Olympic Games

The Beijing Olympic Games has written a splendid new chapter in the history of the Chinese nation. After a century of pursuit of the Olympic dream, two bids for the Olympics, and seven years of unremitting preparations, the Olympic spirit has been widely popularized and promoted among 1.3 billion people, and the Olympic movement has bore fruitful fruits in the land of China. The Beijing Olympic Games fully demonstrated the style of the Chinese people of the times, fully demonstrated the charming charm of five thousand years of Chinese culture, and enabled people to understand the Chinese nation's generous and benevolent mind and inclusive spirit. A great event that will leave a rich legacy. The success of the Beijing Olympics has and will continue to inject great vitality into China's development and progress, and add new vitality to the peaceful development of the world.

Olympic Apocalypse? - The light of ideals shines

I have never seen so many games at my doorstep, and I have never felt that there are so many blue skies in Beijing. The just-concluded Beijing Olympic Games has left us a precious spiritual legacy. It leaves us with wonderful things, memories, memories, thoughts, and inspirations, and it also allows us to see the value of fighting for our ideals.

Sports witnesses history, not only the development of our country, but also the changes in the world.

The women's volleyball battle in the Beijing Olympics attracted attention because the coaches were Chen Zhonghe and Lang Ping respectively. 24 years ago, in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Lang Ping led the Chinese girls to a clean victory over the American women's volleyball team with a score of 3:0. The hard work of the women's volleyball team became the spirit of that era; the success of the women's volleyball team became a collective memory, engraved in the In the cycle of history. The former Lang Ping is now the coach of the American women's volleyball team competing against the Chinese women's volleyball team. The vast majority of people accept this dramatic change with a normal heart: This undoubtedly proves the strength of our country's volleyball team, because so far only Italians and we Chinese have served as women's volleyball coaches internationally. Lang Ping's success does not belong to her alone, but is a powerful symbol of China's strength.

At the same time, not only Lang Ping went abroad, but also invited foreign coaches in many of our basketball, fencing, swimming, and hockey sports. Under the general trend and background of internationalization, sports have become a bridge connecting us to each other and an ocean of mutual integration, and the Olympic Games have become our most common festival. Peace, progress, and friendship are the purpose of the Olympic Games; the Beijing Olympic Games theme song "You and I, heart to heart, forever a family" sings exactly the mood and pursuit of everyone, and this is also the dream of the Olympic Games .

There is a touching story behind every gold medal. Every athlete who didn't win a medal also has a touching story.

The 33-year-old Chinese athlete Zhang Ning won the gold medal in the women's badminton singles; the 38-year-old Romanian athlete Tomescu Dita won the gold medal in the women's marathon; the 41-year-old American athlete Torres won consecutive Three swimming silver medals; 43-year-old Swedish athlete Persson has played against generations of Chinese table tennis players, and now he is competing for the bronze medal... Compared with those young athletes who dance lightly, their faces have already It clearly shows the heart-wrenching vicissitudes of life, and the years have ruthlessly carved traces on life. At such an age, they can choose to retire, but they choose to challenge themselves.

Not everyone dares to challenge themselves or the objective world that faces their own strength. Fan Li took a boat and retired from the world. After becoming famous, retreating bravely from the rapids is naturally an attitude in life and sports. Being honest and persistent in the battlefield, after the flowers are full and the moon is full, bravely advancing in the rapids is also an attitude in life and sports, and even more so. To be worthy of respect. The former, we can call him a hero; the latter, we should praise him as a hero. Because long leisure and wine, a river of wind and moonlight and a clear day are certainly a good temptation; the feelings of aging are like dreaming of the world, but it is their more persistent pursuit. Because they know they cannot do anything but do it, they are challenging themselves, challenging the limit, marching higher, faster and stronger, and this is the spirit of the Olympics.

There will always be surprises in the Olympic Games, and those unfamiliar and young names will always make our eyes shine.

A 24-year-old Zhong Man suddenly appeared in China. He passed five levels in a row. He was so heroic that he cut the clouds with his sword and won the men's saber gold medal. He became the man who saved the Chinese swordsmanship in times of crisis. hero. Suddenly a 22-year-old prodigy Bolt appeared in Jamaica, running towards the finish line like lightning. Before people could recover, he was already beating his chest, looking back with a smile, and with a startled glance, he separated the 100-meter and 200-meter races. The world record is behind us.

With such young names as fresh as morning dew, Liu Zige and Jiao Liuyang, who performed miracles at the Water Cube, won the gold and silver medals in the women's 200 butterfly, and both broke the world record. Diving youngster Chen Ruolin, taekwondo youngster Wu Jingyu, Young gymnast Sean Johnson... there are so many young names that are as bright as stars and flowers. They allow us to see the birth of miracles, which can make grassroots blossom and make people famous, and let us lament that princes, generals, and prime ministers would rather have seeds!

Sports gives us solace and hope that we rarely or don’t have in reality. It doesn’t look at seniority, age, position on the podium, or the numerous medals of honor that are as numerous as age spots. But only look at the strength of youth. This is how the theory of evolution is interpreted in the Olympic Games, inspiring our emotions and providing the most fair and open stage for young talents to compete. This is not only one of the spiritual contents of the Olympics, but also has a richer inspiration for us outside of sports: that is, whoever wins youth will win; daring to use young faces is equivalent to knocking on the door of the future. Door.

Countless heroes have shown us the importance of the light of ideals and the value of their spirit of fighting for their ideals.

The Chinese gymnastics boys finally regained the most valuable team gold medal they lost in the Athens Olympics. The Chinese women's track girls finally won the hard-won silver medal after 9 years of hard work. The American The magical flying fish Phelps finally won eight gold medals and created a miracle in Olympic history. The Italian man Schwarzer finally won the gold medal in the 50-kilometer race for his dead father... Countless such heroes, in order to realize their dreams , after four years of reincarnation, Jingwei picked it up bit by bit like a tree, and turned the thorns that had grown on the road in these four years into a garland of victory. They let us see the importance of the light of ideals and the value of their spirit of fighting for their ideals.

The Olympic spirit is first of all an ideal. The Olympic Charter clearly states: "Sports activities that understand each other in a spirit of friendship, unity and fairness to build a peaceful and better world." And such an This beautiful and great ideal destination needs to transcend different countries, different cultures, different ethnic groups, different religions, and different beliefs; it needs to be reached through fair competition, equal opportunities, peace and friendship, and solidarity and cooperation. The Olympic Games gives us such an opportunity. Not only does it give us an opportunity to show the world the capabilities of the Chinese nation and contribute to the modern Olympics, it also gives our Beijing a channel and platform for mutual communication and understanding with the world.

Liu Xiang’s withdrawal is undoubtedly a big news in this Olympic Games. What is fortunate and comforting is that our understanding of Liu Xiang and our understanding of the gold medal are more optimistic and tolerant.

Our mood and mentality when watching the game are completely different from before. In the past, gold medals carried patriotic passion and national spirit, which once cheered us up, but also made them overweight. Think of Zhu Jianhua, the high jumper who won the bronze medal at the Los Angeles Olympics. Just because he didn't win the gold medal, the windows of his home were smashed and garbage was thrown at him. Nowadays, from using sports to vent one's personal anger to enjoying sports to the fullest and letting sports return to its roots, doesn't it reflect the changes in our gold medal culture, our openness and tolerance, and the improvement of our understanding of sports? Doesn’t it reflect the progress, maturity and development of our country and people? Doesn’t it embody the Olympic spirit we pursue?

On the days of the Olympic Games, Beijing has become more and more culturally rich.

A variety of theatrical performances from across the country compete for the best. Watching ancient Chinese dramas is in line with the style of the ancient Olympics, because at the ancient Olympics, sports competitions and dramatic performances were held at the same time. Watching runners and discus throwers is the same as watching Aeschylus and others. The drama is staggered. Look at the "Memory of China" exhibition. National treasure-level exhibits from major museums across the country match the long history of the ancient Olympic movement. We should be grateful to the Olympic Games. Only it has such power. It not only allows us to watch so many wonderful games gathered by big names in the Olympic Games at our doorstep, but also allows us to sit on the ground and travel 80,000 miles a day, survey the sky and see a thousand rivers in the distance without leaving Beijing. You can experience the five thousand years of Chinese civilization treasures.

In essence, the Olympic Games is not only a sports event, but also the crystallization and manifestation of culture; what goes beyond gold medals is cultural exchanges, collisions and interpersonal relationships. The fusion of souls between people is a more real and profound experience, understanding and integration of the bottom of the people, to find the similarities and differences between each other, thereby strengthening the mutual desire for understanding and understanding, and setting up a platform and bridge for communication, so that People from different countries, nationalities, races, colors and beliefs in the world become a truly integrated family during the Olympic Games. This kind of transcendence and integration makes the inside and outside of the stadium interconnected, allows sports and culture to promote each other, and becomes a pair of wings for our ideals to fly.

Maybe, this is the power of sports, the power of the Olympic Games, right?

The Olympic Games have created such a cultural atmosphere, spiritual realm and communication context, allowing the world to know us and understand us through the Olympic Games; it also allows us to recognize sports through the Olympic Games, integrate into the world family, understand others, and supplement And integrate ourselves, with our attitude, mind and efforts, close to this world's most common ideal.

In a real life where economic interests are paramount and lofty ideals are despised, the Olympic Games allows us to look up at the moment when the flame is burning, see the vastness of the world, see the magical imagination and creativity of different nations in the world, and see As people all over the world strive for this ideal, we will deeply feel the beauty of the ideal and the importance of reshaping the ideal spirit of our nation.

Du Li wrote the most miraculous comeback in Olympic history in 120 hours

On August 9, the first competition day of the Beijing Olympic Games, Du Li competed for the first gold medal in the women's 10-meter air rifle. After losing, on August 14, 120 hours later, Du Li came back again. She won the women's 50-meter rifle final and stood on the highest podium of the Olympic Games.

She knew that if it hadn’t been for the severe injury five days ago, she wouldn’t have had this moment of heart-wrenching success. "Once the destroyed confidence is restored, then this person will be stronger than before!" Du Li quoted this famous saying in an interview after the game. In a secluded corner of the Futian Temple Beijing Shooting Gallery, her eyes Full of determination, her tone was infinitely emotional.

When it was almost midnight on the night of August 9, Du Li decided to lie down after locking herself in her room all day. She didn't know how many times she woke up that night. As soon as she closed her eyes, the enthusiastic audience shouted "Come on Du Li". Thinking of the disappointed expressions of the audience, she couldn't help crying. She said: "At that time, I didn't even know what to do next, how to live these days..."

When she woke up from a fitful sleep on August 10, Du Li's eyes were red and swollen. It became a crack. On this day, Du Li decided to temporarily move out of the Olympic Village and return to the national team's apartment. After the coach agreed, she returned to her romantic cabin, and Du Li felt much calmer. "On the day I lost the gold, I didn't even want to play in the next game. I was full of regrets and grievances. After returning to the apartment, I thought repeatedly, how can I get out of the shadows? How can I turn grief into strength?" < /p>

In those days, Du Li worked hard to get rid of her psychological shadow. During the last Athens Olympics, she spent her pre-game leisure time alone watching "Ma Dashuai". But these days, after training, she refused to watch TV or read newspapers. When she felt really depressed, she would chat with friends or play cards with her teammates. Not talking about the competition, not talking about gold medals...

But her mood is still like the weather in Beijing in August, which is good and bad. During training at the 50-meter shooting range on the afternoon of the 13th, Du Li actually missed the target with one of her shots. Is this another bad omen? People in adversity thought wildly: "Is there no hope?" The bullet casing fell to the ground.

After returning to her apartment on the afternoon of August 13, Du Li received two gifts, both from her "fans".

One is a postcard of Fuwa, stamped with the postmark of the shooting range, and written one by one on it: "Come on Du Li! We will always support you! Du Li is the best!" The other is a A card made by a little girl named Li Ziyi. On the yellow envelope seal is a miniature photo of Du Li. On the left side of the card is a printed photo of Du Li raising a gun. On the back is a line of crooked but very serious handwriting. : "Well done to Sister Du Li! So proud of you! Come on!" There is also a big red heart and a small rainbow painted on the top and bottom.

"Actually, there aren't many words, but after reading it, I was so moved. I thought they were really cute. At that moment, I suddenly felt powerful again, and I told myself "For the sake of all those who love me, I will fight bravely!"

On the night before the 50-meter rifle final, Du Li finally completed her self-transcendence. Less than 16 hours before the start of the competition, she was lying in bed, and her heart suddenly enlightened: "What can't you let go of? Thinking about those lovely friends, those people I know and don't know, I should feel happy, I can't just Give up like this. Tomorrow, I will work hard and put all my energy into the competition to let everyone see the real Du Li..." That night, Du Li fell into a deep sleep at around 8 o'clock. The pain and depression go away with the wind after waking up. "When I woke up on the 14th, I felt a rare sense of relaxation, my mind was very clear, and my goal was very clear. I asked myself to shoot every shot well, to show my momentum, and to make it clear whether I win or lose!"

1 A fighter who regains confidence will make himself stronger and make his opponents tremble. On August 14, the Olympic shooting field welcomed a great player. She surpassed herself, conquered the audience, and conquered her opponents... At the end of the game, the smile on Du Li's face bloomed like a peach blossom. It was also after 120 hours that Du Li smiled happily for the first time.

However, it was her tears that impressed the audience more. At the award ceremony a few minutes later, she shed tears again while standing on the podium, and the tears poured out... -

Social Topics

There is no society without trust

Even Lehman Brothers, an investment bank with such a huge and long history, could declare bankruptcy within a week. Even the three banks known as "China's mothers" The deer dairy industry can cause kidney stones in babies; who can we trust? Many friends in Hong Kong are customers of American International Group (AIG). After hearing the news that this aircraft carrier in the insurance industry with a trillion-dollar assets under management may also sink, they all panicked, fearing that they had accumulated half a lifetime of money. The hard-earned money is about to disappear. No matter how others analyze it or assure them that their customers’ assets are safe, it’s still hard for them to feel at ease.

Trust is originally one of the most important social resources. When we turn on the faucet, we must believe that the water flowing out is not poisonous. When we cross the street, we have to trust that all cars will stop when the light turns red. When we sleep, we have to believe that the roof will not collapse for no reason. When we call the police when something goes wrong, we must believe that the police are not the accomplices of thieves. Without trust, society cannot exist. The late German sociology master Niklas Luhmann put it well: "When a person completely loses confidence in the world, he will not even be able to get out of bed in the morning."

But trust is so rare. We have no reasonable basis to fully believe that every drop of tap water is safe, every driver is awake, every builder is responsible, and even every Every police officer is honest and upright. However, we continue to give our trust to others. That's because we don't think anyone in this world can be trusted. This society is so complex. Everything that happens around us and everything that is put in front of us has gone through many mechanisms and layers of people. In this long series of processes, there are always some people who will be worthy of us. Trust, will you take responsibility for what you should do?

For example, when it comes to food, it is impossible for me to personally test everything that comes to my mouth; but I will trust that the manufacturer cherishes its goodwill. A boss cannot control every aspect of the production process, but he will trust the managers he hires. If there is a problem with workers or raw materials, the product inspection department will find out. If there is something really wrong with the products shipped from the factory, the relevant government agencies will discover it in time. If those institutions turn a blind eye, conscientious media will expose the truth. At the end of the day, we have to trust that the public authorities can indeed find out the problem, and the judicial system can indeed deal with the perpetrators in accordance with the law.

This is a matter that involves so many types of people and so many programs. How could it be possible that everyone made mistakes in every step? In order to ensure that such an absurd situation does not occur and that society can function normally, humans have designed various systems to protect trust, an extremely necessary but extremely vulnerable resource, such as the differentiation of power and interests. Generally speaking, the interests of businesses and the government are inconsistent, so the government will not cover up the mistakes of businesses; the interests of the media are different from those of businesses and the government, so the media will not cover up the mistakes of businesses and the government.

In case the interests of these three are highly overlapping, what else can we do? Then we have to believe in the forces outside the world and higher-level structures. In the Sanlu milk powder incident, the outside force was the Prime Minister of New Zealand, and the higher-level structure was the central government that received the notice (it’s ridiculous to think about it, what happened on the country actually required the head of state to inform it, Only then did the central government suddenly realize and take action. This is even a more serious institutional problem than whether it is democratic or not, because it reveals the basic flaw in the government's governance capabilities). Of course, we can still believe in ourselves; but, can a society where everyone only trusts themselves be called a society?

Shanxi dam break incident bids farewell to sampling accountability

On September 8, 2008, a particularly major dam break accident occurred in the tailings pond of Xinta Mining Co., Ltd., Xiangfen County, Linfen City, Shanxi Province , after preliminary investigation, this was a particularly serious liability accident. In view of the fact that Comrade Meng Xuenong, Governor of Shanxi Province, and Comrade Zhang Jianmin, Vice Governor of Shanxi Province, bear leadership responsibility for the above-mentioned accident, with the approval of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, it is agreed to accept Comrade Meng Xuenong's request to resign from the post of Governor of Shanxi Province, and agrees to remove Comrade Zhang Jianmin from the post of Shanxi Province Governor. Deputy Governor position. (Xinhua News Agency, September 14)

Although it is not uncommon for us to take the blame for resignations and dismissals in previous major liability accidents, but in this case, whether it is the level of the official responsible or the Regarding the timeliness of accountability, we all clearly see the attitude and determination to break through the past. There is reason to believe that the accountability model for the Shanxi dam collapse accident will become a model for handling similar incidents in the future and will have iconic significance.

We can hold accountable the people who have the main leadership responsibility in this major accident in the name of life and property, but in the final analysis, it is still in the name of responsibility. Having power means having responsibility, and equality of power and responsibility is the basic principle for the operation of administrative power. In this disaster, the losses were so huge and the casualties were so tragic. The people involved had no choice but to escape, and the leaders were the first to bear the brunt and bear the unshirkable responsibility.

In the name of responsibility, let accountability be worthy of the name.

Similar disasters have occurred countless times, which can almost be written in blood. But if we look at historical records, how much accountability will there be when it is truly implemented? Therefore, it is difficult to establish a truly feasible accountability system, and it is even more difficult to form an institutional deterrent to officials. Therefore, when it comes to accountability, especially the accountability of high-ranking officials, we must first put an end to the kind of formalistic accountability, and avoid the kind of accountability from one place to another, or even the more accountable the more secure the position. Distorted ecology.

Accountability in the name of responsibility should also be accountability to all those who bear responsibility, rather than to a certain person or a few people. According to the administrative management system, for safety production work, a group of people from top to bottom are responsible. The occurrence of such an accident is by no means an individual's incompetent management, negligence or dereliction of duty, but a system of officials. Collective malfeasance. Of course, disasters do not happen every day, and not every accident can wake up officials. Under the management mentality of boiling frogs in warm water, some officials' sense of bureaucracy has gradually become stronger, while their sense of responsibility has gradually become dull, numb, or even completely forgotten. . So that when a disaster occurs, not only are they unable to effectively organize rescue and emergency response, but they conceal and deceive in order to get through and make the world happy. Those mediocre and idle officials who have stayed in relevant positions for a long time and have supervisory functions but fail to perform their supervisory duties should be given a shout-out.

Taking the Shanxi dam collapse incident as a lesson, to make "accountability" worthy of its name from now on, it is to form a rigorous, pragmatic, scientific, accountability system with equal rights and responsibilities for all officials. All have the same institutional effectiveness. Of course, the breadth and depth of this accountability system and the specific institutional arrangements still need to be improved, but the core problem has been solved so far, which is to form a kind of political consciousness: no power can be passive or laissez-faire. Yes, no official is easy or irresponsible.

What has China learned from Singapore?

In the first half of last year, the quality problems of "Made in China" caused a lot of turmoil internationally, putting the Chinese government and enterprises in an embarrassing situation. At that time, the author published a column on this topic, "China's Primary Capitalism Lack of Control," pointing out that China's current situation is very similar to that of the United States in the mid-19th century. It seems orderly on the macro level, but it is chaotic on the micro level. "The transaction of power and money between the government, the judiciary and capital has long since turned from an individual phenomenon into a group habit; the behavior of benefiting oneself at the expense of others, cheating and deception is about to become the national character."

Deception and cheating "It's almost becoming a national trait" and cheating, this sentence does seem too sharp and harsh, so I also understand the displeasure expressed by some Chinese friends. However, what I didn't expect was that a person in a high position in China's political and business circles later told me privately that many of his friends in the business world had read this article and thought that although it was a bit sharp, it hit the nail on the head. Now This is indeed the case in Chinese society.

We are all children, why are our situations different?

In the past few days, the Sanlu milk powder incident has been brewing, which not only caused Chinese consumers to lose confidence in domestically produced milk powder, but also made the outside world once again see some major shortcomings in Chinese society. If the existing leaders and management systems at all levels are still unable to reduce and prevent such things from happening, then over time, benefiting oneself at the expense of others, cheating and deception will really become a habit of the whole society and eventually become the character traits of this nation. .

When the Sanlu incident came to light, people thought it was just a problem of one company or one product. However, as milk powder testing is carried out across the country, the authorities have found that dozens of types of milk powder from dozens of companies contain melamine to varying degrees. This is really shocking and incredible.

The impression we can draw from this is that the adulteration of raw milk with toxic chemical raw materials is definitely not the personal behavior of a few unscrupulous dairy farmers, but is most likely part of the production process of the entire milk powder industry. Therefore, if we just arrest a few insignificant dairy farmers as scapegoats, not only will it fail to convince the public, but it will also let the world see that in China, not only those companies and businessmen are crazily defrauding the world to make money, but also the government and the judiciary. Institutions and the system as a whole are perpetuating fraud.

The day after the Sanlu incident was exposed, a new immigrant friend from China said that when she saw the news on TV that two babies in Gansu died of poisonous milk powder, she immediately thought of her own little baby. The child couldn't help hugging him tightly, feeling sincerely grateful and relieved that he could grow up safely and healthily in Singapore. She asked: "We are the same cute little babies, but why are their situations so different?"

Why are their situations so different? This question seems so simple, but it actually gets to the heart of the matter. Over the past two decades, China has been unrivaled in terms of its rapid economic growth and wealth growth. However, at the same time, China's living environment, social atmosphere, government credibility, corporate responsibility, citizen cultivation, etc. are also incomparable. Sliding in a mean direction at a comparable speed.

It can be said that while China announced its rise with its ultra-high GDP, it also announced its decline with its ultra-low moral requirements. In contrast, Singapore has always maintained a good balance between the two and complemented each other.

So, to ask "Why are circumstances so different?" the answer is obvious in the comparison.

What officials think is not what the people want

The author has lived in Singapore for thirteen years and has directly and indirectly observed a large number of Chinese officials, scholars, journalists and businessmen who came to inspect and learn from the experience. During the process, I also received many personal friends who came and went. Most people come here because of its reputation, and they express emotion and even express sincere envy for what they see and hear.

However, people with different identities observe Singapore from very different perspectives. Any father or mother with young children at home will naturally observe Singapore from the perspective of a child, envy the safe social order and relatively correct social customs here, and may even spontaneously have the idea of ????immigrating to Singapore. Not only these parents from China, but even Chinese friends from London blurted out to me during their business trip to Singapore: "Great, I finally found a good place for my two sons to settle down in the future!"

But the officials were decidedly different. The author can honestly say that all personnel from the Chinese government, whether from the government, academia, or the news media, basically come with the goal and mentality of seeking quick success and instant benefit. The areas they are most concerned about are generally the economy, foreign investment, and urban construction. Of course, understanding Singapore’s experience in fighting corruption and upholding integrity is often within the scope of inspections, but most of them are only superficial. As for the work style of government officials, as for social atmosphere, especially the environment in which the next generation will grow up, whether they can live a safe, healthy and dignified life does not seem to be an interesting topic.

This situation is actually not difficult to understand. First, because economic development and urban construction are areas that are easy to see, copy and imitate; second, because China’s top-to-bottom core task is still to develop the economy. Even if the society is in chaos, the relationship between government and business is in chaos, mass protests occur one after another, and moral integrity is unbearable, as long as the economic indicators are improved, that government will be a good government and that official will be a good official. It can be seen from this that there is a big difference between what China's governments at all levels think and what the people want and expect.

Herein lies the problem. Without thinking about the next generation and not putting the future of future generations first in policies and actions, it will be difficult for any government official, any business manager, or any member of society to have long-term goals and practical actions, and policies will become inhumane. , the means will become reckless. Looking back at the various phenomena in Chinese society over the past two decades, we can see that scandals like Sanlu milk powder are not limited to one moment or one place. If a local official only focuses on finance and profit, they must be arrogant.

Priceless "honest" brand

If you study Singapore with a strong utilitarian mentality, the inspiration you get is likely to be wishful interpretation and understanding; with the attitude of a "crash course" student The short-sighted view of copying Singapore's experience, which only knows it but does not know why, may happen to have immediate results, but it cannot be sustained for a long time. The reason is not profound, it's just that many people don't really study it with concentration, and mistake the "implement" for the essence.

What is the essence of Singapore’s experience? As an observer with long-term living experience in both New Zealand and China, I believe that I am qualified and responsible to say two very simple words, called "honesty." Some people may have objections to this, and may even cite some contrary examples to refute it, but any contrary examples are not enough to deduce the opposite conclusion. Over the past decades, the reason why Singapore has been able to sustain development and maintain prosperity is because its social integrity, government integrity, legal integrity, corporate integrity and citizen integrity have been trusted by internal and external capital, internal and external enterprises, and internal and external consumers. If we do not care about honesty and trustworthiness, but only care about the so-called know-how and means, then there will be no Singapore experience today.

What is the price of "honesty"? In the eyes of short-sighted people who are eager for quick success and opportunism, honest character is not only worthless, but also a burden that harms oneself, benefits others, and hurts others. When Sanlu Group mixed milk with "production-increasing fertilizer" and became a large tax payer favored by the government, if other milk powder companies still struggled to maintain their honesty and conscience, their status in the eyes of the government and the market would be dire. Know. Since honesty is worthless and you will suffer losses on the contrary, then you should resort to fraud. This is the biggest cancer that has existed in Chinese society for a long time and the government has always turned a blind eye. Over the years, it is no longer surprising that its toxicity occurs every once in a while.

Dishonest officials, dishonest companies and dishonest individuals work together to destroy themselves first, and then make the entire nation become deceitful and devoid of dignity. Now, China's milk powder industry has fallen into an unprecedented crisis, and consumers have turned to overseas products. This is the inevitable retribution for the dishonesty and lack of credit of local companies. If other companies and other local governments don't wake up, they will fall into the same crisis sooner or later.

In Deng Xiaoping’s speech during his southern tour, the passage about learning from Singapore’s experience is already familiar to many people. Today, with the Sanlu Incident, it seems necessary to review this passage. Deng Xiaoping said: "Crack down on all kinds of criminal activities and eradicate all kinds of ugly phenomena. We must not be soft-hearted. ... Not only must the economy improve, but social order and social atmosphere must also be improved. Both civilizations must surpass them. This is what China has to offer." Characteristic socialism.

Singapore's social order is considered good and they control things very strictly. We should learn from their experience and manage things better than they do. ”

Sixteen years later, China’s social order and social atmosphere are still far from Deng Xiaoping’s desired goals, and they still cannot be compared with the Singapore model he admired. In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of reform and opening up, Today, this is obviously a major shortcoming. The author sincerely hopes that Singapore should cherish and maintain its own brand of honesty, not only for its own sake, but also for China's leaders at all levels to remember Deng Xiaoping's words and often look at themselves in the mirror.