Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2005

The 62n d Congregatio n forthe Conferment of Degrees M r . Wa n g is a v i s i o n a r y. He b e l i e v ed t ha t as the n ew m i l l e n n i u m d awn s, C h i n a m u s t set her eyes on the f u t u re a n d m o v e w i t h t h e t i mes i n a l l s p h e r e s : p o l i t i c a l, e c o n o m i c a n d c u l t u r a l . H e n c e he w a s amo ng the first to recognize that the Chinese e c o n o my h a d t o be a p a r t o f t h e g l o b a l s y s t e m. H e t o o k t h e i n i t i a t i v e t o s ee k o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r n a t i o n a l e c o n om ic development a n d d r e w u p a b l u e p r i n t f o r m u n i c i p a l progress i n Sh a n g h a i. He w a s r e c e p t i v e t o v i e w s e x p r e s s e d i n o p e n f o r u m s, a nd i n v i t ed his citizens to f r e e ly c omme nt on issues i mp o r t a n t to the city. He p i c k ed the b r a i ns of scholars a n d experts f r om outside China, w h o m he enthusiastically i n v i t e d to c o n t r i b u te t o his p r o j e c t s o n d e v e l o pme nt a n d r e f o rm . U n d e r his meticulous s u p e r v i s i o n t he g r a n d p l a n f o r Shanghai g r a d u a l ly took shape, for example the o p e n i ng u p of P u d o ng a nd its elevation to a f i n a n c i al centre. The c i ty also s o u g ht advice f r om the Japanese experience in order to secure an i n t e r n a t i o n a l expo i n the near f u t u r e . These projects, set i n m o t i o n i n the 1980s, are n o w s p l e n d i d ly bearing fruit. Mr . Wa n g Da o h an d i d no t l i m i t h i ms e lf to g r a nd plans; he also p a i d attention to the m a n y practical a n d technical aspects of his r e f o rm p r o g r amme . W h e n he first became M a y o r , th e b l i g h t l e f t f r o m the p r e v i o u s decade caused h i m considerable headache: h o u s i n g, f o o d s u p p l y, s c h o o l i n g a n d environmental damage, t o cite o n ly a few. A l l these p r o b l ems w e i g h ed h e a v i l y u p o n the o f f i ce o f t he M a y o r , b u t it s i n c u m b e n t l i k e n e d the b u r d en t o a h e a v y pack p u t on the back of an athlete — a challenge t o test his a b i l i ty a n d resolve. So he t a c k l ed the p r ob l ems w i t h de t e rm i na t i on . H i s indefatigable w i l l a n d relentless efforts e v e n t u a l l y led to effective solutions: the Su z h ou Rive r was i mp r o v e d , the first ecological office i n the c o u n t r y was established, a large n umb e r o f r e s e a r c h c e n t r e s w e r e set u p f o r development policies, the Sh a n g h a i A i r l i n es C o m p a n y L i m i t e d w a s f o u n d e d , a nd f o u r major international hotel chains were brought i , j u st to name a f e w of his achievements. Mr. Wa ng completed his t e r m as Ma y or i n 1985. H e b e c am e a n a d v i s o r t o t h e m u n i c i p a l g o v e r nme n t i n 1986, a nd i n the same y e a r w a s a p p o i n t ed D i r e c t o r o f the Shanghai E c o n om i c P l a n n i n g Office u n d e r the State Council. He has been a memb e r of the Central A d v i s o ry Comm i t t ee since 1987. H e f o l l o w e d the t i m e - h o n o u r e d Ch i n e s e tradition tha t every person has responsibility for the nation's welfare; w i t h matters of state always on his m i n d, Mr. Wa ng selflessly and tirelessly offered his service a nd w i s d om to the country. H is o w n scope and perspectiv e we r e c o n s i d e r a b l y b r o a d e n ed d u r i n g this phase of his career t h r o u g h frequent contacts w i t h representatives of v a r i o us i n d u s t r i es a nd professions as w e l l as business leaders f r om overseas and f r om Taiwan. I n 1991, the Association for Relations Across the Ta i wa n Straits wa s i n a u g u r a t e d i n Beijing, a nd M r . Wa n g , the m o s t s e n i o r m e m b e r a n d th e mo s t h i g h l y r e g a r d ed f o r his w i s d o m a n d learning, was elected its president . Mr . Wa n g ' s achievements as president o f t he A R A T S are i l l u s t r i o u s, a n d t h e ‘Consensus of 2nd September' and ‘Meeting o n 3 r d S e p t emb e r' are p a r t i c u l a r ly w e l l k n o w n . Mr. Wa n g has an enlightene d m i n d a n d his v i ew s a n d o p i n i o ns are a l wa ys distinguished. I n a speech on ‘The C i v i l i z a t i o n of Southeast A s i a a n d G l o b al T r e n d s ' , he In a speech on 'The Civilization of Southeast Asia and Global Trends', he sought to explain the origin of modernization from the perspective of zhongyong — the Confucian concept of the way of the mean. He then went on to invoke the Confucian ideals of ‘creating peace for posterity' and ‘harmony between heaven and man', and suggested that all human civilizations must ‘seek dialogue on an equal footing, and pursue enterprises that complement and benefit each other.' 4 0 Chinese University Bulletin Autumn • Winter 2005