Chapter 231 New Trading Partners (Bug Fix): Seizing the Opportunity
There was a little incident before boarding the plane.
Well, it wasn't anything troublesome, but Wang Xiao and his friends ran into someone they knew.
Who is it?
Uncle Cao.
That guy who used to do business in Moscow, and then went to Africa to make a living after his divorce.
When Wang Xiao met him last year, he had made his first fortune selling slippers in Africa and was preparing to build a commercial street there so he could make a big splash.
But when Wang Xiao saw him again this time, he felt that the guy looked much more weathered, with bags under his eyes almost reaching his cheekbones, completely unlike his previous carefree and dashing self.
Wang Xiao wondered if there was another war in the place where he did business.
She was genuinely concerned about this matter. Trade between the trade city and Africa had only just begun to pick up last year, with two air routes established: one to South Africa and the other to Tanzania in East Africa.
In the former case, South Africa is currently in a transitional period where the social status of blacks and whites is about to reverse. Social order is relatively stable, and the economy is doing well. Opening a supermarket or selling general merchandise there is quite profitable.
How did Wang Xiao know this? Because many Taiwanese people went there to do business in the 1980s, some opening factories and others doing retail. It was common for a 200-square-meter supermarket to earn a million a year.
Because of the desire to make money, starting two years ago, people from Fujian on the mainland began to seek a living in South Africa. They first worked in Taiwanese supermarkets to earn money, and then took goods to sell at street stalls.
Later, when Zhimen established a flight route to South Africa, a large number of traders traveled back and forth between the two countries with suitcases, bringing cheaper and more diverse Chinese goods to South Africa to sell. I heard that business was quite good.
But Uncle Cao flew a different route, to Tanzania in East Africa.
This place is much poorer than South Africa. A local saying describes it thus: "Living depends on aid, eating depends on climbing trees, carrying only two pieces of cloth on their backs." As for infrastructure, it's simply appalling.
However, precisely because of this, business opportunities also exist; otherwise, Uncle Cao wouldn't have been able to easily make money selling slippers.
Wang Xiao greeted the man, "Uncle Cao, you're back in China for the New Year so early? Oh my, how can you bear not making money?"
With dark circles under his eyes resembling those of a panda, Uncle Cao recognized Wang Xiao and immediately began to complain, "Oh, Mr. Wang, don't even mention it. You have no idea how I spent my days in Tanzania."
Wang Xiao laughed and said, "It can't be that bad. I heard Tanzania is doing well. There shouldn't be any war now, and life should be quite peaceful."
Uncle Cao chuckled and said, "They're just too complacent, that's why they don't want to work!"
He had a lot of grievances to vent.
He made money and wanted to build his own commercial street in Tanzania. He actually started doing it and even got the support of the local government.
However, tragedy struck: the workers refused to cooperate!
It's not that the locals think that building a commercial street would disrupt the feng shui or anything, so they want to stop him.
In fact, they would quite welcome having a street where you can buy everything.
Therefore, Uncle Cao's recruitment process went very smoothly at first.
But then, problems arose, and none of these workers were willing to work diligently.
“They would work for a week, then demand their wages, and then run off to live a life of debauchery. They would never come back to work until they had spent all their money.”
Uncle Cao was truly impressed by them. "Even a scoundrel would at least pretend for ten days or half a month. How can they do this?"
He was so angry that he jumped up and down, but even cursing didn't help.
Because these old fogies were all smiling and didn't take it seriously at all.
Uncle Cao was so angry with them that he developed blisters in his mouth, and now it hurts to eat anything.
"I just don't understand, how can they all work hard and save money? Their lives are like that, why aren't they worried?"
Wang Xiao almost laughed himself to death, comforting Uncle Cao, "Oh dear, everyone has their own way of living. Aside from the physical pain caused by illness, almost all of life's suffering depends on self-perception. Happiness, frankly speaking, is a matter of personal feeling. He thinks it's fine this way."
Uncle Cao chuckled, "I'm not going to get better. If this were in China, I could have just built a whole street of bungalows, and it would have been finished long ago. But here in Tanzania, when will I ever finish?"
Wang Xiao laughed and said, "It's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change a person's nature. If you can't change their lifestyle, you have to change your work approach. Recruit workers once a week, in batches. Tell the workers directly that they will work for one week and then be paid. After they get paid, they can spend their money for one or two weeks. If they run out of money, they can come back for the third or fourth week of work."
Grandpa Cao was stunned, blinking several times before he came to his senses: "Is this how you recruit workers?"
Wang Xiao nodded: "Yes, you should try it. You have to adapt to local conditions and not follow our habits."
When she was in college, during military training, the instructors taught military theory classes and mentioned the requirements for training African troops: don't get crushed by tank tracks, don't get killed by tank cannons, and don't get blown up by reactive armor.
Please note that these tanks, cannons, and reactive armor all refer to our own side.
Uncle Cao frowned, finally making up his mind: "Okay, let me see. Oh dear, if this commercial street isn't built well, I'll be worried to death."
Wang Xiao gave him another piece of advice: "You should coax them to work. For example, if they want a bicycle, tell them how long they should work. If they want a bottle of perfume or a scarf, tell them how long they should work. It's like using candy to coax a child to run errands for you."
Uncle Cao slapped his thigh: "It's true! Damn it, they really are like children. It's terrible, they're all broke and don't work."
Wang Xiao laughed and said, "You're used to the benefits of having more people doing the work. They earn money for you, so it's only right that you treat them well."
So what if you're a boss? When it comes to poaching and retaining talent, don't you still have to use every trick in the book?
Wang Xiao was smiling and about to say goodbye when someone called out from behind, "Uncle Cao, Uncle, wait a minute."
She turned around and saw a familiar face. When the person got closer, she recognized him as Chen Mengning.
This girl used to do business in Africa and even worked with Uncle Cao. Now she wants to partner with him again to do business?
Chen Mengning recognized Wang Xiao and Ivanov, and quickly nodded in greeting, then gave an apologetic smile: "Um, Uncle Cao, is your commercial street finished yet? When will it be available for rent? This gentleman wants to rent a storefront."
Wang Xiao looked at the black guy next to her and was momentarily confused.
The trade city did indeed have African traders for a long time, but they were all Arabs.
After the opening of air routes to South Africa and Tanzania, most of the businessmen who went to those places from Jiangzhimen were Chinese.
Because the trade city is well-informed, everyone knows that Eastern Europe and the CIS countries have already passed the earliest wave of profit-making, and the market for resellers is already saturated. Newcomers who try to enter the market alone are easily squeezed out.
On the contrary, the African market is still largely untapped, and there are plenty of opportunities waiting for everyone.
Now, what's going on with this young man? He asked Uncle Cao about renting a shop in the commercial street, and he had to go through Chen Mengning. Didn't he come to Jinning with Uncle Cao?
She initially thought this was a local man that Uncle Cao had brought back from Tanzania, but if that were the case, shouldn't he have just asked Uncle Cao directly?
Uncle Cao waved his hand: "It's not finished yet, but you can register and pay a deposit first, and then you can take the shop directly."
Wow, look at how well these businessmen operate; they've already mastered the whole real estate pre-sale business.
Although Wang Xiao was full of questions, she didn't want to delay them since they were busy with important matters. She simply said, "Then you two are busy. Uncle, Meng Ning, let's have a meal together sometime. I really want to hear about your entrepreneurial history in Africa."
Chen Mengning opened her mouth as if she had something to say, but another black girl came to find her, and she couldn't spare the time.
Wang Xiao walked towards the waiting area and casually asked Zhenzhen, Chen Yu's new assistant, who was sitting next to him, "Hey, why does this African trader need Chen Mengning as an intermediary? Wasn't he brought over by Uncle Cao?"
Before Zhenzhen could answer, Chen Yu came running over, panting, and apologized first: "I'm sorry, boss, this is really inappropriate of me to be so late."
Wang Xiao waved her hand: "It's okay, just do your own thing. I was originally planning to fly directly to Shanghai anyway."
Chen Yu followed her forward: "Shall I give you a brief report on my work now?"
After the boss nodded, she reported on the progress of her work over the past six months once they arrived at the VIP lounge.
The trade city goes without saying. Because of the destruction of the ruble zone, the industrial system of the CIS countries was once again dealt a devastating blow, so business volume increased significantly in the second half of the year, and the variety of exported goods also increased.
Wang Xiao nodded and added, "Quality control, you must be very strict with quality control. We absolutely cannot allow anyone to take advantage of the situation. This is a critical period. As long as we establish a solid reputation, the pressure later on will be much less."
Chen Yu quickly assured, "We are now conducting three rounds of testing and continuing the joint liability system to ensure product quality."
"How's the building construction going?" Wang Xiao asked. "I was planning to go check on it yesterday, but I went to the provincial government last night and didn't have time."
"The bottom eight floors are completed, but the top floors are still under construction."
Wang Xiao nodded and estimated, "Then let's stick to the original plan and open the shopping center first. We can't always siphon money from the trade city to build houses. Even if it can't fully support itself, it needs to make some money first. Otherwise, all the money will be earned by others."
Chen Yu laughed: "Indeed, Jinning doesn't have any high-end shopping malls yet; all the wealthy people fly to Moscow to shop."
Why? Because Russia's economic collapse didn't affect international brands' entry into Moscow.
In Moscow, you can buy any brand-name product if you have money.
That's why Chen Yu is optimistic about the future of high-end shopping malls.
It may have few customers, but the profits are high.
She asked the boss, "So, how should we arrange things for the shopping center manager?"
Wang Xiao didn't care: "You can arrange this yourself. The only requirement is that you can stand on your own and handle things."
As a result, Chen Yu swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
She originally wanted to recommend Xiao Tao.
Although that girl lacked in the ability to expand territory, she was quite meticulous in carrying out specific tasks and had some clever ideas.
But when the boss said that he could handle things on his own, Chen Yu started to have doubts.
Can Xiao Tao handle things? Can she support a family?
Wang Xiao said casually, "A person who can be a premier may not be able to be a president, and a good president may not be able to be a good premier."
The president needs to focus on the big picture and delegate the details; it's impossible for him to be involved in everything. The ideal premier, who best fits everyone's imagination, is someone who can ensure everything is implemented effectively, down to the smallest detail.
Wang Xiao added, "Learn more, observe more, and make full use of our advantages. We should not only attract consumers in Jinning, but also wealthy people in surrounding cities are our target customers."
The reform and opening-up policy aimed to first enrich a group of people, allowing those who get rich first to help those who get rich later.
Wang Xiao didn't know if the latter could be achieved; but the former was definitely possible.
Although they represent a small percentage of the total population, the sheer size of the base means that there are quite a few newly wealthy individuals.
Otherwise, the smart home projects within the "100 Million Project" wouldn't have progressed so smoothly. Currently, we've received tens of thousands of orders, and the construction schedule is already booked until the year after next.
It is evident that there are not only many wealthy people, but also a very strong desire to consume.
Chen Yu quickly put aside her thoughts about the shopping center manager and nodded in agreement: "Okay."
Wang Xiao sighed softly: "We should cultivate more talent and not limit our vision just to please me."
Chen Yu's face instantly turned red with embarrassment, so embarrassed that she wished she could dig a hole and disappear.
She admitted that she worked according to her boss's preferences. After all, which employee, especially a high-level employee, doesn't have to be mindful of their boss's moods?
The female bodyguard, Lyuba, stood by, seemingly oblivious to everything around her.
Miss Wang had only asked her to stay by her side and talk to Chen Yu, and she thought they were going to discuss some private topics that the man shouldn't listen to.
In retrospect, it was indeed a very private topic, and men really shouldn't listen to it.
Otherwise, Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao would definitely be heartbroken if they heard it.
Wang Xiao said softly, "I apologize for this. I was too hasty and caused you to misunderstand. Excellent and capable male comrades can also participate. Revolution knows no gender distinction."
She said this because she had just thought about the two flight routes to Africa, which touched her heart.
One of the routes is to South Africa, which is now considered a relatively developed country with a very beautiful architecture.
However, in the decades that followed, South Africa did not make any further progress in development, its economy gradually declined, and social order deteriorated sharply.
Of course, there are many reasons for this situation, involving international politics, economics, and other aspects.
However, one point that cannot be ignored is South Africa's racial policies.
As is well known, before this, South Africa was under white rule and blacks had a very low social status; otherwise, Mandela's movement would not have been so inspiring.
However, the Black people's rise to power did not make South Africa a country where everyone is equal. Instead, it turned the tables, with the dragon slayer becoming the dragon himself, and Black supremacy turning white people into the oppressed.
This is not the kind of development a country should have. Venting anger may feel good in the moment, but it destroys the country's hope for progress.
As the saying goes, the same means of production can produce vastly different results depending on the producers.
It's not that once you're in that position you'll automatically know how to do that thing; rather, you need to know how to do it in order to get into that position. Otherwise, you'll only harm yourself and others.
Chen Yulian's ears and cheeks were burning red, and she stammered, "Okay, Mr. Wang, I will carefully select a suitable person."
Wang Xiao hummed in agreement: "If we can't find a suitable candidate, we'll hire one. The most capable person will take the job."
She didn't blame Chen Yu for wanting to keep pushing Xiao Tao.
That's normal.
Which subordinate who wants to advance doesn't try to understand their boss's wishes and do things accordingly?
Xiao Tao was someone Wang Xiao specifically requested from Chen Yu, and she arranged for her to acquire land in Shanghai.
After failing to acquire land, she didn't sideline the person, but instead encouraged them to continue acquiring land in Beijing.
In Chen Yu's eyes, Xiao Tao was the key person the boss wanted to promote.
How could she possibly go against her boss? She would have to do what her boss wanted, otherwise wouldn't that be deliberately making her boss unhappy?
It's true, what people in high positions consider a very small matter can affect a whole bunch of people below them.
This is probably why professional managers are popular in the market.
Wang Xiao glanced up and saw some Black people in the waiting room. Remembering, she asked, "Hey, did they come with our middlemen? They're pretty quick. I thought they wouldn't realize it until after the New Year and would come to Jiangzhimen to buy goods."
Chen Yu was slightly taken aback. After looking at the person, she understood what her boss meant and quickly explained, "No, they came on their own. Oh, no, actually it was President Tang who introduced them."
"Tang Yicheng?" Wang Xiao was genuinely surprised. "He introduced African businessmen?"
Wait, when did he make the connection?
He was previously stationed in Suifenhe, then failed to buy land in Hong Kong and could only buy houses instead. Now he is busy with the international truck transport fleet, so he really shouldn't have the time or energy to take a leisurely trip to the African continent.
Chen Yu nodded in affirmation: "Yes, these African clients used to do business in a building in Hong Kong called Chungking Mansions."
Fearing Wang Xiao wouldn't believe her, she emphasized again, "That building is called Chungking Mansions, I don't know why it's called that."
Wang Xiao raised her hand: "I know, I know."
"Chungking Express," one of Wong Kar-wai's masterpieces, was filmed at Chungking Mansions in Hong Kong.
When she was little, she watched movies and thought Chongqing was exactly like the ones depicted in them. Later, when she grew up, earned her own money, and went to Chongqing, she discovered it was nothing like that. She only realized the Chongqing she knew was completely different after researching online.
So what kind of place is Chungking Mansions?
According to director Wong Kar-wai in an interview, it was because his father forbade him to go to Chungking Mansions when he was young that he became increasingly curious about the building, which later led to the creation of "Chungking Express".
Yes, this building in Hong Kong is similar in status to the Kowloon Walled City for foreigners.
Of course, there are also various businesses operating inside.
Many of these Black people buy goods in Hong Kong and bring them back to their hometowns to resell.
Although Tang Yicheng failed in his attempt to acquire land in Hong Kong, he unexpectedly met several black businessmen.
With the attitude that even a small amount of money is still money, although he no longer cared about the business in the trade city, he still took the initiative to mention to people that similar goods were priced at about half or even less in Hong Kong at the Zhimen Trade City.
In addition, last summer, the Chinese yuan depreciated sharply, from 7.4 yuan to 1 US dollar at the beginning of the year to 10.9 yuan in June, making it very profitable for foreign merchants to come and buy goods. Although the central bank intervened in the foreign exchange market for the first time to adjust the exchange rate, now 1 US dollar can be exchanged for 8.7 yuan.
The effect of currency devaluation on stimulating export trade is a tangible and real phenomenon.
Chen Yu said with pride, "Now the trade city has expanded its service group to African trade. It is dedicated to serving African trade and the results are very good. Some African merchants have even taken a liking to certain products in Hong Kong and brought them here, asking us to find factories to order them."
She herself felt it was amazing.
She used to sell clothes at a clothing store near the steel factory.
At that time, in addition to sourcing goods from Guangdong, the store would also go to Ladies' Market in Hong Kong to find bargains.
Now, after all this time, it's back to being associated with Ladies' Market in Hong Kong.
Wang Xiao chuckled and added with concern, "By the way, you can start working on the shipping as well. Africa, Eastern Europe, and the CIS countries are all different; their infrastructure is generally poor. We need to improve our services, otherwise we won't be able to retain customers. Don't forget, Guangzhou has the Canton Fair and is close to Hong Kong. Guangzhou has a natural advantage over us in trade with Africa."
Chen Yu couldn't help but laugh: "President Wang, there are actually people already doing this."
Who is it?
It wasn't Chen Yu, but Chen Mengning.
This girl used to run a stall in Africa, and she did quite well.
But she soon discovered that earning money herself could never compare to having someone else earn money for her.
After noticing an increase in African merchants visiting Zhimen, she decided to return to her country to open a trading company and help people ship goods.
Of course, as a self-employed individual, she was not qualified to engage in foreign trade.
But it doesn't matter, because many state-owned enterprises in China that are qualified to do foreign trade do not actually do foreign trade themselves. They just affiliate with private companies and make a good living by collecting management fees.
Chen Mengning built his business by using this "borrowing a chicken to lay an egg" model.
Wang Xiao chuckled and shook his head: "This girl's mind works really fast."
She thought for a moment and reminded Chen Yu, "We must pay attention to African merchants. Their current trade volume is certainly not comparable to Moscow's, but their potential for future development is considerable."
Chen Yu quickly reported: "The accommodation area is under construction, and there is also a canteen window specially prepared for them, with chefs poached from the military academy."
Well, the reason we recruited chefs from military academies is because most of the African students in Kinning attend military academies for further studies. The military academy's canteen chefs are the most experienced in understanding African tastes and in sourcing ingredients in Kinning to prepare meals that suit their dietary habits.
Tsk, they don't have any guilty conscience about poaching people's employees.
After all, cultivating is never as convenient as digging up something on the spot.
Chen Yun was able to make these arrangements so early because, as the actual person in charge of Jiangzhimen, she had to consider the future of the business she was responsible for.
Everyone now knows that you can make money in Eastern Europe, the CIS countries, and Russia; so the competition in this area will only get fiercer.
Moreover, Chinese people are generally known for their infighting. They don't need others to lower prices; they compete with each other first, squeezing profits thinner and thinner until they ruin themselves.
More and more state-owned enterprises are now entering Moscow, and they can make money simply by receiving tax rebates and subsidies, without needing to make a profit.
This means that the profit margin for private trade will be squeezed in the future, to the point where there is no money to be made.
In this situation, it is imperative to make preparations for the new continent in advance.
Since the boss has already exchanged resources for flights to Africa, if the trade city cannot actively improve its supporting facilities, then there is no doubt that President Chen's position will be over.
Wang Xiao laughed: "I trust you to do things. But I still have to say something: safety, you need to pay extra attention to safety issues."
"We all know that Russians like to pursue young women."
“Africans have more problems in this regard.”
"Moreover, the education system in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe was quite solid, and most Russians received a very good education. Therefore, they have a strong sense of discipline and respect for other people's habits."
“African merchants cannot compare in this respect. Due to historical reasons, they have been colonized and oppressed for a long time, and now their illiteracy rate is very high. They also have few channels to understand the outside world, and many places have a relatively primitive way of life.”
"Among them, those with higher education generally prefer to make a living in developed countries in Europe and America. Those who come here to work as middlemen and middlemen are probably mostly not highly educated. We must be careful in our communication with them."
Chen Yu immediately nodded in agreement: "Okay, I'll arrange for someone to handle this."
After thinking about it, Wang Xiao shook his head and said, "Forget it, even military academies can't control African students, let alone us."
No matter how strict military academy discipline is, it still couldn't stop the birth of unmarried black babies by overseas students in China in the 1990s.
"How about this?" Wang Xiao felt that it was better to guide than to block. "Let's do a survey to see what style of dolls they prefer, and then order them from the research institute."
Chen Yu was, after all, a young, unmarried woman, and she felt really embarrassed that her boss had so openly discussed such a matter.
Wang Xiao, however, seemed oblivious, and solemnly emphasized, "We need to pay attention to disinfection, and customers should avoid touching each other, so that no one feels uncomfortable."
The announcement has already told passengers to prepare to board.
Wang Xiao patted Chen Yu's hand again: "Keep it up, tens of millions of people are relying on the orders from the trade city for their livelihood."
Besides those directly involved in the industry, those who raise ducks and geese, and those who raise cattle, sheep, and rabbits to provide fur, are all part of the industrial chain.
Even those working in the surrounding service industries, which are driven by the commercial city, rely on the city's prosperity to make money.
Chen Yu, who was still feeling awkward, suddenly felt as if she had a thousand pounds of weight on her shoulders, so heavy that she dared not even flinch.
Wang Xiao stood up and went to board the plane, patting her arm again: "Work hard, and try to increase everyone's income by at least 10% in the new year."
Although she only stayed in Jinning for less than 24 hours, she was generally quite satisfied.
I hope that flying to Shanghai immediately will lift her spirits even higher.
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Here's some information about South Africa. It's important to emphasize that before the Black Lives Matter movement, the exploitation of Black people by white people in South Africa was extremely brutal. The following information is from the internet.
In 1980, South Africa did indeed present an astonishing figure of $3,000 in GDP per capita, but the problem is that few people know exactly how South Africa arrived at this figure.
Because the South African government at the time did not consider Black people to be part of humanity, it did not include Black people in its calculations of GDP per capita.
This also means that, in fact, the moment Black people obtained South African citizenship and nationality, South Africa's GDP per capita plummeted from its peak to its lowest point in an instant.
Of course, even so, South Africa's economy continued to decline in the years following the coming of black people into power.
Before discussing why South Africa declined, we must first talk about how it rose to prominence. South Africa possesses abundant natural resources, including not only various mineral resources but also resources like gold and diamonds that can be directly converted into equivalent wealth. However, South Africa's rise was not solely based on its resources.
In short, South Africa is not a typical country that sells its resources. In fact, as early as the 1960s, South Africa had already become a largely industrialized nation.
The specific approach involves relying on taking over low-end manufacturing from Europe and the United States. Furthermore, South Africa has a significant advantage in terms of manpower, resulting in very low production costs.
So how exactly did South Africa manage to keep production costs so low?
The method is actually very, very simple: use a large number of Black workers and then not pay them wages.
Indeed, in those days, many Black people in South Africa were stateless and lacked human rights; many didn't even receive a wage, and their jobs were merely for survival. Under such circumstances, South Africa's apparent economic figures must have looked remarkably impressive.
The white regime in South Africa even systematized this persecution, which is known as the "apartheid" policy. Under this policy, South African cities looked quite beautiful because black people were driven to the outskirts.
The difference between the two skin colors is just like the difference between the two species.
People often say that Mandela changed South Africa, but the one who truly changed South Africa was actually F.W. de Klerk, the last white leader of South Africa. So why did de Klerk want to "liberate" black people? It couldn't have been because he was kind-hearted, could it?
The white South Africans do live quite well, but the white government itself doesn't earn much money.
The expenses for counterinsurgency operations, intervention in the Angolan civil war, and other related matters have depleted the South African government's reserves.
Given this situation of actual expenditures exceeding income, South Africa was unable to carry out normal industrial upgrading. As a result, South Africa was a low-end manufacturing country in the 1960s, and this remained unchanged in the 1990s.
However, while South Africa remains unchanged, the world has changed.
Strictly speaking, South Africa has a greater advantage in terms of labor costs; they can even choose not to pay workers' wages. However, the problem is that South Africa cannot compete with East Asian countries in terms of industrial scale, so its decline is inevitable.
On the other hand, South Africa's racial issues had reached a critical point at that time, and if de Klerk did not liberate the black people, civil war would inevitably break out.
In this situation, de Klerk had no choice but to liberate Black people, a decision based on both political and economic considerations.
Liberating Black people, granting them citizenship, and unleashing their potential economic value might have boosted domestic demand. However, de Klerk ultimately overestimated the possibilities.
Mandela liberated South Africa, but failed to consider the domestic situation. Consequently, he did some things during his rule that harmed economic and social development.
On the one hand, there was a mandatory requirement to allocate certain positions to Black people across all sectors of the country, even if they lacked the necessary skills, because this was a law that could not be violated. As a result, Black people appeared in various places such as businesses, police stations, schools, government departments, hospitals, and post offices, even though they were often not capable of performing the duties. Consequently, South Africa's overall economic and social conditions began to decline.
On the other hand, Mandela opened the South African market to the world, dismantling trade and financial barriers. However, in reality, if a country has no trade barriers at all, it's tantamount to opening its doors wide, which will greatly harm its economy. As a result, global goods, financiers, and investors could enter South Africa without restrictions to seize market share. Since South African products were not competitive, the outcome was predictable. (In the 1990s, going to Japan or South Africa to make money was a popular trend).
During the Boer rule, efforts were made to combat illegal immigration and maintain social order. However, Mandela felt this was inhumane and inconsistent with the spirit of liberalism. As a result, undocumented immigrants from other African countries became legal citizens of South Africa, posing a threat to the country's security.
The racial issue is also far from optimistic. While the political status of Black people has greatly improved, white people are living in dire straits. Government departments, hospitals, schools, and other institutions are seeing a massive influx of Black employees, many of whom lack professional skills but receive preferential treatment because of their race. Experienced white people, on the other hand, are forced to leave their positions.
In 2003, South Africa’s Black Economic Revitalization Initiative was in full swing, and a large number of highly skilled and educated white people chose to immigrate because they were either unemployed or unable to get promoted.
As a result, many white people fled South Africa, and the white population dropped rapidly from 21% before Mandela came to power to 9%. Radical black rule led to a large exodus of white South Africans to other countries.
In 1994, after the implementation of universal suffrage in South Africa, the black population, which made up about 80% of the country, easily seized power. Out of a desire for compensation or perhaps out of a desire for revenge, black politicians began to use the law to benefit specific groups, while simultaneously using legislation to suppress, discriminate against, and restrict white people in the country.
Soon, under Mandela's leadership, South Africa implemented the Fair Employment Act, granting Black people various privileges and benefits, including priority in education and employment; and requiring that heads of government departments be Black....
At the same time, the Black government's radical "nationalization" movement directly nationalized a large number of minerals and lands that were originally jointly owned by white owners and the state.
Such a massive redistribution policy not only brought a heavy economic burden, but also exacerbated the already serious corruption problem, with grassroots civil servants extorting money and demanding bribes, and middle and upper-level politicians embroiled in scandals.
Worse still, similar policies have led to a significant exodus of South Africa's white elite—along with these individuals, various intellectual resources and investment opportunities have also left South Africa.
At the beginning of this century, the South African government enacted the Black Economic Revitalization Act, which stipulated that white-owned companies must have black shares, especially listed companies, and that at least 40% of the directors must be black; all mining and resource companies in South Africa must transfer 15% of their total assets to black ownership within 5 years, and this proportion must reach at least 26% within 10 years; the more black employees a company has, the more government projects it can receive and the more preferential treatment it can enjoy...
However, in practice, the aforementioned preferential policies did not benefit the majority of Black people; on the contrary, they only enriched a small privileged class of Black people.
Moreover, after the implementation of various policies that favored black people, new forms of racial inequality emerged in South Africa.
White people without overseas connections or immigration capabilities face extremely limited opportunities for education, employment, and upward mobility due to various policy restrictions, ultimately leading them to live in slums and rely on welfare to survive.
At the same time, as black labor is no longer cheap, South Africa has also lost its competitive advantage in low-end manufacturing; as for developing high-end manufacturing, with the continuous loss of white elites, blacks who are not prepared will find it difficult to cope in the short term.
Thus, in the wave of industrial reallocation brought about by economic globalization, South Africa's industry was nearly wiped out, suffering a devastating blow. Its financial system almost went bankrupt and has yet to recover. Forced to passively embark on the path of deindustrialization, crime and unemployment rates soared.
Although Mandela, who did not covet power, chose to retire voluntarily after serving only one term as president in the late 1990s, he continued to guide future generations in "governing the country" until his death. Therefore, many of South Africa's national policies and reforms at that time bore his influence.
Thus, we see that the Black people who suddenly seized power were far from prepared in terms of experience in governing the country, knowledge reserves, and talent cultivation, and almost ruined the country.
Even after his retirement, Mandela himself had deep feelings when discussing reform and corruption: "These officials are like poor children who are walking into a candy store for the first time. Once they get their hands on something, they never want to let go."
However, it must be acknowledged that even though the equal rights reforms led by Mandela were not without radical and unfair aspects, from another perspective, in South Africa, where ethnic conflicts are extremely acute, it not only avoided large-scale ethnic massacres, divisions, civil wars, or foreign intervention and military intervention, but also achieved a power transition through democratic reforms and elections, and successfully maintained national identity.
Compared to those in power in other parts of the world who have dealt with similar ethnic conflicts, calling Mandela a "saint" is not an exaggeration.
In this regard, we can refer to the genocide of the Hutu against the Tutsi in Rwanda. The differences between the two ethnic groups, whether in terms of race, historical grievances, or class hatred, are far less than those between black and white people in South Africa. Imagine if Mandela had not been in power in South Africa, but a populist opportunist like the one in Rwanda, what would have been the fate of the white people in South Africa?
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