From August 25 to 26, 2025, the Beijing Municipal Health Commission organized a training session for backbone members of the senior Party member pioneer teams across the system. The program aimed to further enhance the political awareness and theoretical literacy of senior Party members, strengthen team cohesion and solidarity, and inspire the “silver-haired strength” to shine more brightly. Zhang Xiaokai, First-Class Inspector of the Standing Commission, attended the opening session and delivered a mobilization speech. Director of the Department for Retired Cadres and the Executive Vice President of Party School of the Commission were also present. More than 100 participants, including team leaders and representatives of the pioneer teams and staff from retirement offices across the system, gathered to recharge and gain new momentum.

Silver-haired wisdom and the fragrance of books, carrying forward the spirit of the General Secretary’s reply. Jinxing, Associate Chief Physician of Beijing Shijitan Hospital and a senior Party member, personally authored Experiencing the Yan’an Years—Stories of Yan’an Central Hospital, and shared insights during the “Silver-Haired Wisdom, Taste of Truth” session. He recounted the establishment and special role of the Central Hospital in Yan’an, conveying the spirit of dedication, loyalty to the Party, and service to the people embodied by earlier generations of medical workers. Zhao Shuying, Secretary of the First Retired Party Branch of Beijing You’an Hospital and a representative of the National Advanced Collective of Retired Cadres, together with Jin Feng, Deputy Leader of the Senior Party Member Pioneer Team of Beijing Anzhen Hospital, shared personal stories and practices from the special activity “Learning from the Reply, Supporting Reform and Development.” Their accounts vividly illustrated that “role models are not distant but among us; dedication knows no age and perseverance matters.”

After listening attentively to the three senior Party members, Comrade Zhang Xiaokai highly affirmed the contributions of senior Party members and experts who continue to make a difference in the health sector. On behalf of the Commission’s Party Committee, he expressed sincere respect and heartfelt gratitude to the backbones of the senior party member pioneer teams. He noted that every free clinic, every act of guidance, and every duty shift performed by these senior comrades embodied the vitality of “revolutionaries are forever young,” and represented the most vivid interpretation of a Party member’s original mission. He stressed that the advancement of senior Party members lies not only in their service and dedication, but also in their firm discipline. He urged them to consciously internalize discipline and rules into daily habits, building an ever-stronger foundation of shared ideals. Zhang expressed his hope that the senior comrades would learn, set examples, leverage their strengths, and excel in “passing on experience, offering guidance, and fostering growth,” continuing to contribute wisdom and strength to the development of health services. At the same time, he called on departments serving retired cadres to build platforms and provide strong support, enabling them to find value and joy in continued service.

Diverse learning expands horizons, silver pioneers embark again. The program included a special lecture on LearningExcerpts from Xi Jinping on Building a Healthy China and Fully Advancing Healthy China Initiative, systematically explaining the core principle of “putting people’s health first” and its rich implications, inspiring senior Party members to stay true to their mission and help advance the high-quality development of health services. Experts also delivered lectures on “Traditional Culture and a Happy Life,” “China’s Geostrategic Landscape,” and “AI Empowerment and Practice” centering on three dimensions: spiritual enrichment, intellectual renewal, and capacity enhancement, guiding senior participants to draw wisdom from traditional culture, understand national security from a macro perspective, and adapt to the times through practical applications. In addition, participants engaged in study sessions on thoroughly implementing the spirit of the Eight-point Regulation, including watching a warning-education documentary to reinforce discipline awareness and strengthen their ideological defenses.

During the training, a meeting was convened to promote senior experts’ intellectual support for primary-level healthcare services. Leaders from the Beijing Association of Retired Medical and Health Workers and the Talent Exchange Service Center of the National Health Commission introduced the overall plans and needs of projects such as “Senior Experts Supporting the Ecological Conservation Zone” and “Senior Experts Serving Grassroots Health.” On this basis, the Department for Retired Cadres of the Commission, together with retirement office staff and senior experts and Party members, held discussions and mobilization sessions, actively building platforms to integrate the experience of senior experts with the priority of strengthening grassroots healthcare.

With the theme of “Forging Party Spirit, Silver-Age Dedication,” the training program guided participants to reflect on their original mission through books, to translate the spirit of the General Secretary’s reply into concrete actions, to reinforce safeguards through warning education, and to recharge through diverse learning. The training fully demonstrated the pioneer spirit of senior Party members who “keep learning as long as they live.” It encouraged participants to enlighten one another through exchange and gather strength through study.As the program concluded, senior Party members expressed their determination to take this training as a new starting point, to integrate learning with practice, to advance both understanding and action, to deepen their study of political theory, to strengthen their role as pioneers, and to continue contributing the strength of the silver generation to the new era and the new journey.