(Zhu Weiqun, Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, Dean of Taxation Department of School of Public Economics and Administration, Dean of Education Center for Master of Taxation, Shanghai Shuguang Scholar, Visiting Scholar of University of British Columbia)
A backpack, is good enough for Prof. Zhu Weiqun’s outside investigation. On the interview day, Prof. Zhu has only one hour for the communication and would hurry to Changzhou for investigation. It’s not difficult to find that, even in such easy summer, the scholar is always on the road, for outside investigation, participating academic forums, course teaching, thesis defensing, etc. Not only his physical body, but also his thought is always on the road. Being passionate to his work and life, he thinks, researches, teaches, writes, and often shares his gaining through weico and wechat.
Different with other university professors, Mr. Zhu is one of the minorities who are familiar with weico and wechat, and could even turn such new media into his teaching and research tool. “I was born with curiosity, and is full of desire to explore new born phenomenon. Weico and wechat are very powerful in expression and communication, and no wonder they become my favorite.” We start the interview from weico and wechat.
Having weico, wechat, micro service, we are now entering a Micro Era without self-conscious, even such potatoes as you and me could tell some great talks. Scholars and teachers are the people who devote themselves into spreading positive energy with their professional basis in this Micro Era, and Mr. Zhu Weiqun is one of the representatives. Whether the rational interpretation on general knowledge of finance and taxation and hot issues through Weico account Weiqun Talks Tax, or valuable anecdotes shared in wechat Circle of Friends, when we consider the experience and contribution of this finance expert in this micro era, we should understand the positive energy he delivered.
Keeping the bottom line, staying the right way, and following the inner heart, are the good choices in life and this is one of the positive energy. Finished quite a lot of papers aiming to improve our country’s financing and taxation system, shared constantly in medias his vision and ideas to help the society, he keeps Justice a keyword in his recent academic research and this is also one of the positive energy. Advocated freedom and equality, stick to the teacher’s duty, be able to communicated with young students both in thought and technology, he delivers the enlightening wisdom to his students and followers and this is one of the positive energy.
It is kind of appropriate to interpret this financial scholar’s positive energy in such way in this micro era.
It is difficult to plan our life and it is crucial to have a dream to realize.
In his last class, he likes to talk about life with these young students. His parting advice is very simple: keep the bottom line, stick to the right way, fight for exceed, realize your ego. “life is like a box of chocolates and all you need to do is to defend the bottom line and to keep upward.” Prof. Zhu draws a line to represent the bottom line in life and encourages students to paint their exciting life above.
However, in Mr. Zhu’s youth, he did not have such a teacher to talk about life. It is his inner desire like a lantern in the dark guiding his way when he faces life choices. Zhu Weiqun graduated from high school in 1980 and failed the college entrance exam by only one point. His score is good enough for secondary schools but he never hesitate to strive for another chance to university. He failed the exam again in the second year which seemed to be an even more terrible shock. He decides to try the third time for “to go to college is my dream”. With some instruction from one relative, he changed his courses from science to art, learned new subjects as history and geography, and finally got into Suzhou University to read public finance in 1982.
Reviewing the experience of these three exams, Zhu Weiqun appreciated much to his parents’ influence and support. Zhu Weiqun was born in a farm family in South Jiangsu province, and his parents did not have good education. However, their open-mind attitude, long-term view, and absolute support are the best gifts at that special period of material scarcity. These gifts appears in ever crucial decision-making period, motivating him to further advancement.
In his undergraduate study, Zhu Weiqun had a strong feeling of dissatisfied to his pursue of knowledge. In his junior year, financial expert Cao Liyin from SUFE came to give a course, which showed him the charm of master, aroused him the desire for outside knowledge, and laid a seed for his further postgraduate life. In 1986, Zhu Weiqun became a postgraduate in public finance department in SUFE, and this is a crucial turning point in his further study life and even his career development. Zhu Weiqun expressed his special thanks to his father’s support, for he should get a job and support the pool family when he graduated from college; felt fortunate not have given up the practice of English and good sense in major courses, which laid a solid foundation for his success in postgraduate’s exam; could not forget his photo displayed in Suzhou University with another 8 students’ as the top finance person to encourage followers.
Then Zhu Weiqun began his further systematic study in public finance department in SUFE and took a teaching post when graduated in 1989. At the beginning of 90s, an age of fortune blooming, there are too much lures outside especially in Shanghai, the front of reforming and opening up. Many teachers went outside to expect a rich career and so did Zhu Weiqun. However, he did not like a life with “that kind of feeling”, returned to school in 1993, and became Ph.D the next year tutored by Prof. Xi Kezheng and Prof. Yang Junchang. In 1996, he was chosen by SUFE to take the role of assistant director of Bureau of Finance of Putuo district. This is a good opportunity to practice his financial theory and to advance his career to remain in the bureau as a cadre at assisting role of division. This is really an attractive choice with more resource, better treatment, more dynamic atmosphere, more welfare, and more opportunity of promotion. Zhu Weiqun finally decided to return to school after his deep analysis of himself. At the mean time, he became well known in the country for his teaching in Taxation course of CPA. In 2000, he got his PHD in economics after 6 years’ effort. When he was preparing to have further development in his academic research, he was expected by SUFE leaders to take the role of vice secretary of CPC in charge of the students’ work of public finance department. Then he successively held the posts of vice secretary of SPEA CPC, vice dean of SPEA, and vice dean of graduate department of SUFE, serving many years in these executive and administrative positions. He always expected to devote more time and energy into his teaching and research and to find more areas for his self challenge and self realization. In 2009, he visited UBC in Canada with the financial aid of China Scholarship Council. This experience further improved his understanding in foreign academic situation and research forefront, and provided an opportunity for him to collect numerous research document and to accumulate in knowledge and in vision
When one reviews his personal development, each step in his life, which seems to be isolated with each other, could be connected and forms an arrow pointing to his dreaming place and gradually focused in a main road of one’s life. Zhu Weiqun summarizes in one speech, “stick to yourself is a kind of choice. In this changing society, we have too many lures and choices. I have worked in the executive positions in school and also have worked in government, but finally I focused myself in teaching. Because in my deep heart, teaching and researching are in my main road of life.”
Now, Zhu Weiqun has remained in his teaching and researching position for 25 years. He says, “It is difficult to plan our life and it is crucial to have a dream to realize.” He shares a story that he was invited as the only representative of Chinese scholars to participate the academic seminar of BRIC tax reform held in Brazil. It is a great challenge to make a keynote speech and give simultaneous comments for a person of later 60s. But he always has the desire to try and has the power to change. And perhaps it is this kind of will that contributed to the success of Zhu Weiqun.
“He is a rising star in the thinking area of finance and taxation.”
One’s academic achievement could not be divided with his reading experience. Zhu Weiqun once recalls his personal gaining by the masterpieces which have profound significance in his academic research and theoretical thinking.
Among the economic books, the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Principles of Political Economy by Stewart, Economics by Marshall, Capitalism and Freedom and Free to Choose by Friedman, a Free and Prosperous Commonwealth by Mises, and the Road to Serfdom by Hayek and etc, make me realized that economics is a wisdom for the governing of a nation and its citizens, and different theories would lay converse emphasis to the real world, which enhances my interest to the learning and research. Among the finance and taxation books, Public Finance in Theory and Practice of America by Musgrave, Economics of the Public Sector by Stiglitz, Public Finance in Democratic Process, the Power to Tax, Liberty, Market and State, and Freedom in Constitutional Contract by Buchanan and etc, make me understood that the basic problem of finance is not the problem of tax income and expenditure, neither the problem of efficiency, but the problem of how to decide the principle and process in finance system. In addition, I also read some books in philosophy, jurisprudence, and politics and find that all these great works, although being in different areas of social science and having converse perspectives and concepts, observe and study in a position of mutual profits of a nation or even the whole world, thus attach great emphasis on the justice of social system. Then I take Rawls’ the Theory of Justice as my bed time reading, consistently feeling and learning the ideology of general concept of justice, arguing point of converse ideas, and logic of the argumentation.
This kind of reading experience would naturally reflected in his academic research.
In a academic seminar, chief prof. Li Weiguang from public finance department of Tianjin University of Finance and Economics comments on Zhu Weiqun, “He is a rising star in the thinking area of finance and taxation.” Different with the mainstream researchers who study policies and technologies, Zhu Weiqun likes to study from the original intention of related problems. He made such a point in the ethical value and its implementation of fiscal and tax laws published last year.
The construction of fiscal and tax laws is and would remains a major content of the rule of law in a long period. To focus the development of fiscal and tax laws in a right direction, we should take justice as the ultimate standard of ethical value. To reflect the system justice in reality, we should insist the principle of fair, just, and open in both substantive and procedural law system, we should adopt specific, clear, and different standard according to diversified fiscal and taxation system, and we should take into consideration the system unity. In an era of Bigdata and networking, a simple, transparent, and ideal personal taxation system without corporate paying tax and taxation bureaus is possible in technology and would be the final goal of future taxation system reform.
There’s no doubt that he studies the value standard from the ultimate value of system and obtains the outline of fiscal and taxation system reform. We have to say that this is a kind of reflection of a thinker’s ultimate solicitude, and where his academic interest is in recent years, namely study the problems in the principle of fair and just, and make proposals with real practice. His academic path experiences changes from interpretation on specific tax regulations and policies, to thinking and exploration on taxation theory, and then to suggestions on taxation reform. His value standard also experiences a change from basic logic and cost efficiency to pursue of fair and just.
In the year of 1991, Zhu Weiqun presented his first professional paper with a subject on land tax, in which he demonstrates the theoretical basis of land appreciation tax based on the fact that land is owned by the state. In 1992, he published independently his first academic book budgeting theory and practice, which is a great work on budgeting at that time. In 1994, he finished Taxation cooperated with Prof. Hu Yijian which is the earliest textbook after the reform of tax-sharing system, awarded second prize of the third national taxation excellent textbooks and remains great influence in universities till now. He is also in charge of the writing of Taxation in CPA supporting books which helps more students and tax professionals.
In 2001, his professional book Economic analysis on consumption tax based on his PhD degree paper was published, gained the award of Zhongzhen Scientific Research Excellent Achievement of SUFE and Second Prize of the fourth Excellent Achievement on Public Finance Theory Research, and was highly appraised as Fill the Gap in domestic by Prof. Hua Min who is the anonymous assessing expert from economic school of Fudan University. He talked about this book with a sophisticated feeling, “The experience of writing PHD paper is really hard and basically it is a kind of self-practice of solitude.” He spends most of his time on the second chapter study of thought on consumption tax. Lacking of review by previous study, Zhu Weiqun begins from the study of mercantilism representatives, and sorts out comprehensively their attitudes towards consumption tax through their books and papers. This is a time consuming job, which not only need the understanding of authors’ academic ideas and historic background, but also require the effort to overcome the language barrier. He still remembers the book an expenditure tax by famous British economist Nicholas Kaldor in school library which is an important reference when he studies the thought on consumption tax. “I have borrowed this book in later 1980s when I was a postgraduate. When I borrowed this book again after ten years, there is no any borrowing record in this period, which indicating that, even readers in university of finance and economics are not interested in such book, let alone those general readers.” Zhu Weiqun shared some details in his PHD paper writing period.
From 2004 to 2011, Zhu Weiqun took the role of Chief editor of China’s Public Finance development Report which is SUFE’s brand academic project in Public Finance, completed the achievements with his team of research on China’s agriculture-country-peasant policies and research on macro tax burden and its expansion, which have profound significance on discipline development and team building. In the public service aspect, he also takes his responsibility as a scholar with his years’ teaching and research experience. In 2012, he took the role of leading expert in SUFE’s Thousand Village Survey project. The expert team formed five suggestion drafts and submitted to related department of the educational department, among which, thousand village survey in the construction of public culture in rural area was published in internal reference of reform the 30th issue of year 2013, large amount people with a religion belief in rural area require standard guidance was adopted by social science division of the educational department and was further submitted to the committee of the CCP Central Politburo. Entrusted by NPC representative and famous scenarist Zhao Dongling, he drafted NPC proposal of 2014 promote the implementation of principle of legal tax, suggestion on separating price and tax in shopping invoice, and suggestion on making law of administration fees, expecting to make some certain and real contribution to the nation’s fiscal and taxation system.
As a fan of Weico and Wechat, Zhu Weiqun often speaks out through these new medias, and he also accepts the interviews by mainstream media like Xinhua news agency, China Youth Daily, and Liberation Daily, and publishes articles concerning hot issues on fiscal and taxation. In his opinion, scholars should be strict and objective when making suggestions on public issues to lead public thinking into reasonable direction. When I promoted some questions like Whether there is some connection since finance and taxation are more practical while art, history, and philosophy are more spiritual, and What kind of spirit of humanity there is in the practical discipline of finance and taxation, Zhu Weiqun answered as below, showing the other side of discipline of finance and taxation and displaying a great thinker in finance and taxation area.
“Generally speaking, finance and taxation are indeed quite practical science and belong to applied economics in our country. But as far as I am concerned, finance and taxation are science with lots of contents. It is related to not only personal daily life and corporate operation activities, but also governing of an area and a nation. It contains not only various realistic problems, but also puzzled theory conflicts. Therefore, it not only passes on knowledge of tax paying and tax saving, but also sets forth method of national administration. In class teaching, I would emphasis the basic logic behind the tax system, discuss the fair and just under tax system improvement, deliver spirit of humanity of equality, liberty, and fraternity, stress that legal should be build at the basis of individual cooperation in an independent and voluntary way, and legal should treat individual equal instead of lead them to the same place.”
Everyone takes his duty and the society will be more than expected.
“It’s the last class of Tax Collection and our last class taught by dear Prof. Zhu. We can’t help feeling sad and reluctant to apart. We are all touched by Prof. Zhu’s effort on our Master of Taxation Program and amazed by his open teaching style. We are more than pleased to meet such a good teacher and helpful friend in our life.” This is the love and gratitude expressed by his students in Weico. To Zhu Weiqun, this short paragraph in about 100 words is more precious than any awards.
As a teacher, Zhu Weiqun is no doubt a success. His PHD student Li Wei once participated the Meeting for Winners of Nobel Prize for Economics, nearly 10 postgraduates are enrolled in National Tax Talents Training Program, his students won the first prize in 2013 Deloitte Tax Championship, and he himself won Best Teaching Innovation of SPEA, the 8th Best Teachers in My Eye of SUFE, the 8th Top Ten Beacon for Excellence in Education of SUFE, and the Ivy Cup from his first Master of Taxation students.
The obtaining of all these marvelous achievements should be attributed to Zhu Weiqun’s deep affection and sincere effort.
He enjoys face-to-face knowledge delivering, experience sharing, ideas conflicting, and eye contact; he also enjoys communicating through internet, showing his gaining and ideas through Weico, Wechat, and QQ Space; he even enjoys the wonderful time of traveling, investigating, eating, and talking with students. Zhu Weiqun said that it is the adorable students who encouraged me so many years to stick to this front of education.
He is good at bringing together the young students and provides instruction according to their individual aptitude. On how to hold the current 90s, Zhu Weiqun has his own gaining. “They are generations of independent and individualism and don’t like to be labeled. They have good family and education background and in a web era of totally different knowledge delivering method. Wanting to be loved, to be understood, to be respected, and to be supported, they need a teaching style of more involved, more active, and more interactive.” Therefore, it comes the innovative teaching style with new media like QQ, Weico and Wechat and open pattern like on-the-spot teaching and team teaching. When the trivial and dull theory turns vivid and interesting, the students would surely enjoy the learning.
He is fully in charge of Master of Taxation Professional Degree Education Program and devotes lots of efforts and passion in these three years. As we know that, there are total 119 students in these three years and Zhu Weiqun could remember each of them. It is impossible without truly love and great passion. Zhu Weiqun leads his team actively promoting a series of innovation in course setting, double-mentor team building, practice base construction, project management and branding, which establishes favorable reputation, ranks top over the country, takes the duty of a leader. He names the Program JunChang Master of Taxation to commemorate his own mentor Yang Junchang who was an outstanding teacher being the first MBA after our nation’s reform and opening up, with many works to his credit, gracious and wise, indifferent to fame and wealth, hoping to deliver his mentor’s spirit through this brand.
He always remembers the simple words by Prof. Yang Junchang, “Everyone takes his duty and the society will be more than expected.” In the 25 years’ teaching and researching, Zhu Weiqun always sticks to this principle. He continuously challenges himself and makes improvement in his teaching, researching, and social serving, making him a famous finance and taxation expert actively delivering positive energy.