In the Central Park of Suzhou Industrial Park, a stainless steel colored sculpture nearly 9 meters high attracts attention. This work entitled "Cooperation" was completed on 1999. The plates overlap and combine into a "diamond", and the S-shaped red steel plate is inserted into it to rotate. In the open space with the sky as the background, it symbolizes the friendly cooperation between Suzhou and Singapore to jointly meet the brilliant tomorrow.
Shen Jianguo, the author of this sculpture and a teacher of Suzhou University Art College, said that former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew deserves respect. "1999 is the fifth anniversary of Suzhou Industrial Park. I made a sculpture "Cooperation". Fortunately, Lee Kuan Yew cut the ribbon for this work symbolizing the friendship between the two countries. We will always miss this extraordinary * * *. "
According to the data of Suzhou Industrial Park Management Committee, from 1992 to 20 1 1 year, Lee Kuan Yew visited Suzhou nine times, including eight visits to Suzhou Industrial Park.
The Suzhou Industrial Park, a cooperative project between the Chinese and New Zealand governments, has always been concerned by Lee Kuan Yew from its gestation to its implementation, from its stumbling start to its leap-forward development. In Suzhou Industrial Park, from Central Park to Jinji Lake, from international schools to foreign-funded enterprises, Lee Kuan Yew has left his figure and footprint.
1992, Lee Kuan Yew came to Suzhou for the first time. Relevant information shows that this foreign affairs activity only left Suzhou for half a day, but Suzhou has carefully arranged the places to visit and publicized the city.
1993, Lee Kuan Yew visited Suzhou again. During this trip to Suzhou, the Suzhou Municipal People's Government and Singapore Labor Fund (International) Co., Ltd. signed the Agreement on the Principles of Cooperative Development of Suzhou Industrial Park, and it is planned to develop 8 square kilometers in the first phase. Suzhou Industrial Park was thus settled in the farmland near Jinji Lake.
1994, the first phase development and construction of Suzhou Industrial Park started. In the past 20 years, countless high-rise buildings have "grown" in the former farmland, and a brand-new modern new city has sprung up.
Pan, the former deputy secretary of the Suzhou Industrial Park Working Committee, who witnessed the development of Suzhou Industrial Park for more than 20 years, said that in Suzhou Industrial Park, a "deep cooperation experimental site" between China and Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew put forward the concept of "software transfer", that is, transplanting the Singapore government's methods of planning and managing cities to Suzhou Industrial Park.
Under his impetus, thousands of Suzhou senior officials and managers went to Singapore for training. Singapore sends elite talents to Suzhou in batches, which is not only a face-to-face opportunity, but also participates in the development of the whole park, "helping the horse and giving a ride".
Xu Rong, an "indigenous" in Suzhou Industrial Park, who is nearly sixty years old, told reporters that1September 1999, Lee Kuan Yew also attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the second phase of the urban garden residential community in Suzhou Industrial Park. "Urban Garden was a newly developed residential area in Suzhou Industrial Park at that time, and it was also a residential area planned and designed according to Singapore's construction standards." She said that until today, there are still some Singapore "elements" in the community, such as Merlion.
Lee Kuan Yew is very happy to see that the park has been developed in strict accordance with scientific planning and built into a beautiful garden city. His initial concept of "software transfer" has changed from concept to reality.
In 2009, Lee Kuan Yew, who went to Suzhou to attend the 0/5th anniversary celebration of the Industrial Park/KLOC-0, said that it was right to choose Suzhou at the beginning, and summed up the development achievements of the Park 15 with the words "Shine on you".
No matter how good the teacher is, the students are not good. Here, "students are better than teachers". He said that Singapore lit the engine of Suzhou Industrial Park, but it was China that kept them active.
Over the past 20 years, Suzhou Industrial Park has built a modern new city, formed a world-famous high-tech industrial base, established a set of management system and operation mechanism in line with international standards, and made bold explorations in the fields of industrial development, scientific and technological progress, financial management, environmental protection, social governance, personnel training, institutional innovation, etc., creating many national firsts.
2065438+In June 2004, Suzhou won the "lee kuan yew world city prize" sponsored by the Singaporean government, becoming the third city in the world to win the prize after Bilbao, Spain and new york, USA.
Yang Zhiping, director of Suzhou Industrial Park Management Committee, said: "Mr. Lee Kuan Yew is an advocate of Sino-Singapore cooperation in Suzhou Industrial Park project, and he has devoted a lot of wisdom and hard work to it. Since the development and construction of the park, he has visited the park for many times and is convinced that the park project can only succeed and cannot fail, making an indelible and important contribution to the development of the park. "