Working as a senior editor in Foreign Languages Press in China, David Ferguson, a Briton, is well known in China for his polishing work in translations of Chinese classics and government documents.

Ferguson is fluent in English, French, German and Italian, and has a wealth of life experience. He had worked and lived in more than 30 countries before settling down in China.

"I followed my wife to China in 2006. She is from the city of Jilin in northeast China, where I first met my father-in-law Li Qingchang," he said.

During a chat, Li learned that Ferguson lost his parents when he was very young. He then asked Ferguson to call him father instead of father-in-law, Ferguson recalled.

Li, a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC), dedicated his whole life to the development of the country like other Party members of his generation.

"Although my father-in-law has passed away, the stories he told me are always remembered," Ferguson said.

Ferguson said Li was born in 1935. Since Li's parents died when he was a child, he had no place to live in Beijing. He begged for a living during the day and spent the night in a broken Taoist temple. Some Party members found him on the street, offered food and accommodation to him, and then sent him to school.

"My father-in-law was only 14 years old when the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949. He was very proud to have participated in a celebration parade. He often shared that part of history with me," Ferguson said.

In the 1950s, Li came to Jilin as a team member to build the "New China Sugar Factory," which was among the 156 major projects in the country's first five-year plan.

In July 1952, Li joined the CPC himself. Without any basic knowledge or experience, he had to start from scratch to learn how to produce sugar in the factory at the very beginning. However, he worked hard and overcame various difficulties to improve sugar manufacturing techniques, and was promoted to the deputy manager of the factory.

"I admired my father-in-law for his perseverance. He was always ready to embrace challenges," Ferguson said, adding that his father-in-law was also a responsible and dedicated family man.

"Every time I returned to Jilin for the Spring Festival holiday, Li was always very patient to teach me how to play cards and mahjong, so I could get closer to my relatives in China while improving my Chinese."

The years spent with Li made Ferguson appreciate the charm of Communists in China, totally different from what the West depicted.

"Many people who didn't know China asked me about the CPC, and I would tell them the reality of China today and proudly say that my father, a CPC member, was my role model," he said.