China 1992 - Early Spring in the South

Author: Republic Review Series
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-01-01
Features: Excerpt: Chapter Deng Xiaoping's Southern Tour Early Spring in the South At 9 a.m., a train slowly rolled into Shenzhen Railway Station. After the train came to a stop, a station attendant placed a long wooden board covered with a red carpet at the entrance of a carriage. In the eyes of the people of Shenzhen, this was the highest courtesy. The doors opened, and Deng Xiaoping stepped off the train, walking onto the red carpet specially laid for him,. Guangdong Provincial Party Secretary Xie Fei greeted him, saying, "We miss you very much." Shenzhen Municipal Party Secretary Li Hao said, "The entire city welcomes you." Shenzhen Mayor Zheng Liangyu said, "The people of Shenzhen have longed for your visit for eight years." Deng Xiaoping smiled and greeted the welcoming crowd one by one. After exiting the station, Deng Xiaoping, accompanied by provincial and municipal officials, boarded a minibus and arrived at the Garden of the Ying Hotel. Everyone persuaded Deng Xiaoping to rest, as he was 88 years old and couldn’t keep up with the young people. Deng Xiaoping replied, "Once I arrive in Shenzhen, I can’t sit still—I want to see everything." The old man had also heard various criticisms of Shenzhen. He wasn’t entirely sure how Shenzhen was doing. Of course, compared to the previous time, he had more confidence, and there was more to say. The accompanying staff said, "Comrade Xiaoping rested well on the train last night. Since he is in high spirits, let’s arrange some activities." After a brief rest, Deng Xiaoping and Guangdong Provincial Party Secretary Xie Fei went to the garden of the Ying Hotel to recall the early days of establishing the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. This was January 19, 1992. Spring was once again strongly felt over Shenzhen. Urban reform came slightly later than rural reform. In April 1979, at the central work conference held in Beijing, the eight-character policy of "adjustment, reform, streamlining, and improvement" was proposed for the national economy. At this meeting, the then main leaders of Guangdong Province, Xi Zhongxun and Yang Shangkun, proposed a suggestion during their report to the central leadership that Guangdong, being adjacent to Hong Kong and Macao, could leverage this advantage to make some moves in opening up to the outside world. During a break in the meeting, Deng Xiaoping had a casual chat with them. The topic began with Yan'an, discussing how a small border region had later become the foundation of the entire country. However, after decades of liberation, the people of Yan'an were still not prosperous. After pondering, Deng Xiaoping said, "Your report this morning was quite good. Why not set aside a piece of land in Guangdong to establish a special economic zone?" Thus, the initial operations of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone began, and by 1980, the framework of the zone was established. On August 1980, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress formally passed and promulgated the "Regulations on the Guangdong Special Economic Zone," and Jiang Zemin, who was still working in the State Council at the time, made a statement on the "Regulations on the Guangdong Special Economic Zone," proclaiming the official establishment of the zone. From then on, the zone had a formal legal basis. Subsequently, its development momentum remained strong, growing like a snowball, from nothing to something, from small to large. By 1982, a wave of criticism emerged, accusing the zone of acting like a concession, selling out the country, smuggling along the coast, and once again engaging in "Westernization." Although the external environment had always been divided on Shenzhen, and people had become accustomed to it, this wave of criticism had a certain momentum and significantly impacted the zone. Many people adopted a wait-and-see attitude. Were the flexible measures taken by the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone the right approach? No one dared to say for sure. Just as Shenzhen faced this predicament, Deng Xiaoping arrived at the zone. Seeing is believing; he wanted to witness it with his own eyes.