On September 5, 2020, the 6th Chinese Charity and Filial Piety Cultural Festival was held in Hangzhou. As part of the series of activities of the festival, the 2020 Chinese Charity and Filial Piety Role Models Awards Ceremony and the 6th Chinese Charity and Filial Piety Cultural Forum were hosted to set role models of charity and filial piety for overseas Chinese and Chinese people around the world and discuss the elderly care in a post-pandemic era.

A total number of 60 role models of charity and filial piety have been selected in the previous five Chinese charity and filial piety cultural festivals. This year, another 10 model individuals (or groups) from all walks of life at home and abroad were awarded the honorary title of Chinese Charity and Filial Piety Role Models, such as Liu Dewen, who made cross-strait round trips many times over the past decade to send Taiwan veterans to the roots, Zhang Junlan, a reporter who visited Daliangshan Mountain for 33 times to help more than 2000 students from underprivileged families return to classrooms, the Blue Envelop Left-behind Children Care Center, which helped left-behind children communicate with the outside world and dealt with their difficulties by writing letters to them, and the Wuhan Empty Nest Elderly Service Unit, which helped buy medical supplies and masks as well as daily necessities for the elderly living alone during the COVID-19 pandemic, to name just a few.

The 2020 Chinese charity and filial piety role models truly interpret the truth, goodness and beauty of human nature.

The anti-epidemic heroes

Chinese doctor fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic in France, Nana

Guardian of overseas students in the US, Lin Guang

Mother to poor students and orphans in Daliangshan Mountain, Zhang Junlan

Blue Envelop Left-behind Children Care Center

Volunteer of counter trafficking, Zhang Baoyan

Cross-strait soul ferryman, Liu Dewen

Wuhan Empty Nest Elderly Service Unit

National star of respect for the aged, Zhou Changzhi

Hard-hearted Dad who trained son with cerebral palsy into professional boxer, Wang Baozhu

Song Baishan, the leader of the second batch of medical teams in Zhejiang Province to aid the pandemic control in Hubei Province, accepted the award as the representative of the anti-epidemic heroes

The anti-epidemic medical team was also credited with the Chinese Charity and Filial Piety Role Models Award. At the awards ceremony, Song Baishan, the leader of the second batch of medical teams in Zhejiang Province to aid the pandemic control in Hubei Province and the Deputy Director of Zhejiang Hospital, accepted the award as the representative of the anti-epidemic retrograde group and introduced his unforgettable experience on the front line in Hubei.

Xia Chunping, the Deputy Director of China News Service

The Deputy Director of China News Service Xia Chunping stated that the Chinese charity and filial piety role models selected and awarded at this cultural festival provide an example of making persistent efforts to do good deeds and demonstrate the unique charm and profound connotation of Chinese culture to the whole world.

Lian Xiaomin, the Chairman of Zhejiang Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese

The Chairman of Zhejiang Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese Lian Xiaomin said, “It can be seen from these glorious models that they are not only doing good deeds for once, but insisting on doing good deeds for a life time. No matter where we are or what social roles we have, we should learn from them and do good deeds with a benevolent heart. In this way, a better world will be constructed.”

Venerable Master Guangquan, the Abbot of Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou

According to Venerable Master Guangquan, the Abbot of Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, the temple will adhere to the sinicization of Buddhism and actively exert its “window of charity and filial piety” effect. Lingyin Temple will make good use of the wisdom and strength of Buddhism to contribute to the great cause of Zhejiang Province – to become “a window of the superiority of socialism with Chinese characteristics in a new era”. He said that the current public welfare project “Yunlin Fuyuan” constructed by Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou is under preparation, aiming to provide a high-quality retreat for Buddhist believers in Hangzhou and even the whole country. “The reason why we persisted in holding the 6th Chinese Charity and Filial Piety Cultural Festival and constructing Yunlin Fuyuan is that we hope this kind of love can be sustained and lasted,” added Venerable Master Guangquan.

The 6th Chinese Filial Piety Cultural Forum was also held on the same day. Li Zhihong, the Director of the Policy Research Department of China National Committee on Aging, and Liang Chunxiao, the Director of Pangoal Institution Aging Society Research Center, council member of Chinese Red Cross Foundation and member of the academic committee of Alibaba Business School both delivered a keynote speech.

On the topic of “charity and filial piety and elderly care in a post-pandemic era”, Zhuo Yongyue, the Director of the Integrated Medical and Health Care Branch of China Association of Social Welfare and Senior Service, and Chen Xinyu, member and the Deputy Secretary-general of Chinese Medical Association Geriatrics Branch and the Director of the Medical Department of Zhejiang Hospital had fruitful discussions with other participants of the forum and came up with useful suggestions for the “future style” of the elderly care in China.