Chapter 15 Chapter 15 The Honorable Old Man

1989--1983 Some of the three successors designated by Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Lin Biao and Hua Guofeng, have passed away and some have stepped down.Hu Yaobang, the first successor chosen by Deng Xiaoping, had the same result. Now it is Zhao Ziyang's turn. At the end of June, Li Peng submitted to the Central Committee a report on the mistakes Zhao Ziyang made during the period of anti-Party and anti-socialist turmoil. In general, he said that Zhao did not adhere to the four basic principles and did not insist on opposing bourgeois liberalization. , saying that he bears inescapable responsibility for the occurrence and development of the turmoil①.Organizationally speaking, Zhao Ziyang's fate was the same as Deng Xiaoping's in 1968 and 1976, when he lost his position as a member of the Central Committee, and all the party positions he held as a member of the Central Committee, only after his name Adding the word "comrade" allowed him to retain his party membership.Since then, he has completely disappeared.Now and then he played golf once or twice, which showed that he was not yet a prisoner. There were rumors in 1992 that he might be reinstated, but at the end of autumn, the Central Committee announced that it would not change its handling of him, and this rumor was self-defeating.

In addition to Zhao Ziyang losing his position in the Politburo and the state, several other members of the Central Committee were demoted, and Hu Qili lost his position in the Political Bureau and Secretariat of the Central Committee.Three new members of the Standing Committee were added to the list: Jiang Zemin, Song Ping, and Li Ruihuan.Jiang Zemin served as general secretary. Jiang Zemin was an unexpected candidate.Like Li Peng, he was originally a technical engineer and worked in many technical departments in the 1960s and 1970s.He's an amiable guy and loves to laugh.Jiang grew up in Shanghai. When the mood strikes, he can also sing English songs and likes American movies from the 1940s.When he was young, he hid in the trunk of the principal's car and escaped from the campus in order to avoid the Kuomintang army and police searching for communists.Jiang is both an enemy of bourgeois liberalization and a zealot of economic development.

Li Ruihuan is a young and active person. In 1958, he completed the construction of the Great Hall of the People in eight months and won the reputation of "Youth Luban".He served as the mayor of Tianjin, a very imaginative and capable mayor, he is like a ball of fire, and the conversation is never rigid.He encourages overseas investment in Tianjin, which is well known.His promotion, like Jiang Zemin's, represents Deng Xiaoping's desire to continue reforms. Two months after the meeting of the Central Committee, Deng Xiaoping did not accept the dissuasion of other comrades and prepared to resign as the chairman of the Central Military Commission.But one thing is clear: Deng Xiaoping's resignation from work did not mean that he had completely abandoned politics.Deng Xiaoping clearly stated that even if he completely stepped down, he would continue to work for the party and the country.He is very clear that for a one-party state, there are two possibilities for the fate of the leader after leaving office: one is to become a veteran leader, and the other is to lose power.As a leader with seventy years of political career, even if he completely retires, the party and the country will still ask him for advice.

In his resignation letter, Deng Xiaoping said that he was still in good health.It should be said that there is no reason to doubt this fact.Suddenly, however, Deng looked much older.As far as his physical condition is concerned, he is right to choose this time to retire.How did he pass the time after retirement?Most of the time he is with the children.Most of his children are also middle-aged, and he seems to be closest to his youngest daughter, Deng Rong. She was the one who helped him into the venue at the 14th Party Congress in October 1992.Deng continued to play bridge, again with his old friends, including Wan Li and Yang Shangkun.He also received occasional foreign visitors. In the fall of 1989, he met with Kissinger and North Korea's Kim Il Sung.

Deng Xiaoping still cared about international affairs.The collapse of communism in the GDR, Czechoslovakia, and Romania in 1989-1990 strengthened his view that China should rise up against the West's joint campaign to overthrow world socialism.Deng Xiaoping saw the impact of international changes on China. In early 1990, he and the Party Central Committee warned people: Everyone should be clear that under the current international situation, all the enemy's spearheads will be directed at China.They will use all kinds of excuses to create troubles, increase our difficulties and put pressure on us.In any case, China needs stability, stability, and stability.

For our party and the country, the next three to five years will be quite difficult, but also crucial.If we collapse, China's history will be set back decades or even a hundred years. (Translated according to the original text.--Annotation) This is the attitude Deng Xiaoping and the party's new leaders took towards the sanctions imposed on China after the "June 4th" incident by Western countries. Deng Xiaoping believed that the Western capitalist world had formulated a strategy of "peaceful evolution" throughout the communist world.Deng Xiaoping advocated that China adopt a cautious attitude in diplomacy.He proposed to be good at taking advantage of opportunities to solve development problems.In the international arena, we must calmly observe, hold our ground, deal with it calmly, do our own thing well, achieve our goals, and avoid engaging in ideological disputes.

Deng Xiaoping's views were taken seriously.As a result of implementing Deng Xiaoping's ideas, China gradually gained the upper hand.Western economic sanctions failed, and Western ministers began to visit China again. In 1992, Yang Shangkun received a smiling Yeltsin in Beijing.Patience and prudence have indeed led to China's success.With the help of events, notably Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the West had to enlist China's support at the United Nations.As a result, China has resumed its status on the international stage. Deng Xiaoping was also victorious in economic reform.This is due to the speech he gave to the cadres above the martial law army and his promotion of Jiang Zemin.Therefore, after "June 4th", there were no serious obstacles in continuing to implement the policies of the 1980s.The household contract responsibility system is still implemented in agriculture; the scope of the planned economy has not been expanded; the incentive policy for foreign investors has not changed.Moreover, Deng Xiaoping wanted to expand the pace of reform, opening up and development.

Since Deng Xiaoping no longer gave speeches at party meetings and rarely received foreign visitors, it is not easy to understand his ideological development.However, in early 1990 and late 1991, he often talked about reform with senior party leaders.What is clear is that many people were indifferent or opposed to his views. In the spring of 1991, a Shanghai newspaper published an article stating his views, while some national newspapers did not even mention the article. In early 1992, he began his southern tour.Tour Central China, South China, and East China, including places where his words can be quickly reported by Hong Kong.He visited Wuhan, Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, Zhuhai and Shanghai.Everywhere he went, he gave a speech.Soon the entirety of his speech and some quotes were appearing in newspapers, radio and television programs in Hong Kong.Thousands of viewers in southern China watching Hong Kong TV quickly got the news, and soon the news spread all over the country.

Judging by the speed with which Beijing reacted to the matter, the CCP leadership decided to support Deng Xiaoping's views without too much controversy. February 21.Deng Xiaoping's final speech on his southern tour. On the 28th, part of his speech was distributed to party organizations at all levels in the form of a Central Committee document. During his visit to the south, Deng Xiaoping talked about two major issues: economic development and political reform.On the issue of development, he emphasized that the line of "one center, two basic points" is correct and cannot be changed. This line must be implemented boldly and creatively.In a speech, he said something that had a major breakthrough in his thinking.Even Hu Yaobang, the most radical reformer at that time, would be surprised by this passage.He said: Whether there is more planning or more market is not the essential difference between socialism and capitalism.A planned economy is not equal to socialism, and capitalism also has planning; a market economy is not equal to capitalism, and socialism also has markets.Both planning and markets are economic instruments.The essence of socialism is to liberate productive forces, develop productive forces, eliminate exploitation, eliminate polarization, and ultimately achieve common prosperity.I just want to explain this truth to everyone.

Deng Xiaoping also criticized those who were critical of economic reforms.He said: Now, there are right things affecting us, and there are also "left" things affecting us, but the "left" things are still deeply rooted.Some theorists and politicians use big hats to frighten people, not the right, but the "left". "Left" has a revolutionary color, and it seems that the more "left", the more revolutionary. "Left" things are terrible in the history of our party!A good thing was destroyed by him at once.The right can ruin socialism, and the "left" can also ruin socialism.China should be vigilant against the right, but mainly to prevent the "left".There are right things, and turmoil is right! There are also "left" things.Describing reform and opening up as the introduction and development of capitalism, and arguing that the main danger of peaceful evolution comes from the economic field, these are "Left" ③.

The words are clear: the reaction to liberalization has gone too far, even threatening economic development and national morale, so the backlash needs to be stopped. In politics, as he has said many times in the past, he advocates improving social order (we must not be relentless in combating various criminal activities and eliminating various undesirable social phenomena), adheres to the four basic principles, and promotes young people to When the party's leadership posts come up, they use Marxism creatively (seeking truth from facts is the essence of Marxism).Finally, he said: "I firmly believe that there will be more people in the world who agree with Marxism, because Marxism is a science. It uses historical materialism to reveal the laws of human social development." He also said: "Some countries have emerged Serious twists and turns, socialism seems to be weakened, but the people have been tempered and learned from it, which will promote socialism to develop in a healthier direction. Therefore, don't panic, don't think that Marxism has disappeared, useless, and failed .No such thing!" After Deng Xiaoping's speech was published in the "People's Daily" in early summer, it caused great repercussions in political life and became a turning point in politics.Since then, China's political situation has developed in the direction Deng Xiaoping hoped. Deng Xiaoping's success became a foregone conclusion at the Party's Fourteenth Congress in October 1992.In his political report, Jiang Zemin likened Deng Xiaoping to the chief architect of reform and opening up and China's socialist modernization, and pointed out that the task of the congress is to use Deng Xiaoping's theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics as a guiding principle...to accelerate reform, opening up, and the realization of Four modern steps.He also said that the goal of economic system reform is to "build a socialist market economic system." On the last day of the conference, when Deng Xiaoping walked slowly through the meeting hall with the careful support of Deng Rong, he fully experienced the taste of success.Deng Xiaoping didn't make any speeches and didn't stay for long, but the enthusiastic applause of the delegates showed that people loved the chief architect more than the helmsman Mao Zedong.The delegates will miss him dearly.Because the representatives knew that many people had helped Deng Xiaoping design China's modernization and established a set of basic theories, but they also knew that Deng Xiaoping had always been the main promoter of China's modernization.What would China be like without Deng Xiaoping?Indeed, in the new leadership, or in all parts of the country, in every field, no one can compare with Deng Xiaoping in terms of prestige, experience or ability. Notes: ① "Seventy Years of the Communist Party of China", Central Party History Publishing House, 1991 edition, p. 515. ② "Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping" Volume III, page 373. ③Ibid., page 375. Conclusion What exactly did Deng Xiaoping achieve in his extraordinary life?What will happen to China after his death? Deng Xiaoping's first achievement was the leadership of China, which was a prerequisite for his other achievements.He joined the revolution very early, and his youth is his greatest advantage; when he started to believe in Marxism, he was five years or more younger than the first generation leaders of the Chinese Communist Party at that time, so he could live longer than them .But in the 1920s and 1930s, his status in the party was far behind them, even inferior to some of his peers, such as Chen Yun. Before 1945, he was not a member of the Central Committee, let alone a member of the Politburo.He was in his forties when he was elected as a member of the Central Committee. When he was transferred from Sichuan to Beijing in 1952, he was not among the top leaders among the new national leaders.Although he was quickly promoted to general secretary after 1956, no one saw him as Mao Zedong's successor. He was overthrown during the "Cultural Revolution", and everyone thought he would never be able to make a comeback, let alone surpass Zhou Enlai, Lin Biao, or other Mao Zedong's revolutionary comrades in arms. Deng Xiaoping's comeback should indeed be attributed to Mao: he did not expel Deng Xiaoping in 1968 In 1972, he accepted Deng Xiaoping's request to come back and decided to let Deng come back.Of course, this does not rule out the stupidity of Deng's political opponents.However, the most important thing is the excellent quality of Deng himself.He was strong, unyielding, and made many loyal friends.During the period from when he lost power again in 1976 to Mao Zedong's death in September of that year, the "Gang of Four" was unable to kill him because his friends protected him. As a national leader, Deng Xiaoping's two major achievements were to put China on the path of rapid economic development; and to bring China into the mainstream of international life.In terms of economic development, his main contribution is to make economic work the focus of the work of the whole party.And once opened the door to China.He got help from other people, he went with the trend of the times.After two decades of revolution, people yearn for stability and economic development.It was his speech at the Central Work Conference in December 1978 that made it possible for the Party Central Committee to list the four modernizations proposed by Zhou Enlai as "the focus of the work of the whole party"; He rejected the "two whatevers" and decided to abandon "class struggle as the key link", thus eliminating obstacles to economic development. In terms of method, Deng Xiaoping contributed little.He was the first to propose the "opening to the outside world" policy, and he also paid great attention to the development of special economic zones, and made the special economic zones the most powerful proof of the open policy.But the specific details, he always handed over to other people.This may be better. The reforms advocated and promoted by Deng Xiaoping are still somewhat faltering, but the achievements they have achieved are remarkable.During the thirteen years from 1980 to 1992, China's gross national product increased by 8% every year, which was comparable to the "four tigers" in Asia and far exceeded the development speed of European countries (1992, World Bank The chief economist pointed out that China's economic growth rate is 6.4% faster than that of the United States in recent years. If this speed remains unchanged, China's gross national product will surpass that of the United States in eleven years time).From 1980 to 1990, China's foreign trade volume increased from 38 billion US dollars to 115 billion US dollars. China has progressed from a country with few foreign trade activities to foreign trade as the driving force for economic development.At the same time, China has attracted more foreign investment than other developing countries.By 1990, foreign capital had established or expanded more than 30,000 enterprises in China, with a total investment of more than two billion U.S. dollars (and more funds have been signed to introduce contracts).It is true that in some provinces in the interior, people's lives are still very poor, but even in these areas, people's living conditions have improved. Economic reforms also created problems.The first is inflation. From 1988 to 1990, the price index of national retail goods also rose, which was not unrelated to the political unrest in 1989. In 1992, the national economy grew again, creating a good result of annual growth of 10%, but new inflation appeared.The second issue concerns the government's fiscal revenue.Since the government has delegated the taxation power of many products to the provinces, the proportion of the provinces’ tax revenues to the country in the total national income has dropped from 47% in 1979 to 16% in 1990, far lower than that of the United States and Europe. nation.The third issue concerns state-owned enterprises.Since state-owned enterprises have to pay all kinds of benefits for all employees, including retired workers, and often sell products at very low fixed prices, more and more state-owned enterprises have suffered losses. In 1990, state-owned enterprises lost as much as 20 billion U.S. dollars, equivalent to 5 percent of national income. The problem is serious.But compared with the achievements of China's economic development and the turmoil that followed the end of the Communist Party leadership in the Soviet Union and most of Eastern Europe, these problems paled into insignificance.So, what is the secret of the successful economic reform of the Chinese Communist Party?There are three points that can be pointed out.First, the starting point of China's reform was agriculture rather than industry and commerce.With the implementation of the household contract responsibility system, the raw materials needed for food and light industry were greatly enriched, thus creating conditions for urban reform.Second, in the process of implementing price reforms, avoid major social turmoil.The specific approach is to patiently persuade the vested interests and enterprises of the old economic system, rather than forcing them to join the more competitive economic fields.Nor did consumers oppose the reforms due to inflation and falling living standards.The highest inflation rate in China was 18.50% (in 1988), and the inflation rate in the Soviet Union was 91% in 1991, and it became more serious in the future.Third, put political reforms behind economic reforms.This of course disappointed a lot of people (hence the horrific tragedy of 1989).But it also shows that the state can still control those who are not in favor of reform, such as those responsible for planning in the planned economy system and workers in large enterprises with various benefits and retirement guarantees, whose interests have been hurt by the reform.Without their own newspapers, trade unions or political organizations, they can only exert their pressure within the party, but these pressures will be resolved by relative pressure within the party.In other words, the entire reform program will not be forced to stop due to external political activities, nor will it be forced to modify some programs that may be very unfavorable to a particular group of society, even those reform programs that are the most unpopular. can also continue to be implemented. This is not to say that the dictatorship of the proletariat adopted by Deng Xiaoping and his colleagues was benevolent.no.Nor is it that Deng Xiaoping and other leaders of the Chinese Communist Party hoped that one day the dictatorship of the proletariat and the leadership of the party would be replaced by a multi-party system and elections for the executive and legislative bodies. They never thought so.Rather, it is necessary to establish a more open political order with the gradual implementation of political system reforms.In a developing country, democracy must be implemented step by step. Only when the country's economy and education have developed to a certain level can democracy be thoroughly implemented. From 1950 until Nixon's visit in 1972, China was isolated from the world.Even in the minds of people in some other communist countries, China is a remote and mysterious place.Except, of course, North Korea, Mongolia and Vietnam.An important reason for China's isolation from the world is that the United States has imposed a blockade on China since the Korean War.In addition, some of Mao Zedong's own practices are also one of the important reasons.He was not interested in most parts of the world, nor in the only country he ever visited, the Soviet Union.Therefore, the world's understanding of China is getting less and less, and China's understanding of the world is also becoming narrower and narrower. Deng Xiaoping changed all that.Under his guidance, China imported foreign capital, technology, and industrial and commercial skills to meet the needs of rapid modernization.At the same time, he allowed China to exert an influence comparable to China's national power in dealing with international and regional disputes; he changed China's views on some issues, deemphasizing revolution and war.Over the past decade, China has worked to defuse tensions in the world, trying to cool down some "hot spots".China has also joined many international organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund and Interpol.She has also sent overseas students to many developed countries. There are more than 30,000 Chinese students in the United States. In addition, she herself has accepted consultants, scholars and students from all over the world.Beijing International Airport has more than a dozen flights to Europe and the United States every day, while 15 years ago, there were only three to four flights a day. What will the future of China look like?China is so big and developing so fast that it is difficult to predict her future.If we take China's past development as a reference, then we can describe her future development trend from at least four aspects. First, the political aspect.One hundred years after Deng Xiaoping, there will be one person (before this century, this leader in China must be a man) become the top leader of the party, and finally the leader of the country, but it will take a period of operation and disputes.China's tradition and democratic centralism both require a supreme leader.This is not to say that collective leadership will become an empty slogan.Rather, the new leader's closest people will be his assistants rather than his colleagues. Second, the social aspect.The number of highly educated people continues to increase, and the level of knowledge in society increases accordingly. Therefore, the demand for social and cultural freedom will become stronger and stronger. These highly educated people and people from other social strata will decide whether to give up one-party rule or not. It is wise to debate this issue.So China may allow and even strengthen freedoms of all kinds, as Hong Kong did in the early days, but progress toward multiparty systems has been slow. Third, economic and social aspects.At present, China's population has exceeded 1.1 billion, and it will grow rapidly, and it will exceed 1.2 billion by the end of this century.The food problem will become a new problem and even reduce the food supply to each family.Whether to re-implement the rationing system or to increase food imports is a choice China must make. Fourth, there are political and cultural aspects.Minorities in Tibet, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia will demand greater cultural freedom and political autonomy.So far, the world's attention has been mainly on Tibet.However, ethnic minorities in Xinjiang will be more determined to demand cultural freedom and political autonomy under the influence of Islamic revivalism and the establishment of their own countries by Muslim brothers and sisters in the former Soviet Union. Meanwhile, the Chinese will have to pass judgment on the man who has led them since Mao's death.Most Chinese will see some weakness in him.Some will say he did more than he did, but most will say he did more because he led them to a level of living that was unheard of before and a level their parents could never have dreamed of.