President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have urged government functionaries to learn from Zhou Guozhi, an outstanding grassroots cadre who died last year at the age of 42.

Zhou Guozhi has recently become a household name in China. He is sincerely revered in his workplace, his township in central China's Hubei Province and across the country.

Hu said for 20 years, Zhou Guozhi had kept doing good things for people, helping overcoming their difficulties. Wen Jiabao said Zhou's deeds are extremely touching, and more cadres of similar character should be discovered and made public.

A meeting for reporting the deeds of Zhou Guozhi was held Tuesday in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, which was attended by more than 800 government officials and representatives from various circles.

Before the meeting, Chinese Vice-Premier Huang Ju met with family members of Zhou Guozhi and members of the reporting team and expressed cordial regards to Zhou's family members on behalf of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council.

After Beijing, the team will also travel to other cities to make the report.

(Xinhua News Agency October 20, 2004)