Here follows a group of political and business celebrities: Singapore's first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, current prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand's former prime ministers Thaksin Shinawatra and Yingluck Shinawatra ,Hong Kong Goldlion Holdings founder Tsang Hin Chi, " King of Steel in Southeast Asian" He Qiaosheng, " King of Leather in Hong Kong" Tin Ka Ping...They all have two things in common: First, they are all Hakka; Second, their ancestral home is Meizhou, Guangdong.

Hakka is an important ethnic group of the Han people in China, mainly distributed in southern China. In modern times, the Hakka people have traveled overseas to make a living all over the world.According to incomplete statistics, there are currently more than 80 million Hakka people in the world, distributed in more than 80 countries. 

On November 2nd, the 6th World hakka Businessmen Convention is opened in Meizhou, Guangdong, after the previous session six years ago.Why does this convention settle in Meizhou? Why do Guangdong and merchants prefer each other?

Let's look at Meizhou first. Meizhou is the world's most representative Hakka settlement, with more than five million Hakka people living here, and is known as the "Capital of Hakka in the World". The dialect spoken in Meizhou's downtown is considered to be the representative of Hakka.  Since the 19th century, a large number of Hakka people have left Meizhou to make a living overseas, making significant contributions to the construction of their host countries.According to the data, there are more than seven million overseas Chinese in Hong Kong, Macao and Chinese Taiwan whose ancestral home is Meizhou, which even exceeds the total population of Meizhou. Meizhou deserves to be the host of the World Hakka Businessmen Convention.

Then, here comes Guangdong. Guangdong is the largest province in China's economy, as well as a major province of overseas Chinese, and also the window of China's opening up to the world.Since the reform and opening up, Guangdong has vigorously attracted all kinds of foreign businessmen, including Hakka merchants, to invest, creating a miracle of rapid economic development.In recent years, in order to attract foreign investment, Guangdong has successively introduced a number of policies and measures to further expand foreign investment, downsize the negative list for foreign investment to facilitate investment and improve the foreign investment environment in Guangdong.We have noticed that the World Hakka Businessmen Convention  is an important event hosted by the Guangdong Government, which fully demonstrates the importance of Hakka merchants to Guangdong.

Last but not least, I want to talk about  Hakka merchants.They are the protagonists of the World Hakka Businessmen Convention as a group worthy of respect.For thousands of years, the Hakka people have been constantly moving, which made them hard-working, brave and persevering to explore. They could always make a living in different environments and eras.In modern times, the Hakka people who have gone overseas have made great achievements in business, and a large number of business leaders such as Tsang Hin Chi, He Qiaosheng and Tin Ka Ping have emerged, representing Hakka merchants.

Though living far away, they never forget to seek their root nor contribute to their hometown.In modern times, Hakka merchants have built their hometowns with great enthusiasm, as evidenced by the large houses scattered throughout Meizhou.Since the reform and opening up, Hakka merchants have become an important force in investing in Guangdong.Tsang Hin Chi has helped the economic construction of his hometown, Meizhou, with donations every year, and there are countless infrastructure projects named after him. Tin Ka Ping donated hundreds of public welfare projects for his hometown, while He Qiaosheng donated a total of nearly 100 million yuan to the construction of his hometown.This World Hakka Businessmen Convention will not only enhance the identity of overseas Hakka people, introducing Hakka culture but also attract more overseas Hakka people to settle in Guangdong and invest in Guangdong.

This year marks the 45^th anniversary of reform and opening up, and Guangdong is starting its task of high-quality development to "build a new Guangdong". Foreign businessmen are an important factor of investment in Guangdong, and Guangdong will also create a high-quality investment environment for all kinds of foreign businessmen.Guangdong and Hakka merchants and even foreign businessmen choosing each other will make more achievements together in the future.

统筹｜蒋铮
策划｜赵鹏
文案｜王瑜瑛 赵鹏
视频｜黎杰文 王瑜瑛
翻译｜白心怡
责编 | 王楠