At the end of 1978, Yuan Geng, then executive vice chairman of the Hong Kong Merchants Bureau of the Ministry of Communications, allocated Shekou Peninsula in Bao'an County (now under the jurisdiction of Nanshan District, Shenzhen) 214 square kilometers of land, adhere to the ice-breaking journey to create Shekou Industrial Zone.
With the fearless spirit of "it's a big deal to return to Qincheng", he broke through the ideological cage, fought his way out of the thorns, and pioneered the implementation of project contracting, cadre recruitment, democratic election, housing reform and other measures with the majority of entrepreneurs in Shekou, and loudly put forward the slogan of "time is money, efficiency is life", which set a number of national firsts and affected the whole of China.
Looking back on the 40-year history of reform and opening up, Yuan Geng and his series of pioneering deeds in Shekou are historical existences that cannot be bypassed.
Yuan Geng's life is bumpy and legendary. "Single-mindedly reshaping the soul of the people, a reformer in history, and a veteran soldier who has been fighting for half his life, he has been a wise and brave veteran soldier in half his life".
He devoted himself to the revolution in his early years, spent the first half of his life in the rain of bullets, and engaged in intelligence work for a long time after the founding of New China, and wrote a wonderful legendary story like spy warfare in the Dongjiang Column; The second half of his life is closely linked to the word "reform", he is in charge of Shekou, regardless of reputation, dare to think and try, dare to take responsibility, and lead Shekou Industrial Zone all the way forward with the spirit of "fighting a bloody road", creating a precedent for China's reform and opening up.
Lin Lao was ordered to take command of Xiangjiang
On September 30, 1973, Yuan Geng, who had been imprisoned in Qincheng for five and a half years by Kang Sheng on fabricated charges, was released and returned home.
Ye Fei, then Minister of Communications, arranged for him to serve in the Ministry of Communications, first as the head of the Foreign Affairs Bureau, and was soon officially appointed as the deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Bureau.
He worked in the spirit of "desperate Sanlang", and the 11 maritime agreements between China and relevant countries were all signed by Yuan Geng. He accompanied Ye Fei many times or went abroad alone, and was good at distinguishing in comparison, and had deep thoughts on the shortcomings of China's economic system and the problems existing in China's economic order at that time. Because of his extraordinary courage and open-mindedness, he was appreciated by Ye Fei.
In 1978, Yuan Geng, who was 61 years old, was thinking about going home to retire, when he suddenly received the task of being assigned by the Party Group of the Ministry of Communications to go to Hong Kong to participate in the leadership of China Merchants.
Ye Fei asked him
"Would you like to go to China Merchants Hong Kong to open up the situation? ”
The words "open up the situation" made his heart pound, and Yuan Geng agreed on the spot.
In this way, Yuan Geng was once again pushed to the forefront of history.
In June 1978, Yuan Geng went to Hong Kong for research.
Two months later, Yuan Geng flew back to Beijing with the research report and reported to the party group of the Ministry of Communications.
At that time, the atmosphere of the "Great Debate on the Standard of Truth" was enthusiastic, and the balance of China's political forces tilted in favor of sticking to the side of practice.
Yuan Geng's bold idea was supported by the leaders of the ministry, who decided to let China Merchants "let go of the big things" and agreed to "delegate power" and "grant China Merchants the right to deal with problems on the spot".
On October 9, the Party Group of the Ministry of Communications submitted the "Instructions on Making Full Use of the Hong Kong China Merchants Bureau" drafted by Yuan Geng.
The "Request for Instructions" is simple and unpretentious, basically without elaboration and analysis, and is full of work that is eager to be done, like a petition for war.
The document puts forward the famous 24-word business policy:
"Based on Hong Kong and Macao, backed by the mainland, facing overseas, diversified operations, combination of trading and business, combination of industry and commerce. ”
Only three days later, the "Request" was approved by *** and ***.
Vice Chairman of the Communist Party of China, Vice Premier of the Communist Party of China
"As long as we strengthen leadership, we should pay close attention to internal rectification ......You can let go of your hands and feet, and you can look farther, and you may be able to do more than the report says! ”
This "Request" expands the autonomy of China Merchants and frees it from the shackles of the old economic system as much as possible.
In October 1978, Yuan Geng went to Hong Kong as vice chairman to preside over the work, becoming the "29th generation head" in the history of China Merchants, and China Merchants set sail again.
It was the first to propose the construction of Shekou Industrial Zone
After an in-depth investigation, Yuan Geng proposed the establishment of an industrial zone along the coast of Guangdong, which is close to Hong Kong, which can not only make use of the cheaper land and labor in China, but also facilitate the use of international capital, advanced technology, and raw materials. After on-site investigation and comparison, Shekou was selected.
In November 1978, Yuan Geng arrived in Guangzhou and found his old comrade-in-arms, Liu Tianfu, then deputy director of the Guangdong Provincial Revolutionary Committee.
Yuan Geng went straight to the point:
"** approved the Ministry of Communications' request for instructions on the Hong Kong Merchants Bureau, China Merchants is committed to the development of industry, while carrying out a variety of operations, suffering from the high price of land in Hong Kong, the cost is expensive, and wants to choose a place in the coastal area of Guangdong to develop shipping-related industrial and logistics service projects. ”
Liu Tianfu is in charge of the province's industrial construction work, and immediately expressed his approval after hearing this.
In December, Yuan Geng reported to Ye Fei on the situation of negotiations with Guangdong Province, and Ye Fei supported his idea.
From December 21 to 23, Yuan Geng sent people to form an investigation team, accompanied by relevant leaders of Guangdong Province and Bao'an County, to visit the three communes of Shekou, Shatoujiao and Dapeng Bay.
On the 24th, it was officially proposed to choose Shekou Commune to build an industrial zone, and Liu Tianfu agreed with China Merchants.
On January 6, 1979, the Guangdong Provincial Revolutionary Committee and the Ministry of Communications jointly wrote a report and submitted it
On January 31, Vice Chairman of the Communist Party of China and Vice Premier of the Communist Party of China met with Vice Minister of Communications Peng Deqing and Yuan Geng to listen to the report on the construction of Shekou Industrial Zone in Bao'an, Guangdong.
Looking at the map of Hong Kong unfolded by Yuan Geng, his eyes moved from the ground of Hong Kong to the boundary of Xin'an in Bao'an County, Guangdong Province in the northwest corner, and stroked the map with a pencil
"I'll give you this peninsula! ”
Yuan Geng looked at the pencil in his hand and drew two lines at the root of the Nantou Peninsula in Bao'an County, and he finally only needed Shekou at the southern end of the Nantou Peninsula.
In his later years, Yuan Geng mentioned why he didn't "eat" about 36 square kilometers of the Nantou Peninsula at that time, and only dared to ask for Shekou:
"I want such a small piece of Shekou, which is also a large piece of land. The state can give such a large autonomy to an enterprise, and as a leader, I have to be responsible. The development of one square kilometer of land, the current price of nearly 100 million yuan, the state does not give investment, all rely on the enterprise to raise itself, only 1 for a fundFor 300 million enterprises in Hong Kong, it is not an easy task. It's not a question of whether we want it or not, it's a question of whether we dare to ask for it. ”
After agreeing to allocate land to China Merchants, he will give instructions on the report:
"Intended to agree. Please convene the relevant comrades to discuss it, and handle it accordingly. ”
On February 2, the relevant comrades of the United States convened a meeting to study the specific implementation matters and approved the Hong Kong Merchants Bureau to build the first processing and export zone in mainland China in Shekou.
Under the background that the planned economic system still occupies a monopoly position, Yuan Geng spent four months preparing the "Shekou Industrial Development Zone" from conception to preparation, and led the first batch of entrepreneurs to take the lead in taking the steps of reform and opening up.
Bravely enter the forbidden area and create a "Shekou model".
In July 1979, the foundation project of Shekou Industrial Zone officially broke ground and began to blow up the mountain and reclaim the sea, firing the first "opening gun" of China's reform and opening up.
Since then, as the vanguard of China's reform and opening up, Shekou has created a number of national firsts under the leadership of Yuan Geng, the commander-in-chief of the Shekou Industrial Zone Construction Headquarters, providing valuable experience for China's reform and opening up.
(1) The first quota over-production reward system
When sketching the prototype of the Shekou Industrial Zone, Yuan Geng proposed to get rid of the idea of "big pot rice", "do everything according to economic laws, and use economic means to manage the economy." The 600-meter shore wharf project is the highlight of the first batch of infrastructure in Shekou Industrial Zone. At the beginning of the construction, the workers were not motivated due to eating "big pot rice", and only 20 to 30 truckloads of mud were transported for 8 hours a day per person, and the progress of the project was very slow.
In order to mobilize the enthusiasm of workers, in October 1979, the headquarters of the industrial zone took the lead in implementing a quota overproduction reward system for the Fourth Harbor Bureau in the wharf project, stipulating that the labor quota per person per working day is 40 trucks of mud, and those who complete this quota will be rewarded with 2 cents per car, and those who exceed the quota will be rewarded with 4 cents per car. After the implementation of the quota over-production reward system, the workers are full of enthusiasm, the progress of the project has been significantly accelerated, and the project, which was originally planned to be completed at the end of March 1980, has been completed one month ahead of schedule, creating an additional output value of 1.3 million yuan for the country.
(2) Implement wage reform
In July 1983, under the impetus of Yuan Geng, Shekou Industrial Zone took the lead in completely breaking the egalitarian "big pot rice" and implemented a wage reform program of basic salary plus post salary and floating salary, basically laying the foundation for the distribution system compatible with the market economy.
(3) Create a precedent for the reform of the new Chinese personnel system
Yuan Geng believes that talent is the cornerstone of progress, and advocates passing the examination, recruiting talents from all over the country, and changing the backward situation of the cadre ranks.
In March 1980, Yuan Geng reported to ** on the selection of talents from all over the country in Shekou Industrial Zone, and suggested that the professional talents who came to apply for the examination should be supported and encouraged by his unit under the principle of his own voluntariness, and should not be blocked.
From August 16 to 17, 1981, Shekou Industrial Zone was recruited for the first time in the seafarers' club of the Wuhan Yangtze River Shipping Bureau.
Nearly 50 candidates took a total of three exam questions, one for English, one for international knowledge, and the last one was to write a **, the topic was formulated by Yuan Geng: "On China's Foreign Reform and Opening-up". Because the recruitment news is released within the system of the Ministry of Transportation, the information is narrow, resulting in fewer qualified candidates.
Recruitment in a small area could not achieve the goal of recruiting talents, so Yuan Geng decided to carry out a large-scale open recruitment in the newspaper in Guangzhou.
For two consecutive days from September 17 to September 18, Guangzhou** published the same recruitment brochure (later known as China's first talent recruitment brochure), marking the beginning of Yuan Geng's arduous journey of recruiting and training talents in Shekou Industrial Zone.
At the same time, Yuan Geng advocated abolishing the lifelong system of cadre posts and implementing a hiring system, so that the hired cadres can be promoted or demoted, can be functional and civilian, and their positions can be adjusted and changed at any time. Every cadre, "regardless of his or her original rank or position, shall be frozen in his or her own file and will only be used as a reference for his or her basic salary."
In 1983, since the establishment of the first Shekou Management Committee, the hired cadres were subject to the supervision of the masses, and the masses cast a vote of confidence once a year. The cadre appointment system has greatly stimulated the vitality of Shekou's development and created a precedent for the reform of the personnel system of the new Chinese.
(4) Take the lead in implementing the labor contract system
In order to fully mobilize the enthusiasm of employees, Yuan Geng advocated that the administrative relationship between employees and enterprises should be changed from a subordinate administrative relationship to a contractual relationship between equal subjects.
In 1983, Shekou Industrial Zone took the lead in implementing the labor contract system in terms of labor employment, which allowed employees and employers to choose between each other, which also became a major reform of China's employment system.
(5) Take the lead in implementing project bidding
The bidding and construction of the Shekou Industrial Zone has also played a pioneering and pathfinder role in the reform of China's infrastructure system. In order to overcome the phenomenon of high asking price, poor quality and delay in the construction period of the project, in 1980, the Sino-Swiss Machinery Engineering Company in Shekou Industrial Zone was the first in the country to implement project bidding, so that the units participating in the bidding could compete freely, evaluate the bids fairly and participate in the bidding. Since then, most of the infrastructure projects in the industrial zone have been awarded by bidding, which has achieved the results of high quality, affordable price and fast construction speed.
(6) Take the lead in implementing the reform of the housing system
Yuan Geng believes that in order to promote the healthy development of enterprises, it is necessary to solve the housing problem of employees.
In 1981, Shekou Industrial Zone began to carry out the reform of the housing system, implemented the commercialization of staff housing, and continuously introduced new housing through commercialization to meet the needs of workers, solved the problem of a virtuous cycle of staff housing, and took the first step in the reform of the national housing system.
(7) Establish the first real share***
In April 1981, Yuan Geng proposed to ** that Chiwan, 200 kilometers away from the center of the eastern oilfield in the South China Sea, be built into a deep-water port and oil logistics service base.
In 1982, China Nanshan Development Co., Ltd. was established, and Yuan Geng served as chairman and general manager. It is different from the model of China Merchants Group's wholly-owned development of Shekou Industrial Zone, which is a joint venture of six Chinese and foreign enterprises to jointly develop and construct Chiwan.
Since China's reform and opening up, the company is the first real share* It took only three years to build a deep-water port area, oil logistics base and supporting measures on a deserted beach, becoming the first initiative in the history of China's port construction.
(8) Put forward the slogan of "time is money, efficiency is life".
Yuan Geng always paid attention to capturing the essence of Shekou's reform and opening up, and refined the slogans that best reflected Shekou's characteristics.
In late March 1981, Yuan Geng rushed from Hong Kong to Shekou by boat, and suddenly had an idea on the way, found a blank piece of paper, lay on the porthole, and wrote down the six slogans of "time is money, efficiency is life, customers are the emperor, safety is the law, everyone is in charge, everyone has something to do".
At the subsequent meeting of cadres in the industrial zone, Yuan Geng read out these six slogans and interpreted them, which were approved by most of the participants.
A week later, a board with the words "Time is money, efficiency is life" was erected in Shekou for the first time.
Unfortunately, however, within two or three days, the planks were dismantled by local farmers and burned for firewood.
Half a year later, Yuan Geng gave a lecture at the Yuantan Temple Training Center and mentioned those slogans again.
At the end of November, on the small square in front of Huayuan Restaurant, the most lively commercial street in Shekou, a sign was erected with the words "Time is money, efficiency is life, everyone is in charge, everyone is in charge".
At that time, money was considered the pursuit of capitalism, and socialism encouraged selflessness; Under the planned economic system, egalitarianism and "big pot rice" are the norm, and many people are not used to it when someone suddenly mentions "efficiency" and regards it as "life".
In the spring of 1982, a criticism of reform and opening up reappeared, and the controversy over "surname, society, surname, and capital" continued to expand.
Yuan Geng thought twice and ordered someone to remove the sign.
In August 1983, Zhou Weimin, then deputy director of the Propaganda Department of Shekou Industrial Zone, believed that this slogan had the role of leading Shekou people to race against time with a new concept and promoting Shekou people to continue to create brilliance in reform and opening up.
In the spring of 1984, ** made his first southern tour.
Knowing that *** was going to Shekou in person, Yuan Geng asked the engineering company to make a placard of "time is money, efficiency is life", which stood on the dividing line from Shenzhen to Shekou at that time.
Whether this slogan is correct or not, he wants to get an answer from the mouth of the chief designer of reform and opening up.
Facts have proved that we are satisfied with the reform and opening up construction of Shenzhen and Shekou.
On February 24, 1984, ** said:
"The pace of construction in Shenzhen is quite fast......Shenzhen's Shekou Industrial Zone ,...... fasterTheir slogan is 'time is money, efficiency is life'. ”
It has been affirmed and praised by the world, and the slogan of "time is money, efficiency is life" has been widely spread since then.
(9) Democratic election of the Shekou Industrial Zone Management Committee
Yuan Geng held that the core issue of Shekou's reform and opening up is the practice of a high degree of socialist democracy, and an important condition for realizing democracy is that the workers must have a series of new concepts to replace the old feudal and backward concepts.
On April 24, 1985, Shekou Industrial Zone was elected by secret ballot to form the Shekou Industrial Zone Management Committee, the highest local management body.
This was the first directly elected leadership body in the People's Republic of China, and it was a major change in China's management system.
(10) Establish the first joint-stock commercial bank of enterprise legal person
In 1986, Yuan Geng proposed the introduction of a competition mechanism, with Shekou Industrial Zone in charge, without state investment, and the creation of a commercial bank.
With its efforts, on April 8, 1987, on the basis of the internal settlement center of Shekou Industrial Zone, China Merchants Bank, the first joint-stock commercial bank in New China, was formally established.
On May 27, 1988, Ping An Insurance, the first commercial insurance institution founded by an enterprise in New China, opened in Shekou.
The reform led by Yuan Geng has formed a new concept of time, competition, market, contract, performance and professional ethics.
Shekou Industrial Zone was the first to open up, the first to reform and the first to rise, creating the "Shekou Model" and becoming a window for China's reform and opening up.
In March 1993, Yuan Geng retired from the post of executive vice chairman of China Merchants, but the career he created not only did not end, but became more and more exciting.
The "Shekou Spirit" he created has become the most inspiring clarion call of the times, inspiring groups of entrepreneurs in Shenzhen. The China Merchants Bank and Ping An Insurance, which he founded, have developed into industry leaders with the efforts of their successors.
On January 31, 2016, Yuan Geng, an important explorer of China's reform and opening up, died in Shekou, Shenzhen at the age of 99 due to ineffective medical treatment.
References: 1Tu Qiao: The Biography of Yuan Geng: The Reform Scene 1978-1984, Writers Publishing House, 2008.
2.Relevant information provided by Yuan Geng's son.