Chinese workers are one of four runners-up in Time Magazine's 2009 Person of the Year selection. [Photo: Time.com]
Chinese workers were one of four runners-up in Time Magazine's 2009 Person of the Year selection, following U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who was the top choice.
The U.S.-based magazine announced the results Wednesday, saying Chinese workers were chosen for their contribution to China's efforts to ensure a growth rate of at least 8 percent in the face of the worldwide economic recession.
"A year ago, many thought hitting such a figure in 2009 was a pipe dream. But China has done it, and this year it remains the world's fastest-growing major economy -- and an economic stimulus for everyone else. Who deserves the credit? Above all, the tens of millions of workers who have left their homes, and often their families, to find work in the factories of China's booming coastal cities," the magazine said in its comments.
The magazine named Bernanke its 2009 Person of the Year, calling him "the most powerful nerd on the planet."
He beat out Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, President Obama, Apple CEO Steve Jobs and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, among other finalists.
Time said Bernanke was the reason the U.S. financial crisis wasn't worse.
Bernanke was sworn in as Federal Reserve chairman in February 2006. He spent years in academia, as a professor at Princeton, Stanford, New York University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to the Fed's Web site.
A file photo of Ben Bernanke [File Photo: Chinadaily.com.cn]
