preface
1991 was an unusual year, when On December 25, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev announced his resignation, and the next day the Supreme Soviet of the USSR declared the Soviet Union ceased to exist. The collapse of the Soviet Union was one of the most far-reaching events of the 20th century, and since then the Western world, led by the United States, has held the global discourse.
The collapse of the Soviet Union
The wave of liberalism swept across the world, and the people of many countries regarded the United States as a beacon of the world, and China, which was incompatible with American values, became an international outlier. Many people think that China will follow in the footsteps of the Soviet Union, and the voice of decline is endless.
At that time, China was hovering at a crossroads of fate, the aftermath of the economic crisis had not yet dissipated, and criticism of reform was raging. China, which is trapped in internal and external difficulties, stands on a cliff and takes a wrong step, and it will surely be doomed. In the midst of this crisis, an old man turned the tide and opened the curtain of a new era with his slow and firm hands.
Upheavals in Eastern Europe
No one could have predicted the sudden and rapid disintegration of the Soviet Union, but the bad news that followed at home and abroad was enough to arouse alarm. In January 1989, a round table was held in Poland to kick off the drastic changes in Eastern Europe, from Hungary to Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and the socialist countries changed color one after another.
It was also from the end of this year that Deng Gong began to use "no matter what happened in Eastern Europe or the Soviet Union" as the opening sentence in his speech. No matter how the outside world sings about China, Deng Gong's confidence in overcoming difficulties has never wavered. In conversations with other leaders, he stressed that the success of China's reform and opening up has allowed china to withstand pressure from the outside. The great changes in the world are both a crisis and an opportunity, and as long as the crisis is handled well, seizing the opportunity will certainly enable China's development to go further.
In 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn down and Germany was reunified
Deng Gong strives to unite all the forces that can be united, and he firmly believes that a united China is invincible. In a meeting with The Thai Prime Minister, he said: "No one can shake China's pursuit of socialism. We are engaged in socialism with Chinese characteristics. ”
In the face of the changes in the world, Deng Gong stressed: "It can be summarized as three sentences, the first sentence, calm observation, the second sentence, stabilizing the position; the third sentence, calmly coping." Don't be in a hurry, don't be in a hurry. Be calm, calm, calm again, work hard, and do one thing well, our own business. ”
Trip to the South
From 1989 to 1991, domestic reforms did not go well, especially with the upheavals in Eastern Europe and the collapse of the Soviet Union, which fell into an unprecedented predicament. Cautious people want to keep the country on a safe track and launch drastic reforms. However, Deng Gong had a different view, he believed that only by speeding up development, expanding opening up, and improving the living standards of the people could we win the support of the people and the country could continue for a long time.
Deng Xiaoping
In the midst of silence, Shanghai's "Liberation Daily" published three articles signed "Huangpuping" in a row, in which it was proposed to persist in emancipating the mind, dare to take risks, boldly reform, and not spend energy on the criticism of whether the surname is "capital" or "society." As soon as these articles were published, they caused an uproar and also attracted a lot of siege and condemnation.
In order to break the deadlock of reform, Deng Gong decided to take practical action. On January 17, 1992, he and his family set off for the south under the name of "vacation".
Huangpuping's article was published in Liberation Daily
The first stop came to Wuhan. In the presence of the secretary of the Wuhan Provincial Party Committee and the governor of Wuhan who came to greet him, he criticized the efficiency of government departments in harsh terms, asking them to say less empty words and do more facts, to have the courage to take responsibility, and to be keen on reform. Deng Xiaoping did not stop in Wuhan, but arrived in Changsha that afternoon, first affirmed Hunan's agricultural work, and then said to Comrade Xiong Qingquan, who was then the first secretary of the Hunan Provincial CPC Committee: "Hunan has more courage to carry out reform and opening up, and it is necessary to speed up economic development." ”
On the 19th, Deng Gong came to Guangdong and conducted an 11-day inspection tour to Shenzhen and Zhuhai, the forefront of reform and opening up. Everyone realized that Deng Xiaoping's vacation to the south was of extraordinary significance.
Deng Xiaoping was in Shenzhen
Accompanied by Xie Fei, then secretary of the Guangdong Provincial CPC Committee, and local leaders, Deng Xiaoping visited many factories and enterprises in the SAR and affirmed the achievements made by the SAR. At that time, many people criticized Shenzhen's pace for moving too fast, and Comrade Deng Xiaoping said when listening to the report of Li Hao, secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal CPC Committee: "You must be faster. ”
Deng Xiaoping spoke south
Conservatives worry that the rapid expansion of capital will bring about the hidden dangers of "peaceful evolution". The many events caused by the rush to buy in 1988 and the changes in foreign countries stimulated people's nerves, and it was normal to have such concerns, which was also the mainstream attitude of people at that time.
Deng Gong is naturally aware of the risks and difficulties faced by reform, but he is also well aware of the disastrous consequences that will result if the pace of reform is not reformed or slowed down. When visiting the old customs site of the Qing Dynasty in Zhuhai, he said to Liang Guangguang, secretary of the Zhuhai Municipal Party Committee, who was next to him: "Backwardness will be beaten, we have been poor for thousands of years, and we cannot be poor anymore." If we do not pay attention to science and technology and education, we will be beaten. ”
Deng Xiaoping inspected the Pearl River Refrigerator Factory in Guangdong Province
During his inspection tour in Guangdong, Deng Gong repeatedly stressed the need to be bold in carrying out reforms and to experiment. When talking about whether the surname is "capital" or "society," he said: "The criterion for judging should be whether it is conducive to developing the productive forces of socialist society, whether it is conducive to enhancing the comprehensive national strength of socialist countries, and whether it is conducive to improving the people's living standards."
Looking at the prosperity and development of Shenzhen after the reform and opening up, Deng Gong was very happy, and he affirmed the development of Shenzhen. Encourage Shenzhen's leading cadres to have the courage to experiment and not to be afraid of making mistakes. He hopes Shenzhen will learn from Singapore's governance experience and strive to catch up with Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan within 20 years.
Shenzhen in 1992
On February 21, 1992, Deng Gong ended his trip to the south and returned to Beijing. What he said during his southward journey was sorted out by the major newspapers in the south. The "Shenzhen Special Economic Zone News" took the lead in publishing an article entitled "The Oriental Wind Comes full of spring." The article systematically answers the question of the surname "capital" and the surname "society", clarifies the road that China will take next, and clears the theoretical obstacles for reform and opening up.
Article in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone News "Oriental wind comes full of spring"
After a period of fermentation, Deng Gong's trip to the south ushered in fruition, and expanding opening up and adhering to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics became the consensus of the whole country. On March 23, Comrade Yang Baibing announced that the army should escort the reform and opening up. At the end of May, the central government announced the opening of 5 inland cities and 9 border cities along the Yangtze River, as well as all provincial capitals, to enjoy the same special policies as special economic zones.
From 1978, when Deng Gong single-handedly promoted China's reforms, to 1992, when he set out for deeper reforms, he set out to go south, and finally cleared the ideological barriers that hung over the heads of reform.
Peaceful rise
The upheavals in Eastern Europe and the collapse of the Soviet Union made the world unstable. In the face of the complicated and complicated external environment, Comrade Deng Xiaoping put forward the diplomatic thinking of "taoguang and obscurity, and make a difference." No matter how the outside world changes, our focus must be on the domestic situation, and some of us should carry out reform, development, and construction.
If we want to develop the economy, we need a good external environment and more support from more countries. In handling foreign relations, he fully absorbed the lessons of the Soviet Union, opposed great power doctrine and hegemonism, and adhered to the "Five Cardinal Principles of Peaceful Coexistence" put forward by Premier Zhou Enlai in order to achieve the goal of China's peaceful rise.
In fact, as early as April 9, 1974, Deng Gong led a delegation to represent China at the Sixth Special Session of the General Assembly, which was the first time that China stood on the podium of the United Nations General Assembly after it resumed its permanent membership in the United Nations, which attracted much attention.
Deng Xiaoping's speech at the UN General Assembly in 1974
In this speech, Deng Gong said: China is not and will not be a superpower in the future. If China changes its color one day and becomes a superpower, it will also dominate the world, bullying others everywhere, invading others, and exploiting them. Then the people of the world should put on China the hat of social imperialism, expose it, oppose it, and join the Chinese people in overthrowing it.
These resounding words won the unceasing applause of the delegates of various countries at the congress, and for decades, China has always exchanged with an equal attitude in handling its relations with other countries. Whether the other side is a world-renowned big country or a small country with no name, our attitude is consistent.
Picture of Deng Xiaoping's speech at the UN General Assembly
China's attitude has won the respect of other countries. With the rapid development of China's economy, people around the world believe that China can get out of the strange circle of history and complete the transfer of power between the old and the new in a peaceful manner.
When former U.S. President George W. Bush was asked on a television program who was the greatest leader he had ever met, he first said that no one was particularly outstanding, and then added: Deng Xiaoping was an extraordinary leader.
Deng Gong once said that he did not want people to praise him, he wanted to appear in front of people in the most authentic form, he called himself "the son of the Chinese" and practiced the oath of "serving the people". After experiencing three ups and three downs, after a hundred years of life, the original intention is still the same!