Chapter 10 Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong

November 1, 1981, Guangzhou.

Li Siming and Xiaodao got off the plane and took a bus to Guangzhou city. Xiaodao had come with Xu Zhiqiang two years ago, but he obviously felt that there have been too many changes in Guangzhou in the past two years: people have more smiling faces, their clothes are more fashionable than those of Beijingers, some people show off on the streets wearing clothes labeled Hong Kong, and the goods in the shops are richer, especially some household appliances, which are obviously much richer than those in northern cities. There are definitely many hawkers on the streets than in any city in the north, and they mysteriously sell small electronic products such as smuggled electronic watches to passers-by, especially outsiders.

Because of its proximity to Hong Kong, this city has become more energetic and more open-minded, because Li Siming can be seen from women's hairstyles. If the hair is permed into curly hair, it is often considered a bad style in the north and has a corrupt bourgeois idea. In Guangzhou, there are countless young women with curly hair permed on the streets, and everyone loves beauty. At the same time, there are many people here who have relatives in Hong Kong. When Guangzhou people go to Hong Kong to visit relatives, they will carry Hong Kong products to the mainland in large bags. When Hong Kong relatives come to Guangzhou to visit relatives, they often bring some color TVs, radios, and electronic watches that cannot be bought in the mainland.

In this era, if someone has relatives and friends in Hong Kong or even overseas, he will still worry that others don’t know. If he spreads everywhere, he will often make others envious. However, a few years ago, people tried every means to cover themselves and prevent others from knowing that they have overseas relations to ensure their political innocence. In the eyes of Guangdong and all Chinese, Hong Kong means a developed economy and affordable life, which was understandable at that time. However, the world became too fast. When the wheel of time stayed for twenty years, people discovered that there were poor people in Hong Kong and rich people in the mainland. Every day, people went to Hong Kong, and it was nothing great to go to Hong Kong. Every day, Hong Kong people went to the mainland to spend a weekend, then returned to work, or settled in Guangdong. It was also common.

A not-so-big crack was just opened. People inside and outside the door were eager to look at each other, want to see what the other party was different from themselves, and to contact them tentatively. This is a true portrayal of the relationship between the mainland and Hong Kong in the early 1980s. However, when looking at people in the door, there will always be bias and misunderstandings. Mainland people regard Hong Kong as a paradise and work tirelessly with it as their goal. Although Hong Kong is curious and close to the mainland, it still maintains a high degree of vigilance and capital is always very sensitive, especially in the Hong Kong commercial society.

Li Siming and Xiaodao visited Guangzhou for two days, tasted various snacks from the streets and alleys, and even tasted a lot of wild game. As the saying goes, eating in Guangdong, is right. Two days later, they left Guangzhou and went to Shenzhen.

Shenzhen, separated from Hong Kong, has started its turbulent and sensational days since the 1980s Special Economic Zone was officially announced. A large number of construction troops drove from all directions to the banks of the Shenzhen River, and groups of young workers and working girls rushed from all over the place. Shenzhen, this border town suddenly turned into a large construction site, with the rumbling of bulldozers, excavators and cranes everywhere, and pedestrians walking in a hurry. The mayor and the workers lived in low and hot-shot sheds together, and they appeared on the construction site early and late. Without money, Shenzhen people ran around, relying on borrowing, "snowball" to support buildings and pave roads. "Shenzhen Speed" started from this time.

Only when infrastructure construction keeps up can foreign investors come to invest and discuss cooperation. If you want to build roads first, it is also called out during this period. The Shenzhen Special Economic Zone just needs to invest more than 90 yuan per square meter, and the first phase of development is 4 square kilometers, with a minimum investment of more than 1 billion yuan. In addition, the huge amount of funds needed to cure the floods in Luohu Lake is simply an unimaginable astronomical figure for the "five sons passed the imperial examination". When planning to establish the special economic zone, the head of the central government clearly said: "The central government has no money, you can do it yourself and fight a way out!" But Shenzhen people were not intimidated by difficulties. This required great courage and a persistent heart at that time.

"Xiaodao, what do you think when you see everything in front of you?" Li Siming asked.

"I feel that there is nothing, I just think this place looks quite popular. The people here are like a big battle when building water conservancy in my hometown in the countryside." Xiaodao said.

"What is this analogy for you? But you are right. It is a big battle for Shenzhen people. For me, I see hope, and hope is right in front of me," Li Siming said, pointing to the construction site in front.

"We're here to stay?" Xiaodao looked at the streets that were loaded onto the car, and was a little suspicious because they were transporting mud and sand.

"Of course not now, but we will be back soon. I want to make this place a place where my career rises." Li Siming said confidently from a high place.

"Then are we still going to Hong Kong as planned?" Xiaodao asked.

"What's wrong with Hong Kong? What are the people who get up from the dead, why are they afraid of going to Hong Kong?" Li Siming said.

"That's the capitalist world. I heard that many people have fled to Hong Kong here. I heard that many people have been arrested a few years ago and have been imprisoned." Xiaodao said worriedly.

There have been four large-scale escape incidents in Shenzhen history. The most recent one was in 1979. There were rumors that on the day Queen Elizabeth in the UK ascended the throne, Hong Kong implemented amnesty. Anyone who was stranded in Hong Kong could declare Hong Kong permanent residents to the government within three days. Shenzhen was also "Dafang River Estuary" that day, allowing the masses to enter and exit Hong Kong freely. Later people sighed: On May 7, 1979, the day after "Dafang River Estuary", hundreds of corpses floated on the 20 kilometers of sea surface adjacent to Hong Kong. The fishy sea breeze wiped away any trace of vitality on the land. In front of us, the sky was wide and everything was silent. It seemed that nothing had happened. From Shatoujiao in the east, to Xiabu Temple in the middle, to mangroves in the south, to Shekou in the south, to even a figure was difficult to find.

Anyone who has a little understanding of Shenzhen’s history will not deny that November 1977 was a major turning point - a border town with a population of less than 30,000 has entered the vision of the highest leader for the first time. The leader regarded Guangdong as the first stop for the first inspection of the country after his comeback. He was accompanied by his fellow Guangdong fellow, Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.

Because the Shenzhen border defense forces were almost unable to defend against the increasingly fierce escape from Hong Kong, the main leaders of Guangdong Province stabbed him as a vicious political incident. However, the reporter was shocked that he looked at the smokey and dusty street scene of Yangcheng outside the window with a wise look, as if he was indifferent to this "earth-shaking" problem. After a long silence, he turned his back and said a few words with certainty:

“This is something wrong with our policy.”

"This matter is not something that the troops can control."

These two sentences made the leaders of Guangdong puzzled: saying that there is a problem with the policy, is it possible to flee the policy change? saying that the troops cannot control it, then who can control it? Gao Xiaolin described in his reportage "Breakthrough-Revelation of the Special Economic Zone of China": The Deputy Minister of the Organization Department of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China sitting next to him heard it very clearly. He was first surprised, and then confused...

The hearts of the provincial party committee leaders fell into fog.

Until he left Guangzhou and returned to Beijing 10 days later, these two sentences still did not solve the mystery.

However, one person seemed to understand his implicit meaning. This person was Wu who later worked hard to provoke the banner of reform of Guangdong Special Economic Zone. Wu was then the secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and later served as the first secretary in Shenzhen. Soon, Wu took his secretary and inserted it into the fields of Shenzhen for on-site investigation. Wu discovered something strange: There is a Luofang village in Shenzhen, and there is also a Luofang village in the New Territories across the river. However, the per capita annual income of Luofang Village in Shenzhen is 134 yuan, while the per capita annual income of Luofang Village in New Territories is 1

3,000 yuan; a farmer's daily income of a farmer in Bao'an is 0.70 to 1.20 yuan, while a farmer's daily income of 60-70 Hong Kong dollars is a huge difference between the two. The facts in front of him finally made the provincial party secretary suddenly realize, and he understood the two words of the chief. The economic income is so disparate, no wonder people are outward. What is even more intriguing is that there was no Luofang village in the New Territories, and all the people living here escaped from Luofang Village in Shenzhen.

"We are not defecting. I said, what are you afraid of? I am afraid that the beauties in the Hong Kong Flower World will eat you?" Li Siming joked.

"Of course not. I always feel that I grew up under the Red Banner and have been educated by the Party for so many years. We have not forgotten the confidentiality regulations. I always feel that it is wrong to go to Hong Kong." Xiaodao said.

"You little dogmatist, your mind is still so unliberate. When you go to Hong Kong, you will be rebelling and surrendering to the enemy? I think you have all your grandsons. Don't think about anything. Follow me. I'm really afraid that you will be eaten by a Hong Kong woman!" Li Siming thought Xiaodao's idea was funny, and looked Xiaodao up and down, "You can't say anything, men like you are really rare in Hong Kong!"

"No matter what, I will follow you anyway. But Brother Ming, you must not make mistakes!"

"What mistake can I make? Explain it clearly to me." Li Siming stopped and turned his head to ask.

"Of course it's a matter of life style. You already have a fiancée!" Xiaodao explained seriously.

"Comrade Xia Tian, ​​thank you for your reminder! If I want to find a new love, I will definitely notify you in advance." Li Siming scratched his head, smoked from the seven orifices, turned his head and speeded up, and Xiaodao chased after him.

Hong Kong and Shenzhen are separated by a river, but there is a world on one side, prosperous on the other side, poverty on the other side, and backward on the other side. A shallow river cannot stop the pace of the times. The Chinese on both sides began to try to contact and communicate. With the development of reform and opening up in the mainland, this river has become a historical witness to the common development of Hong Kong and the mainland.

Before the reform and opening up, countless people stood on the north bank of the Shenzhen River and looked into the dream paradise. But an overseas friend said to the reformist Secretary Wu: "There is no way to follow, no rules can be feasible, and if you want others to invest, who dares to come? If the Special Administrative Region wants to deal with the international market, it cannot make international jokes." Capital is a sensitive thing, and any movement will cause capital instinctive reactions.

This statement prompted the formulation and implementation of relevant regulations and regulations of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. On August 26, 1980, Chairman Ye Jianying personally presided over the 15th meeting of the Fifth People's Congress. A later national leader, who was then deputy director of the State Import and Export Commission, made an explanation on the establishment of the special zone and the formulation of the "Special Zone Regulations" at the meeting. The "Special Zone Regulations" was approved. August 26 became the anniversary of the establishment of the China Special Economic Zone. A few days after the promulgation of the Special Economic Zone Regulations, the Shenzhen River, which was the most troubled by socialist China, suddenly disappeared! After the thousands of big rocks hidden in Wutong Mountain, the crowds who were preparing to flee in the woods completely disappeared.

The New York Times wrote with a temperate amazement that the iron curtain has been opened and the pointer for China's great change is ringing.

Luohu Port is the earliest port in Shenzhen. It was formerly called Kowloon Customs Travel Inspection Office. At that time, there were only a few small houses. The transit procedures were relatively complicated and the transit inspection speed was very slow. On the narrow and long transit bridge, there were people carrying large and small bags, carrying large and small bags, and waiting anxiously. Now the new customs clearance building has been built, but the procedures are still very complicated. Li Siming and Xiaodao lined up in a long queue, looking at the crowds facing south or north. Most of the people facing south were empty, while most of the people coming from Hong Kong were large and small bags. When inspecting, it contained most daily necessities in the mainland, ranging from color TVs to small oil and salt. These needed to be supplied with tickets in the mainland and had the most clothing.

The staff at the time of clearance were very serious, but their faces were impatient. Those who were inappropriate in the procedures were mostly troubled. All the contrabands were confiscated. Li Siming doubted whether the consequences of these so-called contrabands were entered into someone's pocket. Li Siming didn't have to worry. Both of them had the documents they should have, and one bag contained various documents to ensure that they could pass through.

"Next," the staff shouted, as if they were tired and weak. Li Siming handed over the documents of the two, which were a small green notebook, and a special document for a powerful department.

"Yo, it's rare." The staff immediately became energetic, "Are you going to Hong Kong to do business?"

"..." Li Siming curled his lips and said nothing.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked, even if I haven't asked." The staff slapped his head, "If you come out early, you don't have to queue up. By the way, you must have fun when you go to Hong Kong. I'll introduce you to a few fun places, okay?"

"Thank you, no need!" Li Siming said with a smile.

After crossing the overpass and leaving the pass, Li Siming and Xiaodao arrived at the territory of Hong Kong.
Chapter completed!