"Party members and cadres stay and let the students go first!" These words have moved many Chinese people and made Jing Dazhong, CPC Committee Secretary and Magistrate of Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County in Sichuan Province, a household name. When the devastating 8-magnitude earthquake occurred on May 12, 2008, Jing was having a meeting. When the conference hall holding over 500 people started to shake, and the chaos descended and everyone tried to rush to the two small doors. As the leader, Jing's calmness and words kept the evacuation orderly. All were safely evacuated. Jing, together with other leaders, emerged last. 

Beichuan County was the most severely affected area of the Wenchuan earthquake, one of China's most deadly catastrophes, which led to more than 87,000 deaths and direct economic losses of $120 billion. The disaster destroyed Beichuan, and in the tragedy, Jing lost six family members. But he didn't even have much time to mourn. From the moment the earthquake struck, Jing began organizing rescues and didn't sleep for three nights.

For him, the community is as important as his beloved family. "I hope they [my family members] can forgive me. I cannot leave my people alone, as they are also my brothers and sisters," said Jing.

Rapid response

Since the first day of its founding, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has taken "serving the people wholeheartedly" as its governing principle. The words are written into the Party Constitution. Jing is just one of millions of Party members who practice this principle. Through the Wenchuan earthquake relief and post-quake reconstruction, the CPC is showing the world that it lives up to its principles.

After the quake occurred, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao flew to the ground zero within 90 minutes. In just 24 hours, nearly 20,000 soldiers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and Armed Police had moved into rescue action. Millions of tons of food, medicines and other relief supplies were quickly sent to the scene. In the crucial 72 hours of rescue period, state leaders, rescue teams, doctors and volunteers all rushed to the affected areas with only one goal in mind: to save as many people as possible.

The tragedy was reported within less than 30 minutes after the quake struck, and it was soon covered intensely by the media both in China and abroad. The government kept updating the death toll, and a news conference was held every day.

The unprecedented rapid response and well-organized rescue by the Chinese Government impressed the world. "It's rare to see something so efficient take place. It was well organized and well planned. All the international people who came in spoke very highly of this," Time magazine quoted Ramsey Rayyis, regional representative for the American Red Cross in China, as saying.

Years ago, there were voices of criticism of the CPC and the Chinese Government being "secretive" in the face of emergencies. The Tangshan earthquake, another deadly earthquake in China's history, which jolted Tangshan City in Hebei Province and killed about 240,000 in 1976, was considered a state secret for many years. In 2003, the government was blamed for concealing the information about SARS spreading, which created a nationwide epidemic.

Decisive

But through various disasters and emergencies, the CPC has been keeping learning and improving its governance. On August 30, 2007, the Emergency Response Law of the People's Republic of China was adopted at the 29th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress, making the emergency response mechanism governed by law. As the CPC and the government are striving to improve their ability of dealing with emergencies, the people-oriented approach is becoming more and more concrete and mature.

Such changes have been witnessed by the world. And the advantages of the Chinese political system are widely discussed and studied. "The most important strength of the Chinese political system is its ability to make large, complex decisions quickly, and to make them relatively well," the Financial Times commented on January 20, 2011.

This kind of strength has also benefited the process of Beichuan reconstruction. After the disaster occurred, the Central Government immediately decided to establish partnership assistance, and Beichuan's reconstruction was supported by Shandong Province. On January 23, 2011, the reconstruction of Beichuan County was finished and Beichuan people started to move into their new houses, meaning the three-year rehabitation plan was completed before schedule. The new Beichuan County has maintained the old Beichuan's cultural characteristics of the Qiang ethnic group and western Sichuan areas. According to Jing, by 2020, the county would have transformed from a rural town to an industrial center, with an industrial park at its core. 

Though there are still challenges ahead, Jing is confident. He never forgets his promise to the government and the people - to make new Beichuan the most beautiful county in the country.