Chapter 49 One on one, face to face - Deng Xiaoping and Wallace (1)

Like Farage, Wallace is a world-class journalist.Born in a Russian-Jewish immigrant family in Boston, he has been engaged in journalism since his sophomore year of college, and worked successively at the University of Michigan Broadcasting Center and the Detroit Radio Station. Since 1968, he has served as a reporter for CBS's "Sixty Minutes" program, and has since become a household name in the United States.His fame is not only because he hosts the show, but also because of his brilliant interview performance.He has interviewed the "Watergate Incident", the Vietnam War and the Middle East War. He has interviewed more than a dozen international figures alone, such as: Johnson, Nixon, Reagan, Khomeini, Sadat, Begin, Pahlavi King and so on.

In 1986, he turned his lens on China's Deng Xiaoping again.This is not only because of Deng Xiaoping's legendary political career, but also because he is the main figure in promoting China's current reform. The reform and opening up policy advocated and implemented by him has made great achievements in just a few years and attracted the attention of the world. Deng Xiaoping said that he accepted Wallace's interview because he "wanted to take this opportunity to meet with the American people so that the American people can better understand him and China."So Wallace, who was in the news, became news himself.

1986 was indeed an extraordinary year for Deng Xiaoping. In January of this year, the famous American magazine "Time" selected Deng Xiaoping as "Newsman of 1985".Selected annually by the journal's editors, the honor is given to the individual they believe has had the greatest impact—for better or worse—on world affairs.This magazine of the American Conservative Party commented on Deng Xiaoping in its opening statement: This old man who moved a continent did not have the "internal charm of the bourgeoisie."He praised Deng Xiaoping as "the person who had the most profound influence on the course of world events".This is the second time that the 81-year-old leader of the world's most populous country with more than one billion people has been elected as the magazine's newsman. He won the title in 1978.

Other nominees the magazine is considering include Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, jailed anti-racism activist Nelson Mandela, swing-dancing fundraiser Bowes, Time spokeswoman Sheilaine Brown said. Bob Durdorf and "The Terrorist".Deng Xiaoping became the 59th news figure selected by the magazine every year.The magazine announced: "(Deng Xiaoping) was elected today because he has implemented comprehensive economic reforms in China that have produced 1 billion people." The magazine said that in economic reforms, Deng Xiaoping allowed Chinese farmers to grow whatever they wanted or to engage in a limited degree of freedom. Corporate events.It said: "If it works, the world will look different." Time magazine also said: "(Deng Xiaoping) has changed the daily life of his people to a greater extent than any other world leader."

And the rest of the world's public opinion also thinks that what the colleagues of "Time" magazine said is reasonable. Anyone who has been to the local area and has seen China's current tremendous changes knows that China has achieved double-digit economic growth rates at such a time. , that is, the rest of the world will be very happy if they can achieve a growth rate of one to two percent.Anyone who considers that this country is home to a quarter of the human population will agree to praise Deng Xiaoping as "the person who has had the most profound influence on the course of world events".There was no "restoration" of capitalism—China never had distinctive capitalism.The combination of markets and planning and opening to the outside world has brought the country into historically new territory where no one has gone before.

1986 was a critical moment for China's reform and opening up. Facing the complicated domestic and international relations, how should Deng Xiaoping, an 82-year-old man, make decisions about China's future? On September 2 of this year, Xinhua News Agency suddenly released a message as short as 100 characters—— Deng Xiaoping, director of the Central Advisory Committee of the Communist Party of China, accepted a television interview with Mike Wallace, a reporter from CBS's "Sixty Minutes" program in Zhongnanhai this morning.Deng Xiaoping answered Wallace's questions about China's economic reform, China's unification, Sino-US relations, and Sino-Soviet relations.

Although the word count of this news is not many, it has amazed all reporters around the world.On the one hand, the reporters envied Wallace for being able to interview Deng Xiaoping. On the other hand, they were more concerned about what Wallace had interviewed about Deng Xiaoping. What did Deng Xiaoping say?Are there any new sounds?Apparently no official details were revealed.And Wallace himself was tight-lipped. This arouses people's attention and curiosity even more.Some journalists are trying to dig out scoops like sharpening their heads, even if they can get a little wind. September 2nd is Tuesday.The "Sixty Minutes" program hosted by Wallace has a fixed schedule and can only be broadcast in prime time every Sunday night.In other words, it will take four days to wait until the truth comes out.

As a colleague, Wallace can only say with regret to his journalist friends from various countries: "We will not reveal anything until this talk is broadcast. I believe you can understand." This has aroused the interest of people who care about China and Deng Xiaoping, and even politicians all over the world.In order to make its own exclusive news a sensation, CBS can be regarded as satisfying everyone's appetite.The silence on the Chinese side and the blockade on the American side made this interview even more mysterious. Even so, Wallace couldn't contain his excitement and joy after successfully interviewing Deng Xiaoping.With some pride and pride, he told those colleagues who were chasing after him: "Deng Xiaoping was very humorous when he talked, and he looked very healthy after vacation. Deng Xiaoping was very willing to provide information when he was interviewed." The pride was palpable.

People look forward to Sunday. On September 7, 1986, when the kind face of the hale and hearty Deng Xiaoping appeared on American television, people once again appreciated the outstanding talent and wisdom of a great statesman from this familiar face full of spring. CBS America lived up to the hype.America is sensational!The world is sensational! Wallace set off a "Deng Xiaoping craze" around the world.For nearly a week, the public opinion of all the important media in the world focused on Deng Xiaoping and reported the conversation between Deng Xiaoping and Wallace at the fastest speed.

For a while, the CBS phone number became a hotline, and many TV stations asked to buy the right to broadcast the talk. This was Deng Xiaoping's first one-on-one TV interview.It is also another "examination" of his wisdom, talent and courage after he accepted the interview with the famous Italian female journalist Farage six years ago. Deng Xiaoping has been the subject of interviews by Chinese and foreign journalists for many years.Many reporters considered it an honor to interview Deng Xiaoping.Prior to this, the list of foreign journalists who asked Deng Xiaoping to meet had already been lined up in a long queue.But such opportunities are very few.Deng Xiaoping generally does not accept interviews with reporters. In his own words, he is the kind of person who "talks less and does more practical things."

But this time, Deng Xiaoping accepted Wallace's interview request. In his own words, he wanted to take this opportunity to meet with the American people so that the American people could better understand him and China.To know him is to understand China through him.For Deng Xiaoping, the motherland is the mother. In order to successfully complete the task of interviewing Deng Xiaoping, Wallace made careful preparations and careful research in advance.For this reason, he read almost all the written materials about Deng Xiaoping that he could find. Among them, Deng Xiaoping's youngest daughter Mao Mao wrote "In the Days in Jiangxi" that her family encountered during the "Cultural Revolution", recalling her father's strength from the perspective of her daughter , patience and firm belief, impressed him most.At the same time, in order to produce a program showing Deng Xiaoping's glorious years of struggle, Wallace also asked the Central News Documentary Film Studio and CCTV to provide some film and television materials about Deng Xiaoping's revolutionary experience, work and life.In order to increase the ratings of the program, he carefully asked the Chinese side to set the interview location in Zhongnanhai instead of the Great Hall of the People where Deng Xiaoping usually meets foreign guests.Because Zhongnanhai has a mysterious color both abroad and in China, on the one hand, it also takes this opportunity for the audience to have a look at the daily office of Chinese leaders inside the red wall; classic architecture.