Learn from the past, learn history from the general secretary丨From the opening of the port in a hundred years to the "overseas Chinese" card, Shantou's chapter is worth seeing
"Port" and "Hometown of Overseas Chinese" are imprints inscribed in the historical blood of Shantou, as well as the code for the 40-year development of the Shantou Special Economic Zone.
On the afternoon of October 13, General Secretary Xi Jinping came to the opening area of Xiaoyuan Park in Shantou City, and walked into the opening area cultural exhibition hall, the overseas Chinese relics museum and the block.
In the opening area, the two buildings facing each other across the street are just a window to look back at Shantou's more than a hundred years of development.
A century of opening and opening
The opening of Shantou as a port bears a memory of humiliation and also opens a history of prosperity.
Shantou is located in the central area of eastern Guangdong. It is the only city in mainland China with a natural inner bay. It has an important geographical location and superior natural conditions. It is known as the "gateway to the east and the key point of southern China" and an important departure port for the ancient maritime Silk Road.
△Shantou
Before the opening of the port in 1860, Shantou Port became the most concentrated port of Chinese laborers in the country, which made the Western powers coveted.
After the Second Opium War, the Qing government and the great powers signed the "Treaty of Tianjin", adding Chaozhou (Shantou) and other places as foreign trade ports.
On January 1, 1860, Shantou was opened as a port.
Since then, foreign capital, foreign banks and foreign factories have poured in, and the import and export trade economy has developed rapidly. It is still an important industry in Shantou's economy.
The opening of ports brought about openness, and opening up promoted trade. Shantou has gradually become one of the most important commercial and trade cities in Southern Guangdong, and it has achieved a period of "a hundred-year-old commercial port, building and shipping nations".
With the opening of the port, those Chaoshan people who went out to start their own businesses returned to their homeland to set up factories and shops. As a result, there were prosperous commercial districts in Shantou, such as the "Si Yong Yi Sheng Ping" centered on a small park.
Born to the sea, stand because of the port.
In 1980, Shantou became one of the first four special economic zones in the country, and the port economy became an important part of leading Shantou's development.
Today, Shantou Port is one of the 15 major ports under the national “One Belt, One Road” initiative, which basically covers major ports in Southeast Asia and all coastal ports in China.
From the passive opening up 160 years ago, to the establishment of the special zone 40 years ago, to the reform and opening up in the new era, Shantou has written a brilliant chapter in China's reform and opening up and the development of special economic zones.
On October 13th, in the opening area of Shantou Small Park, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that my trip to Guangdong for inspection is to further declare to home and abroad that the CPC will continue to unswervingly follow the path of reform and opening up.
△Small park opening area
A piece of overseas Chinese criticizing family and country feeling
"A letter of approval, two yuan of silver", the folk songs circulated in the early years were the "integration of letter and money" of overseas Chinese.
The Chaoshan dialect calls the letter "Pan", which is the collective term for the letter and remittance sent by overseas Chinese to domestic relatives of overseas Chinese.
Shantou is not only a "hundred-year commercial port", but also a famous hometown of overseas Chinese.
A large number of Chaoshan people travel across the oceans to make a living in the South China Sea. There is a saying that "one Chaoshan in China and one Chaoshan overseas."
They will send their hard-earned money back home to support their parents, wives and children, and family members.
An overseas Chinese consignment, carrying a few silver dollars, travels across the ocean, and then arrives, becoming the material source and spiritual sustenance that the overseas Chinese family members have been waiting for.
△Overseas batches with the word "difficult" on display in the Overseas Chinese Relics Museum (Photographed by CCTV reporter Duan Dewen)
The over 120,000 overseas Chinese batches collected in the Museum of Overseas Chinese Resignations cover everything from the Japanese invasion of China and overseas situations to the small things in their hometowns and daily trivialities. They record the life, struggle and social changes of Chaoshan people.
The remittances contained in the overseas Chinese batches not only support the lifeblood of overseas Chinese family members, but also the main source of income for the hometown of overseas Chinese.
During this visit to Shantou, General Secretary Xi Jinping said emotionally: "One of the most important characteristics of overseas Chinese is patriotism, love for their homeland, and love for their families. This is the Chinese people, Chinese culture, Chinese spirit, and Chinese heart. China's reforms Opening up, China’s development and construction are inseparable from the large number of overseas Chinese who care about Sangzi and the motherland."
Established by overseas Chinese, prospered by opening
The overseas Chinese and the hometown of overseas Chinese are notable advantages of the Shantou Special Economic Zone and also a boosting force for Shantou's reform and opening up.
Shantou has attracted more than 5,000 foreign-invested enterprises and actually utilized 9.38 billion US dollars of foreign capital, of which nearly 90% are overseas Chinese.
In 2014, Shantou established the Overseas Chinese Economic and Cultural Cooperation Pilot Zone, becoming the only national development strategy platform with the core concept of "Overseas Chinese" in the country.
One year later, the first equity trading sector with the theme of "Overseas Chinese" was listed in the pilot zone.
These firsts are the epitome of Shantou, as a special economic zone, who dares to venture and try.
△ When Chaoshan people went overseas to earn a living, they went abroad on this kind of high-mast red-headed boat.
Now the red-head boat has become the spiritual symbol of Chaoshan people's "unity, hard work, expansion and innovation".
(Photographed by CCTV reporter Yang Bo)
Xi Jinping worked for a long time in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces with major overseas Chinese affairs. He has a deep understanding of overseas Chinese and has deep affection for the overseas Chinese community.
He has repeatedly emphasized that the vast number of overseas Chinese with a sincere patriotism, strong economic strength, rich intellectual resources, and extensive business contacts are important forces for realizing the Chinese dream.
When visiting Guangdong in October 2018, the general secretary went to Jinan University, which was also established for overseas Chinese.
He said that my country has more than 50 million overseas Chinese, which is a unique advantage of my country's development.
△The iconic sculpture "Rising" in Shantou, the three metal poles with stars on the tops are staggered and towering, implying the rising development of Shantou.
(Data map)
During this visit to Shantou, the General Secretary pointed out that to play the "overseas" card in the new era, we must conduct in-depth investigations, find out the situation, mobilize the enthusiasm of the vast number of overseas Chinese, introduce advanced technology and high-level industries, promote strong points and avoid shortcomings, serve for a long time, and unite the vast Overseas Chinese realize the Chinese dream together.
Today's Shantou Special Economic Zone stands on a hot land with a 160-year history of opening as a port, backed by more than 5 million overseas Chinese, Chinese, and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan all over the world. It will set off again in a good year to write a new chapter in Shantou.
Producer丨Shen Yong Zhao Xue Xue
Chief Author丨Hou Yan
Vision丨Chen Kuo