Welcome to Today's focus. I am David Keyton. Thirty years is a very short time for most cities, but for Shenzhen it is lifetime. Radical changes have taken place since it was chosen to spearhead China's Reform and Opening Up. With the creation of the country's first Special Economic Zones (SEZ) attracting thousands of factories and workers, a once tiny fishing village of barely 30,000 people has turned into one of the most modern and advanced metropolis in China, with a GDP of over 880 billion USD and still growing 25% year-on-year.

photo from sina.com

Today, 14 million people live there; it rivals Hong Kong in many ways, it has lead the province of Guangdong to become known as the factory of the world, and it tests many new political and economic reforms. But 30 years on, many people question is future and recognize SEZs have reached a turning point.

It all started on August 26th, 1980. Deng Xiaoping, the former leader of the PRC and chief designer of China's Reform and Opening Up had already started initiating some major reforms in the country, and the creation of the SEZs were the next step in his plan.
"Record" We need to learn the advanced experience and the state-of-the art technologies from other countries.

For Deng Xiaoping, China had no liquidity, no cash, and so special economic zones were one way to help the country get rid of poverty. In addition to Shenzhen, the cities of Zhuhai and Shantou in Guangdong province and Xiamen in Fujian Province were designated by the central government to become the nation¡®s first Special Economic Zones. This would give them special rights, including preferential policies to attract foreign investment, very low taxes and very relaxed labor laws and wages.

Neighboring Hong Kong, Shenzhen is arguably one of the most successful models in carrying forward China's reform and opening up. To construct a city from scratch, there was no other choice but to work hard and be ruthless. People in Shenzhen initiated a slogan, "Time is money, efficacy is life". Ports, dormitories, factories and later office buildings and skyscrapers sprang up everywhere. There were opportunities everywhere for those with knew how to seize them, but for those didn't, it was years of hardship and exploitation in sweatshops with poor living and working conditions.

Shenzhen was the first city to issue stocks, to establish corporate enterprises and to auction off land. Mr. Li Youwei, the former Party Secretary of Shenzhen, said that the city was inspired by Deng Xiaoping's remarks, in which he emphasized that development was the top priority.

"Record" During Deng Xiaoping's visit to Southern China in 1992, he reiterated that the Shenzhen experience is to dare to break new ground, dare to try and dare to risk. After Deng Xiaoping made his remarks, we can focus on the exploration and establishment of the socialist market-oriented economic system.

Although Mr. Li Youwei speaks of independence and courage to innovate, the central government in Beijing was obviously behind all of the important decision. Shenzhen became a testing ground for a number of reforms which were later launched across the country. But with the economy overheating, social problems such as the widening gap between the rich and the poor, hard working conditions and the risk of unemployment, the question of how to control the city's economic development is a serious issue facing Shenzhen.

Mr. Huang Ting, the head of the Guangdong mechanism reform research association, constantly follows the situation in Shenzhen and is involved in advising policymakers. He suggests that when the reform and opening up spreads to the rest China, the city shall then lead in the innovation in the administration system, with an aim to build a highly efficient, non-corrupt and service-oriented government.

"Record]" The economic reform has proven successful, but for Shenzhen nowadays, it can not sustain its past glory without reforming the political mechanism.

On August 26th, China celebrated the 30th anniversary of the special economic zones. In Shenzhen, a new step was taken, with the SEZ being expanded to include the district of Qianhai which has been given the task to develop cooperation in the modern service industry between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

So once again, Shenzhen is at the forefront of change in China, transforming the industrial landscape from factories which once made its success, to the financial service sector, shaping a new round, for a new age in China's opening up.