Deng Xiaoping

(http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/zhuanti/Zhuanti_410.html)

Everybody has their own hero. To me, a hero is a person who can be engraved on people's minds by his or her spirit and qualities; a hero is a person who thinks about others more than himself or herself; a hero is a person who changes people's lives. My hero is Deng Xiaoping who was a Chinese politician, statesman, theorist, military leader, and diplomat. He should be regarded as a hero because of his foresight, his leadership and his love for Chinese people.

Mao Zedong might have formed a united government for China, but it was Deng Xiaoping pushing it toward prosperity and modernity. He made the future of China as one of the world's great powers under his leadership.

Deng Xiaoping had foresight, wide mind to look at a distant objective and dared to be the first. In December 1978, Deng Xiaoping made an important turning point in the history of China. What Deng had the intelligence to see was that China must break out of its Maoist mode of state control. He opened China up to global market. For the first half of his reform period, only few people had confidence in him, but he persevered in opening up Chinese domestic markets to global. Then he led Chinese economic reform through a synthesis of theories that became known as the “Socialist Market Economy”. He kept improving the socialist market economy. As a result, he succeeded in setting the country on the road to socialist modernization. Besides, he was also considered “The Architect” of a new brand of socialist thinking. His courage as an innovator had earned the trust of the Chinese people. He had proved to be far-sighted and a man of quick understanding and decisive action. Deng Xiaoping is a hero because of his foresight. He generally developed China into one of the fastest growing economies in the world for over thirty years.

Deng Xiaoping had a good sense of leadership which was the integration of heart, head and soul. The 83-year-old former president said that the relationship between United States and China had come a long way since China opened up to the world and became a market economy. Deng Xiaoping tried his best to break the deadlock between United States and China. After the economic reforms accelerated, he made the United States go to diplomatically recognized China. He visited the United States in 1979. He made major deals with Boeing and Coca-Cola. Deng thought that peace and development are the two important issues in the world today. He was convinced that China can make an important contribution both for world peace and for steady economic development, so he had visited many foreign countries and met with many foreign guests. He was always with a view to securing a peaceful international environment for China's socialist modernization to develop. He built up the friendship between China and the Western countries. Otherwise, the business contacts between China and the other countries began to grow. Due to his reform and opening up, earthshaking changes took place in China. Deng Xiaoping is a hero because of his strong leadership. He helped China get along with the other countries. He made a big contribution to diplomacy of China.

Deng Xiaoping deeply loved Chinese people and hoped for his country's peaceful reunification. The concept of “one country, two systems” was formulated by Deng Xiaoping in order to solve the problems of regaining Hong Kong and Macao. This concept became an important part of building socialism with Chinese characteristics. He helped to bring about United Kingdom to return the territory of Honk Kong by negotiating with the British Prime Minister in 1980. Since 1984 the Hong Kong and Macao issues have been solved on this basis. Deng was really wise to seek truth from facts to the solution of complicated practical problems. Deng was popular in every Chinese person’s mind. It was largely because of the long-range effects of all his remarkable changes that he set in motion. To lead China to open up the socialist market, Deng relaxed all manner of economic controls and set up Special Economic Zones which were free-trade enclaves. These new Economic Zones demonstrated the prosperous potential of a liberalized economy. He helped millions of Chinese leave poverty in the space of just a few decades, a feat unprecedented in history; he transformed China into the global manufacturing country; he also heralded the country's arrival on the world stage in different ways. In addition, after reformation and opening with the acceleration industrialization and urbanization by Deng Xiaoping, small towns had been developed in China rapidly. Through Deng Xiaoping's lifetime of service to the people, he had earned the respect and admiration of millions of Chinese people. He was more than eighty years old after 1984. Nevertheless, all the Chinese and foreign visitors were still always impressed by his vigorous health and agile mind. Deng Xiaoping is a hero because of his love for Chinese people. He cared about every little area in China and tried his best to raise the standard of living of all the Chinese.

As a Chinese, I look up to Deng Xiaoping whom I am really proud of. He is my hero who is hailed as the pragmatist and as the leader of China as well who introduced a new economic policy with his striking phrase that it did not matter whether a cat was black or white as long as it could catch mice. He had shown to be far-sighted; he demonstrated his leadership with wise, firm and fearless; he embodied his love for Chinese people. He will live in my heart forever.