More daring and daring to act, a 2600 word recollection of an old county party secretary: daring to think and try county party committee | reform | farmers | small commodities | engineering | market | Yiwu | Xie Gaohua

On July 6th, the Zhejiang Daily published a column titled "Tracing the Source, Gratefulness, Advancing, and Taking on the Lead" titled "Daring to Think, Trying, and Doing - A Record of Xie Gaohua, former Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Quzhou Municipal People's Congress and former Secretary of the Yiwu County Party Committee". The full text is as follows:

Compared to the world-renowned Yiwu small commodity market, Xie Gaohua's fame is not significant, but in Yiwu, this name is almost universally known.

From the first year of the Yiwu Small Commodity Expo held in 1995 until the year before Xie Gaohua's death in 2019, during the annual Yiwu Small Commodity Expo, local merchants and the public would spontaneously greet Xie at the highway intersection to "go home". Last year, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the market construction in Yiwu, a statue of "reform pioneer" Xie Gaohua was erected in Yiwu.

In the eyes of the locals, the reason why Yiwu has today is due to Xie Gaohua's decisive decision to open up the first generation of small commodity markets at the risk of losing his "black hat". The current reform and development still call for such courage and sentiment.

Photos of Xie Gaohua during his work in Yiwu.

"If there is a problem, I will take responsibility."

From a barren small county to a global supermarket that sells globally, and now to the iterative upgrading and construction of the Yiwu Global Data and Trade Center, the development of Yiwu can be said to be legendary.

Returning to the beginning of this transformation, when Xie Gaohua took office in May 1982, Yiwu was still just a poor agricultural county in central Zhejiang.

In order to fill their stomachs, local farmers would carry a burden during the idle season and walk through the village alleys to exchange chicken feathers for sugar, fertilize the fields with chicken feathers, and also sell daily small commodities to subsidize household expenses. Gradually, small commodity trading points were formed in the then Twenty Three Li Town and Choucheng Town.

However, at the policy level, the state has not yet made it clear whether the commodity market can be set up. Farmers' management is still regarded as "speculation and taking the capitalist road". Many departments still adopt the simple practice of one ban and two blockages.

Xie Gaohua, who frequently encountered visits from the masses, after a long period of in-depth investigation and research, determined that revitalizing the market was in line with the spirit of the central government and the interests of the masses. He resolutely decided to open up the small commodity market.

On September 5, 1982, the Choucheng Town Small Department Store Market located at Huqingmen in the urban area announced its opening. This is the unprecedented first generation of small commodity market in the history of Yiwu.

Merchants in Yiwu still remember that at a county wide conference held that year, Xie Gaohua strongly supported farmers in doing business and publicly announced, "Opening up the Yiwu small commodity market, I am responsible for any problems, I would rather not have a 'black hat'!" Amidst thunderous applause around, some vendors who had originally planned to give up doing business shed tears of excitement.

However, after the market opened up, different opinions still fiercely clashed. Some officials even pointed out to Xie Gaohua face-to-face that farmers have gone to do business and agricultural production cannot be organized. This situation has become a headache for various departments. Regarding this, Xie Gaohua made a clear statement at the Standing Committee of the County Party Committee: "The sugar exchange has solved the employment problem for tens of thousands of people. I think this is an advantage. If we want to find ways to leverage it, we cannot make the revitalized economy die again."

It was with the support and push of Xie Gaohua that the Yiwu County Party Committee and Government later proposed the "Four Permits", which allowed farmers to engage in both agriculture and commerce, long-distance trafficking, opening up urban and rural markets, and multi-channel competition. In 1984, Yiwu, a small agricultural county, pioneered the regional economic development strategy of "promoting commerce and building counties". As a result, Yiwu overtook others on a bend and began to embark on a fast lane of development.

"What's the relationship between one's own gains and losses?"

Many people now say: dare to think, dare to try, dare to act, and dare to act. In fact, he took on a considerable amount of risk.

As early as serving as the Secretary of the Quxian County Party Committee, Xie Gaohua was criticized for promoting the high price buying and selling of oranges. At that time, the country implemented centralized purchase and sales of oranges, and Qu County only produced 80000 tons of oranges per year, of which 60000 tons were sold. "The national unified sales price is low, and orange farmers increase production without increasing income. Some farmers even go to the streets to beg for food. How can this be done?" After in-depth investigation, Xie Gaohua boldly proposed: "Under the premise of completing the national plan, farmers can sell their surplus oranges where the price is high..." As a result, people from other places have come to Qu County to purchase oranges, and the farmers' income has increased. However, it has also led to the unfinished task of 60000 tons of oranges ordered by the state that year.

Now, Xie Gaohua has been criticized. In January 1981, a central media article cited Xie Gaohua as a negative example of "undermining national plans and promoting market liberalization.".

However, in Xie Gaohua's view, he is just focused on doing things. "As long as it is beneficial to the people, what does it matter to our cadres' own gains and losses?"

This original intention also prompted him to continue to reform and boldly practice during his work in Yiwu, as exemplified by the "tax reform controversy" that year. At the beginning of the rise of the Yiwu small commodity market, the eight tiered progressive tax was still implemented for industrial and commercial transformation, which means that the better the operation, the higher the tax. But most of the thousands of stalls in the market are operated on a small scale, with prices following the market, making it difficult to calculate taxes based on tax receipts. So tax officials spent their days cracking down on tax evasion like thieves, and the vendors also complained.

After conducting research, Xie Gaohua strongly supports the tax authorities in implementing the "fixed tax calculation" method, which aims to increase taxes but suppresses the enthusiasm of the masses to engage in business. This means setting a fixed tax amount for each booth and no longer calculating taxes on operating income beyond the target amount. As a result, individual tax revenue has decreased, and people feel that it is profitable. Small vendors have flocked to the surrounding area, and in 1984, Yiwu's tax revenue increased by a full three times compared to two years ago.

A reporter from Xinhua News Agency thought this approach was good and could liven up the market. They specifically reported the situation to the central government in the form of internal reference. Unexpectedly, a central department later reported the situation to the province, and the province sent personnel to Yiwu for a full week of investigation.

The investigation ultimately determined that the method is feasible, but it still needs to be improved in practice. But Yang Shouchun, who was then Xie Gaohua's secretary, was aware of the pressure Xie Gaohua endured throughout the entire process.

According to Yang Shouchun's recollection, during a conference in Jinhua to learn about the reform experience of Chuxian County, Anhui, Xie Gaohua suddenly asked, "Xiao Yang, are you afraid?" Yang Shouchun didn't know how to answer for a moment. Xie Gaohua added, like comforting and encouraging himself, "Sometimes it's difficult to discover the truth, but it's even harder to persist in the truth!"

"He has the most basic starting point for doing things"

What is the truth that Xie Gaohua said? Many people who have visited his home remember that the most prominent character on the living room wall of the Xie family is the word "faith" written by Xie Gaohua himself.

In the eyes of Xie Gaohua's children, the truth of his father's faith has always been simple. "He has a basic starting point for everything he does, and as long as it benefits the people, he will do his best," said his son Xie Jianbiao.

Quzhou's rural areas have always been short of water. Xie Gaohua, who was well aware of this pain point, actively promoted the construction of the Wuxi River diversion project, which had been put on hold for more than 10 years due to various reasons, after serving as the Executive Vice Mayor of Quzhou City in 1985.

This year, Xie Gaohua was already 54 years old, thin but full of energy. As the overall commander of engineering construction, he led a team of technical personnel to run day and night along the route of the Urumqi Water Diversion Project, conducting rounds of argumentation.

The engineering difficulty is enormous. According to the plan, the project will build a dam at the Huangtankou Reservoir to block the river, spanning five counties in Quzhou and Jinhua through an 83 kilometer channel. The 53 kilometer channel in Quzhou section will intercept the Wuxi River, cross the Lingshan River, cross 10 streams, penetrate 18 mountains, and construct 30 large buildings.

Many builders eat in the fields and live in sheds, and Xie Gaohua takes the lead. "He often sits in the mud with cadres and the masses during the day, discussing work while eating, and holding meetings with us until 12 o'clock at night," said She Zhiping, then Deputy Director of the Quzhou Water Resources Bureau and Deputy Commander of the Wuyin Project.

In August 1989, the opening ceremony of the canal head hub project was held. Many people were surprised to see that Xie Gaohua's eyes were filled with tears. The Commander in Chief, who is about to step down from his frontline leadership position, excitedly said into the microphone, "In my lifetime, I will work with everyone to make the final sprint for engineering construction! Even when I retire, I will retire on the construction site!"

Xie Gaohua did not break his promise. Later, although he no longer served as a member of the Standing Committee and Deputy Mayor of Quzhou City due to his age, he requested the Municipal Party Committee that he had feelings for the Wuyin Project and must personally build it! So it was not until August 4, 1994, when the Wuyin Project was successfully completed and the entire line was opened to water, that the drought problems of generations of people in Jinhua and Quzhou were completely solved. Xie Gaohua finally stepped down from his position as the overall commander of the project.

The Wuyin Project has been playing a significant role since its completion. Dong Hongzhuan, a major grain grower in Longyou County with a rice planting area of over 5000 acres, said that almost all of the paddy fields in the southern part of Longyou are irrigated by it. "Farmers will never forget the water guide!"

Born and raised in this place, with a strong emotional attachment to the Golden Quzhou, flying chicken feathers to attract silver and practice are undoubtedly pioneers. On October 23, 2019, Xie Gaohua passed away in Hangzhou due to illness at the age of 88. This couplet is a highly summarized and true portrayal of his life, and his spirit of being a pioneer and taking on responsibilities is worth remembering by future generations.

Xie Gaohua

Xie Gaohua, born in November 1931, was from Quzhou, Zhejiang Province. He was the former Secretary of the Yiwu County Committee of Zhejiang Province and the former Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Quzhou Municipal People's Congress.

From April 1982 to December 1984, during the tenure of Xie Gaohua as the Secretary of the Yiwu County Committee, the Yiwu County Committee pioneered the regional economic development strategy of "promoting commerce and building a county", giving birth to Yiwu, the world's largest small commodity market, and setting an example for national reform and development.

In December 2018, at the celebration of the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up, Xie Gaohua was awarded the title of "Reform Pioneer" by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council.

At the end of September 2019, on the occasion of celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Xie Gaohua was named one of the 300 "most beautiful fighters" in the country.

On October 23, 2019, Xie Gaohua, the founder and cultivator of Yiwu Small Commodity Market, passed away in Hangzhou at the age of 88 due to ineffective medical treatment.