Bu Xinsheng, 79, former Director of Haiyan Shirt Factory (former body of Haiyan Senhong Import & Export Co., Ltd.) in Haiyan County, east China's Zhejiang Province, on November 10, 2013 (JIN LIANGKUAI)

Led by Bu Xinsheng, the factory grew from a small collective organization in 1956 with 60 employees to 1,000 in 1985, with an annual 50 percent growth of interests. He left the factory in 1988.

"The reform cannot rely on the government's document. It was my duty to break the backward system and to establish a new sound mechanism, which is good for the country, the factory and our employees," Bu said.