Massive traffic accident that occurred on the Yuzhan Expressway in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province
Well, that is my hometown in the news, however bad it may sound, any news is better than no news. I miss Zhanjiang, hope it is doing better now that they executed all those corrupt officials.
Some background: Zhanjiang is the southernmost deep water port in China, situated on the Leizhou peninsula of Guangdong, across Hainan island. Its location is a resource not unlike that of port cities such as Hong Kong and Singapore. There is a French village in Zhanjiang, although I have not the occasion to visit it. Obviously, this came from French occupation of Zhanjiang in the latter part of the 19th century when late imperial China was loosing all sorts of wars and giving concessions away.
From here all the natural resources in the South China Sea are within reach. Having blessed with such ideal location, Zhanjiang has the potential to become another trade center like Hong Kong. However this dream has been difficult to materialized due to practical considerations and other reasons.
Presently, Zhanjiang is the headquarters of the South Sea Fleet. From here China commands large portions of the South China Sea. The strategic location of Zhanjiang meant that economic development takes second priority to security.
Zhanjiang is also headquaters to CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation), who facing increasing competitive pressure from domestic and international companies after the company failed to acquire Unocal. I can only imagine what a blow the failed bid is to Zhanjiang's development. But that is not the reason by a large on Zhanjiang's slow economic development.
Organized corruption: any Chinese living on the Mainland today would take it as a matter of fact. In the case of Zhanjiang, the mayor, party chief, custom officials, and 200 other government officials, including elements of the navy were prosecuted and indicted in collusion and smuggling. 6 were later executed in 2000. Their corruption strangled the economic development of the city for years.
Failure to exploit its geographic potential while let slip the discipline of the navy in this strategic location is such a waste. If the city is mine for 10 years, I will turn it into another Guangzhou. Let me govern it for 20 years, I'll transform it into Shenzhen, another 10 (30 total) and I'll transform it into Taipei, add another 10, Hong Kong. Hell, since the navy is there already I throw in something extra and make a Singapore out of it after 50 years.
