Deng Xiaoping's south tour talks

China, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, stood at a crossroad of reform and opening up and its growth model. If the country did not make the right choice, the theoretical, organizational and political guidelines the Party had established after the Third Plenary Session of its 11th Central Committee, the basic principle established at the Party’s 13th National Congress for the primary stage of socialism, socialist reform and opening up, and Chinese socialism itself might all go to sidetracks.

At this critical moment, Deng Xiaoping – the chief architect of reform and opening up – who had retired from the core post of the Party’s second generation leadership, made an inspection tour of south China, visiting Wuchang, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shanghai between January 18 and February 21, 1992. The 88-year-old Deng gave some important talks, collectively known as the “South Tour Talks.” He expressed a deep hope for the cause of the Party and the people, a strong sense of political and strategic issues, and an acute awareness of potential dangers.

On March 26, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily published a full report on Deng’s visit to the city, and listed the main points of his remarks during the tour. Deng’s talks reiterated the need to firmly adhere to the Party’s basic line of “one central task and two basic points” and the socialist path with distinctive Chinese features, to seize the opportunity of the moment to accelerate reform and opening up, and to concentrate on economic development. He also elaborated on what socialism is and the essence of socialism.

Targeting the misgivings existing among the people, Deng reviewed the experiences and lessons from China’s reform and opening up over the previous 14 years, and stressed the importance of deeper reform and faster development. He also put forth new ideas and new approaches regarding major theoretical and practical issues, and answered a number of questions that had troubled officials and the general public for quite some time. His talks were deemed of political value to the whole Party and the whole nation.

These talks represented the formation and maturing of Deng Xiaoping Theory, and inspired the second round of China’s reform and opening up. They provided timely answers to the questions of “what is socialism and how to build socialism.” They effectively freed people’s minds, and reaffirmed their faith in socialism. Hailed as a milestone in building Chinese socialism, they boosted China’s economic reform and social progress in the 1990s, and their influence also extends into the 21st century.

鄧小平南方談話

20世紀80年代末90年代初的中國，處在社會主義改革開放、社會主義現代化道路與模式探索不進則退的臨界點上，處在選擇前進方向的十字路口上。如果不迅速擺脫這種困境、任不良傾向發展，十一屆三中全會以來黨確立的正確的思想路線、組織路線、政治路線就會被扭曲，黨的十三大確立的社會主義初級階段的基本路線就會被扭轉，社會主義改革開放事業就會中途擱置，中國的社會主義事業可能再次偏離正確的航程。

在這一關鍵時刻，1992年1月18日至2月21日，當時已正式告別中央領導崗位的黨的第二代領導核心、改革開放的總設計師鄧小平，以88歲的高齡，憑著對黨和人民偉大事業的深切期待，以強烈的政治意識、戰略意識和憂患意識，先后赴武昌、深圳、珠海和上海視察并發表一系列重要講話，通稱“南方談話”。

1992年3月26日，《深圳特區報》率先發表《東方風來滿眼春——鄧小平同志在深圳紀實》的重大社論報道，并集中闡述鄧小平南方談話的要點內容。講話重點解決了堅定不移地貫徹執行黨的“一個中心、兩個基本點”的基本路線、堅持走有中國特色社會主義道路、抓住有利時機加快改革開放的步伐、集中精力把經濟建設搞上去和什么是社會主義及社會主義的本質等問題。講話針對人們思想中普遍存在的疑慮，重申深化改革、加速發展的必要性和重要性，并從中國實際出發，站在時代的高度，深刻總結十多年改革開放的經驗教訓，在一系列重大的理論和實踐問題上提出新觀點、講出新思路，回答了多年來困擾和束縛干部群眾思想的許多重大認識問題，是給全黨和全國人民的一份最寶貴的政治囑托。

“南方談話”的發表標志鄧小平理論的形成和成熟，也標志中國改革開放第二次浪潮的掀起和中國改革進入新階段。這一系列重要講話及時深刻地回答了中國改革開放中“什么是社會主義，怎樣建設社會主義”的重大問題，極大地解放了人們的思想并堅定了人們的社會主義信念，極大地推動了我國改革開放的進程，是建設有中國特色社會主義道路上的一座里程碑。“南方談話”不僅對中國20世紀90年代的經濟改革與社會進步起到關鍵性推動作用，對21世紀中國的改革與發展同樣產生著不可估量的推動作用。