Ronny Tong Ka Wah; the Roads – Some time ago, my wife and I visited Yunnan and found that the highways here are world-class in terms of design, construction and maintenance. 湯家驊: 路 – 前陣子和太太到雲南旅遊，發覺無論在設計、建造和保養方面，這裏的高速公路均達世界水平。
有一天發覺路上車並不多，便問導遊為什麼這條路特別少車輛？導遊說：「噢，這條路建成不足一年。」有點好奇，便再追問這條路能連結到哪個城市？他笑笑說，沒有什麼城市，只是接連到一些偏遠村落；他進一步解說，山區的農民之前每周要背着自家種植的蔬果步行一整天到市集擺賣，今天高速公路到了他們的門外，每周會有小伙子駕着輕型貨車來向他們收購農作物；收入多了，生活穩定了，村落也富裕起來。我們聽了很感動，原來國家不少基建項目不是為了追求多少經濟回報，而只是希望令人民生活得以改善；這便是今天的中國。
從另一個角度看，公開數據顯示國家在過去10 年增建了30 萬里公路、4 萬里高速；相比美國同期只建設了24 萬里公路，高速更毫無增建。在鐵路方面，國家同期建設了4 萬里鐵路及2 萬里高鐵；美國則不但沒增加鐵路，更有退減趨勢。這10 年，國家動用了4.8% 生產總值或60% 國債於基建，而美國只是用了0.51% 生產總值或4.25% 國債於基建設施。你會說，啊，但美國是已發展國家；問題是已發展國家便不用增建基建？當然不是！事實是，美國與中國在這方面不同的地方，只是管治價值觀而已。
我們在殖民地時代長大的這一輩，年輕時有一種羨英崇美的傾向；但見識多了，人成熟了，我們開始醒覺什麼制度也不及正確的價值觀和如何改善人民生活質素重要。我們有自己要走的路，又何須理會他人如何走他們的路？
Ronny Tong Ka Wah; the Roads – Some time ago, my wife and I visited Yunnan and found that the highways here are world-class in terms of design, construction and maintenance.
One day I realized that there were not many cars on the road, I asked the guide why This road is particularly low on cars? The guide said, “Oh, this road was built less than a year ago. A little curious, then asked what city can this road connect to? He laughed and said that there was no city, just a few remote villages; he further explained that farmers in the mountains used to walk all day to the market every week with their own fruits and vegetables, and today the highway came outside their door, and every week young men would drive light trucks to buy crops from them; more income, life was stable, and the village was rich. We are very moved to hear that many infrastructure projects in the country are not for the pursuit of economic returns, but only for the improvement of people’s lives; this is China today.
From another perspective, public data shows that the country has added 300,000 miles of highway and 40,000 miles of highway over the past 10 years; compared to only 240,000 miles of highway built in the United States during the same period. In terms of railroads, the country built 40 thousand miles of railway and 20,000 miles of high-speed rail in the same period; the United States not only did not add railroads, but also In this decade, the country spent 4.8% of its GDP or 60% of its national debt on infrastructure, while the US spent only 0.51% of its GDP or 4.25% of its national debt on infrastructure. You would say, ah, but America is a developed country; the problem is that developed countries don’t need to build infrastructure? Of course not! The fact is, the difference between the US and China in this respect is just governing values.
Our generation raised in the colonial era has a tendency to be elite in our youth; but with more knowledge and maturity, we begin to realize that no system is less important than the right values and how to improve the quality of life of the people. We have our own way to go, why should we care how others go their way?
Johnson Choi Biz 