Remembering A Reformer

By+Li+Li

As a teenager， Zhang Weiying， now a prominent economist and former Dean of the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University， thought he could be nothing more than a farmer like his illiterate parents.

In an article written in memory of the year he was admitted to college， Zhang， born in 1959， noted that he spent the first 19 years of life in his hometown， a remote village in Chinas northwest Shaanxi Province. As someone whose childhood memories consist of chronic hunger and poverty， he wrote， he couldnt in his wildest dreams have imagined one day becoming an economist and university professor.

Graduating from high school in 1976， Zhang， then 17， started to work as a farmer in his home village. Although Zhang had been a top student in his class， getting a higher education was beyond his reach. The national college entrance exam had been canceled during the “cultural revolution” （1966-76）， and was substituted with a new admission policy that instead sent workers， farmers and soldiers to college. The college recruits would be selected based on political and family background rather than academic achievements. At that time， Zhang had feuded with village officials， openly criticizing them for spending public funds on banquets； these officials vowed to impede any career opportunities for him.

In August 1977， Chinas late leader Deng Xiaoping， then Vice Premier， resumed the traditional examination system， in which recruitment is based on academic ability. The first such entrance exam after the “cultural revolution” took place that following winter. This history-making event would change the fate of Zhang and millions like him. After sitting the exam in 1977， he was admitted into the Department of Politics and Economics of Northwest University in Xian， Shaanxi， and became the first university student from his village.

The total number of candidate students for the national college entrance exam in 1977 was as many as 5.7 million， with only 272，971， or 4.8 percent， gaining admittance. Many went on to become nationally renowned economists， writers and government leaders， including current Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

Deng was at the core of the second generation of Chinese leadership after the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China （CPC） held in late 1978， which marked the beginning of Chinas reform and push to open up the country. Leading China on a path of far-reaching economic reforms， Deng invited in foreign investment and encouraged the development of a market economy and private sector. His reforms helped lift hundreds of millions of Chinese out of poverty.endprint

For Nian Guangjiu， once an illiterate farmer from east Chinas Anhui Province， the socialist market economy is something difficult to comprehend. But he knows that the concept has been deeply ingrained in his life as a private entrepreneur.

Nian started his business in the late 1970s， as China was gradually changing its attitude toward a private economy. Families were allowed to form “household enterprises” in which the entrepreneur himself would work.

Despite feeling encouraged by the governments change， private entrepreneurs in China were still cautious about hiring workers. However， after observing that the Central Government took no action in controlling employee recruitment， Nian， owner of the brand Shazi Guazi， or The Fools Sunflower Seeds， became one of the first to hire more employees. His employment of more than 100 workers soon triggered heated debate and the case was reported to Deng himself. “Will that hurt socialism？” Deng asked.

Without Deng， there wouldnt be someone like me， Nian told the media.

A mind for progress

Deng was born on August 22， 1904， in Guangan， southwest Chinas Sichuan Province. Drizzling rain this August 22 did not stop people in the city from laying flowers before a bronze statue of Deng at his former residence and bowing in respect.

“We should thank Deng for our current prosperity，” Liu Jianxin， a Guangan resident visiting the statue with his granddaughter， told China News Service. “His reform and opening-up policy solved our food and clothing shortages.”

Deng passed away in 1997. He was widely revered for his political courage， innovation and strategic thinking. His commemoration in 2014 is especially significant as it comes in a year in which Chinas new leadership has announced plans to “comprehensively deepen reform.”

At a symposium at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on August 20， President Xi Jinping described Deng as “the chief architect of Chinas socialist reform， opening up and modernization.” Xi said the current leadership should learn from Dengs political courage， vowing to proceed with reforms and augment the nations development without hesitation.

Participants in a seminar in Shanghai compared the recent opening of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone to the establishment of the Pudong New Area in the early 1990s， a vanguard development of which Deng was a major propellant.endprint

“The strategy Deng advocated was reform driven by opening up. Today， the strategy still holds for Shanghai and the whole country alike，”said Zhou Hanmin， an expert in international law who was involved in the creation of the Pudong New Area.

An editorial published by the Peoples Daily on August 22 stressed Dengs emphasis on the rule of law. People must adhere to and have confidence in the countrys legal system， it said， quoting the famous Deng line， “construction of the market and legal systems must keep pace with each other for Chinas new road of reform.”

The major campaign marking the 110th anniversary of Dengs birth also includes a republication of his works and official biography， while national broadcaster China Central Television screened Deng Xiaoping at Historys Crossroads， a 48-episode TV drama series documenting Dengs experiences from 1976-84.

Chief scriptwriter Long Pingping of the Party Literature Research Center of the CPC Central Committee is a senior expert on Dengs theories. He said that he hoped the drama could dismiss some popular misunderstandings about Deng and the reform he led. “After 35 years of rapid development， China has entered a stage when many new social problems start to surface. Some people wrongly attribute this phenomenon to the reforms designed by Deng，” said Long.

“The fact is that Deng was among the first leaders to discover problems caused by speedy economic growth. He proposed the transformation of Chinas economic growth model in the mid-1980s and also started to ask the greater society to protect the environment and conserve energy and resources very early on，” said Long.

Deng believed “socialism with Chinese characteristics” would eventually lead to common prosperity. “The country should allow some regions and people to get rich first and then gradually push for common prosperity，” he said. Some claim， however， that Dengs policy caused the yawning income gap in China today. “Deng had openly advocated 14 times for allowing some regions and people to get rich first， but he always emphasized that it was the necessary path to achieving common prosperity，” said Long.

Professor Xie Chuntao， with the Party School of the CPC Central Committee， told Xinhua News Agency， “When Deng is mentioned， reforms and opening up are the first things that come to mind. As the country faces tough tasks that necessitate deepened reforms， we need to keep his legacy in mind now more than ever.”

Reform has been at the top of Chinas political agenda since the current leadership took office in late 2012. An important CPC Central Committee meeting held in November 2013 unveiled a detailed roadmap for these revisions.

President Xi personally heads the Central Leading Group for Overall Reform. At its four meetings so far， a dozen plans have been launched covering areas that range from the workings of the fiscal， educational and judicial systems to the widening of household registration opportunities and control of state-owned enterprises.endprint