The development of a socialist morality should be stressed and strengthened during the process of building a well-off society in an all-round way and the advancement of the socialist modernization drive, Chinese President Hu Jintao said on Tuesday.

Hu, also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), made the remarks when he met 53 newly selected national "moral models" at the Great Hall of the People.

He said the campaign to select these role models, launched by the Civilization Office of the CPC Central Committee, All China Federation of Trade Unions, Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Youth League and All China Women's Federation on September 1, will significantly improve the moral standards of Chinese citizens.

Morality is a key factor to the country's development, social harmony and the people's happiness, Hu said.

"It's part of the building of a socialist spiritual civilization that a social environment, in which men and women are equal, the elderly respected, the young protected and the poor supported, and people are tolerant to each other, should be established," he noted.

He urged all Party members and all the people to learn from the moral models and practise the socialist sense of honor and disgrace.

Li Changchun, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of CPC Central Committee, also attended the meeting.

In March last year, a nationwide morality drive was launched in the form of Hu's list of eight honors and disgraces amid worries that some Chinese people have lost their direction and have blurred the difference between right and wrong during the country's rapid economic development.

The Eight Honors and Disgraces are as follows: Love the country, do it no harm; Serve the people, never betray them; Follow science, discard superstition; Be diligent, not indolent; Be united, help each other, make no gains at other's expense; Be honest and trustworthy, do not sacrifice ethics for profit; Be disciplined and law-abiding, not chaotic and lawless; Live plainly, work hard, do not wallow in luxuries and pleasures.

(Xinhua News Agency September 19, 2007)