Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen National Leaders

1981-1984 In the 1980s, China and the entire international community agreed that Deng Xiaoping was the leader of China.However, this status is not commensurate with the position he holds.He is not the chairman of the party or the general secretary, nor the head of the government, nor is he the chairman of the country like Liu Shaoqi, his status comes from his authority, and this authority comes from his past experience, leadership, and over time His achievements as a policy maker, spokesperson and designer. At the end of the "Cultural Revolution", Deng and Chen Yun were the only seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee from 1958 to 1966.During that time (and earlier) Chen had been Deng's superior.But Chen did not have the reputation that Deng had when he fought against Chen Boda and Kang Sheng in the early days of the "Cultural Revolution" and when he fought against the "Gang of Four" in 1975.He is happy to avoid the attention of the public and exert his influence behind the scenes, so ordinary people do not have a deep impression of him.Among other high-level figures who experienced the "Cultural Revolution", Peng Zhen, Ye Jianying, and Li Xiannian are important figures, but they all lack Deng's prestige and experience.In addition, Ye Jianying is seven years older than Deng.Before the arrest of the "Gang of Four", both Ye and Li expressed their firm support for Hua Guofeng.Had they known that they were going to oppose Hua later, they might have changed their original course of action.

As a leader, Deng's style was very different from Mao's.Mao always kept a certain distance from his colleagues, Deng mingled with them; Mao was good at disguising himself, Deng made his views as clear as possible; Mao often dealt with abstract things, Deng liked to deal with concrete things, even The same is true when explaining some issues of principle.Deng's leadership style is not just a matter of style.He is visionary and practical. He can and has designed China's future development blueprint according to his own ideas.When a problem arises, instead of waiting and watching, he takes immediate action to solve it.He was harsh but not cruel.After the Politburo made a conclusion about Hua Guofeng, he did not organize the news media to destroy Hua's reputation, let alone put him in prison; in early 1987, he insisted that Hu Yaobang resign as General Secretary, but allowed him to remain on the Politburo Standing Committee.Deng, on the other hand, has shown no mercy when dealing with the senior leadership cadres who helped him during the dark days of 1976.

Unlike Mao and Hua, Deng staunchly resisted the creation of a cult of personality, an idea that dates back to 1956.He allowed, and one might say encouraged, national presses to publish anthologies of his speeches; he allowed professional and provincial presses to publish other speeches and stories about his military career.However, he is not allowed to hang his portrait or erect his statue in public places, and he is not allowed to exaggerate his role in any article or speech.People always call him "Chairman Deng Xiaoping" or "Comrade Deng Xiaoping", not some "wise leader" (such as Hua Guofeng) or "mentor" and "helmsman" (such as Mao Zedong).

As a decision maker, Deng has two outstanding strengths: he has a long-term vision; he stipulates that the feasibility of all plans and proposals must be tested first.As far as the former is concerned, he follows the tradition of Leninism and Chinese politics.In his early political career, he also followed Mao's model. In the 1930s, Mao advocated that the party and the army should wage a protracted war with the Kuomintang and the Japanese.Deng went one step further.Some of the political and economic goals he set may be visible to him during his lifetime, and some of them are certain that he will not be able to see them at all in this life.For example, he is happy to set 1997 as the date for Hong Kong's return to China, and the end of this century and the middle of the next century as the dates for the party and the government to achieve their economic goals.Compared with the political leaders of multi-party countries, Deng was able to see farther.But he didn't have to, and many Communist Party leaders didn't see that far.Experimenting with feasibility is consistent with Deng's slogan of "seeking truth from facts" and "practice is the only criterion for testing truth" when he opposed Hua Guofeng.Adhering to these two slogans does not mean that he has abandoned socialism, but that in Deng's thinking, socialism (and communism) are associated with prosperity (this is Marx's point of view), and he will use various ways to achieve this prosperity.He didn't want his projects to be carried out by people who had no social and economic experience but merely sketched them in their offices, and for this reason some non-communist writers called him a pragmatist.

Deng's international prestige comes from his active participation in diplomatic activities.At this point, he far surpassed Mao Zedong. In 1978, the year his attitude toward Hua Guofeng changed from careful surveillance to open challenge, he made frequent trips abroad.In winter, he visited Burma, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and North Korea. During his visit to the United States in January 1979, he showed outstanding public relations skills.At the Texas horse racing event, he gladly donned a big cowboy hat and made a good impression on the Americans.At the end of the year, he visited Japan, again showing the demeanor of a smiling ambassador.

After that, Deng Xiaoping stayed in China.But he spends a lot of time receiving foreign guests.Meeting foreign heads of state and government is of course his business.But he also warmly received those retired politicians, such as Nixon, Kissinger, Heath, etc., as before.In conversations with his clients he always leads them to talk about matters of immediate interest to them, and at the same time reveals to them two or three important things which usually go deeper than his public discourses at home.Most of his visitors were impressed by his candor and approachability, and some appreciated his wit.

In these conversations, Deng repeatedly emphasized three points.First, the ten-year turmoil is over and will not repeat itself; second, China’s development requires a peaceful international environment, and China is willing to work hard to maintain world peace; third, China needs to learn from other countries, but China To maintain political and economic independence.China will not succumb to any external pressure, nor will it put itself in a position where it is vulnerable to pressure. As Deng's international prestige continued to grow, so did his domestic prestige.People realized that it was Deng Xiaoping who gave China a new life and a place on the international stage.It was also admitted that he had made important advances in the unification of the country, which Mao could not match.

In the 1980s, China's leadership was clearly divided into two parts.One part consisted of aging revolutionary leaders who felt they had the right to oversee the making of policy; the other part consisted of younger leaders (also only half a generation) promoted by Deng to important positions.From 1982 to 1985, the Politburo was like a company's board of directors, with most directors not holding administrative jobs. This situation has changed since 1985.However, the number of members of the Politburo who do not perform administrative work is still quite large, and the number of members of the Standing Committee of the Politburo who do not perform administrative work even constitutes a majority, and this situation lasted until 1987.

The most important figures among the older generation of revolutionaries were Chen Yun, Peng Zhen, Li Xiannian and Wang Zhen.Chen Yun was born in the suburbs of Shanghai in 1905 and worked as a typesetter for the Commercial Press.He joined the Party in the same year as Deng Xiaoping (1924), and became a member of the Politburo in 1934, 21 years earlier than Deng.In addition to the "Cultural Revolution" period, he has served as a senior leader. In the 1980s, with the publication of many of his speeches in the 1950s and 1960s, he established a solid position as an economic policymaker.But he was more than an economist.Always adhering to Leninist views, he played an important role in upholding party leadership and party discipline.He also often played prominent political roles.At the work conferences in 1977 and 1978, he strongly advocated the complete negation of the "Cultural Revolution".

The photos of Chen Yun in his old age look very melancholy.He had been rumored for years to be in poor health, and he spent most of the year in the South.But he was not at all melancholic in middle age, nor did he make people feel gloomy.He is always smiling and uses metaphors well. In the 1950s, he compared the socialist planned economy and the market to a cage and a bird. If the cage is too small, the bird will die, but if the cage is removed, the bird will fly away. In 1959, he compared the national economy to a game of chess. He believed that if each region can effectively increase production, then the national economy will develop greatly.

In the 1980s, Chen Yun had been actively participating in the meetings of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection was established in 1982, and Chen Yun served as its chairman.With the passage of time, Chen Yun's attitude towards changes in economic structure, macroeconomic policies, and social and cultural liberation became increasingly cautious, and he paid more attention to controlling inflation and ensuring the balance of the state budget.However, it would be wrong to think that Chen Yun was against some major reforms at that time, such as rural reforms. Chen Yun's views represented the views of the majority of the CCP.After Mao Zedong's death, the CCP completely denied "left" and extreme "left" views, and people seemed to think that Chen Yun was also a leftist.However, he was so old and had pushed some policies that Deng admired that Deng would listen to him, even setting aside his friendship with Deng. Peng Zhen has a round head, a big mouth, and his red face, making him very eye-catching wherever he goes.As in the early 1960s, he worked closely with Deng again in the 1980s.At first, he served as an adviser, responsible for party security and legal work, which is what he was doing twenty years ago.Later, he served as chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and became the head of the highest legislative body.He did not seek to be a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, although he is qualified to do so.Peng Zhen has a lot of qualifications, but he has always kept a low profile in politics, and he has never been seen to insist on a certain point of view.Perhaps he was just a dedicated party worker rather than a well-known leader.His courage surpassed most of those around him. In the months before the "Cultural Revolution", he stood up to argue with Mao boldly. Li Xiannian and Wang Zhen are equally well-known, they are both hardliners in the army.As the chairman of the People's Republic of China, Li Xiannian met with many foreign guests in the 1980s, and introduced some problems in mainland China frankly and without reservation, which left a deep impression on many people.Once, he told a visiting foreign guest that under the collective farming system, farmers simply put down their farm tools and turned around to bask in the sun①. In 1948, Deng and Li once stood side by side in the Dabie Mountains (Translated according to the original text.--Annotation) fighting, and worked together in the secretariat from 1958 to 1966, but they were just good colleagues.Wang Zhen is just the opposite, he is Deng's confidant. In 1972 and 1978, he twice lobbied for Deng's comeback, and Deng owed him a lot of favors.Whether in Beijing or on inspection trips to other provinces, people often see Deng and Wang Zhen side by side in public appearances. In the late 1980s, Li Xiannian's health became worse and worse. After Yang Shangkun became the president of the country in 1987, he seldom participated in political activities.Wang Zhen, as the vice president of the country, continued to display his political talents. The main administrative work in China is mainly carried out by two people. Hu Yaobang was more famous before the mid-1980s.He succeeded Hua Guofeng as the chairman of the party in 1981. After the CCP abolished the chairman of the party in September 1982, he became the general secretary of the party.Hu Yaobang was smaller than Deng in stature, but he was full of energy.He likes to make various gestures when speaking, which is rare among Chinese people.Hu had a glorious revolutionary history: he joined Mao Zedong's ranks in Jinggangshan when he was fourteen.During the Long March, he served as the secretary of the "Communist Party" and was injured in a battle.During the Anti-Japanese War, he served as the head of the Organization Department of the General Political Department of the Eighth Route Army.Worked under Deng during the War of Liberation.He arrived in Beijing about the same time as Deng.After that, he served as the secretary of the Chinese Communist Youth League, and his main job was to select successors for the party. During the "Cultural Revolution", he was dismissed and transferred to the lower levels. He returned to Beijing in 1975 and became Deng's main assistant. Before 1978, Deng had identified him as his successor in the party. The second important figure in charge of administrative work is Zhao Ziyang.Zhao was born in a landlord family in Henan in 1919. He was fifteen years younger than Deng and five years younger than Hu.He received a good secondary education and joined the Communist Party of China in 1938. In 1961, he was appointed Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee when he was still very young.He gained a good reputation for being more sympathetic to the plight of the peasants than those in charge of the production teams. At the beginning of the "Cultural Revolution", he was paraded with a high hat in Guangzhou, but he resumed his work in the early 1970s.For the next two years, he served as governor of Sichuan Province.During his tenure, he experimented with a new system that allowed workers and peasants to sell products on the market that were not planned by the state. In September 1980, he was transferred to Beijing to serve as Premier of the State Council, filling the vacancy left by Hua Guofeng after his resignation. Like Hu Yaobang, Zhao Ziyang eventually lost Deng's trust. In September 1982, in the opening speech of the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Deng Xiaoping put forward the three major tasks of the party in the 1980s: * "Intensify the construction of socialist modernization (there is an error here. At the cadre meeting, the three major tasks for the 1980s were put forward.--Annotation), "strive for the reunification of the motherland", and "oppose hegemony and maintain world peace".He also went on to point out four tasks that must be grasped by the end of this century: "Institutional reform and economic system reform", "Building socialist spiritual civilization", "Cracking down on criminal activities that destroy socialism in the economic field and other fields", " rectify the party's work style and organization".In the political report of the Twelfth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Hu Yaobang further elaborated on the above ideas and pointed out the general goal of China's economic construction: strive to quadruple the total output value of industry and agriculture.He also said: "China will never be attached to any big country or group of countries" and "will never bow to the pressure of any big country." In the next four years, China's political activities will focus on realizing these three major tasks and four tasks.Deng's role is to supervise and guide this.In addition, he is also responsible for two tasks: to explain to foreigners what the goal China wants to achieve and how to achieve it; to theoretically respond to the proposition of "socialist modernization" and "political and economic system reform"; Or more broadly, a description of "reform." Deng's second task was divided into four steps: the first step was to determine "socialist modernization" as China's goal; the second step was to put forward the concept of "socialism with Chinese characteristics" in 1982.Deng explained that "socialism with Chinese characteristics" means "starting from China's reality" and "walking your own path."Obviously, Deng's purpose in putting forward this slogan was to arouse people's patriotism; the third step was to put forward the idea of ​​"reform" in 1983.This is much broader and deeper than what he (and others) have called "adjustment" in the past.Finally, a complete reform theory is presented.This theory covers both politics and economics and the relationship between them.Deng Xiaoping believed that political reform depends on economic reform, which is consistent with Marx's thesis that the economic base determines the political and cultural superstructure, but it is not the same as Mao's theory in the last two decades.Deng has always been very careful in describing the essence of socialism. He did not rush to give a complete definition of socialism with loanwords in line with Marxist ideas. Therefore, it is difficult for many party leaders to accurately understand his ideas. When some foreigners say They were annoyed when Deng steered China toward capitalism. In fact, China's reforms had already started long before Deng Xiaoping put forward his reform theory.Before Deng proposed "socialism with Chinese characteristics," rural reforms were already in full swing.The government raised the purchase price of agricultural products and froze the purchase quota for each product; more importantly, the CPPCC restored the power of farmers to engage in family-based production: the land is still owned by the collective, but it is contracted by farmers for use.According to the land contract, farmers have the right to use the land for a long time, but they have to hand over part of their products to the state and the collective, and the rest can be sold to the state or on the market.The nationwide implementation of the "household production contract system" has brought about a new pattern in rural China, which is different from the 1950s after the land reform and from the collectivization era.Theoretically, farmers simply no longer engage in collective labor, but in fact, long-term land contract (some as long as forty years) is enough to make farmers see themselves as the masters of the land. The period from 1983 to 1985 was the second climax of China's reform. In 1983, the central government affirmed the household contract system and demanded that this system be promoted nationwide (although some farmers were still keen on collective labor and equal distribution at that time). In 1984, the central government further proposed to extend the land contract period to more than 15 years. In 1985, the system of unified purchase and distribution of agricultural products was reformed. Except for certain varieties, the state no longer assigned tasks to farmers for the unified purchase and distribution of agricultural products, but implemented contract purchases and market purchases according to different situations.For farmers, the biggest benefit of this new system is that they can freely choose to grow more profitable crops.Farmers are not taking on more risk than in the past, as the government still guarantees the purchase of all surplus produce, at prices set by the state or above market prices. The above-mentioned reform measures have had a significant impact on agricultural output, farmers' income and farmers' sentiment.From 1978 to 1984, per capita grain production increased by 3.8% per year (from 1957 to 1977 increased by 0.2%), and cotton production increased by 17.5% (from 1957 to 1977 decreased by 0.6% per year) ), the annual growth rate of meat was 9% (1.7% from 1957 to 1977).From 1965 to 1978, rural per capita consumption increased by only one-third, while from 1978 to 1986 it almost tripled. In the mid-1980s, the Chinese countryside was full of bricks, cement and sand for building new houses.Many farmers bought bicycles and radios.In less than ten years, China's rural areas have stepped from poverty and backwardness to a well-off society, and the grain produced by one person can feed four people. The reform of industry, commerce, and the planning system came after the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. In October 1984, the central government passed a very long resolution, which made specific provisions on these three reforms.At the meeting, reformists wanted to break away from the Soviet model completely, while others argued that birds could be given more freedom, but only in cages.The decision is therefore ambiguous.Nevertheless, before 1992, China's reforms were carried out accordingly. At the heart of urban industrial and commercial reform is the expansion of corporate autonomy.The reform of the planning management system mainly narrows the scope of mandatory planning, expands the scope of guiding planning and market regulation; implements separation of administration and enterprise, simplification of administration and decentralization of power.The price reform mainly established three kinds of price systems, namely national unified pricing, floating price and free price.Soon, there are two (or even three) prices for one commodity.The three reforms introduced at the same time created many new markets, both black and white.The reform revitalized enterprises but at the same time weakened the central government's control over the types and sales of enterprises' products, and the role of the state-owned economy was affected.Some provinces began to use their new powers to produce the products they needed in large state-owned factories and mines, and restricted the exchange of products with other provinces. Enter.Some factories sold their products to new customers, so that old customers could not find the products they needed.With a large deficit in the state budget and lax controls on credit by the Treasury and the Central Bank, there was the worst inflation since the 1950s.Industrial and agricultural production has indeed developed rapidly, but the price level has also risen rapidly. Bank credit, which had been balanced in 1984, ran into serious deficits in 1985 and 1986. Deng Xiaoping did not play much role in the above reforms. In 1979, he proposed to establish special economic zones and implement preferential policies in the special zones to attract foreign investors.For the next few years he devoted himself to this, and, otherwise, gave almost all the work to others. In October 1984, he explained this when meeting with all Chinese and foreign representatives participating in the Sino-foreign Economic Cooperation Symposium.He said: "On economic issues, I am a layman, and I have said some things, all from a political perspective. For example, I proposed China's economic opening policy, but how to open up, some details , some specific issues that need to be considered, I don't know much."② Political reform is different, and Deng Xiaoping is no stranger to this.Only he has the authority to propose major changes. Deng Xiaoping's attitude towards political reform has gone through three stages.From 1978 to 1982 is the first stage.During this period, he was mainly committed to restoring the political system of the 1950s that had been destroyed by the "Great Leap Forward" and the "Cultural Revolution".That is, redefine the functions of the party, the army and the government, limit the role of the party and the army, and strengthen the role of government departments; restore the united front with the eight democratic factions (in 1949, they all expressed their support for the leadership of the Communist Party); restore the people's Legislative power of the congress; introduction and publicity of legal concepts.In terms of society, the class and political labels on millions of people are removed, and the former landlords and capitalists become citizens of the country; a large number of "rightists". "Capitalist roaders" and those who have been wearing various hats for twenty years have been rehabilitated and taken off their hats. During the "Cultural Revolution", the leisure life of urban people was canceled as a "bourgeois" mood.Now many people have restarted activities such as growing flowers and collecting willows.Ordinary citizens can live a stable life as long as they do not provoke the government. The second stage is from 1982 to 1986.At this stage, Deng Xiaoping mainly devoted himself to the rejuvenation of state institutions. Among the members of the Central Committee elected in 1982, there were only a very small number of old people and radicals.But almost all of the twenty-eight members of the Politburo are in their seventies, and eighteen of them participated in the Long March fifty years ago. In 1984 and 1985, Deng Xiaoping spent a lot of time and energy persuading those old comrades to retire.It turned out he succeeded.The Politburo has returned to its appearance in the early 1950s.Among all the committee members, there are either quite outstanding old people (such as Chen Yun) or the chief executive.Those retired old people participated in the Central Advisory Committee.The agency was established in 1982 to arrange for these senior old revolutionaries. Deng Xiaoping also encouraged old party members to retire collectively. In 1984, there were still about 2 million old party members who participated in the revolution before 1949 working.But by 1986, two-thirds of them had retired.After retirement, they still receive their full wages and enjoy various benefits and privileges, such as housing and cars.In government agencies, the retirement age is sixty-five for ministers and governors, and sixty for the remaining senior officials, with a few exceptions. The third phase began in 1986.During this phase, Deng Xiaoping raised his political reform goals.He revived some of the proposals that had been said before.One of them is that the leaders at all levels that the party needs must be more revolutionary, younger, educated and professional.He also pointed out that too much control by the party has resulted in duplication of work and overlapping of agencies, hindering the work of government departments and making it impossible for many experts to contribute to economic development. In addition, he also put forward a new proposition that "social democracy" and allow more people to participate in the management and decision-making of grassroots units.However, not many reforms were actually implemented, and people's reaction to political reforms was not strong.Although the forms of news media have become lively and diversified, new publications cannot be issued without government approval.Judging from the conversations Deng Xiaoping had with foreign guests in the summer of 1986, he himself hoped to further push forward the reform, and hoped to obtain the consent of veteran comrades in the party.However, the Central Plenary Session held in September of the same year did not reach any agreement on the reform of the political system. Instead, it focused on cultural and ideological issues, and the wording was steady.It was not until the 13th Party Congress in 1987 that Deng made the meeting make a decision to list the reform of the political system as the goal of the work of the whole party.However, even so, there were no clear regulations on how and to what extent the reform of the political system should be carried out at that time. When talking about cultural and ideological problems that threatened political and social order, and building socialist spiritual civilization, Deng stuck to the orthodox doctrine.He believed that "adhering to socialism and the leadership of the party" was the core of advanced thinking, and he explained the superiority of socialism from both moral and material aspects. "We fight for socialism not only because socialism has the conditions to develop productive forces faster than capitalism, but because only socialism can eliminate all kinds of greed, corruption and injustice that capitalism and other systems of exploitation inevitably produce." With regard to advanced culture, Deng Xiaoping believed that the core is to support the socialist system. Under the socialist system, people have ideals, morality, culture, and discipline, and abandon "all things look at money" and the bourgeoisie and all other exploiting classes. Rotten and backward things. ③Deng used moral standards to measure culture, which has quite Chinese characteristics. It is ironic that the morality advocated by Deng is different from the morality promoted by missionaries in central and northern Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, as well as with capitalism and the bourgeoisie. The rise of morality is very similar to that advocated by many historians in the West. Deng Xiaoping himself was also very concerned about fighting crime.This attitude of his depends on his harsh views on morality. In 1983, the party and the government carried out a large-scale crackdown on crimes to investigate and arrest all kinds of criminals and punish them severely.Several thousand people were sentenced to death.In some areas, the death penalty is publicly imposed on criminals.However, Deng was not satisfied with this.Two years later, at a meeting of the Politburo, he made a very stern statement on this issue: the death penalty cannot be abolished, and some criminals should be sentenced to death.I read some materials recently, and there are many repeat offenders. After being released from labor camps for several years, they continue to commit crimes, and they are more proficient and better at dealing with public security organs.Why not kill some of these recidivists in accordance with the law?There are also those who traffic in women and children, engage in reactionary sect activities, and refuse to mend their ways after repeated admonitions, why are they not given heavier sentences in accordance with the law?Of course, we must be cautious in killing people, but we must kill some. Issues related to the political and ideological fields, as long as they do not violate the criminal law, they will not be punished, and the death penalty will not be involved.But for serious economic and criminal offenders, some must be killed in accordance with the law.Now the overall performance is soft.The death penalty is also an essential educational tool. ④ Deng Xiaoping was also a diplomatic genius.In dealing with foreign affairs, he broke through Mao's thoughts and practices.He is relatively optimistic about whether the world can continue to maintain peace; when talking about China's attitude towards resolving regional and internal conflicts, he advocates using peaceful means to resolve them instead of blindly emphasizing revolution; when talking about China In his foreign economic policy, he advocated "openness to the outside world" rather than self-sufficiency.He also abandoned some views of Leninism, pointing out that the establishment of economic relations between the North and the South would not lead to war, but would instead lead to interdependence and promote friendly cooperation between the two sides. Although, in the years after 1978, Deng still verbally supported Mao Zedong's theory of the three worlds, but judging from his analysis methods and actions, his interest in this theory became less and less. In the end, he doesn't even mention the theory anymore.His talk was more like the conventional wisdom of a proper Western diplomat.He said that the purpose of a country's contacts with other countries is for the security of its own country and to increase its own wealth. Deng Xiaoping believed that the greatest threat China faced in the 1980s still came from the Soviet Union.But this threat is no longer about invading China or using bombs, but about encircling China strategically. On Christmas Day 1979, the Soviet Union sent troops to Afghanistan, and in just a few days, invested more than 100,000 troops. In the early 80s, Vietnam was even more in favor of the Soviet Union, offering two ports for use by the Soviet Pacific Fleet.In Deng Xiaoping's view, this was an act of "hegemony", that is, the Soviet Union's offensive policy aimed at establishing the Soviet Union's hegemonic power in Asia and weakening the power of the United States and China. Since law and order had been restored in China, economic reforms were proceeding smoothly, and Deng believed that the Soviet Union's external expansion had reached its limit. Therefore, he was convinced that China was stronger than before and did not need to rely too much on the United States.Just at this time, the United States took a new sympathetic attitude towards Taiwan's request for military assistance, so Sino-US relations once fell into a state of tension.This was from Reagan's inauguration in January 1981 to August 1982 when China and the United States reached an agreement banning the sale of arms to Taiwan by the United States. Negotiations between China and the United States on the above-mentioned issues lasted for six months, and finally reached a harshly worded agreement.During this period, the Chinese side has repeatedly criticized the US foreign policy, especially its Taiwan policy.This agreement constitutes a new framework for Sino-US relations.Within this framework, Sino-U.S. relations no longer depend on Sino-Soviet relations or U.S.-Soviet relations, but are based on the substantial interests of both sides. It gives China and the U.S., especially China, greater room for freedom of movement.But it also makes China pay attention to maintaining a balance between the two parties in the future: one is to maintain political independence, then the speed of economic development must be slowed down, and to speed up economic development, it is necessary to be more politically independent. dependent on the United States.The other is to implement an open-door policy, which is bound to face Western ideas and concepts, which may lead to political instability, while closing the door will prevent access to Western scientific and technological knowledge.Since 1982, the CCP has been trying to maintain a balance between the two. At the same time, on the premise of not harming national interests, China has also made demands on the two superpowers.Regarding the normalization of Sino-Soviet relations, China put forward three conditions: reducing the Soviet Union’s troops stationed on the Sino-Soviet border and in Outer Mongolia; the Soviet Union withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan; and giving up political and military assistance to Vietnam.With the changes in the international situation and the domestic situation in the Soviet Union, China did nothing, and the above three problems were resolved. China's requirement for the United States is to strictly follow three documents related to Sino-US relations, namely, the Shanghai Joint Communiqué signed by Zhou Enlai and Kissinger in 1972; China and the United States officially signed this document. It recognizes that the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government of China; Taiwan is only a province of China. It also confirms the withdrawal of all US armed forces and military installations from Taiwan The ultimate goal - the original note) and the agreement to prohibit the sale of arms to Taiwan.China does not have many options to force the United States to comply with these three documents.But equally, U.S. policymakers cannot ignore their demands.Because China has veto power in the UN Security Council, and she is a big country with a large population, which cannot be ignored in international affairs. Deng's attitude toward the rest of the world was neither cosmopolitan nor purely xenophobic.He welcomes all visitors, but does not regard them as more moral or wise than his own people.When he talks to foreign guests, he can sometimes be tough and even rude, but sometimes he can be humorous. When welcoming the visiting Queen of England in October 1986, he said: "Thank you for coming all the way to see me, an old Chinese man." Mao Zedong was an ardent patriot, but he had little interest in reclaiming the British and Portuguese colonies of Hong Kong and Macau.He makes only occasional dismissive references to Hong Kong newspaper coverage of Chinese politics.But he made no plans to take back the two lands. In the summer of 1967, the second year of the "Cultural Revolution", the radicals in Beijing and Guangdong issued an order to the leaders of the trade unions in Hong Kong, asking them to rise up against the colonial government, which triggered labor strikes in Hong Kong and plunged Hong Kong into chaos.But there is no evidence that Mao Zedong had any instructions on this, or ever encouraged them to do so.After the British government refused to accept the ultimatum of the demonstrators, a mob stormed the British agency in China and set fire to a house, but this also seemed to have nothing to do with Mao. Deng Xiaoping was just the opposite.He sees national unity as a top priority.At first, his main consideration was Taiwan. In 1981, he told a delegation of U.S. senators that after China's reunification, Taiwan could retain its own social and economic systems and even its own military.In September of the same year, Ye Jianying proposed the "nine-point policy", which specifically supplemented Deng's proposal. The key to the nine-point policy is two points. First, Taiwan can enjoy a high degree of autonomy as a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. Second, Taiwan's social and economic system remains unchanged, its way of life remains unchanged, its economic and cultural relations with foreign countries remain unchanged, and private property, houses, land, business ownership, legal inheritance rights and foreign investment are inviolable.Political leaders in Taiwan can also "take leadership positions in national political institutions and participate in national management."⑤ 紧接着，中国方面又根据叶的九条提出了"一国两制"的概念。邓小平并没有说是他提出这一概念的，也没有人正式将其归功于邓。但大家都认为这是邓的概念，邓小平本人经常把它挂在嘴边；而当外国人把它说成是邓小平的概念时，也没有任何一位中共官员表示反对。 叶的九条方针提出后，国共双方并没有进行谈判。台湾的权威人士表示，台湾的政策不会改变，台湾不会与中华人民共和国进行协商，也不允许台湾人与大陆人来往。然而，不管官方的反应如何，80年代以后，两岸之间各种形式的民间往来还是逐渐增多，贸易迅速增加。台湾对大陆的投资，特别是对福建省的投资迅速增加。1987年以后，在北京或其他一些城市，人们经常可以见到来自台湾的旅游团，而且两岸之间最终实现了通邮。 在香港和澳门问题上，则取得了很大进展。经过一系列的外交活动，最终签署了正式协议。在香港问题上，英国人首先采取了行动。1979年3月，香港总督麦理浩首次向中国方面提起了这个问题，他说根据英国和清政府签订的租约，英国向中国租借的新界地区（约占香港殖民地的92％）的租期，将于1997年6月30日的前三天到期，但是在香港前途未确定之前，这项租约将无法延续，因此造成了英国政府的困扰。中英双方就这个问题进行了探讨，其结论是在各方预粉之中的：中国方面不同意1997年以后续约。因此，香港的前途问题列入了中英双方的议事日程。双方先在各自的国内进行了探讨，接着又共同进行了探讨。 1982年1月，英国掌玺大臣艾金斯访问了北京。根据后来刊登最终协议的白皮书记载，当时中共领导人向他详细说明了中共对香港的政策。白皮书上说，这些政策证实了英国女王政府的观点即应该同中国政府进行谈判⑥。第二年9月，英国首相撤切尔夫人访问北京，中英双方开始了正式会谈。她不同意中方谈判代表以及邓本人对香港的看法。因为他们认为19世纪清政府与英国政府签订的割让香港和九龙的条约是不平等的，因而是无效的。但是她同意他们的另一个看法，即外交谈判应以维护香港的繁荣稳定为共同目的。双方随后发表了简短的联合声明，但并未提到双方谈判要达成何种协议，甚至也没有提谈判的基础。一开始他们只是在不影响香港安定的情况下进行谈判。 谈判本身拖延的时间很长，内容复杂、敏感，从而影响到了港人的信心。英国政府最初的立场是，愿意把香港的主权交还中国，以换取对香港继续行使管理权。但中国方面很快就表明了自己的立场，绝不接受1997年以后英国政府以任何形式继续管理香港。因为从法理上讲，中国政府从没有将香港的任何主权交给英国，只不过是在履行其所承担的使命，所以，英国人继续统治香港，对中国没有任何好处。从政治上讲，中国政府不能同意英国政府继续管理香港的理由，正如1984年6月邓小平对一批香港客人所说的："我们相信香港人能治理好香港，不能继续让外国人统治，否则香港人也是决不会答应的"⑦。 针对中国方面的这一立场，英国政府提出，"除了英国继续管理之外，任何行得通的有效措施，双方应该在有条件的基础上进行讨论，以维持香港的繁荣与稳定，并进一步探讨……中国对香港前途的看法……以便看出，在这种基本的安排下，是否能够确保香港持久的安定与繁荣"。 ⑧ 随后，双方进入了实质性的会谈。 经过漫长的谈判，中英双方终于就香港问题达成了协议。9月26日，双方谈判代表团团长撒切尔夫人和赵紫阳分别代表本国政府在北京草签协定。邓小平出席了草签仪式。1985年5月27日，中英互换批准文件，协定从当天起正式生效。 事实表明，邓小平对中英两国关于香港问题的谈判给予了极大的关注。《邓小平文选》所选的他1984年的文章中，有七篇涉及中英谈判和"一国两制"问题，由此可见，他对这一向题是非常重视的。他本人10月间在中央顾问委员会第三次全体会议上的讲话中也提到，1984年他只做了两件事，其中之一就是用"一国两制"的方式解决香港问题。中方谈判代表向英方谈判代表透露，邓小平有时要求他们汇报一下谈判的进展情况。 邓小平在会见外宾时，也经常提到中英谈判。他的谈话主要集中在三个方面。第一，他希望"一国两制"这个思路可以延伸到某些国际问题的处理上。 1984年7月他对英国外交大臣杰弗里·豪说"我们提出一个国家，两种制度的构想，也考虑到解决国际争端应该采取什么方法"，第二，这一思路适用于香港和台湾，因为这两个地区人口不多，让它们继续保留资本主义不会影响中国其他地方的社会主义。 12月，在同撒切尔夫人会谈时，他重申了这一点：我还想请首相告诉国际上和香港的人士，"一国两制"除了资本主义，还有社会主义，就是中国的主体、十亿人口的地区坚定不移地实行社会主义。主体地区是十亿人口，台湾是近两千万，香港是五百五十万，这就是个十亿同两千万和五百五十万的关系问题。主体是很大的主体，社会主义是在十亿人口地区的社会主义，这是个前提，没有这个前提是不行的。我们相信，在小范围内容件资本主义存在，更有利于社会主义。 ⑨第三，是关于爱国主义。 1984年6月，邓小平会见香港工商界访京团和香港知名人士时指出：港人治港有个界线和标准，就是必须由以爱国者为主体的港人来治理香港。未来香港特区政府的主要成分是爱国者，当然也要容纳别人，还可以聘请外国人当顾问。什么叫爱国者？爱国者的标准是，尊重自己民族，诚心诚意拥护祖国恢复行使对香港的主权，不损害香港的繁荣和稳定。只要具备这些条件，不管他们相信资本主义，还是相信封建主义，甚至相信奴隶主义，都是爱国者。我们不要求他们都赞成中国的社会主义制度，只要求他们爱祖国，爱香港口。 ⑩ 然而，有一点令人感到费解。中英会谈期间，中国代表强烈表示，香港方面不能组成一个单独的党派，也不同意所谓"三条腿的凳子"的说法。这是因为在他们看来，香港是中国的一部分，解决香港问题是中国的权力。另外，港人的一些做法也令他们失望。一部分人对"收回香港"是全体中国人的"共同愿望"持怀疑态度。但是，邓却注意到了三方面的利益。他在1984年10月同中央顾问委员的谈话中，在随后与撒切尔夫人的谈话中，都提到了这个问题：采用和平方式解决香港问题，就必须既考虑到香港的实际情况，也考虑到中国的实际情况和英国的实际情况，就是说，我们解决问题的办法要使三方面都能接受。如果用社会主义来统一，就做不到三方面都能接受。勉强接受了，也会造成混乱局面。即使不发生武力冲突，香港也将成为一个萧条的香港，后遗症很多的香港，不是我们所希望的香港。所以，就香港问题而言，三方面都能接受的只能是"一国两制"，允许香港继续实行资本主义，保留自由港和金融中心的地位，除此以外没有其他办法。⑾ Notes: ①1987年5月李先念同玛格丽特女王的谈话。 ②《邓小平文选》第三卷，第77页。 ③同上书，第112页。 ④同上书，第152－153页。 ⑤1981年9月31日，全国人民代表大会常务委员会委员长叶剑英发表的关于大陆和台湾实现和平统一的九条方针政策。 ⑥《白皮书·导言》，1984年9月26日。 ⑦《邓小平文选》第三卷，第61页。 ⑧《白皮书·导言》，1984年9月26日。 ⑨《邓小平文选》第三卷，第103页。 ⑩同上书，第61页。 ⑾同上书，第101－1O2页。