Lee Kuan Yew's Story in Henan

Everywhere I go, I see well-managed cities, beautiful cultural relics and scenic spots, and of course roads, fields, Woods and crops. Everything is thriving. At the same time, I feel that Henan, like Beijing, has wide roads, tall buildings and modern factories. I am very optimistic about the prospects of Henan. After 5 to 10 years, I believe that Henan will develop faster.

Lee Kuan Yew talks about investing in Henan

If I have100000 in my hand, I will invest 7 million yuan in China, including100000 in Henan.

As the father of Singapore, all China people, including many Chinese, are in awe of Lee Kuan Yew's efforts to turn Singapore into the "Four Little Dragons of Asia". And 2 1 years ago, this respected figure also visited Henan in person. Why did he go to Henan? What impression did Henan leave on him? What advice did he give to Henan at that time? Yesterday, Dongfang Jinbao reporter interviewed Song Quanzhong, former director of the Propaganda and Education Department of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Province, and Zhang Yibing, director of the Tourism Promotion Department of the Provincial Tourism Bureau who accompanied Lee Kuan Yew to visit Henan.

A visit by a senior minister

The plane landed in the CBD of Zhengdong New District today.

Zhang Yibing, director of the Tourism Publicity Department of the Provincial Tourism Bureau, 1994, once worked in the Publicity and Education Department of the Foreign Affairs Office of the province.

"1September 29th, 1994 to1kloc-0/October 2nd, at the invitation of the provincial government, then Minister of State of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew paid a four-day visit to our province. Accompanied by his wife, Ms. Ke Yuzhu, Singaporean Ambassador to China, Mr. Cheng Tong Fatt, and a 53-member business delegation composed of travel agencies and entrepreneurs. " Although 2 1 year has passed, Zhang Yibing can still clearly remember the scene at that time.

"That afternoon, Lee Kuan Yew's plane landed at Zhengzhou Airport. At that time, it was the old airport, in today's Zhengdong New District Central Business District. " The main purpose of Lee Kuan Yew's visit to Henan is to understand the development of 59 enterprises invested by Singapore in Henan, and to further investigate the investment environment in Henan, so as to promote better cooperation between Singapore and Henan.

The accompanying impression was that Lee Kuan Yew was full of energy and visited three cities in a row.

"At that time, Lee Kuan Yew's visit to Henan also had an important purpose: Singapore wanted to set up a Singapore industrial park in China, and there were three candidate cities, namely Suzhou, Qingdao and Zhengzhou." Zhang Yibing revealed.

It turned out that Li Changchun, then secretary of the Henan Provincial Party Committee, and Cai, then director of the Henan Provincial Tourism Bureau, led a Henan delegation to visit Singapore 14 months before Lee Kuan Yew's visit, and signed a 14 cooperation project agreement, with an agreed investment of 22.9 million US dollars, including an export contract of 28.88 million US dollars and an import contract of 120.

"Lee Kuan Yew's ancestral home is Guangdong, China. He is a Hakka, and Li's birthplace is in Zhoukou. Li Changchun sent an invitation to Lee Kuan Yew. " Zhang Yibing said.

Zhang Yibing said that Lee Kuan Yew was only 765,438+0 years old. After arriving in Henan, he visited Zhengzhou Zhongyuan International Expo Center and Zhengzhou High-tech Industrial Development Zone, regardless of the fatigue of the journey. Baogong Temple, Iron Tower and Shanshan-Gansu Guild Hall in Kaifeng, the ancient capital; Shaolin Temple Tallinn and Shaolin Temple Wushu Hall in Dengfeng, the hometown of Wushu; Peony Flower City Luoyang Longmen Grottoes Qianxi Temple, Binyang Cave, Fengxian Temple, etc.

Concerned about tourism, it is suggested to keep close contact along Huangsi City and open a direct route from Singapore to Zhengzhou.

Song Quanzhong, then director of the Propaganda and Education Department of the Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, recalled that Lee Kuan Yew once said earnestly during his stay in Luoyang: "Luoyang is a civilized ancient capital with a history of more than 5,000 years, and tourism should be the guide to drive the development of the whole economy. Luoyang, Zhengzhou, Kaifeng and Xi are all on the Yellow River tourism line, so they should be closely linked to give full play to the advantages of tourism resources integration. "

Speaking of Henan tourism, Lee Kuan Yew turned to Singapore tourism.

"You can plan to open a direct flight route from Singapore to Zhengzhou, or it will be undertaken by Singapore Airlines, or the two sides will jointly establish an airline to engage in it. In this way, tourists from Singapore and even other Southeast Asian countries can be organized to fly directly to Henan and visit many places of interest in Kaifeng, Zhengzhou, Luoyang and Xi 'an. "

"In this way, we can start with tourism, strengthen contact and enhance understanding and communication. The cooperative development between Singapore and Henan is likely to be fully launched. When I visit Henan again, I can raise the cooperative relationship between the two sides to a new level. "

Song Quanzhong remembers it very clearly. When talking about future cooperation, Lee Kuan Yew said something that was widely praised at that time: "If I had 10 million in my hand, I would invest 7 million in China, of which 10 million was in Henan."

Kai Zhao held a press conference at home and abroad, saying that he was "very optimistic about the prospects of Henan"

After visiting Zhengzhou and Kaifeng, the National Day of China was ushered in-1994 10 10/0/. This morning, Lee Kuan Yew made an impossible move today: he held a press conference at Zhengzhou International Hotel attended by more than 40 Chinese and foreign journalists from 29 news organizations including Beijing, Zhengzhou, Hong Kong and Singapore. Among them are reporters from Henan People's Broadcasting Station and Henan TV Station.

When the reporter asked him about his impression of Henan, Lee Kuan Yew said: "Wherever I went, I saw well-managed cities, beautiful cultural relics, and of course roads, fields, Woods and crops, and everything was thriving. At the same time, I feel that Henan, like Beijing, has wide roads, tall buildings and modern factories. I am very optimistic about the prospects of Henan. After 5 to 10 years, I believe that Henan will develop faster. "

Zhang Yibing, who is in charge of the preparations for the press conference, said that the press conference lasted for nearly two hours, and Lee Kuan Yew answered questions, which left a deep impression on everyone.

Henan must have first-class transportation if it wants to communicate with the world.

"In Kaifeng, when I visited the Shaanxi-Gansu Hall, I learned that in the past two or three thousand years, Henan has been connected with the Middle East, Europe and the world through the Silk Road. After the decline of the Silk Road, Europe opened a sea passage, and Singapore happened to be at the maritime transportation hub of Europe and Asia. So even if we don't grow rice, vegetables and other products, convenient transportation can still bring us these things. "

"Now, Henan has the opportunity to connect with the coastal provinces of China in terms of transportation and communication. To communicate with the world, Henan must have first-class transportation and communication conditions. This problem has been solved, and the distance between Henan and the outside world is near. The more people travel to Henan, the more opportunities for economic and trade cooperation. I hope that Henan will face up to and overcome unfavorable conditions such as traffic congestion. "

Zhang Yibing said: "At that time, the first expressway in Henan-Zhengzhou to Kaifeng expressway had just been built and had not been opened to traffic. When Lee Kuan Yew went to Kaifeng from Zhengzhou, after special approval, the vehicle was driving on this expressway. From Zhengzhou to Shaolin Temple, and then from Shaolin Temple to Luoyang, all the provincial roads are potholes, which can't be compared with today! "