China’s Central Propaganda Department has posthumously awarded Dong Yijun the official title of “Model of the Era,” the state news agency Xinhua reported from Beijing. The designation, issued through China’s top propaganda organ, places Dong in a roster of individuals elevated by the Party to embody civic virtues and political loyalty.
The declaration is short on biographical detail and heavy on symbolism: such honors are less about individual biography than about the social and moral example the Party seeks to promote. By bestowing this label, Beijing signals which personal traits and deeds it wants to amplify across state media, schools, workplaces and party ranks.
Titles like “Model of the Era” function as instruments of political education. Historically, the Communist Party has used selected exemplars to shape public behavior, inculcate socialist values and buttress the Party’s moral authority. Elevating role models helps the apparatus of social governance by providing narratable stories that align individual conduct with state priorities.
For international observers, the announcement is a reminder that Beijing continues to prioritize ideological work alongside economic and technological policy. The formalization and publicity of such awards underline the ongoing centrality of political messaging in Chinese domestic governance, even as the state presents itself as modernizing and outward-facing.
The practical reach of these campaigns is significant: state media will amplify the story, local governments will organize commemorations and educational materials, and Party organizations will cite the honoree in training and mobilization drives. That multiplies the effect of the gesture beyond a single news item and embeds it into everyday institutional practice.
Ultimately, the decision to posthumously honor an individual is both a reward and a directive. It rewards the individual’s perceived contribution and directs citizens toward the conduct the Party wishes to normalize. Watching who receives such recognition, and when, offers a window into the themes Beijing wants to elevate in the public imagination.