Topic: “Reform Test Tubes”: Conflicts of Ideas and Transformative Change

Time: December 12, 2025 (Friday), 2:30 PM
Venue: Huiwen Building, Room 1600
Speaker: Zhou Weimin, Director of the “Special Fund in Memory of Yuan Geng,” Shekou Community Foundation

Lecture Overview

This lecture introduces the early reform experiments in Shekou authorized by the central government, allowing the region to take a pioneering role in China’s reform and opening-up. Yuan Geng vividly referred to this authorization as “reform test tubes.” Within this experimental framework, Shekou launched a series of pioneering institutional reforms, including:

• reforms of everyday social concepts,

• innovations in the Shekou Communications newspaper, and

• reforms in the cadre selection and appointment system.

Yuan Geng articulated a visionary goal: to develop Shekou into the most livable region for humankind.

The lecture concludes with a systematic review of the preliminary achievements of Shekou Industrial Zone’s first decade of reform. It also presents scholarly discussions on the effectiveness of these reforms, guiding the audience to revisit the historical evolution of Shekou while deeply contemplating the experiential value and contemporary significance embedded in Shekou’s pioneering practices.

Hosted by:
School of Marxism, Shenzhen University
Shenzhen University Center for the Study of Reform and Opening-Up History

December 2, 2025