鄧永鏘（DavidTang） 中國會、上海灘創辦人
IwasalwaysaskedthreestrangequestionswheneverItriedtobookatablefordinneratarestaurantinPekingwhenIlivedthereintheearlyeighties."Whatpassportdoyouhold?","Howmuchdoyouwanttospend?","Howmanydrivershaveyougot?".TherestaurantwashardlyinterestedinwhenIwantedmyreservationfororhowmanyothersIwasgoingtobring.Thesenormallyvitaldetailsforrestaurantreservationsweretreatedalmostenpassant.
Butofcourseinthosedays,ChinawasstillemergingfromthedevastatingCulturalRevolution.Thatsortoftraumatakesyearstothaw,eventhoughDengXiao-PinghadalreadymadeitfairlyclearthateconomicprofitswerenotperseunacceptablewithintheCommuniststate.Weofcoursetakethisforgrantednow,butevenintheearlyeighties,ChinawasstillintransigentlyMaoist.SothethreestrangequestionsIwasalwaysaskedwerenotreallystrangeunderthecircumstances.Therestaurantneededtoknowaboutmypassportbecauseforeignpassportholderswerealwayschargedmore-sometimes50%more,oftenl00%more.Themainland'sviewwasthattheforeigndeviloughttopaymorefortheprivilegeofeatinginChinaorthattheycouldbetakenforaridemoreeasily.Thentherestaurantwantedtoknowhowmuchyouwantedtospend(標準).Inthosedays,theusualwasRMB30-40perpersongoinguptoRMB100.OnoccasionswhenIwasflashyandwentforDiaoYuTai(釣魚台),itwentuptoRMB200perhead.Theyweren'tinterestedinwhatyouwantedtoeat.Theymerelywantedtoknowwhattheycouldcookforyouforthemoneyyouwantedtopay.Sometimes,butonlyoccasionally,Iwoulddareto"request"somethinglikehot-and-soursoup.Butnottoooften!
Therestaurantalsowantedtoknowthenumberofdriversbecauseitwasasocialconvention,undersocialism,toprovidefortheworkers-althoughdriversweredeferentiallyreferredtoas師父.Thegoodnewsaboutdriverswas,however,thateachoftheirmealswasconventionallychargedaflatrateofRMB10-20.Soitwascheap.Buttheyhadtobecaredfor.
Chinahassincecomealongway.GuMuopenedupthecoastaltowns;Deng'sprotegeRongYi-renstartedCitic;Shenzhenboomed,ShanghaicreatedPudong,Pekingbeganasystematicprogrammeofhutongdestructiontomakewayforuglyskyscrapers;briberyandcorruptionfollowed,asdidtheTiananmenincident.Today,Chinaisregardedasaleadingcountryintheworldwithimmensepoliticalcloutandispredictedtostandshoulder-to-shoulderwithAmericaineconomicstature.TheconfidencethatChinaexudestodayisimpressiveindeed.AlreadyitistryingtobuyoneofthelargestoilcompaniesintheUnitedStates:ithasalreadyboughtRoverinBritainandlettheRoyalBankofScotlandtakeasignificantstakeintheBankofChina.Muchmoreimportantly,scoresofChinese,bothprofessionalandblue-collared,arecomingtotheWestforemployment.ChinaisnowamemberofWTOandwillbehostingtheOlympicsin2008.
Yet,China,notwithstandingl997,isstillreluctanttogivemuchlocusstanditotheso-calleddemocratsinHongKong.Chinaisstillevenmorereluctanttoloosenupherpoliticalgripontheformercolony.Butwhy?ChinacouldscarcelyneedtoberemotelyanxiousaboutHongKong.Thetruthmightlieinthefactthatweareaformercolonyandtherefore,ifweweretobecometoosuccessfulthan,say,ShanghaiorCanton,thensomemightpointtothecolonialpastashavingprovidedallthenecessaryDNAandfoundation.This,forChina,wouldbeagreatlossofface.Anditwillbeunacceptabletothemainland.SoletusberealisticinHongKong.Inthenext10-20years,themainlandisnotgoingtopromoteHongKong.Wemusthelpourselves.Wemuststopsecond-guessingwhatthisleaderorthatleaderwantsustodo.WemustpositionourselvestrulyasaSAR-aSPECIALregionandonewhichwewouldwanttopromoteourselves.That'swhyHongKongmustlooktotheWestandnotcontinuallynorthwards.Chinadoesn'tneedHongKong.AndHongKongneedstheWestinordertoimpressChina.WeinHongKongneedtosoakourselves,morethanever,in"saltwater"(浸鹹水).