Last night I watched the award ceremony of Top Ten Figures for "Touching China" in 2011,a public poll on CCTV. For the first time in history, the Chinese government honored a mother from Taiwan. Her name is Zhang Pingyi.

Zhang gave up her high-paying job and wealthy life in Taiwan to enter Dayingpan village, known as an isolated “leper village” in Sichuan province eleven years ago. She did her utmost to raise funds to build a new school for the children and even taught the children how to wash their face, brush teeth and take a bath on a regular basis.

None of the children was able to graduate from primary school in this “invisible village” before 2005. Therefore, Zhang tried her best to persuade the parents there to let their children back to school. If there was a pupil skipping class, she would rush to the truant’s home to let him or her back to school by all means.

Here is the conversation between her and a truant:

“Why don’t you want to go to school today?” she asked a boy who was helping his father work in the field near his home.

“I want to study at home tonight and I promise I can manage it.”

“No! You have to come to class tonight. I will give you English dictation then.”

What a responsible teacher!

For her efforts, the primary school now has over 100 graduated students. Zhang has devoted more than ten years of her youth to the children of the “leper village”.

She has the extraordinary courage to face the challenge and take action to improve the life and dignity of those at the lowest rung of the social ladder as well as to break their destiny. She cared and respected humanity to an extent that humanity had been defended---it is quoted from the comment made by a member of the selection committee.