China honors army role models to boost morale

BEIJING -- China's Central Military Commission (CMC) has added two more honorees to the list of army heroes and role models, whose portraits are hung at major military facilities as a reminder of their contribution to the country.

The portraits of deceased explosion mechanics scientist Lin Junde and fighter jet pilot Zhang Chao will be hung together with those of eight other army heroes and role models at military units above the company level across the country, according to a document issued by the Political Work Department under the CMC.

The document specified rules and standards for the hanging of the portraits at facilities such as military history venues, cultural centers and corridors. It also said officers and soldiers should be organized to learn from the deeds and spirits of the heroes and role models.

Lin died in 2012 at the age of 74 and was posthumously awarded the honorary title of "Outstanding Scientist Dedicated to National Defense-related Scientific and Technological Development" in 2013. He had spent 52 years working in the Gobi Desert in northwest China, participating in the nuclear tests there.

The other honoree Zhang died in 2016 when flying a J-15 carrier-based aircraft in a carrier-landing simulation. He was later given the title "Pioneer in Building a Strong Army."