2017 is an eventful year for China, with several marquee activities on the political calendar, including the upcoming 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 90th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army early this week.

The world’s attention has once again shifted to China with the CPC as the center of that attention.

Tasked with leading the country to rejuvenation, the CPC also has its own mission: to be the strongest party in the world.

The mission is determined by China’s national conditions. The country’s vast population, unbalanced economy, and the pressure of its two centennial goals require the leadership of a stronger CPC.

The mission is also the CPC’s response to the international community. Under the CPC’s leadership and endeavors of the generations of Party members, China’s progress in social development has made the Party an example to all and the world looks forward to its contribution to global governance.

Over the years, the CPC has established an efficient organizational structure and strict party discipline, which helped it survive wars and revolutions and to continue to thrive after almost a century.

But the Party never rests on its laurels. The leadership has repeatedly warned that the biggest threat to the Party is corruption and the CPC must better serve the people and lead the second largest economy in the world.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, an anti-corruption campaign has swept across the country, putting at least 240 senior officials under investigation.

The campaign has reinforced people’s confidence in the Party. In a survey conducted by Pew Research Center in 2016, 64 percent of the interviewees believed that corruption would lessen over the next five years.

Grassroots Party members and organizations are crucial to the strength of the Party. The CPC is setting up a better appraisal mechanism to allow more mobility within its organizational structure, so that any capable candidate from its 89 million members has a chance to shine.

Over the past year, the catchphrase of the Party has been “staying true to our founding mission”, which is to serve the people.

“We won’t have the support of the people if we cannot strive for the people’s benefit,” said Mao Zedong, the founder of the People’s Republic of China, in 1934.

“To meet the people’s desire for a happy life is our mission,” said Xi Jinping when meeting the press after being elected as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in 2012.

Considering the achievements of China, the CPC is fulfilling its promise.

More than 700 million people have been lifted out of poverty since 1978. In the past more than four years alone, China has seen over 55 million reach a reasonable standard of living.

Under the leadership of the Party, China is sharing the benefits of its economic boom with the people.

Antaeus, the giant in Greek mythology, can absorb inexhaustible power from the earth. Similarly, as long as the CPC stays close to the people, it will never lose its vitality.

Throughout its history, the CPC has debunked and defanged so many prejudices and stereotypes. Now, as China finds itself at a critical point of its revival, the world is waiting to see how the CPC continues to impress.

The meteorological authority on Saturday warned that flash floods would likely follow torrential rain in the northeast and southwest of the country.

Parts of Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan will likely see floods from Saturday night to Sunday night, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) said.

Rain in these regions will be accompanied by thunder and strong winds, or hail in some areas, according to the CMA. Local authorities were told to prepare for mud-rock flows and landslides.

Since June, floods and droughts have hit north and south China, with some regions severely affected.

Last week, floods caused by heavy rain destroyed hundreds and damaged thousands of houses in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province.

Four people who were acquitted from a wrongful conviction of 13 years ago have each received 2.27 million yuan ($330,000) from the state, the Jiangxi Higher People’s Court said.

Huang Zhiqiang, Fang Chunping, Cheng Fagen and Cheng Lihe were sentenced to death by the Intermediate People’s Court of Jingdezhen city in July 2003 for murder, rape and robbery on May 23, 2000 in Leping City, in central China’s Jiangxi Province. The appeal process has been continuing since 2003.

In 2016, the Jiangxi Higher People’s Court ruled that the facts were unclear, the evidence insufficient, and the authenticity and legitimacy of their confessions in doubt.

Xia Keqin, vice president of Jiangxi higher court, made an apology to the four after their acquittal.

A total of 77 suspects in telecom and online fraud cases have been brought back to China from Fiji, the Ministry of Public Security announced Saturday.

It was the first time for Chinese police to bring back so many suspects from an Oceanian country.

The suspects are accused in more than 50 cases involving over 6 million yuan (892,000 U.S. dollars).

On Sept. 22, 2016, one of the victims in northeast China’s Jilin Province was swindled out of 1.3 million yuan and committed suicide, which triggered large-scale investigations at provincial and state levels.

An illegal online gambling and lottery gang was soon revealed, directing to more than 200 suspects based in China, Indonesia and Fiji, with nearly 100 million yuan illegal gains involved. Victims were from over 20 provinces and municipalities across China.

Chinese police sent a team to Fiji on July 2 to work with local police. On July 18, they took action, destroying five dens, arresting 77 suspects and confiscating equipment, including mobile phones, computers and bank cards.

In the meantime, police busted eight dens and two technical teams, arresting 83 suspects in China.

In a separate case, the ministry announced on Friday that it had brought 143 such suspects to China from Indonesia. Another 10 suspects, who had been arrested, remained in Indonesia under investigation. Their cases involved more than 20 million yuan, said the ministry.

China’s meteorologists issued a yellow alert on Saturday for high temperatures, the second in a four-tier warning system, with some southern provinces expected to see temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius.

The heat wave led to historic highs temperatures in some areas in July, and will continue to bake southern and central China on Saturday, the National Meteorological Center said.

The observatory expects some regions in Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou and Xinjiang to see temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius.

Temperatures in downtown Chongqing, and parts of Shaanxi, Henan, Hubei and the southeastern provinces could rise to 39 degrees Celsius, it said.

The public was reminded to pay attention to the weather and take precautions in outdoor activities. Authorities are closely watching the power supply to avoid accidents.

Heat waves have hit most of the country’s southeast over the past month. Shanghai, for example, recorded a temperature of 40.9 degrees Celsius on July 21, the highest on record in the city in 145 years. The extreme hot weather has increased the number of people suffering from heatstroke.

China has a four-tier color-coded system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.