Pride of a generation

Celebrating Western holidays, following K-pop bands and going abroad to study ... Many young people are thought to be not as patriotic as their parents or grandparents.
过洋节，追韩团，出国留学……很多年轻人都被认为不像他们父母或祖父母那样爱国。

But data has shown that young Chinese people have demonstrated a growing sense of national pride and patriotism in recent years.
但数据显示，近年来，中国年轻人更有民族自豪感，也更爱国了。

According to the website of the Communist Youth League of China, a central association representing young people, the organization has more than 15.7 million followers on Sina Weibo. Each post related to topics such as national unity, patriotism and the country’s development has received thousands of comments and “likes”.
中国共产主义青年团是一个代表广大青年的中央群团组织，据共青团网站介绍，共青团中央在新浪微博上拥有有超过1570万粉丝。每一条有关民族团结、爱国主义和国家发展话题的帖子都收获了数千条评论和点赞。

On March 5, the league wrote a post celebrating the 123rd anniversary of the birth of China’s first premier, Zhou Enlai, with thousands of young internet users leaving comments expressing how lucky and happy they felt to be living in the country.
3月5日，共青团中央发微博纪念新中国第一任总理周恩来诞辰123周年，数千名年轻网民留言，感慨生活在中国是多么幸运幸福。

One user, “Xu Baobao”, posted: “We’ll contribute our young energy to national rejuvenation.” Another wrote, “May we use our youth to protect China.”
一位昵称为“徐宝宝”的网友评论道：“我们将为民族复兴注入青春活力。”另一位网友写道“愿以吾辈之青春，护卫这盛世之中华。”

Young people not only expressed their patriotism in words, but also through action.
年轻人不仅用言语，也通过实际行动来表达爱国情怀。

In 2019, when riots related to an extradition bill broke out in Hong Kong, an online community known as Di Bar, comprising young Chinese living around the world, launched a campaign to explain the issue to a global audience and to voice support for the city’s police on digital platforms.
2019年，香港“修例风波”发生时，汇集了居住在世界各地中国年轻人的线上社区“帝吧”发起了一项活动，向世界解释这一事件，并在网络平台上发声，支持中国香港警察。

A statement released by Di Bar said the community’s campaign was driven by “patriotism, rationality and truth-seeking”, and reflected its confidence and faith in the country.
“帝吧”发布的一则声明表明，该活动以“爱国、理性、求真”为宗旨，表达了对祖国的信心。

Laurence Zhang, 25, a Chinese mainland graduate from Hong Kong Baptist University who joined the campaign, said the experience gave him a greater understanding of the country’s developing power. He added that he felt grateful to live during such times.
来自中国内地、毕业于香港浸会大学的25岁的劳伦斯·张（音译）参加了此次活动。他表示，这次经历加深了他对国家发展力量的理解。他还补充道，感恩自己生活在这个时代。

Chinese youths’ patriotism may actually be stronger than ever, and with good reason. Guo Yuanyuan, associate dean of the School of Culture and Communication at Capital University of Economics and Business, said, “The great material improvement can give young people more room for spiritual life.
有充分的理由证明，实际上，中国年轻人的爱国情怀可能比以往更强烈。首都经济贸易大学文化与传播学院副院长郭媛媛表示，“物质生活的极大改善可以使年轻人的精神世界更加丰富。”

“Our older generations experienced a very difficult time, and before reform and opening-up, the economy was far behind those in the West. Now, with China rising to become the second-largest economy in the world, making us roughly on par with the West in many respects, young people’s patriotic sentiment has naturally risen.”
“我们上一辈经历了一段非常困难的时期，在改革开放之前，中国经济也远落后于西方。现在，随着中国成为世界第二大经济体，我们在许多方面与西方国家不相上下，年轻人的爱国之情自然也就提高了。”

以上文章内容选自《21世纪学生英文报高中版》，详情请见《21世纪学生英文报高中版》高二826期