several days later she brought the man 3,600 yuan.

"I just couldn't sit by and see the students drop out," Lin said. "I must help them. With the aid, the fate of the family may change and the fate of the students may change. I don't have much money, either, but I can collect money for them."

In addition to these deeds, she has also helped the local government build roads, streetlights and wells. During the last 20 years, she has donated nearly 40,000 yuan to the public.

Generous to the villagers, Lin is "mean" to herself. She only wears two sets of inexpensive clothes. Fashion is completely strange to Lin. She was never willing to throw away her old clothes.

One year Lin's mother got paralysis and was confined to her bed. Lin and her sister attended her carefully. After 40 days in bed, she did not even develop one bedsore. When her mother was approaching her end, Lin was not present. Lin regretted this the most. At that moment she was cooking for Zhu Shufang, another old woman who was also suffering from paralysis.

Zheng Bingcheng, the son of Lin's former classmate, was handicapped because of poliomyelitis. Lin visited him every year and brought him 1,000 yuan to prepare for the Spring Festival. Afterwards, Lin gave him a post in her factory. At first, Zheng thought himself a burden. But after free training, Zheng was able to work as a technician. With a stable salary, he was able to make enough to raise his family.

Yang Guang, promotion secretary of Wangchang town, was deeply moved by Lin's efforts. He intended to make Lin's deeds of merit public.

After talking to Lin about his idea, Lin disapproved. "They are all my neighbors. It's not something of great importance at all. As a Party member, I should behave that way." Lin said.

"I have never done this for fame," Lin told Yang. "If you make my efforts public, I would feel uneasy." This originally made Yang speechless. However, in the Spring of 1998, enlightened by Lin's record of service, Yang was compelled to act. "There are still many homeless people nationwide. We should teach the public to learn from your example," Yang said. Lin took his words to heart and eventually agreed.

Now Lin is known to the whole nation. People see her as a role model. Once, a woman, after reading Lin's story in the newspaper, doubted the truth. To see for herself, she made her way to Lin's home. When she arrived, Lin was assisting an elderly man. Afterward, Lin treated the woman to lunch.

"People are mad about money nowadays. I couldn't believe your story at first. Now I know there really are kind people around," the woman recalled of her visit with Lin.

Lin was named as one of 100 people who "Moved China" in 2006 and 2009.

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