It is more than sixty years since the death of Lei Feng. and yet his spirit of selflessness is still alive, inspiring Chinese young people. In fact, the wish to help others can always be found among common people.
On September 5, 2022, when an earthquake hit Luding, Sichuan, 28-year-old hydropower station (水电站) worker Gan Yu chose not to leave but stay at his workplace, saving villages downstream from being flooded. ★ , but he doesn't feel that he should be compared to the young hero. "Lei Feng is a role model to all Chinese young people. The things he did may seem small, but behind them was a nobility that we can all achieve," he said.
Zeng Qiangfei, 24, is also from Sichuan. In 2013, when an earthquake happened in his hometown, he was studying in a middle school. Zeng remembered seeing rescuers (救援者) and volunteers gather there to help. When he grew up, he became a volunteer himself. After a terrible quake hit Turkey and Syria this year, he flew there to help. During the rescue, he always saw local people bowing quietly to rescuers like them. "I grew up listening to Lei Feng's stories. He is an excellent young man who spared no effort to help others," said Zeng.
This view is shared by a 56-year-old British man named James Elroy Edginton, who lives in Hunan, the hometown of Lei Feng. Working at a local college, Edginton volunteers to help students from poor families, and is warmly regarded as a "foreign Lei Feng". "I am honored to be connected with the spirit of Lei Feng. His qualities are timeless and borderless," he said.
