Shantou as one of the SEZs
I found an article about overseas Chinese business and offshore Chinese business network when searching some stuff for my exam. It might be less important now, but Shantou indeed was one of the first five Special Economic Zones (SEZs) that set up by Deng Xiaoping for economic reform experiment. And the main reason is described in that article as:
In 1980, when Deng Xiaoping began the process of opening China by setting up Special Economic Zones, free market enclaves on the southern border, he chose the ancestral homes of three of the most important groups of the Chinese diaspora: the Cantonese from Guangdong province, who predominate in Hong Kong; the Hokkienese from Fujian province, who make up 85 per cent of Taiwan’s population and much of Singapore’s; and, less well known, the Teochews from around Shantou, on the border between Guangdong and Fujian.
The Teochews are a phenomenon. They include Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s most respected billionaire; the Ma family, which controls the Oriental Press Group there (and which fell out with the British Conservative party, accusing it of failing to deliver on promises made in return for campaign funding); and most of the Chinese in Thailand, including the Sophonpanich family who built up the Bangkok Bank. (The Lamsams of Thailand are Hakkas, a group of unknown geographic origin, which has produced the three most influential Chinese of the late 20th century-Deng Xiaoping, Lee Kuan Yew and Lee Teng-hui, the president of Taiwan).
For those who are about to travel to Shantou and want to know about the city, this might be something worth to explore into.
Richard.H posted on May 6th, 2007 under: Business in ST | Tag: Economy, SEZ |
It is a shame to connect SEZ to Swatow this days. The lack of its development is, in part, due to its local culture.
Very interested to hear more from you about your thoughts on local people and culture. As a whole, the nation lacks confidence, which reflects strongly on the ways they treat a local person and a blonde. They would be very friendly toward a foreigner, whom they rarely see. And be very rude to their own countrymen.
By the way, don’t realize many similarities in Singapore cuisine, language, culture and Swaow’s. Many Singaporeanes have family root in Swatow.
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It’s harsh, but we have to accept: at present Swatow is a “special zone” in name but not in reality. It’s a laughingstock for many, because Swatow has degraded into a second-class city for quite a long time,both at the level of its economy and at the level of its strategic role
if we had the honor as citizens living in a “special zone” in the past, now this titile only gives us wounds to lick. It implicates a shameful failure and a bankrupted reputation. Maybe the only usage of this title is to lure investment when our mayor introduce Swatow to overssa companies(if they are stupid enough).
(My ID means ‘Special Zone Man’, but I just named it for reasons of irony)
It is sad to hear that Shantou is going downhill after given SEZ status in the 80s.
From my personal observation of Teochews in Singapore, we are not very united as a dialect group, compared to the Hokkiens, Cantonese and Hakkas.
There is a saying here that Teochew brothers always fight among themselves and like to show-off even with small achievements.
This could be in our genes.
Teochew in singapore are as united as other dialect groups as we are still chinese descentant. Unity are our strength. Hope that Shantou can climb up.