A NEW breed of young cadres in Shenzhen is spearheading the drive to implement bolder reforms in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
These officials, who are in their 30s and 40s, are saying that unless the SEZ is given more powers to integrate itself with Western economies, it will lose out in the cut-throat competition with the scores of open cities and development zones in other parts of the country.
Sources in the SEZ said local officials were taking advantage of the imminent anniversary of the tour of patriarch Mr Deng Xiaoping to demand a larger say in finance, foreign trade and administrative reform.
They said the drive to preserve Shenzhen's status as a pioneer in reform was led by a group of young officials who held mid-to high-level ranks in the municipal party committee and government.
By contrast, top cadres such as the party secretary Mr Li Hao, and the mayor, Mr Li Youwei, are said to be too cautious and too beholden to the central authorities to aggressively lobby for autonomy.
On Wednesday, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily ran a front-page article on ''the year that [comrade] Xiaoping went south''.
The official paper concluded that ''Shenzhen still needs a major thought liberation [movement]''.