#历史开讲 #
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preface
In December 2018, at the mainland celebration of the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up, Lee Kuan Yew was awarded the "China Reform Friendship Award", which is the mainland's recognition of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew's great contribution to China's reform and opening up.
The reason why Lee Kuan Yew will lead Singapore to help the development of China's reform and opening up is not only for the future development of Singapore, but also for his personal factors.
Because Lee Kuan Yew also has the genes of Chinese sons and daughters in his blood.
1. Lee Kuan Yew paved the way for the new and Chinese construction bridges
About 100 years ago, some Chinese in Guangdong and Fujian regions of China were forced to travel thousands of miles from their hometowns to Singapore under the pressure of survival, and among these people were the shadow of Lee Kuan Yew's great-grandfather.
It is said that the traditions of the Chinese nation are engraved in the blood, and the "genes" of Chinese culture are deeply rooted.
This phrase is well reflected in the Lee Kuan Yew family, who have always preserved traditional Chinese customs despite living in a foreign country.
On the Lunar New Year, the family will also have a reunion dinner, and even his name has the meaning of "Guangzong Yaozu".
The English spelling of "Lee Kuan Yew" also comes from the Hokkien pronunciation of the three characters "Lee Kuan Yew".
Influenced by traditional Chinese Confucianism, Lee Kuan Yew possessed many Chinese unique qualities, such as fortitude, diligence and courage.
In the sixties and seventies of last century, with the gradual improvement of New China's international status and the continuous improvement of its comprehensive national strength, Western countries led by the United States gradually regarded the mainland as an opponent.
In the eyes of Western politicians, China is an Asian giant with vast land and great potential.
If China continues to be strong, it will inevitably become the "next Soviet Union", which is undoubtedly a huge challenge for the Western capitalist camp.
In order to delay China's development to the greatest extent, Western countries can be said to do everything they can.
Economic blockade, military strikes, political isolation, it can be said that we are trying by all means to let us, the "Asian giant", continue to sleep, and it is best to never wake up.
At that time, many Southeast Asian countries were subordinate to Western countries, so many Southeast Asian countries adopted an isolated foreign policy towards the mainland at that time.
Among them, Vietnam even had a direct military conflict with the mainland, and did not hesitate to show loyalty to its "master" with the blood of its own military and people.
When ASEAN was founded in 1967, ASEAN tried to bring relations with the United States closer in the international context at that time, but was lured by the United States, so it jointly implemented a "containment policy" against China.
In this context, Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's main leader, keenly discovered that China's rise could not be contained.
To make Singapore better, cooperation with China is the trend of the times.
After careful analysis, Lee Kuan Yew made it clear to ASEAN countries that a situation in which China and the United States join hands to maintain political stability in the Asian region may occur.
They were also advised: "China has no territorial ambitions, is not a superpower, but belongs to the third world." ”
Through various political occasions, Lee Kuan Yew called on Southeast Asian countries to pay attention to China, which in a sense paved the way for new bridges between China and China.
As a Singaporean Chinese leader with the blood of Chinese sons and daughters, Lee Kuan Yew is well aware of the great potential of New China.
From ancient times to the present, the biggest characteristics of the Chinese people are hard work and intelligence, as long as the Chinese people are given twenty or thirty years of stable life, Chinese people will create great wealth with their own hands!
That's why Lee Kuan Yew made this prediction:
"China will develop into a great power like the United States and the Soviet Union."
As long as China's domestic social environment stabilizes and ordinary people can live and work in peace, it will not be long before the sleeping Asian giant slowly awakens, and no external force can stop this historical process.
Second, Lee Kuan Yew and Deng Xiaoping cherished each other
Before the reform and opening up, Lee Kuan Yew was constantly watching China's movements, and he actively maintained contact with the central leaders of the mainland.
Among them, Deng Xiaoping left a deep impression on him.
In May 1976, Lee Kuan Yew visited China for the first time, and although he was a descendant of Chinese, this was his first visit to the homeland of his ancestors.
Two years later, Singapore received news that Deng Xiaoping was planning to visit Singapore, and Singaporean leaders, including Lee Kuan Yew, attached great importance to the matter.
To make a better impression on China's leaders, Lee Kuan Yew specifically instructed his subordinates to place a blue-and-white porcelain spittoon next to the seat reserved for Deng Xiaoping.
Lee Kuan Yew had long heard that Deng Xiaoping was a smoker, and even at Politburo meetings, he could not leave his hand, sometimes even smoking a dozen cigarettes for a meeting.
Although Lee Kuan Yew himself never smoked, he had to make an exception in order to make Deng Xiaoping more comfortable when he came to Singapore.
But to Lee Kuan Yew's surprise, when Deng Xiaoping came to Singapore, when they talked, Deng Xiaoping, who had always kept a cigarette, did not smoke a single cigarette.
At the time, Lee Kuan Yew thought that Deng Xiaoping might have noticed the difference between Singapore and China, so he deliberately made a change.
But he misunderstood, and in fact, Deng Xiaoping did some "homework" before coming to Singapore.
He heard that Lee Kuan Yew was a man who never smoked, so he deliberately "quit" cigarettes for a few hours during his talks.
It is often said that "heroes cherish heroes", and Lee Kuan Yew and Deng Xiaoping had never known each other in depth before.
Just hearing about some of the other party's habits, you can temporarily give up your respective living habits, which just reflects the respect and appreciation between Li and Deng.
At their first meeting in 1978, Lee Kuan Yew was so impressed by Deng Xiaoping that he later praised him in his memoirs.
"It's only 5 feet tall, but it's the best of men."
That trip to Singapore in 1978 also brightened Deng Xiaoping's eyes.
More than 50 years ago, Deng Xiaoping went to study in France and stopped in Singapore for two days on his way to France.
Compared to the chaotic social scene of years ago, Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore can be described as a makeover.
Third, Singapore's development caused Deng Xiaoping to think deeply
During that meeting, Deng Xiaoping and Lee Kuan Yew talked a lot, and the two exchanged views on Vietnam, as well as the threat posed by the uncertain situation in the world.
At the time, Vietnam was preparing to attack Cambodia in a big way, revealing its ambition to control the entire Indochina Peninsula. If that happens, many Southeast Asian countries will be threatened.
Behind Vietnam's ambitions, there is actually the influence of the Soviet Union, which is an important step for the Soviet Union to march south into the Indian Ocean, and Vietnam's role is that of the pawn of the Soviet Union going south.
Deng Xiaoping and Lee Kuan Yew saw the essence of the problem, and Deng Xiaoping said bluntly:
"If the Soviets attack it, even Zaire or Somalia, China will certainly help resist."
At a dinner after the talks, Deng Xiaoping extended an invitation to Lee Kuan Yew to visit China again.
At the time, Deng Xiaoping told Lee Kuan Yew: "It will take a long time for China to recover." ”
But Lee Kuan Yew disagreed, arguing that China would do even better than Singapore if it did catch up.
At the banquet, Deng Xiaoping suddenly congratulated Lee Kuan Yew, and at first, Li Kuan Yew was confused and did not know where Deng Xiaoping's congratulations came from.
It turned out that Deng Xiaoping, accompanied by Lee Kuan Yew, visited Singapore's new industrial center, and also visited Singapore's newly built public residential area - Toa Payoh.
A few decades ago, Toa Payoh was a swampy area of mangrove forests, but under Lee Kuan Yew's development, it has become a garden-like residential area.
Philips opened its first factory in Toa Payoh in 1971, and since then, more and more foreign companies have started setting up factories in Singapore.
These foreign-funded factories gave a shot in the arm to Singapore's economy, immediately solving the job problem of 150,000 people, and the household income of Singaporean residents doubled in a short period of time!
In addition, these multinational factories can also raise taxes for Singapore.
Because according to the law promulgated by Singapore, 35% of the annual profits of these multinational factories must be handed over to the state, which greatly increases the revenue of the Singapore government.
Deng Xiaoping was so impressed by Singapore's economic development strategy that the man in his seventies couldn't help but think:
As a descendant of Yanhuang (most Singaporeans are descendants of Chinese), can China also learn from Singapore's economic development model?
In constant thinking and exploration, Deng Xiaoping finally drew up the grand development blueprint of "reform and opening up".
Lee Kuan Yew once said this to Deng Xiaoping at the dinner:
"I was thinking, what would happen if you were born in Singapore and I was born in China? I'm sure you'll be the leader of Singapore. But if I were in China, I would probably be pushed away halfway. It's good that I can go halfway. ”
This sentence contains Lee Kuan Yew's own reverence for Deng Xiaoping, but also has a bit of humility in it.
After Deng Xiaoping's visit, Lee Kuan Yew personally escorted him to the airport.
Watching the Boeing 707 plane carrying Deng Xiaoping slowly pass overhead, Lee Kuan Yew faintly felt that a major change was about to begin.
Fourth, Singapore has become a reference indicator for the economic development of New China
Sure enough, shortly after Deng Xiaoping's return to Beijing, People's Daily published an article about Singapore.
In this report, Singapore's image has been completely overturned, from a "lackey of US imperialism" to a "garden city" where ordinary people live and work in peace and contentment, and the city looks clean.
By 1979, Singapore's image in the eyes of Chinese had risen to another level, with Deng Xiaoping saying in public:
China needs to learn from Singapore's economic development model.
Lee Kuan Yew was surprised that Singapore, a small country, had become a reference indicator for China's economic development in just over a year.
In February 1992, Deng Xiaoping toured the south, calling on and encouraging China to learn from Singapore.
"The social order in Singapore is good, they are strictly managed. We should learn from their experience and manage it better than they do. ”
After the southern talks, people from all walks of life in China seemed to have obtained the "Shangfang Sword".
Hundreds of Chinese delegations traveled from China to Singapore to study in detail all the merits that they thought could be replicated in China.
For example: Singapore's infrastructure, housing construction, cleanliness, order, greenery, harmonious society, gentle and generous people.
In September 1992, Lee Kuan Yew arrived in China and, accompanied by Wang Dingchang, visited Suzhou, known as the "Venice of China".
The visit, called the visit, is actually a collaborative cloning of Singapore's development experience.
Suzhou was still relatively poor at the time, but Lee Kuan Yew believed that by establishing an industrial and commercial complex, Suzhou could be redeveloped into a charming metropolis.
In this way, the site of the park was selected, and in December after returning to China, Lee Kuan Yew began to conceive of the Suzhou Industrial Park.
He also specially explained to Zhu Rongji, then vice premier, the purpose of establishing the Sino-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park:
This is a government-to-government experience and technology assistance program in Suzhou, about 100 square kilometers, with the aim of "transferring our knowledge and experience (what we call 'software') in attracting foreign investment and building industrial zones."
China attached special importance to this aid plan, gave Lee Kuan Yew full support in all aspects, and regarded this aid plan as a "top priority".
On February 11, 1994, the signing ceremony of Suzhou Industrial Park was officially held in Beijing, attended by Lee Kuan Yew and then Vice Premier Li Lanqing.
With the efforts of Lee Kuan Yew, the Suzhou Industrial Park project was officially approved by the Chinese government, and with the participation and support of the Chinese and Singapore governments, the park began to enter the construction start-up stage.
At this point, a new model of cooperation between China and Singapore, Suzhou Industrial Park, was born under the enthusiastic promotion of both sides.
Lee Kuan Yew laid the foundation for China-New Zealand relations in the new era, and also pointed out the direction for his successors to deal with the issue of China-New Zealand relations.
In every transformation of China's reform and opening up, Lee Kuan Yew can be seen. Later, he was worthy of the "China Reform Friendship Medal".