Zhu Yinghuang, editor-in-chief from 1993 to 2004.
Twenty-five years ago, our founders spent sleepless nights, anxiously awaiting the birth of a new baby - the only child since the founding of the new Republic in 1949. For many of them, it was a time to realize a lifetime dream. That was also the dream of our late premier Zhou Enlai, who said, upon returning from the Geneva Conference in 1958: "For a country like China, we need an English newspaper."
Our founders had a strong conviction that China needed it and the world needed it. And their conviction has been amply proved by what we have witnessed - the country's peaceful rise in the world, the growing interest the world is showing in China, and also by what this newspaper has accomplished in a quarter of a century.
Each year, when we celebrate our birthday, we cannot but remember our forerunners and what they have done for us. Unfortunately, some of them have left us. But their names, their dedication and their pioneering spirit will always remain part of the history of this newspaper.
We remember Liu Zunqi (1911-1993), who was the first editor-in-chief of China Daily. Even after many years of suffering and humiliation, he remained a most respected scholar and dedicated journalist. He was the first to believe that China Daily, from the start, must have editorials expressing opinions on both domestic and world affairs.
I still recall the day when I handed in my first editorial to mark May Day that year. "You call this an editorial? What is the message anyway?" He criticized me for "shooting at random without sending a clear message."
We remember Feng Xiliang (1920-2006), our second chief, who passed away three months ago. Who would believe he was once such an energetic and vigorous leader and organizer, often seen climbing stairs two at a time. With his expertise in professional journalism, he was actually the one who laid the foundation for what this paper is today.
We remember Chen Li (1929-2006), my predecessor. He had given all his time and energy to the development of the newspaper, caring little for his own health, and none for any personal gain. He worked day and night, often had new ideas and was firm in executing some of them. The heavy work load took away his brain, and finally his life, but he left us with the China Daily Newspaper Group.
We remember others. Guan Zaihan (1923-1984) was one whom many of our young people do not know. A veteran journalist, who had once being wronged as a "rightist", he was among the founders of the paper.
A man of strong character, he would sometimes lose his temper, but he was much liked by his Chinese and foreign colleagues and friends, because of his wisdom, knowledge, dedication to work and a gentle sense of humour. Until today, I still remember what he said about opinion writing: "There is nothing you cannot comment on; it's only a question of how you approach it." He died on the job of a heart attack, at the age of 61.
I joined China Daily in August1981, two months after its official launch. The chance came accidentally. My wife and I came to Beijing for the summer vacation in 1980 and heard the venture being planned. As one of those who graduated at the beginning of the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) and who had to receive "re-education through labour", I had spent two years on the farm, seven years in a factory and three years in a college and I was immediately attracted to the idea of working for China's first English newspaper. We passed the examinations and joined the paper one year later.
Somewhere deep in my mind, I had a vague notion of what makes a newspaper man. I hate those "cultural revolution" years under the "leftist" rule when newspapers were telling lies to the people, misleading the whole nation. And China Daily, as a newly-born product of the country's reform and opening-up policy, should be able to tell the truth, if not all.
Thanks to the policy line set by our founders, China Daily has undertaken a mission to tell the true story of China to the outside world. That is the lofty ideal the paper has adhered to, and that also accounts for its great accomplishment and wide recognition today.
I was made the editor-in-chief in 1993, and for years I took great care to carry on the splendid legacy left over by our forerunners and advance the mission of the paper. When I stepped down from the post in 2004, I told a gathering of my colleagues: " There are things I could have done better, and there are things I regret. But one thing is certain: it is worth your life to work for a mission like China Daily's, and you will never regret it."
Now I have shifted my burden and responsibility to the new leaders. I am happy to see some changes in the last two years, the changes with creative energy for the renewal of our determination, courage, faith and hope to make China Daily a more authoritative, informative, influential and respected newspaper in China and the world.
(China Daily 05/31/2006 page2)
