Xinhua News Agency, Taiyuan, May 24th (reporters Lü Mengqi and Zhou Huimin of "China Web Affairs") - After serving as the director of the county's township enterprises bureau for 10 years, he secured loans totaling more than 690,000 yuan for farmers. After retirement, he worked for another decade to repay 390,000 yuan in debts owed by farmers. The story of Hu Bingchen, the retired director of the Township Enterprises Bureau of Xia County, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province, who repaid debts on behalf of the people, has spread online and he has been affectionately called the "Debt-Repaying Director" by netizens. Some say that Hu Bingchen is a bit "foolish." Is Hu Bingchen really foolish? Why did he secure loans and repay debts? Recently, reporters from Xinhua News Agency's "China Web Affairs" went to Xia County to interview Hu Bingchen and the people around him.
[Core Web Event] Online reports of Shanxi's "Debt-Repaying Director" repaying 390,000 yuan in debts over 10 years
Recently, a post titled "Xia County 'Naive Director' Repays Guarantee Debts Over 10 Years" has drawn attention from netizens online, bringing Hu Bingchen, the retired director of Xia County, Shanxi Province, into the public eye.
The post states that during his tenure as the director of the Township Enterprises Bureau of Xia County, Shanxi Province, Hu Bingchen personally guaranteed loans totaling more than 690,000 yuan for 19 farmers. Later, due to various reasons, some farmers were unable to repay their debts. After retiring, Hu Bingchen worked for 10 years to repay 390,000 yuan in debts owed by 11 farmers.
In order to repay the debts for the common people, over the past 10 years, Hu Bingchen has sold couplets and fireworks at street stalls, opened restaurants and barber shops, operated health centers and small stores, and even cooked and cut hair for others—many jobs that have nothing to do with his identity as a retired director.
After the post was published, Hu Bingchen's story of securing loans and repaying debts for the people immediately sparked heated discussions among netizens. Netizens expressed that the "official repaying debts for the people" was very "powerful," and some websites even specifically opened columns to interact with netizens.
Netizen "Yangtze River Wanli" said: "Although legally speaking, repaying debts for others is the legal responsibility that Old Hu should bear, as a director, he would rather take a ten-year debt repayment journey after retirement than abuse his power. Such officials are very powerful."
Netizen "Honest Person Honest Words" said, "I've heard of leaders owing debts before, but I've never heard of leaders owing debts for the common people. Hu Bingchen worked for ten years to repay debts for the people, which is a retired official's respect for the law and defense of integrity!"
[Extended Reading] "Debt-Repaying Director" Secures Loans for Farmers to Enrich Themselves, Repays Debts for Integrity
When Hu Bingchen took office as the director of the Township Enterprises Bureau of Xia County in 1992, the annual output value of township enterprises in Xia County was only more than 20 million yuan, and most of them were in difficulties. Seeing that farmers in southern Jiangsu and other places had become rich through township enterprises, Hu Bingchen was extremely worried.
After investigation, Hu Bingchen found that capital shortage was the bottleneck constraining the development of township enterprises in Xia County. At that time, the loan conditions for township enterprises in Xia County were very strict. Commercial banks did not lend, and the threshold for rural credit cooperatives' loans was also high. Farmers starting small businesses had little property to mortgage and could not find guarantors, making it impossible for them to obtain loans individually. As a result, many farmers in dire straits turned to Hu Bingchen for help.
Even a sparrow is still a dish! As someone born into a farming family, Hu Bingchen understood better than anyone else how difficult it was for farmers to start businesses. Despite weighing the requests carefully, he could not refuse them. However, since government departments were not allowed to act as guarantors under policy, if Hu Bingchen wanted to guarantee, he would have to do so in his personal name. There is a local saying in Xia County: Clever people act as marriage matchmakers, while naive ones act as financial guarantors. Because being a matchmaker does not lead to losses—you can get a bottle of wine and two pounds of meat whether the match succeeds or not—but acting as a financial guarantor carries risks and may even lead to bearing others' debts. Hu Bingchen said, "We all know this! But when they came to me, how could I ignore them? I am the director! Some credit cooperatives and large factories said, 'If Director Hu speaks up, I will lend.' At the time, as long as it helped develop township enterprises, I would be willing to give up my flesh. How could I be afraid of guaranteeing debts!"
Hu Bingchen successively helped 19 farmers borrow more than 690,000 yuan in his personal name, with a small portion coming from rural credit cooperative loans and the rest from private borrowing. Zhang Shuanguo, the former financial stock manager of the Township Enterprises Bureau of Xia County, said, "At the time, we all advised him, saying that human hearts are unpredictable and that these debts should not be guaranteed. However, in order to help those farmers start successful businesses and become wealthy, he never listened."
In 2001, after Hu Bingchen retired from his position as director, creditors began to show up at his door. It turned out that of the 19 farmers he had personally guaranteed, only 8 had repaid the money on time. The remaining 11 households had failed to fully repay their debts due to business failures, and some had even paid nothing.
Hu Bingchen brought the creditors along to visit each household, and what he found nearly made him faint. It turned out that many of the debtors had fled, fallen ill, or passed away, leaving an outstanding principal of over 240,000 yuan from the original guarantees unpaid. Faced with complaints and accusations from his family, should he shoulder the burden himself, or simply walk away? Hu Bingchen hesitated for a moment. Someone suggested he use connections to write off the loans from the credit cooperatives as bad debts, or even approach county leaders to ask the organization to resolve the issue. However, Hu Bingchen, who valued credibility like life itself, believed that such actions would be akin to throwing a child over the wall—a disgrace—and something that would invite public condemnation. Ultimately, Hu Bingchen decided to repay the debts for these 11 farmer households and promised to repay all the money, including interest, within 12 years.
Ten years of debt repayment passed quickly, seemingly effortless, yet filled with bitterness and hardship. Hu Bingchen's old colleague Dong Leqian said, "If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, you wouldn't believe it. During his first Spring Festival after retirement, he started selling couplets and fireworks on the streets and opened a barber shop to cut hair. Later, he opened a small store and didn't close until after midnight. Before, Director Bingchen used to ride in cars, but now he often rides bicycles, sometimes eating just a bowl of water, a green onion, and a steamed bun—very frugal!"
Thus, Hu Bingchen embarked on a decade-long journey of repaying debts. On New Year's Day in 2010, Hu Bingchen finally repaid the last debt. Over the course of 10 years, he repaid a total of 390,000 yuan in principal and interest. The reporter saw the IOUs he had recovered over the past 10 years and the receipts for repaying debts, amounting to nearly 100 documents, with most amounts in the thousands.
Over the 10 years of debt repayment, Hu Bingchen never sought help from his children because he felt ashamed to ask. During his tenure as director, he did not arrange jobs for his children. His second son, after discharge from the military, continued to work as a temporary worker at the county forestry police station, and his second daughter-in-law had no job. His daughter and son-in-law sold steamed buns in Henan and remained registered as agricultural residents.
Last year's Spring Festival Eve dinner was the first New Year's Eve dinner Hu Bingchen ate after clearing his debts. He handed his wife a savings certificate, secretly accumulated in case he couldn't make it through halfway and left her with some pension money. Holding the certificate, tears streamed down her face.
Hu Bingchen said, "My wife is over 60 years old. To earn more money, she secretly returned to the countryside to work as a seasonal laborer, cutting wheat, threshing grain, and picking cotton. In our area, marrying a wife is called 'slaughtering a wife.' My wife followed me all her life without enjoying a single day of happiness—I truly 'slaughtered' my wife."
[Feedback Link] The "Debt-Repaying Director" Becomes a Moral Role Model for Honesty and Dedication to the People
Working for 10 years to repay debts for the people, Hu Bingchen's spirit of honesty and dedication to the people has garnered attention from many units and citizens in Yuncheng City. The Federation of Economic and Cultural Figures of Yuncheng City issued an initiative calling on all citizens and entrepreneurs in the city to learn from "Debt-Repaying Director" Hu Bingchen and become exemplary citizens who value trust and righteousness.
Many schools also specially invited Hu Bingchen to give lectures to educate students to cultivate noble virtues of honesty and integrity from a young age. After listening to the lecture, Yao Yiheng, a fifth-grade student at Renmin Road School in Yuncheng City, said, "Grandpa Hu, despite hardships and illness, you opened a store, sold couplets, earned money, and repaid debts for others. You are truly great! Your spirit of integrity will forever remain in my memory!" Some companies have also listed Hu Bingchen as an example for employees to learn from. Currently, Shanxi Province has nominated Hu Bingchen as a candidate for the Third National Moral Role Model.
Hu Bingchen said, "I am 67 years old this year. I have already eaten half of the steamed bun of life. Without fame or profit, I have no regrets. Repaying debts for others for 10 years, we have suffered a loss, but we are worthy and guilt-free! Yuncheng is Guan Yu's hometown, where trust and righteousness have always been valued. I want to share my story with more people so that they understand that honesty and dedication to the people are just a matter of choice—it's not that difficult!"
During the interviews, many people gave Hu Bingchen high praise. Mao Jiyong, assistant to the president of the Intermediate People's Court of Yuncheng City, said, "I have handled many debt disputes caused by guarantees. Although guarantors bear joint liability, enforcement is often very difficult. It is rare to see someone like Hu Bingchen voluntarily repay debts for others, especially for a retired official, which is even more commendable."
Ma Pingding, chairman of Ruima Paper Industry Co., Ltd. in Xia County, said, "From a personal interest perspective, Hu Bingchen is a bit 'naive,' but from the perspective of social development and love for the people, Hu Bingchen is a model of selflessness."
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