Coastal Catalyst: Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government’s Economic Adventure, 1980
In the spring of 1980, Beijing’s bold vision transformed Shenzhen from a sleepy fishing village into China’s first Special Economic Zone. Officially designated on May 26, 1980, this daring experiment fused socialist planning with market incentives. Overnight, migrants who once streamed toward Hong Kong would become eager entrepreneurs, factories would sprout on reclaimed land, and foreign capital would flow into a booming tech-manufacturing hub.
However, what is a city without roads, with no access to water, electricity, hospitals, etc? As delegates in this committee, you are the true urban-planning architects of Shenzhen. You’ll play provincial party officials hashing out land-use rights, state-owned enterprise managers courting overseas investors, and city planners racing to solve a burgeoning housing crisis. From the urgent need for a metro network to pitching Shenzhen’s next landmark tourist attraction, you have free rein to build (or exploit) the “City of the Future.” But remember: neighboring Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai are watching your every move.
As dawn breaks over the Pearl River Delta, the clock starts ticking. Will your policies launch China’s next economic miracle? Or will red tape, social unrest, and ideological pushback capsize your ambitions? It’s up to you to decide whether Shenzhen lives up to its promise, or becomes nothing more than a failed vision.
Kin Ching
Chair
Kin Ching is a second year at the college studying Astrophysics and Philosophy. She was born and raised in Hong Kong and very much misses the warmer weather back home. As a Ming Dynasty fan (most fashionable Chinese dynasty!!) Kin Ching discovered the world of MUN and served as the backroom Assistant Chair of “Yongle’s Bongle: The Ming Dynasty” in ChoMUN XXVIII.
Outside of MUN, Kin Ching can be found dying in physics labs and drowning in problem sets, enjoying long-distance running, consuming weird and random media (Soviet propaganda spy movies, Avant-garde Japanese animes, Epic poems, early 2000s figure skating lore, Classical Russian literature, indie games). She also has a slight obsession with the Mahabharata and is learning Sanskrit to hopefully be able to read it one day!
Kin Ching is incredibly excited to be your Chair for ChoMUN XXIX. If you have any questions, concerns, or would like running route recommendations, debate philosophy, or fangirl over Hindu mythology, you are always welcome to reach out to her at kcip@uchicago.edu
Ravi Mangar
Crisis Director
Ravindra (Ravi) is a third-year at the college majoring in Biology and Computer Science. He reluctantly lives in the unfortunate borough of Queens, New York (the home of Spiderman!!!!!). In ChoMUN XXVII, Ravi served as an Assistant Chair for the Creation of Wells Fargo. For ChoMUN XXVIII, Ravi had the pleasure of gulping hot sauce and jumping in the pool (fully in a suit) for Yongle’s Bongle: The Ming Dynasty. Additionally, Ravi has way too much time on his hands and participates in MUNUC, UChicago’s high school conference, as the Chief Administrative Officer.
When Ravi is not drowning in MUN-stuff (and other sources of Type-3 fun!), you can either find him singing heartily for the UChicago Chorus or playing with fire (literally) for the Le Vorris and Vox Circus. He also holds the reputation of being located “anywhere but where he can be expected to be,” as he loves traveling (especially big cities with good metros and tall skyscrapers, which he can nerd out about forever) and has a collection of transit cards, train schedules, and random aviation memorabilia hung all over his dorm room.
Ravi is incredibly excited to be your Crisis Director for ChoMUN XXIX and cannot wait to see the wacky arcs delegates will come up with during the course of the committee. You are always welcome for any reason to reach out to him at his email: rmangar30@uchicago.edu.
Secretariat oversight:
Steven sotomayor, Under-secretary-general