Chapter 79 Looking at the future of the people's struggle in Asia, Africa and Latin America from a historical perspective[1]

(July 9, 1964) The future of the people's struggle in Asia, Africa and Latin America is a matter of concern to everyone.If you want to look at the future, you must look at history.Judging from the history of Asia, Africa, and Latin America in the ten years after the Second World War, we can know the future of the people of Asia, Africa, and Latin America.Take China for example. Nineteen years ago, Japanese militarism occupied most of our country, and we fought against it for eight years.After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the Americans came, and they supported Chiang Kai-shek in launching the civil war.The enemies we have to deal with before liberation are Japanese militarism and U.S. imperialism, as well as their lackeys Wang Jingwei[2], Emperor Kant of "Manchukuo"[3], and Chiang Kai-shek.After our liberation, a Japanese capitalist named Nango Saburo [4] talked to me once, and he said: "I am sorry for you, Japan invaded you." I said: "No, if there is no Japanese imperialism to launch a big Large-scale aggression occupied more than half of China, and it was impossible for the entire Chinese people to unite against imperialism, and the Chinese Communist Party would not be able to win.” In fact, Japanese imperialism became our good teacher.First, it weakened Chiang Kai-shek; second, we developed the bases and the army led by the Communist Party.Before the War of Resistance, our army had reached 300,000, but due to our own mistakes, it was reduced to more than 20,000.During the eight years of the War of Resistance, our army grew to 1.2 million people.You see, didn’t Japan do us a big favor? This favor was not done by the Japanese Communist Party, but by Japanese militarism.Because the Japanese Communist Party did not invade us, but the Japanese monopoly capital and its militaristic government invaded us.Our second teacher who helped us was American imperialism.The third instructor who helped us was Chiang Kai-shek.At that time Chiang Kai-shek had more than 4 million troops attacking us, and our army fought against him for four years, growing from 1.2 million to more than 5 million.More than 95 percent of Chiang Kai-shek's troops were wiped out by us, and less than 5 percent of the troops left went to Taiwan.The lesson China has learned is this: where there is oppression, there is resistance; where there is exploitation, there is resistance.Imperialism, whether it is Japanese imperialism, American imperialism or other imperialism, can be defeated.Domestic reactionaries, such as Chiang Kai-shek, can be defeated no matter how powerful they are.This is the historical situation in China.

Now the Japanese people have become very conscious and have launched a massive campaign against U.S. imperialism and their own monopoly capital.Who raised them up? It was the oppression and exploitation of U.S. imperialism and Japanese monopoly capital that educated them, not the Chinese Communist Party who taught them to do so.I said that the Japanese monopoly capital did not fully approve of the U.S. imperialist occupation of Japan, and some Japanese monopoly capitalists were dissatisfied with this kind of occupation, because under the U.S. imperialist occupation, Japan not only lost its colonies, but also came under U.S. control.Now not only the Japanese people but also some Japanese monopoly capitalists have begun to oppose U.S. imperialism.

When it comes to the history of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, great changes have taken place in the past ten years.In Africa alone, more than thirty countries have become independent.Before 1958, I rarely saw Africans.From 1958 to 1964, I often saw African friends every year.Africa has a big storm against imperialism and colonialism.For example, in Egypt, the Suez Canal Incident[5] occurred in 1956. Is the British and French coalition forces stronger, or the Egyptian army stronger? Britain and France are so powerful, why did they run away with a dozen? Now where is the Suez Canal? In the hands of the Egyptians, or in the hands of the British and French imperialists? Look at Algeria again. The National Liberation Army fought for eight years. France dispatched 800,000 troops in the latter part of the war. The National Liberation Army only had 30,000 to 40,000 troops. Is it stronger, or is French imperialism stronger? Let’s talk about Cuba again. Is U.S. imperialism and its lackey Batista[6] stronger, or Castro[7] stronger? Castro’s army 8 More than a dozen people returned to Cuba by boat from abroad and landed on the shore. After the fierce battle, the remaining twelve people hid in the farmers' homes, and later rose up to engage in guerrilla warfare. After more than two years, they won the victory.As for the aggression against France against Vietnam and the aggression against France against Algeria, we openly supported it. Wouldn’t this offend the French government? No, Ho Chi Minh[8] won, Ben Bella[9] won, France But China was recognized.So things are changing in the world.Now the French are teaching the Americans a lesson, asking the United States to accept the lesson of France and stop fighting in South Vietnam: "We the French failed, and if you Americans want to fight, you will also fail like us." The United States will probably accept France. The lesson is that we have been fighting for three years and can't win, and it won't work if we continue to fight.You see! Whether it is three years or longer, the United States will always leave Vietnam.The United States also has to go from Thailand, Laos, the Philippines, South Korea, Japan and other places, and it also has to go from Taiwan.The time it takes is uncertain, but it must go.Therefore, all imperialism and colonialism that oppress Asia, Africa, and Latin America will go away one day, as long as the people unite and strengthen their struggle.If it goes, it can also go in a more civilized way.If you ask it to go, what should you do? Then learn from Castro's method, Ben Bella's method, Ho Chi Minh's method, or China's method.Therefore, when we look at history, we will see the future.

When we talk about the people, we don't talk about the reactionaries. The people of one country do not oppress or exploit the people of another country.For example, representatives of the peoples of Asian and African countries present here, have you oppressed the Chinese people? Have you exploited the Chinese people? We have not felt it.Can the Chinese people oppress you? Can they exploit you? If the Chinese government does this, then the Chinese government is imperialism, not socialism.If some Chinese people don't respect you, don't talk about equality, and make troubles in your country, then you can drive such Chinese people away.This is the most fundamental principle for the people of Asia, Africa and Latin America to unite against imperialism.Our mutual relationship is that of brothers, not that of Lao Tzu to his son.To consolidate unity, we must establish a broad united front.No matter who you are, no matter if you are black, white or yellow, no matter what religion you believe in, whether it is Catholicism, Christianity, Islam or Buddhism, including part of the national bourgeoisie, as long as you are against imperialism and its lackeys, All should be united, except for the lackeys of imperialism in these countries.

As for the question of how to defeat the domestic reactionaries, I think that we should either use literary methods or use military methods.Some countries want to call on the broad masses of the people to rise up and use force against the reactionaries, because the reactionaries have weapons in their hands.It is necessary to take advantage of the appropriate time according to the situation of each country. If he wants to fight, I will fight.This method was learned from the reactionaries.We learned it from Chiang Kai-shek. When Chiang Kai-shek beat me, I beat him.He can hit me, can't I hit him?

Some people say that weapons come first and people come second.Let's say it the other way around, people are first and weapons are second.Weapons, like machines, are nothing more than extensions of the human hand.Is the weapon held by the person, or is the weapon held by the person? Of course it is the latter, because the weapon has no hands, so which weapon has hands? I have fought for twenty-five years, including three years in the Korean War.I didn't know how to fight, and I didn't know how to fight. I learned how to fight through twenty-five years of war.I have never seen weapons with hands, only people with hands, and people hold weapons with their hands.

Our "reputation" is very bad, the US imperialists say we are aggressors.They said that we invaded China, which is indeed an "invasion" of Chiang Kai-shek, but it was Chiang Kai-shek who invaded us first! They also said that we invaded North Korea. It was because the US imperialists hit the Yalu River that we had to send troops to resist the United States and aid Korea. .It was also said that we invaded India. That was because India penetrated dozens of kilometers into our country. It fought for several years before we fought back in self-defense.After one dozen, they were sent back to the old country.At the old national border thousands of kilometers away, all the Indians ran away and there was no army, so we withdrew back to the so-called new national border[10] stipulated by the imperialists, which we do not recognize.We retreated twenty kilometers from here and set up a buffer zone.The imperialists also say that we are militants because we used to help Ho Chi Minh fight the French, and now we support South Vietnam to fight the Americans. We also supported Ben Bella to fight the French.Wherever support is needed, we will support it, so we have a bad reputation and become a "militant"

An Angolan friend asked, what illusions and dangers should be avoided in establishing an independent national economy? Since Angola has not yet been liberated and armed struggle is still needed, you can only carry out revolution now, and economic construction can only be carried out in base areas.Portugal will not help you.America's help has ulterior motives.If you want to prevent illusions, I want to prevent illusions about America.As for what dangers will arise during the construction process, it is difficult to say now.If we talk about preventing danger, we mean preventing danger from imperialism.As for making some mistakes in actual work, it is inevitable.Any political party will make mistakes, and the Chinese Communist Party has made many mistakes, including major mistakes.Make a mistake, just correct it.Mistakes help to clear one's mind.

According to the "Mao Zedong Diplomatic Selected Works" published in 1994 by Central Literature Publishing House and World Knowledge Publishing House. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1] This is the main part of Mao Zedong's conversation with representatives of some countries and regions in Asia, Africa, and Oceania who visited China after participating in the Second Asian Economic Symposium in Pyongyang, North Korea. [2] Wang Jingwei (1883-1944), a native of Shanyin (now Shaoxing), Zhejiang.In 1925, he served as the chairman of the Kuomintang government in Guangzhou.In July 1927, a counter-revolutionary coup was launched in Wuhan.After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in 1937, he served as the vice chairman of the National Defense Supreme Council of the Kuomintang, advocated compromise with Japan, and was the leader of the pro-Japanese faction in the Kuomintang.In March 1938, he served as the vice president of the Kuomintang. In December of the same year, he publicly surrendered to Japanese imperialism and later served as the chairman of the Nanjing puppet government supported by Japanese imperialism.

[3] Emperor Kant, that is, Aixinjueluo Puyi (1906-1967), a native of Beijing, was the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty.After the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912, he was forced to abdicate.In 1932, under the plan of Japanese imperialism, he became the "ruler" of the puppet Manchukuo.In 1934, he was renamed "Emperor of the Manchurian Empire" and his reign was Kant.After the surrender of Japan in 1945, he was captured by the Soviet Army and was handed over to the government of the People's Republic of China in August 1950.In December 1959, he was released by amnesty.After 1964, he served as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

[4] Sanlang Nanxiang, see note [13] on page 248 of this volume. [5] Suez Canal incident, see note [12] on page 25 of this volume. [6] Batista, see note [5] on page 178 of this volume. [7] Castro, see note [6] on page 178 of this volume. [8] Ho Chi Minh, see note [3] on page 162 of this volume. [9] Ben Bella, see note [7] on page 381 of this volume. [10] Refers to the McMahon Line.It is an illegal boundary created by the British colonialists in March 1914, behind the backs of the representatives of the Chinese central government, and the Tibetan local authorities in a secret exchange of letters.The line assigned 90,000 square kilometers of land in the eastern section of the Sino-Indian border that had traditionally belonged to China to India under British colonial rule at that time.The Chinese government has never ratified or recognized the border line.In 1953, India basically occupied Chinese territory south of the line.