On December 29, the Leading Group for Double Support Work (Supporting the Army and Giving Preferential Treatment to Military Families, Supporting the Government and Cherishing the People) of Guangdong Province held a naming and commendation conference for “Double Support Model Cities”. The conference honored cities across the province that won the title of National “Double Support Model City”, as well as provincial double support model units and individuals. With a solid foundation in double support work and profound military-civilian friendship, Foshan reclaimed the title of National “Double Support Model City” once again, successfully achieving a “ten consecutive championships” of this honor and adding a profound honorary background to the city’s development. Dali Senior High School in Nanhai District of Foshan was awarded the title of “Guangdong Provincial Model Unit for Patriotic Support to the Army”, while three comrades namely Huang Ruilong, Chen Jinxiang and Xia Xueshu were conferred the title of “Guangdong Provincial Model for Patriotic Support to the Army”.
Loyalty Passed Down: 32 Years of Double Support Journey, Ten Honors Usher in a New Chapter
Foshan’s double support sentiment is deeply rooted in its historical soil, and the two words “loyalty and righteousness” have long been integrated into the city’s blood.
600 years ago, the imperial plaque of “Zhongyi Township” (Township of Loyalty and Righteousness) in the Ming Dynasty engraved an eternal mark of revering the military and advocating martial spirit. Since modern times, the wedding of Chen Tiejun on the execution ground and the unyielding integrity of Luo Dengxian have forged a fiery red gene with their blood and loyalty.
The brilliant achievement of ten consecutive championships is supported by the high attention and solid work innovation of the Foshan Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government. Foshan has always regarded double support work as a “top leader project”, building a three-dimensional pattern of “trinity” of Party, government and military, extensive participation of all sectors of society, and all-round coverage: the main leaders of the city serve as the director of the Leading Group for Veterans Affairs Work of Foshan Municipal Party Committee (also the Leading Group for Double Support Work of Foshan City), with 47 military and local member units cooperating in coordination, forming a strong synergy of “main leaders taking personal charge, responsible leaders handling specific affairs, functional departments making overall plans, member units providing cooperation, and military and local leaders working together”.
At the same time, the office of the Leading Group for Veterans Affairs Work of the Municipal Party Committee (also the office of the Municipal Leading Group for Double Support Work) adheres to the joint office system of military and local authorities. Special (or part-time) military and local staff are assigned to double support work at both municipal and district levels, meeting the “Six Haves” standard of having organizations, systems, venues, facilities, personnel and funds, thus laying a solid organizational foundation for double support work.
Figures speak louder than words: since 2020, the city has invested over 100 million yuan in special funds for double support work, successfully completed 213 projects in the “double lists” of practical matters mutually handled by the military and local governments, built 76 national demonstration-level veterans service centers (stations) and 41 provincial star-rated demonstration centers (stations), and presented condolence materials worth nearly 2 million yuan to co-constructed troops outside the region, promoting the quality and efficiency of double support work with pragmatic measures.
The service guarantee system is like capillaries, extending the warmth of double support to the grassroots level: 1 municipal-level, 5 district-level, 32 town (sub-district)-level and 789 village (community)-level veterans service centers (stations) have been established. “Veterans Homes” have been set up in the militia battalions of villages (communities), patriotic support associations have been founded at both municipal and district levels, and coupled with a number of social organizations that can provide special services such as psychological counseling, case management and employment recommendation, a multi-level, wide-coverage and three-dimensional social professional service network for veterans has been formed.
After 32 years of intensive cultivation, Foshan has cultivated the “soft power” of double support with the “hard support” of work innovation, becoming a solid cornerstone for supporting the “ten consecutive championships”.
“Three Rear” Guarantee: A Bright Road for Veterans, A Grand Blueprint for Entrepreneurship After Military Service
The “rear road, rear courtyard and descendants” are the most tender concerns in the hearts of officers and soldiers of the army. Foshan has innovatively implemented the “Three Rear” Project, warming the hearts of soldiers with practical measures and paving a bright road for veterans returning to civilian life.
No worries about the rear road, setting sail immediately after retirement
Foshan has launched a “one-stop” service for receiving and registering retired soldiers. Since 2020, it has received and resettled 587 transferred military officers and 329 retired soldiers eligible for government-arranged jobs, with a resettlement rate of 100%.
In response to the employment needs of retired soldiers who choose independent employment, Foshan has integrated traditional recruitment with the new model of “live-streaming job fairs”, successfully holding 109 recruitment events for veterans and providing more than 90,000 job vacancies, building a “cloud golden bridge” for accurate employment matching.
A retired soldier who chose independent employment sighed: “The homecoming welcome activities organized at the municipal, district and town (sub-district) levels are full of a sense of ceremony. The one-stop registration is fast and efficient, and I can participate in adaptive training within a month, followed by recruitment events, allowing me to quickly transform my identity!”
Taking off the military uniform, veterans show their talents again on the entrepreneurial battlefield. Foshan has built a number of veterans entrepreneurship incubation bases and zones, providing professional incubation services such as rent reduction, social security subsidies and policy consultation for military-started enterprises; it has successfully held two municipal-level veterans entrepreneurship and innovation competitions, promoting entrepreneurship and attracting talents through competitions, and actively recommending excellent projects to participate in provincial and national competitions, fully demonstrating the entrepreneurial style of Foshan’s military-started enterprises and stimulating the enthusiasm for entrepreneurship across the city.
Stable rear courtyard, peace at home brings peace of mind
Foshan has invested more than 20 million yuan in special funds to rent over 200 sets of temporary housing for military dependents coming to the army, resettling more than 400 military dependents accompanying their spouses, realizing precise guarantee and turning the “hardship of separation” into the “sweetness of reunion”.
At the same time, Foshan has made every effort to care for and support the growth of the descendants of military personnel, issuing preferential policies on the education of military children and the preferential admission policies for the children of retired military personnel in the senior high school entrance examination. Preferential care is given to the children of officers and soldiers who are on the front line of tasks, in key positions, in harsh areas and with special contributions, coordinating and arranging the admission of more than 2,000 military children to kindergartens and schools.
Loyalty shines through the ages, and every detail shows care. From “taking off the military uniform” to “setting sail”, from “worries about housing” to “preferential treatment”, Foshan has paved a smooth road with warmth, ensuring that soldiers have a bright future and no worries about the rear.
Warmth Embracing the Hometown: Military and Civilians Co-compose a Song of Endeavor, Building Home Hand in Hand
In the Double Support Theme Park beside Xiaode Lake in Foshan, military-civilian co-construction sculptures, corridors of model heroes’ deeds and other landscapes silently tell the profound fish-and-water friendship between the military and civilians, becoming a vivid classroom for national defense education of citizens.
Every weekend, many citizens often take their children to walk in the park. A parent said: “Experiencing red culture during leisure time, this immersive education makes the seeds of patriotism and supporting the army take root in children’s hearts.”
This park is a vivid epitome of Foshan’s innovative creation of a “Double Support +” publicity matrix.
In recent years, Foshan has adhered to multiple measures to carry out publicity work. On one hand, it has built a number of publicity and education venues such as “Double Support Street”, “Double Support Cultural Corridor” and “Double Support Theme Park”, organized students, enterprise representatives, Party member representatives and residents to participate in commemorating revolutionary martyrs, guided enterprises to apply for socialized military support units, and continuously expanded the breadth and depth of social publicity. At present, more than 500 enterprises and institutions have been selected as socialized military support units, 31 star-rated hotels have been listed as military support hotels, and many shopping malls including Xinghua Mall and Suning Electric Appliances provide preferential treatment for military personnel and their families, veterans and other preferential treatment objects. Foshan has promoted the construction of the “Foshan Double Support Benefit for the Military” platform, expanding the online and offline integrated military support circle.
On the other hand, Foshan has set up model examples, organizing learning and publicity activities for Guangdong Provincial Double Support Model Units and Individuals, Foshan “Most Beautiful Veterans” and so on, making the outstanding deeds of advanced models enter thousands of households and stimulating the enthusiasm of the whole people for supporting the army. Since 2020, nearly 6 million people in the city have received double support publicity and education, national defense education and patriotism education, and a social trend of revering, supporting and loving the army has taken shape.
The profound friendship of double support lies in the two-way dedication between the military and civilians.
In times of crisis, the troops stationed in Foshan have stood firm like an iron backbone: in the raging mountain fires, they charged at the forefront of fighting the fires in Gaoming Lingyun Mountain and Sanshui Nanshan; in the surging floods, militia detachments transferred the masses and blocked piping breaches during the North River flood peak; in the fierce COVID-19 pandemic, more than a thousand militia commando teams fought day and night and assisted neighboring cities, carrying out disinfection tasks more than 100,000 times in total, providing key support for building a solid defense line. As a soldier who participated in disaster relief said, “The station is our hometown, and the people are our relatives. We have an unshirkable responsibility to guard our home!”
In peacetime, officers and soldiers of the army have donated money to build hope primary schools, established paired assistance points and helped needy groups, vividly interpreting the profound friendship of “the military cherishes the people and the people support the military”.
The road ahead is long and arduous, but we are striding forward with renewed vigor. Standing at a new starting point, the military and civilians of Foshan are joining hands to continue writing a magnificent chapter of “sharing weal and woe, and heart to heart”, contributing Foshan’s strength to realize the great dream of building a strong country and a strong military.
