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In the spring of 2003，I retired from my post. Since then， I have disciplined myself to stay away from all government affairs as a support to the new central leadership and the work of the new government. However， this does not mean I am just lying idle. I have always had a wide interest， but was not able to pursue it in the past. Now I can find time to do so. To learn new knowledge and things is not only a great pleasure for me， but also a way to keep mind and body active and healthy. What does it matter if one lives a few years longer or not？ To me， the really important thing is to stay both physically and mentally healthy. This is good to the society， the family and to oneself.
Some of my friends advised me to write something. Several journalists requested interviews on education matters. It would not be difficult to publish a few selections of my writings， since the General Office of the State Council has already compiled thick volumes of my reports， articles， speeches， comments or memos， records of meetings， etc. Most of those concern work plans. No doubt， they were important at the time， some even rather innovative and forwardlooking. But as time passes， those documents may become “antiques”， not easily understood by those unfamiliar with the background. Therefore， having worked at one of the leading posts of the State Council for ten years， I feel the urge to report to the people who have placed trust in me. After careful consideration， I think it might be best to talk to journalists on certain subjects， telling them my thoughts， stories and experiences so as to help readers better understand the policymaking process and its results. I want to tell the people what we thought and did and why. Why did we choose to do things one way and not another？ ...Maybe this will bring people closer to government policies and， hopefully， make this book more readable.
Looking back on the past decade as VicePremier at the State Council， I assisted Premier Li Peng and Premier Zhu Rongji in areas of foreign economic relations and trade， circulations of goods， customs， industry and commerce， machinery， textile and other light industries， finance and taxation， science and technology， culture and public health， press and publishing and sports， to name a few. Education， clearly， is essential to a nation’s prosperity. Few other undertakings can match its importance， range and difficulty. Yet， it was an unknown field for me. Learning while doing， I spent a lot of time and energy on it. There were moments of joy and moments of frustration. Thanks to the concerted efforts at various levels， China’s education has made important headway. During my two terms at the State Council， I had a change of heart towards education. It was a sense of responsibility turned to devotion to education. It is education that I have the deepest affection for. If I am ever asked to write about my experience， education certainly has priority over all other topics. With this book， I wish to extend my heartfelt appreciation to all those working in the field of education or supporting education.
The past decade has witnessed great changes in education， as well as in other fields. This is the result of many factors： correct policies made by the thirdgeneration leadership with Jiang Zemin at its core； the focus on education by the two premiers of the State Council； close cooperation and concerted efforts at all levels； and particularly， the total devotion of those working in the education field and warm support of people from all circles of society. On my part， I have tried to be a good “logistics master”， taking advantage of the power delegated to me on matters of education reform and development and seizing the opportunity to implement all the important policies concerning education. I must look ahead， inherit and carry on good traditions and encourage actions instead of empty speeches. I must implement the decisions already made with tenacity. Education has been a longterm undertaking of the Chinese nation. Ten years is just a twinkle in the eyes of history. There are both successes and shortcomings in my work over the past ten years. A lot of things remain unfinished and still others are unsatisfactory. I believe that my successors will do a better job.
On the threshold of last summer， I shut myself indoors， and took up the pen to prepare the initial draft. In midsummer， I had many discussions with veteran educators and journalists that resulted in the first draft. On the basis of this draft， I sought opinions from people in the Ministry of Education， Ministry of Science and Technology and other ministries for the final revision of the draft. I would like to express my appreciation to all of them. What is written in this book is one man’s opinion， and very limited at that. Fortunately， this is a subject on which everyone can offer an opinion， since all families have children who receive education. I welcome any comment on this book.
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Li Lanqing |
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October 30，2003 | |
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