The symposium held to mark the 40th anniversary of Huaihua Daily (Photo/Wu Tao, Yang Zhiwei and Pan Yu)
The symposium marking the 40th anniversary of Huaihua Daily was held on the morning of November 6. Wei Zhaohui, secretary of the CPC Huaihua Municipal Committee, attended and addressed the gathering. She stressed the need to thoroughly study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Culture and general secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions concerning Hunan’s work. We must adhere to the Party-affiliated nature of Party newspapers and the principle of running newspapers by statesmen, uphold fundamental principles and break new ground, further advance integrated media development, tell Huaihua’s stories well and rally strength for forging ahead. Yu Jinwang, deputy director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee and director-general of the Hunan Provincial Government Information Office, gave a speech. Gao Jingsheng, deputy secretary of the CPC Huaihua Municipal Committee and acting mayor of Huaihua, presided over the symposium.
On behalf of the CPC Huaihua Municipal Committee, the Standing Committee of the Huaihua Municipal People’s Congress, the Huaihua Municipal People’s Government and the Huaihua Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Wei Zhaohui extended congratulations to Huaihua Daily. She noted that over the past 40 years since its founding, Huaihua Daily has faithfully fulfilled its mission — to uphold socialism, rally public support, foster a new generation with sound values and ethics, develop Chinese culture, and build a positive image of China. Growing and advancing side-by-side with the city of Huaihua, the newspaper has stayed true to its identity as a Party-run paper, rooted itself in serving the overall interests of the city, built a solid bridge connecting the Party and the people, and blazed a trail for integrated-media transformation.
Wei emphasized four priorities. First, we must keep to the correct political orientation to consolidate the Party-paper’s political stance. We shall consistently rally popular support and forge people’s convictions with the Party’s innovative theories, amplify mainstream public opinion, and faithfully act as the mouthpiece of the Party and the people. Second, we shall strive for high-quality content to present vivid stories of Huaihua. Putting content and quality first, news practitioners should capture remarkable moments of major local events, tap into Huaihua’s cultural charm, ecological beauty and dynamic development, so that Huaihua’s stories reach wider audiences with greater influence. Third, we shall deepen integrated media reform to enhance communication effectiveness. We will advance systematic transformation of mainstream media, speed up the construction of the municipal integrated-media center, expand the application of AI technologies in texts, images, audio and video production, and build a new-type mainstream media outlet with strong communication, guidance, influence and credibility serving the border region of five provinces. Fourth, we shall foster a high-caliber workforce to sustain the legacy of journalism. Efforts will be stepped up to cultivate talents in disseminating the Party’s innovative theories, international communication and AI-empowered smart media, forging a team of journalists who are politically firm, professionally competent, realistic, innovative and ready to deliver results. The Municipal Party Committee will continue to support the reform, development and growth of Huaihua Daily. All government departments at various levels shall offer greater support and create favorable conditions for journalism work.
Marking the 27th Chinese Journalists’ Day, Wei extended sincere greetings and festive wishes to all media practitioners. She encouraged journalists to live up to their mission while upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground: to document development with pens, capture splendid moments with cameras, convey warmth with sincerity, tell inspiring stories of hard work, spread uplifting voices, pool dynamic driving force, and forge ahead toward a promising future.
Present at the symposium were Yuan Quan, director of the People’s Daily Hunan Bureau; Tan Jian, deputy director of the Xinhua News Agency Hunan Bureau; Jiang Qi, deputy Party Secretary of CMG Hunan Headquarters; Zhao Qiang, director of China News Service Hunan Bureau; Li Yong, member of the Party Leadership Group of Hunan Daily Newspaper Group and President of Hwasion Co., Ltd.; Zeng Fanhua, honorary president of the Chinese Newspaper Supplement Research Association; as well as Hu Chen, Wang Fuchu, Liu Xiaoming, Dong Zhengyu, Hu Yangfan, Zhang Yong and other leading officials.
(Translated by Tian Xia)