Party Flag Flying High at the Grassroots Front Lines | Guardians in Wind and Rain
Guardians in Wind and Rain
■ PLA Daily Reporter Guo Shudong
"Look, the PLA is here!" Hearing the voice from the crowd, teachers and students trapped at Guangxi Logistics Vocational and Technical College rushed to windows and corridors, waving to the soldiers who had come to rescue them… Early on July 8, this reporter boarded an assault boat and followed officers and soldiers of the Southern Theater Command Army into the Xijiang Education Park in Guigang City, Guangxi, to evacuate the trapped teachers and students.
Battered by continuous heavy rainfall, the park suffered severe flooding, leaving tens of thousands of teachers and students from multiple schools—including Guangxi Logistics Vocational and Technical College and Guigang Senior High School—stranded.
Hearing the cries of the teachers and students, assault boat helmsman, First Sergeant, and Party member Liang Binbin increased his speed.
"Don't panic—watch your step!" Rescue soldiers carefully helped teachers and students board the assault boat. Once everyone was seated, Liang Binbin, guided by a school teacher, steered the assault boat around obstacles and made precise turns.
The education park sits on low-lying ground with deep standing water; the surface was strewn with debris, while submerged branches and other hazards lurked beneath—dangers at every turn. Liang Binbin, who has served for 26 years, had already been fighting on the rescue front line for several days. Though somewhat exhausted, he kept his eyes fixed ahead and drove with full concentration. He said: "As long as I can help the teachers and students escape danger and get home sooner, a little fatigue is nothing."
On the shore, the families of teachers and students waited anxiously. The rescued teachers and students stepped off the assault boats one after another, offering thanks to the rescue soldiers, and many shed tears of gratitude.
The scene filled Staff Sergeant First Class and Party member Xing Jingzhou with deep satisfaction. At noon on the 7th, Xing Jingzhou had already arrived at the park to carry out rescue operations, transporting urgently needed supplies into the park again and again with his comrades. "The people are in our hearts, and the mission is on our shoulders. As long as the floodwaters do not recede, my comrades and I will keep fighting," Xing Jingzhou said. As long as the disaster-stricken people need us, we will hold our ground to the end—that is a soldier's duty.
(PLA Daily, Guigang, Guangxi, July 9 dispatch)
On July 9, officers and soldiers of a unit under the 75th Group Army evacuated residents in Guigang City, Guangxi. Photo by Huang Yuanli
On July 9, officers and soldiers of the PAP Guigang Detachment cleared silt in Da'an Town, Guigang City. Photo by Sun Yue
On July 9, militia of the Nanning Garrison evacuated residents in Hengzhou City, Guangxi. Photo by Huang Rong