Lei Jufang: The Radiant Heavenly Road on the Snowy Plateau

　　In April 1994, the Guangcai Project—jointly initiated by ten private entrepreneurs including Liu Yonghao and Zhou Jinfeng—greatly inspired and deeply moved Lei Jufang. The Guangcai Project is aimed at poverty alleviation, and Lei Jufang was keenly aware that Tibet, which lagged far behind the eastern regions, stood in greatest need of such a project. Although Qizheng Company was still in its early stages of development and not yet particularly strong, Lei Jufang already had a clear plan in mind.

　　From July 29 to August 13, 1995, a 40-member Chinese Brightness Initiative delegation organized by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce conducted a 16-day investment survey of Lhasa City as well as the regions of Linzhi, Shannan, and Nagqu in Tibet. Lei Jufang was one of the members of the delegation. It was during this very survey that Lei Jufang decided to establish a Tibetan medicine factory in the Linzhi region of Tibet.

　　At that time, Linzhi faced harsh transportation conditions, difficulties in energy supply, and a severely underdeveloped economy. Yet, this region boasted a pristine ecological environment and abundant wild medicinal plant resources—features that no other place could match. With the support of the China Guangcai Program and the assistance of the local government, Lei Jufang invested tens of millions of yuan. That same year, the Linzhi Qizheng Tibetan Medicine Factory was completed and began operations on the high-altitude plateau at an elevation of 3,000 meters.

　　As a result, the Qizheng Tibetan Medicine Factory in Linzhi, Tibet, became the first project of China’s Guangcai Initiative to be implemented in Tibet, and has been hailed as a flagship of the Guangcai Initiative’s science-and-technology-based assistance to Tibet.

　　As a company deeply rooted in the Tibetan region and dedicated to traditional ethnic medicine, Qizheng Tibetan Medicine has, since its inception, wholeheartedly embraced the “integrated pursuit of righteousness and profit, with profit taking precedence” ethos of the Guangcai Initiative. The company engages in development-oriented poverty alleviation efforts in the western Tibetan areas, primarily through project-based investments supplemented by charitable donations. While driving economic development in ethnic regions, the company has also achieved remarkable progress. In 2013, Qizheng Tibetan Medicine achieved total operating revenue of 969 million yuan and for the first time exceeded 200 million yuan in tax payments within the Tibet region. The company employs 1,452 people, including 246 from ethnic minority groups, 186 technical professionals, and 54 employees with disabilities. Its offices and production facilities are located in Beijing, Lhasa and Nyingchi in Tibet, Lanzhou, Longxi, and Gannan in Gansu Province, and Jingyuan in Ningxia.

　　When it comes to addressing the employment challenges faced by ethnic minority communities, Lei Jufang thinks with a longer-term perspective. She believes that in the course of enterprise development, we should consistently promote ethnic integration, cultural integration, and talent integration, placing equal importance on cultivating and tapping local talent as on attracting external talent. “Cultivating talent is both a responsibility and an obligation. Only by nurturing talent can I truly feel that I’ve made a meaningful contribution to the western region,” says Lei Jufang. She encourages Han Chinese employees to work in Tibetan areas, providing them with supportive working conditions and benefits. Moreover, she gives priority training and promotion opportunities to those who demonstrate outstanding performance. By rotating professional technicians to work in Tibet, she facilitates knowledge transfer and mentorship, thereby effectively enhancing the skills of local Tibetan employees. In establishing her business across Gansu and Tibet, Lei Jufang actively recruits Tibetan college graduates from well-known domestic universities, intensifying efforts to develop multi-ethnic, versatile talents from Tibetan, Han, Hui, and Monpa backgrounds. As a result, she has gradually cultivated a group of locally rooted, key personnel.

　　Having been engaged in the Tibetan medicine sector for over a decade through the Guangcai Initiative, Lei Jufang has steadfastly upheld her altruistic commitment. From donating to build roads and supporting orphans and people with disabilities to actively participating in the Guangcai Initiative, she has established a sustainable mechanism within her own enterprise for consistently fulfilling social responsibilities.

　　In 2004, the company made a special, exclusive investment to establish a special fund under the China Guangcai Program Foundation for the Protection and Inheritance of Tibetan Culture. The company is committed to becoming a model enterprise in social公益 endeavors such as inheriting and protecting Tibetan culture, promoting education in Tibetan areas, and providing low-cost Tibetan medical care in pastoral regions. She founded a public welfare school for traditional Tibetan medicine in Tibet. Today, the first cohort of students has already graduated, and the school’s services in Tibetan areas have been widely recognized by local residents. During the Yushu disaster relief efforts, graduates of the school traveled to Yushu to provide medical assistance, helping disaster victims relieve their suffering. In 2013, the total amount donated by the “Tibetan Cultural Inheritance and Protection” special fund exceeded 14.27 million yuan, supporting the implementation of 20 projects.

　　However, Lei Jufang believes that the changes the West has brought her far outweigh her own efforts.

　　“Grateful to the West—because it is precisely the West that has allowed us to nurture and preserve our diverse resources, cultures, and values, and to gain inner wisdom, enabling us to reach where we are today,” she said. “Giving back to society is our greatest aspiration.”

　　More than a decade has passed, and Lei Jufang has composed a brilliant chapter of life through the philosophy of “altruism.”

　　Source: China Charity News Network/Propaganda Department of the China Guangcai Program Promotion Association

　　Website: http://ccn.people.com.cn/n/2014/0504/c366510-24971725.html