Chen Jian, special researcher of China Economic System Reform Research Association, member of China’s 50 Private Economy Forum, and executive director of the Healthy China 50 Forum. He used to be the vice-chairman of the 6-7th session of the China Economic System Reform Research Association, and the chairman of the Beijing Reform and Development Research Association. Click “Read the original text” at the end of the article to access the column authorized by Chen Jian.
Guangdong is the most influential province in China’s reform and opening up, and it is also the largest province in the country in terms of economic aggregate for 33 consecutive years. Since the founding of New China, Guangdong has experienced 17 provincial party secretaries. This article focuses on the three provincial party secretaries of Guangdong in the 1980s who had an important influence on China’s reform and opening up.
The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China restored the party’s ideological line of seeking truth from facts, and some leaders such as Deng Xiaoping, Hu Yaobang, and Chen Yun stepped into leadership positions in charge of China’s future voyage. At the same time, a group of provincial party secretaries who emancipated their minds and broke through the shackles of the left-leaning line, through vigorously promoting reforms, quickly changed the dull situation of the whole society and brought infinite vitality to the development of the country. And Guangdong, as a province at the forefront of China’s reform and opening up, in the 1980s, the three provincial party secretaries Xi Zhongxun, Ren Zhongyi and Lin Ruo made historic contributions to the development of Guangdong and even China’s reform and opening up. Looking back on this historical process, it still has important reference significance for the current development of China.
1. Xi Zhongxun (1978.12-1980.11)
Xi Zhongxun is a veteran of the Communist Party of China and a leader of reforms. In November 1934, the 21-year-old Xi was elected as the chairman of the Soviet government in the Shaanxi-Gansu Border Region, at the age of 21. Xi Zhongxun led the economic construction of the base area in northern Shaanxi, carried out important local economic reforms such as land, currency, and trade, accumulated rich experience in economic management, and formed an economic work method that attaches importance to research, relies on the masses and respects science. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Xi presided over the work of the Northwest Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. He was the youngest secretary of the major branches. According to Mao Zedong’s words, “He is a mass leader, a mass leader who came out of the masses.” At that time, Xi Zhongxun was only 32 years old. Later, he served as the deputy commander and deputy political commissar of the First Field Army. In September 1962, at the Tenth Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Xi Zhongxun was framed for “the problem of the novel “Liu Zhidan” and was dismissed from the post of Vice Premier of the State Council.
On April 5, 1978, Xi Zhongxun, who had just resumed work for two months, accepted the arrangement of the central government and went south to govern Guangdong. At that time, Xi was 65 years old. He flew from Beijing to Guangzhou. After getting off the plane, he went directly from the airport to the venue of the Guangdong Provincial Party Congress, and devoted himself to intense work. First served as the second secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee (the first secretary at this time was Wei Guoqing), the governor, and then the first secretary. He worked in Guangdong for two years and ten months, and served as the secretary of the provincial party committee for 23 months. Although the time was very short, it was the moment when the curtain of China’s reform and opening up was opened, and many pioneering work was started in his hands. Therefore, Guangdong has become a pioneer and a strategic hub for China’s reform and opening up, and has made significant contributions to China’s opening to the outside world.
Xi Zhongxun served as Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee for two years, and the main achievements are as follows:
1. Emancipate the mind and set things right
Xi Zhongxun has rich revolutionary experience, deeply understands that “thought is the guide of action”, and firmly supports the ideological line of the CPC Central Committee on emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts. After taking office, he quickly led the province to conduct a large discussion on the issue of truth standards.
Xi Zhongxun went to work in Guangdong, and the central government gave him the task of clearing up the poison of the “Cultural Revolution”, rehabilitating wrongful convictions, mobilizing all positive factors, and solving various problems in Guangdong. To this end, Xi personally presided over and promoted various fronts in Guangdong to put things right, rehabilitated a series of unjust, false and wrongful convictions, greatly promoted the emancipation of the minds of the cadres and the masses, laid a solid ideological and organizational foundation for Guangdong to start reform and opening up, and created a sound social atmosphere.
Xi Zhongxun never evades contradictions in rehabilitating unjust, false and wrongful cases, and takes every case to the end. Typical cases include the Hailufeng Huang Xiuwen case, the Li Yizhe case, the Zhuang Xinxin case, and the Guangdong “localism” case. , which has made an important preparation for the realization of the shift of the focus of the party’s work to economic construction.
2. Investigate smuggling
The prominent problem in Guangdong is the seriousness of smuggling. As soon as Xi Zhongxun came to Guangdong, he went to several counties adjacent to Hong Kong and Macao for inspection and research. He also said at the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee that smuggling and fleeing should not be regarded as a contradiction between the enemy and ourselves. Through research, he came to the conclusion that the problem can be fundamentally solved only by developing the economy.
Xi’s conclusion is in line with the facts. It is precisely because of the correct thinking. With the improvement of the level of economic development, the phenomenon of smuggling and fleeing that has been troubled for many years was gradually resolved in the 1990s.
3. Open to the outside world
Xi Zhongxun believes that the reform should be carried out on a pilot basis, and proposed that the reform should be carried out on a pilot basis instead of rushing forward. He believes that Guangdong is close to Hong Kong, Macao and overseas Chinese, and has unique advantages in developing foreign trade export industries and developing an export-oriented economy. Therefore, he believes that “Guangdong should proceed from the overall situation of the country” and take the first step in the reform. He decisively “demanded power” from the central government. In April 1979, when Xi Zhongxun attended the Central Work Conference, he proposed: “I hope the central government will give some rights and prepare to set up trade cooperation zones in Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou.” These requests were supported by the Party Central Committee. In July 1979, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council formally approved Guangdong to implement special policies, flexible measures and the establishment of special economic zones in the course of reform and opening up. These measures have made Guangdong a window for China’s reform and opening up, a pilot area for comprehensive reform, and a vanguard, providing valuable experience for the country to formulate and implement its opening-up policy.
Xi Zhongxun believes that the pace of reform in Guangdong should be bigger. Under the leadership of Xi Zhongxun, Guangdong has made great strides in reform, and it has taken the lead in attracting investment, reforming the price and commodity circulation system, reforming the foreign trade system, and “going out” for cadres. Xi Zhongxun carried out reforms in a drastic manner, but also very rigorous and meticulous, trying to avoid the risks of reforms as much as possible. He said, “Even big reforms must start with small reforms. This can be regarded as one of our experiences.”
4. Pay attention to in-depth grassroots, investigation and research
Investigation and research is Xi Zhongxun’s strength. He once braved the sweltering heat, climbed mountains and mountains, and visited 21 cities and counties in the “East Three Districts” of Meixian, Shantou and Huiyang for a month. Everywhere he goes, he must go deep into the grassroots, understand the most real situation, listen to the voices of the masses, absorb the wisdom of the masses, and never surface.
Xi Zhongxun worked as the secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee for only two years, but he injected the genes of reform and opening up into Guangdong, and has influenced it to this day.
2. Ren Zhongyi
In the 73 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, there have been more than 600 provincial party secretaries across the country. Some serve as provincial party secretaries in many provinces. The author found that Tan Qilong is the most secretary of the provincial party committee, and has successively served as the provincial party secretary of Shandong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Qinghai and Sichuan. Ren Zhongyi served as the provincial party secretary of Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Guangdong provinces, and is a senior provincial party secretary in the party.
Ren Zhongyi has been working in the Northeast for a long time and served as the first secretary of the Harbin Municipal Party Committee. In this post, Ren Zhongyi was widely known for his photos of being criticized during the Cultural Revolution.
In the second half of 1980, Xi Zhongxun and Yang Shangkun, who were in charge of Guangdong at the time, were transferred to the central government one after another. Who would take over? In addition to having qualifications, it is more important to emancipate the mind and have a spirit of reform. The central government thought of Ren Zhongyi. At this time, Zhongyi served as secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee. Ren Zhongyi was appointed by the Central Committee in February 1977 and was transferred from Heilongjiang to Liaoning to preside over the work of the Provincial Party Committee. As a local leader, he was the first in the country to publish an article publicly, supporting and participating in the discussion that “practice is the only criterion for testing truth”. In particular, he overturned the unjust case of Zhang Zhixin, a heroine who was persecuted to death by the “Gang of Four”, which caused strong repercussions at home and abroad. Under the leadership of Ren Zhongyi and a group of people from the provincial party committee, in just three years, Liaoning has shown great vitality.
In November 1980, Ren Zhongyi was transferred to Guangdong as the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee. At this time, Guangdong was in the initial stage of reform and opening up. Although Xi Zhongxun got off to a good start as Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, a lot of work has just started, and some work has not yet been started. After Ren Zhongyi took office, on the basis of the situation that Xi Zhongxun had created, he carried out drastic reforms. Mainly include the following:
1. Resist the pressure of doubt
Guangdong bravely stands at the forefront, not only must adhere to reform and opening up, but also face some puzzles. In 1981, due to the recent opening to the outside world, there was a wave of smuggling and smuggling in some coastal areas of Guangdong Province. To this end, the central government launched a severe crackdown on criminal activities in the economic field in 1982. At this important moment, the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee put forward two unswerving measures: unswervingly cracking down on serious criminal activities in the economic field; unswervingly opening up to the outside world and revitalizing the economy domestically.
The SAR is a start-up with a heavy task and faces some accusations. At that time, there was a saying that “except for the red flag, the special zone no longer has the taste of socialism”. In May 1981, Ren Zhongyi pointed out at the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee: “Some comrades suspect that the establishment of a special zone will damage sovereignty and turn it into a colony. We must answer for sure. No. The establishment of a special zone is an exercise of sovereignty and an exercise of sovereignty. Performance.” These words seem very common now, but at the time they were deafening.
Ren Zhongyi, who is in charge of Guangdong, must not only think about the “flexible” economic layout, but also think about “getting through” all kinds of conservative ideas that question and criticize. In this regard, Ren Zhongyi, who is full of energy in his thinking, has calmly responded to these challenges.
2. Encourage the development of the private economy
After Ren Zhongyi arrived in Guangdong, he encountered a problem, that is, the policy stipulated that the number of employees in the individual economy should not exceed eight. In fact, this problem is faced not only in Guangdong, but also in the whole country. In the early 1980s, the author worked in the Party’s theoretical propaganda department and participated in several discussions on this issue. The problem stems from Marx’s dividing the line between “small business owners” and “capitalists” in Chapter IX “Rate of Surplus Value and Amount of Surplus Value” in Volume I, Chapter III, Capital. According to Marx’s calculation, in the 19th century, those who hired less than 8 workers and directly participated in the production process like workers were “intermediaries between capitalists and workers who became small proprietors.” “Appropriation of the workers’ surplus value” is the capitalist. This became the standard of political economy of socialist orthodoxy. The central government issued a document at that time, stipulating that professional households and self-employed households should not employ more than 8 employees. It was not until 1987 that the central government abolished the restrictions on the number of employees and gave a sixteen-character policy – “allow existence, strengthen management, maximize advantages and restrain disadvantages, and gradually guide”. In April 1988, the first session of the Seventh National People’s Congress passed the amendment to the constitution, and the phrase “private economy” appeared in the constitution for the first time. But at the time, what about this problem? Ren Zhongyi asked the social science community to study. ‘We’re going to have a policy, give it a formal name for the private economy, let it grow, let it grow,’ he said. At the end of 1980, the Guangdong Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce issued the first specific measures to encourage and support the development of the individual economy; in May 1982, Foshan City established the country’s first individual worker association. More than 40 years have passed, and Guangdong’s individual and private economy has sprung up. From “picking up missing items” and “important supplements” to “one-third of the world”, by 2021, the number of market entities has grown to 15 million, and the private economy accounts for the vast majority. most. This undoubtedly has the contribution of Ren Zhongyi.
3. Reform of the investment system
Ren Zhongyi advocates doing things according to the law of value, gradually loosening the prices of major food, clothing, housing and transportation products such as fish, meat, eggs, etc., reducing the circulation of commodities, and the empty commodity shelves in the past have become dazzling.
In the early 1980s, there were a lot of debts in urban infrastructure. Ren Zhongyi realized that it was not feasible to rely on financial appropriation for construction. The investment system must be reformed and the road construction model of “loans to build roads and tolls to repay” must be adopted. On January 1, 1984, Dongguan Zhongtang Bridge on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Line was opened to traffic and put into use, becoming the first road and bridge toll station in the country. In addition, the earliest five-star hotel in the country, the White Swan Hotel, opened at this stage, and Hong Kong investor Fok Yingdong also invited Ren Zhongyi to attend the opening ceremony.
The reform of the investment system has enabled the construction of infrastructure to advance rapidly and promoted the rapid development of Guangdong’s economy.
In addition, Guangdong was also the first to break through the traditional enterprise establishment model. On January 1, 1984, the first independent economic entity in the national railway system, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway Company, was established. Since then, it has broken through the traditional enterprise establishment mode and implemented the economic contracting of self-management, self-financing, self-transformation, and self-all-round development. management system.
Ren Zhongyi is a famous reformist and thinker in the party. His famous words are: “The main task of the party, before gaining power, is to lead the broad masses of party members and the people to ‘change from slaves to masters’; after gaining power, it is to lead the broad masses of party members and the people to ‘from poor to rich'”” . That’s why he “changed” Guangdong’s economic chess game, and “released” Shekou as a “reform test tube” famous at home and abroad. Regarding the pros and cons of opening up to the outside world, he succinctly concluded that “sewage discharge does not exclude foreign countries”. This summary reflects Ren’s firmness in theory and will.
Ren Zhongyi worked as secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee for 4 years and 8 months. He brilliantly fulfilled the mission entrusted by the central government, and the reform tide in Guangdong was surging and affecting the whole country. In July 1985, 71-year-old Ren Zhongyi stepped down as secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee.
3. Lin Ruo (1985.7-1991.1)
Lin Ruo was born in October 1924, and was admitted to the School of Letters of Sun Yat-sen University in July 1945. In January 1947, Lin Ruo was wanted by the Kuomintang authorities due to the exposure of his party membership. He had to give up his studies and go to work in the Dongjiang guerrilla zone.
Compared with the previous two provincial party secretaries, Lin Ruo’s qualifications, popularity and influence are slightly inferior. Before the Cultural Revolution, Xi Zhongxun served as the vice premier of the State Council, Ren Zhongyi served as the secretary of the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee, and Lin Ruo was only the county party secretary. It was not until July 1966 that the 42-year-old Lin Ruo was transferred to the deputy secretary of the Zhanjiang Prefectural Party Committee. However, during his tenure, Lin Ruo continued the practice of the previous two provincial party secretaries to vigorously promote reform and vigorously develop the economy, and the answers he handed in were not inferior.
In December 1982, Lin Ruo, secretary of the Zhanjiang Prefectural Party Committee, received an order from the central government and was transferred to be the secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee (the first secretary at the time) to assist Ren Zhongyi in his work. For Lin Ruo, this is a very important promotion, which is closely related to his long-term insistence on reform. In 1977, when he was secretary of the Zhanjiang Prefectural Party Committee, Lin Ruo acquiesced to the Haikang County Tan Ge Brigade’s experiment of co-production of winter crops. Due to his acquiescence, many “Tang Ge Brigades” appeared in Zhanjiang. After being transferred to the provincial party committee secretary, Lin Ruo’s eyes expanded from Zhanjiang to the whole of Guangdong Province, and what remained unchanged during this period was his insistence on reform and opening up.
In July 1985, Lin Ruo succeeded Ren Zhongyi as the secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee, until January 1991 at the age of 67. During his tenure, he continued to emancipate his mind and seek truth from facts, which pushed Guangdong’s reform and opening up to a new depth.
1. Promote price reform
In 1979, Guangdong first liberalized the price of beef cattle. In 1980, the price of poultry, eggs, fruits, aquatic products, etc. was gradually liberalized. In the summer of 1984, the price of pork was liberalized. With the approval of the State Council in 1988, Guangdong became a comprehensive reform pilot area. The price of agricultural and sideline products such as oil and sugar has been further liberalized. During this process, criticism of Guangdong’s price reforms continued. In particular, the surrounding provinces have complained to the central government one after another, believing that the price reform in Guangdong has led to price increases, disrupting the market, and having a great impact on Guangdong. Lin Ruo led the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee to insist on “talking less and doing more”, insisting on Qingshan, and insisting that the reform and opening up will never retreat, and finally the price reform finally won the victory.
2. Develop township enterprises
In terms of the development of township and village enterprises, according to the actual situation of Guangdong Province, we will adapt to local conditions, and actively learn from the advanced experience of other provinces. Lin Ruo once led a team to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and other places to learn advanced experience twice (1984 and 1986). At the same time, it has withstood the pressure and emphasized that the policy for township enterprises should continue to be liberalized, and the green light should not be given the red light. The Guangdong Provincial Party Committee has successively introduced various measures to stabilize the development of township enterprises. As a result, the “four little tigers” of township and village enterprises represented by Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shunde and Nanhai have emerged.
3. Coordinate the regional development of the whole province, especially put a lot of effort into the backward mountainous areas, and lead the masses in the mountainous areas to take the road of managing mountains and becoming rich, and put forward the decision of “eliminating barren mountains in five years and greening the land of Guangdong in ten years”; “without changing the appearance of poor mountains and bad waters, I’m sorry to the fathers, brothers, and descendants of Guangdong.” It is under the strict rectification that the forest area in Guangdong has gradually recovered and the quality has also improved. In March 1991, Guangdong Province was awarded the title of “The No. 1 Province for Afforestation and Greening of Barren Mountains in China” by the Party Central Committee and the State Council.
4. Promote the reform of state-owned enterprises, fully delegate power to enterprises, and formulate one of the most complete local regulations in China that stipulates the modern company system, which makes state-owned enterprises full of vitality.
In terms of political reform, it is emphasized that we must listen to the most authentic voices of the people, and we must let deputies dare to speak up. During his tenure in office, Guangdong’s GDP ranked first in the country for the first time in 1989, and it has remained so to this day.
Lin Ruo is strict with herself and is known for her integrity. In 1988, Liu Shaoqi’s wife, Wang Guangmei, came to Guangdong to visit Lin Ruo’s house and said with emotion, “The provincial party secretary’s house is so simple.” None of Lin Ruo’s three sons was in politics, and he never took care of him. Mrs. Peng Huilan has been working in the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, and can be referred to the deputy department by the director, but Lin Ruo firmly disagrees. Until retirement, the wife is a director-level cadre.
summary
The three provincial party secretaries have different working styles, but the spirit of emancipation and reform is the same. As a veteran of the party, Xi Zhongxun hated the “Left” practices in the party. His foresight, especially his forward-looking awareness of opening up, laid the foundation for Guangdong’s reform; Ren Zhongyi liberated his mind and let go of the development of the private economy, which greatly released the vitality of the market. The reform in Guangdong has been pushed in depth; while Lin Ruo has a steady pace, a broad vision, coordinating the whole area, vigorously developing township enterprises, and insisting on and enriching the content of Guangdong’s reform. They highly agree with market-oriented reforms and always put the interests of the people first. This is the secret of Guangdong’s great success in the 1980s. Their historic contributions to the reform and opening up of Guangdong and even China are worthy of being remembered by future generations.
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