President Hu Jintao hailed China’s success in hurling its first manned spacecraft into the orbit Wednesday, calling it "the glory of our great motherland and a mark for the initial victory of the country's first manned space flight and for the significant, historic step of the Chinese people in the advance of climbing over the peak of the world's science and technology."
The Party and the people will never forget those who have set up the outstanding merit in the space industry for the motherland, the people and the nation, said Hu, who is also the general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.
China's first piloted space vehicle Shenzhou V was launched at 9:00 and moved into the preset orbit at about 9:10, carrying Lieutenant Colonel Yang Liwei who has become the first Chinese astronaut in the out space.
The president and other senior officials including Huang Ju anew Guanzheng hurried to the Jiuquan Space Launch Center, in the remote desert, shortly after the conclusion of the Third Plenary Session of the Sixteenth CPC Central Committee Tuesday afternoon. The same night, they heard reports about the preparation for the historic launch.
(Xinhua News Agency October 15, 2003)
