When Premier Wen Jiabao was still a passionate youth, he wrote two 'blood letters' to obtain a hardship posting to remote Tibet when he graduated from the China University of Geosciences.
'I thought to myself, 'A bird will ultimately make it to the blue sky as long as it's being set free',' he said to internet in a live online chat on the central government's website and state media Xinhua.
'My dream at the time was to go somewhere far away,' he said, talking about his personal growth.
While many wonder what Wen's personal life is like, he said he was in fact a family man. 'Just like everyone else, I have my own family and parents in their 90s. However, one thing I regret the most was that I spent too little time with them in the last eight years as premier.'
As a young man, Wen was frail, having twice been diagnosed with tuberculosis after entering university. Treatment forced him to delay his studies. 'That was a heavy setback for me,' Wen said. 'But I have never surrendered. I always knew I would be a useful man one day.'
Even living in isolation at home and in hospital, Wen said he would not let one single day pass without studying.
