Shenzhen recalls Deng's push for economic growth<\/p>\n
SHENZHEN, China (AFP): Residents of Shenzhen mourned the death
\nof paramount leader Deng Xiaoping on the day he was cremated
\nyesterday, recalling his special influence on the booming
\nsouthern city.<\/p>\n
Shenzhen, which Deng turned into a capitalist laboratory in
\nthe early 1980s, has become one of the most successful of China's
\nSpecial Economic Zones.<\/p>\n
\"City officials, entrepreneurs, farmers and ordinary citizens\"
\nhave mourned for Deng, the architect of China's reform and
\nopening-up policy and the founder of China's first Special
\nEconomic Zone here, China's official Xinhua news agency reported.<\/p>\n
All staff in state-run enterprises have been told to watch
\nDeng's state funeral on television this morning when the state
\nfuneral will be held in Beijing for the paramount leader who died
\nWednesday aged 92.<\/p>\n
A banner outside the Shenzhen information center, mainly a
\nconduit for economic information, read: \"Most beloved and
\nrespected Deng, we miss you deeply.\"<\/p>\n
\"Comrade Deng Xiaoping visited Shenzhen in 1984 and 1992, and
\neach time he pushed forward the development of Shenzhen,\"
\nrecalled Li Youwei, the secretary of the Shenzhen City Committee
\nof the Communist Party of China.<\/p>\n
Shenzhen has undergone a virtual revolution since the early
\n1980s when it was a small fishing village.<\/p>\n
More than 20,000 people have paid their last respects at a
\ngiant portrait of Deng at a main crossroads in the middle of the
\ncity.<\/p>\n
Police presence was beefed up at the site, with six police
\nvans and at least 30 officers visible. The queue yesterday was
\ngreatly reduced to about 100 people.<\/p>\n
People there and elsewhere in this southern bastion of China's
\neconomic reforms, were reluctant to speak about Deng, and the
\natmosphere was uneasy.<\/p>\n
A taxi-driver surnamed Wang said: \"The political situation in
\nChina is still unclear. If (President) Jiang (Zemin) gains power
\npolitical and economic stability can be continued. Otherwise many
\npeople will jump to their deaths because of a possible slump in
\nthe stock market.<\/p>\n
\"Personally I don't think the current stability is permanent.
\nIt's just on the surface.\"<\/p>\n
Some tourist centers, including the Window on the World theme
\npark, the China Folk Culture Villages and scenic spots will be
\nclosed on the day of Deng's funeral in Beijing.<\/p>\n
Street stall owner Zheng Paiofu told AFP the queues to pay
\ntribute to Deng were \"under the management of public security
\nofficers\".<\/p>\n
A foreign affairs department official said there had been no
\nword of official mourning activities. Some state enterprises are
\nexpected to hold their own memorials.<\/p>\n
In one of Deng's last publicized trips in 1992, he said that
\nsocialism also needed a market economy.<\/p>\n
\"Guided by Deng's theory of building socialism with Chinese
\ncharacteristics, we have made experiments and achieved great
\nprogress in recent years,\" Li said.<\/p>\n
On the 42nd floor of the World Trade Tower, a symbol of the
\ncity's fast growth, the vice-president of the Tower Estate Group,
\nZha Shengming, recalled Deng's famous speech made right there on
\nJan. 20, 1992.<\/p>\n
\"Our tower is no longer the tallest building in Shenzhen.
\nHowever, that indicates that the city is developing better thanks
\nto Deng's guidance,\" Xinhua quoted Zha as saying.<\/p>\n
Deng Zhibiao, a fisherman-turned-entrepreneur, recalled the
\nmoment Deng Xiaoping visited the village of Yumin on his first
\ntrip in January 1984, and encouraged him and fellow villagers to
\nachieve common prosperity.<\/p>\n
Deng Zhibiao, now the manager of the Yufeng Co. Ltd, said the
\nvillage owns more than 40 million yuan-worth of fixed assets,
\ncompared with only some two million yuan-worth in 1984.<\/p>",
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