Everybody is a winner
After three months of deliberations, CCTV announced the ten winners of "People Who Moved China in 2008" in a live broadcast last Thursday.
The stories of the 24 candidates have been covered extensively by CCTV, Sina.com and other major media outlets since October, drawing enthusiastic ratings from online users and audiences.
To every one's surprise, for the first time since the program was launched in 2002, the special award went to "the entire Chinese nation".
"Natural disasters like snowstorms and the earthquake broke people's hearts; while the success of hosting the Olympics and Paralympics enthused the nation," says Zhu Bo, the program's producer.
Zhu says he was most impressed by the Chinese people's determination, good sense and unity. The heroic spirit shown by the Chinese made the whole nation the best candidate for the award, he explains.
"By 'moving', we do not just mean touching people's hearts, but also making outstanding contributions to the progress of society and to our times," Zhu says.
Whether representing honesty, courage, filial piety or other qualities, the winners embody the essence of the Chinese nation, he says.
China Daily
(China Daily 02/09/2009 page8)
