A LETTER TO SHANGHAI’S SANITATION WORKERS
OCTOBER 9, 1990
Recently, 16 sanitation workers, including Zhou Xingxi and Lu Yanfei and colleagues from the Changyang sanitation station in Yangpu District, wrote to me asking that I become an honorary sanitation worker; they also offered many ideas for sanitation work. I was very touched, and I thank you all for the trust you have in me.
I feel that the question is not whether I become an honorary sanitation worker. What is important is that sanitation workers must have the understanding and support of all of society, and all residents of the city should care about them and respect them.
When I visited Japan last year, I watched a festive procession in Yokohama. Marching at the front were firefighters in distinctive uniforms. I felt this made a lot of sense, because firefighters protect the lives, property, and safety of the people at the risk of their own lives. However, sanitation workers toil year in and year out through wind and rain, under the most difficult conditions; they have to deal with excrement and garbage, and this too is a form of unpublicized selfless dedication.
A city is society’s big family, and everyone in a city should cherish the environment and respect the labor of others. It should become a civic virtue to support the work of sanitation workers and obey urban inspectors as they enforce the law. Please believe that my heart will always be joined with the hearts of sanitation workers. I will surely join with you in making unstinting efforts to keep Shanghai’s environment beautiful and clean.
Zhu Rongji
October 9, 1990