PCJ – Chapter 668 Controversy

Fu Jianping first introduced the leaders of the county’s key departments to Zhang Jiaohua, then asked those department heads to give an overview of the county’s general situation.

Zhang Jiaohua simply listened and didn’t take any notes — he could remember most things after hearing them once. Besides, this kind of broad overview wasn’t very meaningful to him. What he wanted was detailed, ground-level information about each township, not vague statistics from county departments. Who knew how much of that data was inflated or inaccurate? Just listening to the ambiguous language of these department heads already made Zhang lose interest. If this had been a lab meeting, and a team member gave such a report on their experiment, Zhang would have cut them off already.

But Zhang Jiaohua understood that on his first day, he couldn’t afford to do that. If he acted that way now, it would make future work in Daihua County difficult. He consciously put himself in the mindset of an ordinary person, wanting to experience what such a person could achieve.

“This is the basic situation of our county,” Fu Jianping concluded. “Very poor, very underdeveloped. Whether in industry or agriculture, we are far behind. Eighty percent of the county’s population lives under the poverty line, and nearly fifty percent of our rural areas haven’t even solved basic food and clothing issues. The reasons behind this are complex, but I believe a key issue is that our work hasn’t been effective enough. Take Yingpan Village — one of the most infamous ‘beggar villages’ in the county. Yet in less than three years, I believe it will become one of our richest villages. That’s because Yingpan Village identified the root problem and prescribed the right remedy. They found a development path that truly suited them.”

“Secretary Fu,” said Wu Xuedong, director of the County Development and Reform Bureau with a laugh, “I think if any village in Daihua County had that kind of money poured into it, they could all become rich villages. But that model doesn’t suit our county. We have so many townships — if we were to pour money into each one like we did in Yingpan, the small funds we get from above would be like a drop in the bucket.”

Fu Jianping’s face darkened, and he glanced at Wu Xuedong. “What did the county pour into it? The saline-alkali land remediation project in Yingpan Village was a municipal support initiative. And the road construction funding also came from the city of Bijiang. Those funds wouldn’t have come through if the village’s proposals hadn’t convinced city and provincial authorities. The higher-ups are trying to prevent this idea that people should just sit around waiting for handouts. If we’re content being a poverty-stricken county, we’ll never shed that label.”

Deputy County Chief Deng Chaokun quickly added, “I don’t think Comrade Wu Xuedong was denying Zhang Jiaohua’s achievements in Yingpan. He’s just pointing out that if the whole county were to develop using Yingpan’s model, the funding gap would be enormous. If we can get outside investment, then no problem. But if not, our county simply doesn’t have the means. That said, I fully support Comrade Zhang’s future work — I just hope that in drafting our development plan, he carefully considers the county’s real situation.”

Zhan Xiangdong, director of the Agricultural Bureau, glanced at Deng Chaokun and chimed in, “Exactly, Deng County Chief is right. We must be realistic. Our county has already suffered from overly ambitious projects before. The intentions were good, but the results were painful. For example, in the ’90s we promoted large-scale cash crop farming — planted over a thousand mu of pear trees in Guyang Town. But when they bore fruit, there was no way to sell them. Our roads were so poor that all the pears got bruised in transit. We couldn’t even cover the transport costs. That was a tough lesson.”

Zhang Jiaohua tapped the table. “It seems everyone is very concerned about my future work, so I’ll say a few words too. Everyone made good points. Whether it’s agriculture or tourism, road construction is an essential part. I’ve only visited Tianbaqiao Town so far, and I won’t say much about the road conditions there — everyone knows how they are. Whether we’re selling products or attracting tourists, we have to fix the roads first. Now, the question is — where does the money come from? The county certainly can’t provide it. And not just Daihua — no county can afford this level of infrastructure alone. Major infrastructure needs large investments, and that’s where higher-level government needs to step in. But of course, the money from above is also limited. They’ll prioritize areas that promise economic returns.”

Zhang scanned the room. “At this point, many of you may be thinking — what kind of place is Daihua? A nationally recognized poverty-stricken county. Why would higher-level government want to pour money into such a place? And yes — if we keep limping along on just annual support funds, we’ll never get the kind of real investment we need. But if we can bring in large-scale private investment, then the chances change. The government will be willing to provide matching funds. But all of that — we have to go fight for it.”

Deng Chaokun laughed. “Deputy Chief Zhang, I wasn’t trying to dismiss your plans — just offering some advice. I hope when you’re setting goals, you take our county’s realities into account. As an old hand, I’m very familiar with these conditions. We can talk more about development strategies later.”

This was Deng extending an olive branch — after giving a slight warning, he followed with friendliness.

Zhang Jiaohua nodded. “County Chief Deng is indeed experienced in these matters. I’ll definitely be seeking your advice in the future.”

After the expanded county committee meeting, Deng Chaokun said that the county government would be holding a work meeting as well.

So Zhang Jiaohua headed to the county government’s conference room for another meeting.

“Comrade Zhang Jiaohua, Director Zhao Kun from the office will take you to your residence later. If you need anything, just let him know,” Deng Chaokun said as they entered the room.

“Okay. Thank you, County Chief Deng,” Zhang replied with a smile.

“The reason I said so much earlier,” Deng added, “was because I was worried you might overpromise during the meeting. Daihua is a nationally designated poverty county, and the causes of our poverty are complicated. Maybe you have many good ideas, but implementation is another matter. So I still hope that after you get a clear understanding of our local conditions, you’ll then formulate development strategies and set practical goals.”