The road of a civil servant
Zhenchong Chen, Deputy Customs Director of Shenzhen Customs,graduated in 1987
Zhenchong, Chen was born in a peasant family in Youxi country, Sanming city, Fujian province in 1966. He was admitted to UIBE, Customs Department in 1983, and assigned to work in the Policy Research Office in General Administration of Customs. During his 2-year internship in Beijing Capita Airport Customs, Tianjin Customs, Harbin Customs and Manzhouli Customs, he was able to enhance his working skills. Then he had served successively as secretary of the administrator as well as secretary of League general branch in 1991, deputy director of Processing Trade Supervision Division in1996, deputy director, and director later, of the Tariff Collection and Management Division in1998, the chief of Supervision Department in 2005. In July 2007, he took a temporary post in Dehong prefecture, Yunnan province, responsible for foreign affairs and business work for 2 years. In 2009, he took the post of Deputy Customs Director of Shenzhen Customs.
Over the past 20 years, Zhenchong Chen finally found the secret that how to grow up into an outstanding civil servant from a college student, which could be summarized into 3 simple truths: good steel is from quenching; find jade is from carving; harmonious ecology is from moisturizing. In other words, his growth benefited a lot from this ‘3 dimensional rules’.
1. Good steel is from quenching–3 experiences from grassroots level
Quenching means cooling hot metal by plunging it into cold water or other liquid to increase its hardness. Over the past 20 years after graduation, Zhenchong Chen had gone through such ‘quenching’ for at least 3 times. The first two times were internships in the basic units like, Beijing Customs, Tianjin Customs, Harbin Customs and Manzhouli Customs from 1987 to 1991. The third time was that he was recommended by the General Administration of Customs to take a temporary post in Dehong prefecture, Yunnan province for 2 years.
Photographed in 2007 in memory of the 20th anniversary of graduation, the Customs Department of 1987
(upper row, the sixth from the left was Zhenchong chen)
Zhenchong Chen received more exercises compared with other graduates, maybe because he worked in and need more practice and workouts. After check-in in Policy Research Office, he worked as an intern in Beijing Airport Customs for more than 2 months and then in Tianjin Customs with more business lines. In the 9-month internship, he nearly contacted with every business inside port customs, such as documents examination, tax collection, free tax, accounting and ship monitoring. He wrote 7 internship journals and 5 business reports, consisting of fifteen thousand words, combined with work in his leisure time, some of which were passed to the department leadership and received recognition. This is the first ‘quenching’ of his thought and business skills, which greatly enhance his understanding towards his future career. At the same time, he also harvested beautiful love and marriage.
In 1989, the central government reiterated and stressed that newly graduates who were assigned into central state organs should temper themselves in grassroots units. Therefore, he joined the training team again. At that time, the eased Sino-Soviet relation led to active frontier trade. Zhenchong Chen volunteered to work in Harbin Customs and Manchuria Customs. He was born in south China and met lots of difficulties because the north China was always cold and covered with snow. However, he took the initiative to adapt to the environment, enjoyed life in adversity and travelled around the northeast China. Even in Heihe Customs, which was the coldest, he was stilled moved by the strong spirit of selfless dedication of staffs there and became more enthusiastic. He insisted taking cold water bath and writing reports to the general administration in a darkroom, calling for more care and support to border customs. Meanwhile, he wrote 8 business reports and exercise journals, consisting of about one hundred thousand words. For a time, ‘Exercise Journals’, the official journals of General Administration of Customs, was full of his articles. Department leadership appeal to all young staff to learn from him in his report again and also allocated funds and equipment to Harbin and Manchuria Customs to solve the problems. This test became his second ‘quenching’. In this process, he fully understand the situation of grassroots units, which were exactly the connection between macrocosm and microcosm, central and local governments, and also learned more about his own responsibility. He also developed a rigorous, pragmatic style of work.
After coming back to the daily work from the border, Zhenchong Chen still regarded every task as his ‘quenching’, so he could stand out among others. He served as successively as secretary of League general branch, secretary of the administrator and director of several business departments. During the 5 years when he served as secretary of the administrator, he was taught by precept and examples of department leadership. He was strict with himself, from processing files, getting along with people to being a think tank. He also grasped the details seriously and tried his best to pursue perfection. For example, he was highly praised by the leadership for his careful preparation made a great difference in a State Council meeting. Getting along with people became the theme of his life from 25 to 30 years old. His character and personality was quenched in another way. In 2000, he won the honor ‘Excellent Communist’.
As time passes, seeds grow in to towering trees. In July 2007, 20 years after his graduation, he joined the cadre team to take temporary post in southwest China and became the only person who was under 45 years old and recommended by the General Administration of Customs. 17 years later, he got the opportunity again to work in borders. But for this time, he worked in local governments in southwest China rather than customs in northeast China.
For one whole year, he fulfilled his duties in Dehong prefecture, Yunnan province, away from his family and fell in love with this “land of peacocks”. He remembered his mission: transforming function from policy formulation to policy implementation; going deep into the realities of people’s life; promoting the economic development; enhancing governing capability. Good steel was quenching again to increase its hardness.
In the evening of August 21st, 2008, one year after Zhenchong Chen went to work in Dehong prefecture. Yingjiang county in Dehong prefecture suffered an earthquake of magnitude of 5.9, causing 130 casualties (including 5 deaths). The number of affected people reached about 380 thousand and direct economic loss, more than 10 billion Yuan. It was during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and he planned to go back to Beijing for holiday when the earthquake suddenly struck. However, he stuck to his post and was fulfilling his duties such as receiving the condolences team, visiting the injured in hospital and directing disaster-relief work.
In the earthquake-relief work, Zhenchong Chen showed excellent qualities like, courage, determination and calmness. His future career would be uplifted though this third ‘quenching’.
2. Find Jade is from Carving– Start from Star of Customs
In Ruili, Yunnan province, jade trade is a magnificent scenery. ‘The finest diamond must be cut’ is fully displayed here. Zhenchong Chen’s growth also benefited from cutting and carving. Different stages of his growth shared one common characteristic: always keeping learning and researching. The pen in his hand was just like a knife, carving his own personality and characteristics.
Although Zhenchong Chen was born in a peasant family, he got good grades in the college entrance examination. However, he spent most of his after-class time on housework like cutting firewood and doing farm work. He could not read as much books as children in the city and even started reading the Four Great Classical Novels after entering college. In UIBE, with wisdom and broad vision, he wasn’t satisfied with being a good student, but starting to think of how to become an elite in China Customs in the future.
Left: Zhenchong Chen in UIBE
Right: Zhenchong Chen (front row, right three) with his classmates in campus
He initiated ‘Star of Customs’, a student journal, with his classmates, Zhongmin Cao and Hao Shen. Cao (now in America) was the top scorer from Shanghai and Shen (now in Canada) also got good grades in the college entrance examination. At those days, an atmosphere of serenity and solemnity pervaded Room 220., for the three young men were planning to run journals.
‘Star of Customs’ provided opportunities for students to display their abilities. One of their fellow students working in Policy Research Office, Xiaoping Jiang also offered his support. He invited Shifang Su, deputy director of General Administration of Customs, to write the journal title. Chen and his classmates were busy writing articles, soliciting, editing, proofreading, and searching for printing factories. When seeing the first journal coming out with their own names, suddenly they felt a sense of achievement. The teachers and students also gave a high evaluation toward this journal.
The small journal ‘Star of Customs’ became a stepping stone of his future career, which started from his article ‘On the ownership of the Customs Law’, published in the second journal.
With the deepening of his professional learning, Chen felt that it was necessary to express his own ideas. His article discussed about where should Customs Law belong to, administrative or economic law. In order to finish this article, he had read lots of books and materials and reached the conclusion that Customs Law was the combination of administrative and economic law, for it had the characteristics of administrative law but also regulated trade order, for which it could not be separated from economic law. After publication, Xiaoping Jiang offered great attention and high evaluation again. So did the alumnus Xiaobing He, working in Tianjin Customs then, (later working as a professor in UIBE). He even thought that this article was written by a teacher and wanted to discuss with the author.
Before the Spring Festival in 1987, the alumnus Xiaoping Jiang went back to UIBE specially from the General Administration of Customs to ask Chen whether he would like to work with him in Policy Research Office, which was such a surprise to Chen. It was already really lucky for him to study in Beijing, thus working in Beijing after graduation was undoubtedly beyond the his expectation. He replied, ‘thank you so much, that’s exactly the chance I’m waiting for’. Therefore, Chen got the job in the first semester of his senior year. By the time he graduated from UIBE, ‘Star of Customs’ had issued four journals in total.
Chen never forgot to write articles and do research in his spare time, which not only help him to get his ideal job, but also benefit him a lot in his future career. Doing research after work enriched his life in the borders and infused passion to his work. All the experience became implications for innovation later and his ability and personality had also been greatly enhanced.
For more than a decade working in the General Administration of Customs, Chen’s main duty was processing trade management. In this field, he was good at thinking, dared to blaze new trails and did not stick to conventions. He took active participation in thematic research and drafting work organized by the State Council and played an important role in accounting system, deep processing, network monitoring and etc. in processing trade. In 2006, Chen served as Deputy Director at the Department of Supervision. He received instructions from the State Council that he was responsible for working out how to transport rice and other supplies from northeast China to consumer cities like Shanghai and Guangdong, bypassing Shanhaikwan Pass, which was raised by Heilongjiang province. This translation project did not involve import and export trade, thus was out of the duty of customs. However, the supplies should be transported through Russian ports like Vladivostok. Therefore, it was concerned with foreign trade, because involving entry-exit affairs. He fully understood the intent of the General Administration of Customs and applied it in a flexible way. From a strategic point of view, taking ‘the 11th Five-Year Plan ’ and ‘Prospering Northeast Economy Strategy ’ into consideration, he drafted comments that the customs should actively support requests from Heilongjiang province, soon approved by the department leadership, and constructed effective coordination among relevant ministries. This successful case was also a positive beginning to the customs reform later. However, Chen was not satisfied with only completing the task, but wrote a ten thousand- word dissertation about this case afterwards, which is How to Build Service-oriented Customs, from Customs Supporting Cross-Border Transportation of Internal Trade Goods. In the dissertation, he systematically discussed about how to build service-oriented customs, with the originals and definition of service-oriented customs. From this research, he was able to know his work from the theological level.
When serving as the vice-governor of Dehong prefecture, he kept thinking and researching in his work and wrote a large number of theses. In one of his theses, On Promoting the Foreign Trade in Dehong Prefecture, he pointed out that ‘Facing with new situation, Dehong prefecture should give play to its strong points and seize the opportunity to accelerate the development of foreign trade, improve the level of opening up and play Dehong prefecture’s exemplary role.’ I will elaborate the specific methods from four aspects: First, develop foreign trade through targeting both nearby countries like India, Bengal and Thailand, and developed countries such as the Europe, the United States, Japan and Korea. Second, raise the awareness that internal and foreign trade should be attached with equal importance and promote coordinated development of integration between domestic and foreign trade. Third, establish brand awareness and concentrate on turning Burma Border Trade Fair into first-class exhibition brand. Fourth, establish ‘Ruili-Muse Economic Cooperation Zone’ to improve the level of opening up. In July, 2008, Chen wrote a 8000-word thesis, ‘Several Consideration on How to Further Promote Quality Development of Business Work’, and received wide acclaim after publication on local newspaper. Then, this thesis was included in ‘Those Who faithfully Implement the Scientific Development Concept’ published by Party School of the CPC.
Dehong prefecture, is a piece of jade Chen loves most. Although Dehong is still a piece jade in the rough, it also depends on Chen’s theses to develop in a scientific and sustainable way.
3. Harmonious Ecology is from Moisturizing.– To create harmonious inter-person relationship
Wandering around the rainforest, Dehong’s oxygen bar, walking through the Bambusa Multiplex under the moonlight, partying with Dai of Jingpo people, your heart could be harmonious with the nature and honest folkway. The special ecology derives from the local geography, climate, history and culture. Dehong is full of rains and trees, songs and dances. Zhenchong Chen had fully understood the beauty of Dehong, and valued the resources here.
From Chen’s perspective, a harmonious ecology could also be established inside people’s heart. Always being grateful, is the main power as well as the important lubricant in his growth. Besides parents, he was also grateful to professors in UIBE, his brother, the alumnus Xiaoping Jiang, department leaderships and his colleagues. He rewarded even a drip of grace from them.
He said that he would not be where or who he was today without the help of my teachers and school. In UIBE, he had a space of his own, ’Star of Customs’, to display his ability, thus following his career story. His feeling of gratitude towards UIBE, his teachers and classmates hadn’t change for 20 years. In autumn, 2007, he initiated the commemorative activities of the 20th anniversary of graduation among alumni graduated in 1987. He also invited his teachers and classmates to visit Dehong, the land of peacocks, in their spare time. Chen was still honest, warm, patient and optimistic, thus everyone will feel relaxed and happy with him. The power of gratitude let Chen, peasants’ child to became college student, civil servants and government officials successively, which was not magnificent but also colorful. Every solid step is a matter of course.
His brother and alumnus, Xiaoping Jiang became his guide of life. Zhenchong Chen was born in a multi-child peasant family in Fujian province, with his parents illiterate. When Chen was young, he worked hard and had excellent academic performance. His brother found that he had great potential, thus gave his short tutorials in vacations. Later, his brother taught in the local vocational middle schools, which he transferred to and became key high school’s top student. At that time, his goal was clear: study in Beijing.
He could be admitted to Peking University with such high scores, but he was not satisfied with the major. At the suggestion of his brother and teachers, he chose University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, and Customs Department rather than International Trade Department, for he thought he was not good at being a businessman. With the high expectations from his father and brother, he walked out from mountains in Fujian province, and went to UIBE in Beijing by train. He ranked to the top art students and became a heaven-favored child at that time. He should be thankful to many people from his college life to being a civil servant. For example, his alumnus Xiaoping Jiang provide guidance from study to internship practice; department leadership recommended him to became secretary of the League branch and an excellent party member, sent him abroad for further study and led him get to this place today.
With the enrichment of his life and development of career, he was even thankful to ordinary people around him, because he realized that, he could not achieve any step in his life and career without care and training from leadership, and help and support from people around. He was more grateful to this era with reform and opening up policy, which provided him the stage to display his ability.
With gratitude, he could always forgive others but not himself. Whether in good or bad situations, he could lead a happy life with full passion. His motto is that, if you cannot change the big environment, change yourself first, benefited from which, he was able to establish a harmonious inter-person relationship among leaderships, colleagues, families and friends.
Chen (middle) dancing with a peasant actor (left)
That day, Chen discussed with a Dai village chief about culture construction, and watched peacock dance performance organized by the Dai village. When he knew the male peacock actor had to do farm work every day and taught children peacock dance in his spare time, Chen immediately decided to allocate 6000 yuan to sponsor this peasant dancer and visit his house the next day. The Dai farmer had never shaken hand with officials, not to mention inviting Chen to visit his house. He said ‘I am so happy. I cannot fall asleep tonight!’. The next day is Saturday, Chen kept his promise and visit the farmer’s house with his own camera. At that day, besides enjoying Dai dances and dinner, he photographed, edited and produced ‘Album of Dai songs and dances’ by himself and gave burned discs to students and peasants as gifts. Besides, he invited a Shanghai company to donate one million Yuan for the Hope Project with Xiaoping Jiang.
Chen was shooting Dai dance actors with his own camera
In Dehong prefecture, Chen was intoxicated by the nature, impressed by the people and busy with his work. He appealed all his friends who had visited here to make contributions to Dehong’s future and everyone was affected emotionally. His ten-year-old daughter had visited Dehong in summer vacation, and now regarded Dehong as her second home. One of her articles ‘Yunnan province, my hometown’ left a deep impression to her Chinese teacher, also her head teacher. Chen enjoyed every mountain and river, every grass and tree in Dehong and tried his best to promote the opening up and economic development here. He set the song ‘There is a beautiful place’ as his ringtone, for the song was derived from here and expressed his feelings towards Dehong.
“There is a beautiful place where Dai people grow here…” The song writer was respected by local people because of creating ‘There is a beautiful place’. The educated youth from Beijing, Chengdu and Kunming were remembered by Dehong people for working in the countryside in 1960s. Zhenchong Chen, who took a temporary post here, also hoped that he could benefit people in Dehong, which was the best reward to his country, career and families.
Now, Zhenchong Chen serves as the director of Technology Department in the General Administration of Customs.
