Article From Latest 炎黄春秋
Random Thoughts on 3 Principles of Economic Development
By 杜润生（Du Runsheng）
炎黄春秋 （Yanhuang Chunqiu）
2008 Vol. 6
Translated by Anton Lee Wishik II
Peasants in China
A leader once said that the new China was obtained in exchange for 30 million people. Due to the success of the ‘villages surrounding cities’ strategy, the majority of the 30 million were farmers.
During the period when the nation changed course towards economic construction, peasants worked hard cultivating the land and increased grain production from 160 billion kg to 500 billion kg, thus avoiding the need to import large amounts from abroad. Peasants earnestly carried out the one-child policy, and during this period, reduced births by 400 million, thus mitigating the pressure of overpopulation. Peasants also created the system of family-contracted public land which helped all of society attain an adequate standard of living, thus pushing forward a period of comparatively good standards of living. Peasants cast away the
ir destiny in which it had been impossible to obtain justice, and no one understood life and death. It can be seen that the idle, manpower resource of 900 million people, when set aside, is a huge burden, and once released, is limitless in its potential.
The hardworking peasants are faced with the difficulty of too many people and not enough land.
Land can not be grown, but people can be shifted. Industrial development requires gathering together and improving the level of urbanization. If the proportion of urban residents passes 50% and a population transformation takes place, the number of peasants is reduced and peasants are made better off.
Mining Disasters
In the past few years, there have been many mining disasters which have killed many miners. Today’s miners are yesterday’s peasants. The authorities once asserted that even if there was fast flowing water, for their livelihood, the miners should lift up their heads and enter the mine in spite of the possibility they could die.
Mining disasters are really not unavoidable. As long as they are taken seriously, they can be managed well. A new beginning must be fought for.
The Energy Problem
For national industrialization, there must be an adequate, continuous supply of energy. Our country is lacking in natural resources. Since the discovery at Daqing, there have been no significant oil field discoveries and a development bottleneck is forming. Now, new resources need to be developed, such as solar energy, tidal energy, and wind energy. With our country’s topography of high mountains and low valleys as well as unceasing northern, western, and southern winds, the wind energy option is a priority. Mature technologies from abroad can be introduced in China.
Coal mines can serve are energy reserves. Currently, imported energy is exorbitantly expensive, and its purchase cannot be sustained. The number of select nuclear power plants using safe technology can be increased. Reportedly, France is mainly depending on nuclear power to promote economic revival. Thus, we can also use nuclear energy on a relatively large scale.
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