BEIJING: Wang Yongzhi, one of the most renowned rocket scientists in China who played a leading role in the country’s manned spaceflight endeavors, has been given the nation’s top honor posthumously.
According to an order recently signed by President Xi Jinping, Wang, who passed away in Beijing at 91 in June, was among the four distinguished figures awarded with the Medal of the Republic, China’s top honor.
Wang was the second scientist in China’s space community to be given the Medal of the Republic, following Sun Jiadong, a top rocket and satellite researcher who was awarded in 2019.
Born into an impoverished farmer’s family in Changtu county, Liaoning province, in November 1932, Wang was the fifth of seven children. At age 7, he became the first person in his family to attend school.
He studied very hard and was deemed by his teacher as a truly gifted student.
Once he reached middle school, his studies were interrupted due to his family’s inability to pay tuition fees as well as disruptions from the War of Liberation (1946-1949).
Thanks to his class master’s persuasion and help, Wang was able to complete his studies and achieved high marks. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
