224
Z. Lin
water pollution of Yundang Lake, Xi Jinping chaired a special meeting on its overall
governance on March 30, 1988, which kicked off a massive and tough campaign
to address the environmental pollution in Xiamen. The meeting decided to form a
comprehensive governance mechanism, set up a leading group of Yundang Lake
governance comprising relevant departments and experts, and creatively put forth
the principles of “law-based governance, pollution interception, de-sludging and
bank construction, introducing fresh water, and beautifying the environment.” Xi
Jinping’s providence and perseverance laid a solid foundation for building Xiamen
into an international modern garden city that boasts blooming economy, civilized
society, rational layout and beautiful environment.
4. Fujian: from poverty alleviation through ecological development to
building an ecological province
From 1988 to 1990, Xi Jinping was secretary of the CPC Ningde Committee. To
change the backward outlook of east Fujian, he proposed to fully utilize the local
natural resources, saying that “the forest is also a reservoir, a coffer and a grain warehouse.” Seeing that mountains and forests held the key to east Fujian’s economic
development, he took forestry development as of strategic importance for reviving
the region, while stressing that “this kind of development is not one-dimensional, but
comprehensive. We cannot simply pursue economic benefits, but aim at coordinated
social, economic and ecological benefits.” When working as secretary of the CPC
Fuzhou Committee, Xi proposed and presided over the formulation of the 20-year
Strategic Plan for Economic and Social Development of Fuzhou, which set out the
strategic goals, steps, deployments and priorities of the city’s socioeconomic development for three years, eight years and 20 years, known as the “3820” program.
While promoting the leap-frog and unconventional progress of Fuzhou’s economy
featuring high speed and high benefits, Xi underscored the importance of “urban
ecological progress” and vowed to build Fuzhou into an “open coastal city that is
clean, beautiful, comfortable and quiet with its eco-environment basically restored
in sound circulation.”
When working as Deputy Secretary of the CPC Fujian Committee and Governor of
Fujian Province, Xi Jinping actively promoted the building of an ecological province.
He attached great importance to the overall protection of the Minjiang River basin,
and called for greater efforts to protect vegetation and build ecological forests in the
upper reaches of the river. He pledged to fundamentally address the pollution of the
Xihu Lake to create a beautiful and comfortable living environment for the people.
He inquired about and inspected the governance of Mulan Stream multiple times and
rooted up the flooding problem there. He also instructed on the control of water and
soil erosion in Changting and made “Changting experience” a national paradigm for
addressing such problems.
In 1999, Hainan Province took the initiative to decide to build an ecological
province. In 2000, Xi Jinping, the then Governor of Fujian Province, also put forth
the strategic vision of building an ecological province, and personally headed up
the leading group for that purpose and guided the formulation of the Outline of the
Master Plan for Building an Ecological Province in Fujian. This forward-looking
Z. Lin
water pollution of Yundang Lake, Xi Jinping chaired a special meeting on its overall
governance on March 30, 1988, which kicked off a massive and tough campaign
to address the environmental pollution in Xiamen. The meeting decided to form a
comprehensive governance mechanism, set up a leading group of Yundang Lake
governance comprising relevant departments and experts, and creatively put forth
the principles of “law-based governance, pollution interception, de-sludging and
bank construction, introducing fresh water, and beautifying the environment.” Xi
Jinping’s providence and perseverance laid a solid foundation for building Xiamen
into an international modern garden city that boasts blooming economy, civilized
society, rational layout and beautiful environment.
4. Fujian: from poverty alleviation through ecological development to
building an ecological province
From 1988 to 1990, Xi Jinping was secretary of the CPC Ningde Committee. To
change the backward outlook of east Fujian, he proposed to fully utilize the local
natural resources, saying that “the forest is also a reservoir, a coffer and a grain warehouse.” Seeing that mountains and forests held the key to east Fujian’s economic
development, he took forestry development as of strategic importance for reviving
the region, while stressing that “this kind of development is not one-dimensional, but
comprehensive. We cannot simply pursue economic benefits, but aim at coordinated
social, economic and ecological benefits.” When working as secretary of the CPC
Fuzhou Committee, Xi proposed and presided over the formulation of the 20-year
Strategic Plan for Economic and Social Development of Fuzhou, which set out the
strategic goals, steps, deployments and priorities of the city’s socioeconomic development for three years, eight years and 20 years, known as the “3820” program.
While promoting the leap-frog and unconventional progress of Fuzhou’s economy
featuring high speed and high benefits, Xi underscored the importance of “urban
ecological progress” and vowed to build Fuzhou into an “open coastal city that is
clean, beautiful, comfortable and quiet with its eco-environment basically restored
in sound circulation.”
When working as Deputy Secretary of the CPC Fujian Committee and Governor of
Fujian Province, Xi Jinping actively promoted the building of an ecological province.
He attached great importance to the overall protection of the Minjiang River basin,
and called for greater efforts to protect vegetation and build ecological forests in the
upper reaches of the river. He pledged to fundamentally address the pollution of the
Xihu Lake to create a beautiful and comfortable living environment for the people.
He inquired about and inspected the governance of Mulan Stream multiple times and
rooted up the flooding problem there. He also instructed on the control of water and
soil erosion in Changting and made “Changting experience” a national paradigm for
addressing such problems.
In 1999, Hainan Province took the initiative to decide to build an ecological
province. In 2000, Xi Jinping, the then Governor of Fujian Province, also put forth
the strategic vision of building an ecological province, and personally headed up
the leading group for that purpose and guided the formulation of the Outline of the
Master Plan for Building an Ecological Province in Fujian. This forward-looking
