Chapter 60 New findings from "the eyes of people all over the world"

Snow's report on Yan'an not only attracted the attention of reporters, but also attracted the attention of Britain, the United States and other countries to Yan'an. With the strengthening of the anti-Japanese forces in the enemy's rear, Britain and the United States changed their consistent views on the Communist Party.They believed that in order to defeat fascism, we must make full use of China's human and material resources, especially the anti-Japanese forces behind enemy lines led by the Chinese Communist Party.Therefore, they planned to send people to Yan'an and the liberated areas to learn about the strength of the Communist Party.

In March 1944, the United Kingdom and the United States formally proposed to Yan'an that they should send journalists from Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia and other countries to form a press corps to conduct interviews in Yan'an and behind enemy lines to learn about the real situation of the Communist Party. For this incident, it aroused two completely different reactions in Chongqing and Yan'an. Chongqing obviously has some fears.They were afraid that foreign journalists would expose their various slanders against Yan'an after breaking through their news blockade.However, in view of the historical conditions at that time, Chongqing still dared not openly reject the demands of Britain, the United States and other countries.So we had to set up many obstacles and deliberately make things difficult and procrastinate.After being blamed for making things difficult and delaying, they changed their methods to achieve the purpose of controlling the actions of the press corps.The Kuomintang proposed to change the group of foreign journalists into a group of Chinese and foreign journalists, allowing reporters from the Kuomintang Central News Agency, Central Daily, Mobang Daily, etc. to participate in this interview, and assigning special agents to serve as the head and deputy head of the group, stipulating that Chinese and foreign reporters must be under their leadership Unified action to strengthen "leadership".

Yan'an has shown a high degree of enthusiasm for this. On March 9, Zhou Enlai personally telegraphed Dong Laozhuan to the foreign journalists group, saying: "I am entrusted by Comrades Mao Zedong, Zhu De and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. I send you a warm welcome." The Political Bureau of the Central Committee also held a special meeting for this purpose and decided to Vice Chairman Zhou Enlai personally took charge of this work, and established the fundamental task of reception: "Propaganda out, win over." That is to say, publicize the specific policies and achievements of our party and our army, expose the Kuomintang's rumors and slanders, Make friends with them in a sincere and frank spirit, so as to facilitate the development of a united front at home and abroad.

The specific work of the reception, from the layout of the room, to the reception of meals, and even the questions asked by the press corps, was very well prepared.For example, in the way of hanging the portraits of the "Four Leaders" of the Allied countries, the reception desk came up with a flexible and concealed method, which neither offended the Kuomintang and the Allied countries, but also expressed our position.From left to right are Stalin, Roosevelt, Chiang Kai-shek and Churchill.According to the Chinese custom, the middle-right is the most important, so it seems that Chiang Kai-shek is put first, Roosevelt second, Churchill third, and Stalin last, so that the Kuomintang cannot be critical.Foreigners are used to sorting from left to right. Therefore, it seems that Stalin is the first, and Chiang Kai-shek and Churchill are the last, which makes foreign reporters satisfied.

On June 9, 1944, the press team arrived in Yan'an. The team leader was Xie Baoqiao, deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Bureau of the Kuomintang, and Deng Youde, deputy director of the Press Inspection Bureau. Among them were famous foreign journalists Stein, Epstein, and Foreman. , Pujinke, etc.Among the members are members of the Kuomintang Central Propaganda Department, such as Wei Jingmeng, the director of the Kuomintang Propaganda Department who is responsible for checking foreign manuscripts, and his assistant Tao Qixiang, Zhang Husheng who is in charge of business work, and Yang Xikun who is in charge of party affairs.Inside, there was also a secret service section chief who disguised himself as an ordinary staff member and mixed with the reporter corps to run a radio station.From the allocation of these personnel, it can be seen that their purpose is to control all interviews, writing and freedom of movement of Chinese and foreign journalists.

Although the KMT exercises official control over the press corps, most foreign journalists have their own independent positions.Therefore, our party has focused its work on foreign journalists.For example, Stein is a reporter for the Associated Press and the American Christian Science Monitor. He has been working as a reporter for many years and has great political insights and ability to act.Foreman was a reporter for the United Press and The Times of London. He was upright and simple. He had no obvious political prejudice against the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. He had been to Yan'an.Putinko himself is a member of the Communist Party, and his political stance and views are basically the same as ours.

At 5 pm on the 10th, Commander-in-Chief Zhu hosted a banquet for Chinese and foreign journalists.Epstein said frankly: "It is not easy to come to Yan'an, so we are very happy. ... In the camp of the Allied countries, no area should be closed, and professional journalists should not be closed. There is any area that does not allow them to see, because they are the eyes of the people of the world.... This place has been closed for a long time, this time, we opened a gap, and from now on it will be closed forcibly It's impossible." Epstein's remarks euphemistically criticized the Kuomintang's blockade policy on our border area, which won warm applause from the venue.

A few days later, foreign journalists asked to meet Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Zhu De alone, regardless of the obstruction of the Kuomintang leaders, and they got their wish. On June 22, Chief of Staff Ye Jianying made a detailed report to Chinese and foreign journalists, introducing the basic situation of the 7-year Anti-Japanese War behind the enemy's battlefield from four aspects: enemy, puppet, friend, and me.After this comprehensive report was circulated through the hands of the reporters, it aroused strong repercussions.The three allies of the United States, Britain, and France, which had been extremely disappointed in the Kuomintang, began to pay attention to and pin their hopes on the Communist Party's battlefield behind enemy lines.General Stilwell, chief of staff in the Chinese theater, repeatedly emphasized the need for the U.S. government to give as much aid to the Communist forces as to the Kuomintang troops.One month after the visit of Chinese and foreign journalists to Yan'an, the U.S. military dispatched an observation team leader to Yan'an, and the U.S. officially began to deal with the CCP.

Xie Baoqiao, Deng Youde and others were very worried when they saw that Chinese and foreign journalists had truly obtained democratic and free reporting rights in the Liberated Areas.In particular, the more foreign journalists learned about the real situation in Yan'an, the more they understood Chongqing's policy of "passively resisting Japan and actively opposing the Communist Party." People left Yan'an, but the impression Yan'an left on the reporters cannot be erased.After returning to Chongqing, most of the Chinese journalists can truthfully introduce what they saw and heard in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region."January in Yan'an" written by Xinmin Daily reporter Zhao Chaogou described his gains and feelings after visiting Yan'an in a more objective and skillful way.

Foreign journalists also introduced the thriving appearance of Yan'an and the Liberated Areas and the great achievements of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army in a detailed style.For example, Forman's "Report on Red China", Stein's "Red China's Challenge", "The Chinese Communist Party and the Liberated Areas", "Eighty-Six Million People Follow His Path" and so on are all published in the United States and the United Kingdom. produce a strong response.Especially outstanding is Epstein, who has written many articles for the "New York Times" and "Time" magazines. After listing a large number of facts, he bluntly told people his new discovery: the anti-Japanese war led by the Chinese Communist Party The base areas are China's hope.