Li Dakang and Lin Yanzhou Talk Behind Closed Doors
Li Ze knocked gently on the door, then pushed it open and reminded him softly, "Sir, it's almost time to head over to the municipal Party committee."
Lin Yanzhou raised his wrist to check his watch and said to Liu Yongning, "Yongning, head back first. Keep allocating the funds according to your established plan. Any other department that wants to use the remaining funds will need my signature."
Liu Yongning stood up. "Sir, the Finance Bureau will allocate funds strictly according to the municipal government's instructions." With that, he turned sideways and left.
Watching Liu Yongning's retreating figure, Lin Yanzhou drew a deep breath and stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.
"Don't tidy up the documents on the desk. I'll keep reading when I get back."
Then he handed Li Ze the summary of fiscal expenditures Liu Yongning had brought and the documents he had just annotated. "Make a copy of these. I'll take the copies with me. Put the originals on my desk afterward."
"You don't need to come with me to the municipal Party committee. Get in touch with Mayor Wen, Sun Liancheng, and Chen Mo. The four of you should sort through the Guangming Peak Project."
"When I return from the municipal Party committee, I'll need to hear their report on the Guangming Peak Project."
The driver, Wu Jun, had long been waiting at the municipal government's main entrance. Carrying the briefcase, Li Ze saw Lin Yanzhou into his official car. Once the vehicle disappeared from sight, he immediately contacted Mayor Wen, Sun Liancheng, Chen Mo, and the others.
The municipal Party committee building was not far from the municipal government. During the ride, Lin Yanzhou mentally pieced together the information he had just obtained, so he would not be unable to answer a single question about the project when speaking with Li Dakang.
By the time he reached Li Dakang's office door, Li Dakang's secretary, Xiao Jin, was already waiting. Upon seeing Lin Yanzhou, he immediately came forward with a warm welcome.
"Mayor Lin, you're here. The secretary is waiting for you inside." His manner was more respectful than ever before.
Lin Yanzhou nodded slightly and handed his coat to his driver, Wu Jun. As Wu Jun took it, he gave him a quiet instruction.
"Wait for me outside."
When he pushed open the office door, Li Dakang was standing with his back to the entrance, looking out the window. Hearing the movement, he turned around with a smile.
"Comrade Yanzhou, you're here. Please, have a seat."
Li Dakang personally poured Lin Yanzhou a cup of tea and gestured for him to sit.
"Secretary Dakang, you wanted to see me?" Lin Yanzhou sat as invited and placed his folder beside him.
Li Dakang sat on the sofa opposite Lin Yanzhou. "Yes. Ever since returning from the provincial government, I haven't been able to settle my thoughts. What you said today left a deep impression on me! You really taught us old fellows a lesson."
"You're too kind, Secretary. I merely offered a few tentative views based on Jingzhou's actual circumstances," Lin Yanzhou said modestly, swiftly assessing Li Dakang's intentions.
"Excessive modesty is pride." Li Dakang waved a hand, his tone warm.
"Your views were very fresh and insightful. Most importantly, they fit Jingzhou's current circumstances extremely well and wouldn't be difficult to implement! Isn't that precisely what Jingzhou needs most right now?"
He shifted the conversation and went straight to the point. "What do you think of the Guangming Peak Project?"
Lin Yanzhou knew the crucial moment had come.
Looking directly at Li Dakang, he asked, "Secretary, would you like my honest thoughts or polite formalities?"
Li Dakang did not answer immediately. He picked up the cup before him and took a sip of tea. "Today, it's just the two of us behind closed doors. Let's speak from the heart."
Lin Yanzhou opened the folder and pushed the documents inside it over to Li Dakang.
"Secretary, the Guangming Peak Project has lofty aims and is a crucial move in Jingzhou's development. But precisely because it is so important, we must make all the more certain it advances steadily and goes the distance."
"Oh? Go into detail." Li Dakang set down his cup, his gaze focused.
"I've taken a preliminary look at the materials and have a few tentative thoughts."
Pointing at the documents, Lin Yanzhou said, "The positioning of the Guangming Peak Project in the plans is somewhat vague."
"The concept of a new city or CBD needs a more precisely defined industrial core to support it. Otherwise, it could easily become nothing more than an expansion of real estate development."
"We need to establish exactly which industrial summit this 'peak' is meant to lead Jingzhou toward. Finance? Technology research and development? Or a headquarters economy? There must be a clear plan for bringing in industries and clear investment-attraction targets."
Li Dakang nodded slightly without interrupting.
"There are hidden risks in the land and demolition issues. Take the Dafeng Factory site, for example. In converting industrial land to commercial use, the compensation standards and land conveyance price must strictly comply with laws and regulations. Otherwise, we would be planting the seeds of future trouble. Transport planning to support the shantytown redevelopment areas must also come first. Otherwise, the day the project is completed could be the day traffic grinds to a halt."
"The most immediate concern remains the funding pressure." Lin Yanzhou pushed the fiscal summary toward Li Dakang.
"Based on your current vision for the Guangming Peak Project, I understand the aim to be creating an urban subcenter for Jingzhou or a global, international headquarters base."
"Under this plan, the total investment of 28 billion yuan would leverage an undertaking far larger than itself. The reliance on bank credit and policy leverage is too high. If the macroeconomy fluctuates or second-phase funding falls short of expectations, the risks will spread rapidly. Not only could the project be left unfinished, it could also severely mortgage Jingzhou's fiscal room for maneuver over the next few years."
"Secretary, our city's fiscal situation for this year is right in front of you. It can no longer support the second phase."
The smile on Li Dakang's face faded somewhat. He studied the fiscal figures carefully, tapping the numbers under "Urban and rural community expenditure" and "Housing security."
"I've considered these issues too. But Yanzhou, development always comes at a price. Without taking some risks, how can we achieve leapfrog development? Look at these expenditures. Many of them are also meant to settle old debts and improve people's livelihoods."
"Secretary, the price of development should not be borne by future public finances and the long-term interests of our citizens." Lin Yanzhou's tone was firm, but his manner remained respectful.
"My view is that the Guangming Peak Project must not stop, but it needs to be optimized and adjusted. We can implement it in stages, concentrating our resources on developing the core area first and bringing in leading enterprises with genuine strength that fit our industrial positioning, rather than chasing scale and trying to include everything."
"At the same time, we must strictly regulate land conveyance and financing activities to ensure every step is solid and steady. For shantytown redevelopment and supporting infrastructure, we could try introducing the model I mentioned earlier: 'market-based operations with policy guidance.' That would ease direct fiscal pressure and achieve a win-win outcome for all parties."
A brief silence fell over the office, broken only by the faint sound of a lighter lighting a cigarette.