Chinese Political History II: Chapter 1, Exercise 2 — Possible Solution
=======================================================================

TASK
Using Articles 2, 9, 14, 19-20 and 23-24 of the 1980 Regulations, identify
which features made the zones "special" compared with the rest of the
country, and which features show how limited the experiment was meant to be.

SOLUTION

WHAT MADE THE ZONES SPECIAL
- Article 14: enterprise income tax of 15 percent, with extra treatment for
  early movers, large investments (US$5 million or more) and higher
  technology.
- Article 13 (related): capital goods, parts and raw materials imported for
  production exempt from import duties.
- Articles 19-20: workers tested before hiring and employed on labour
  contracts, with dismissal by contract procedure and the right to resign.
  This differed from the guaranteed-job model of state enterprises.

WHAT KEPT THE EXPERIMENT LIMITED
- Article 2: enterprises and individuals must obey the laws and decrees of
  the People's Republic. The zones were not a separate legal system.
- Article 9: products are sold on the international market; sales into the
  interior need approval and pay customs duties. The zones were separated
  commercially from the domestic economy.
- Articles 23-24: a Guangdong provincial committee plans and approves
  investment, and Shenzhen is under its direct management. Control stayed
  with the province.
- Article 12 (related): land remains state property; investors get use
  rights, not ownership.

READING
The special features were economic (tax, duties, labour terms). The limits
were legal, commercial and administrative. That matches the May 1980
change of name from "special export zones" to "special economic zones",
which one account says was meant to stress that only economic, not
political, experiments were intended.

ANSWER: Special = tax, duties, labour contracts. Limited = same laws,
customs separation, provincial control, state-owned land.