Chinese public invited to select 'grassroots heroes'

Online voting kicked off on Tuesday to select China's "grassroots heroes" for the second quarter of 2014, in a national award scheme designed to celebrate ordinary people's good deeds and improve moral awareness in society.

The public can vote online at www.xinhuanet.com or via microblogs and mobile applications to select 10 individuals from 30 nominees whose actions or stories have moved or inspired Chinese people in the past three months.

The candidates include Liu Yunxia, a rural woman known for her persistent dream to write dramas and produce a TV series, and Liu Yanbing, a high-school student who fought a knife-wielding attacker on a bus.

The vote has been held since 2010.