At a meeting one day in 1982, Deng Xiaoping suddenly said to Margaret Thatcher: "Chinese poor is a little poor, and fighting a war is not afraid of death!" All the people present were stunned, and even Margaret Thatcher herself did not expect that Deng Xiaoping would say such a thing. So what happened at that time that made Deng Xiaoping so angry that he did not hesitate to go to war with Margaret Thatcher? And what was the topic of the conference?
History
Signing of the Treaty of Nanking
Speaking of this negotiation, we must start with the history of Hong Kong. As early as the pre-Qin period, there is a record of Hong Kong in the "Spring and Autumn of the Lü Dynasty", which was known as the "Land of Hundred Yue" at that time. Later, it was also called "South Vietnam" in the Records of History and the Book of Han. But regardless of the name change, Hong Kong has always come under The jurisdiction of China. The history of Hong Kong is embedded in Chinese civilization. But in 1840 the British launched the Opium War. Hong Kong's fate has also been rewritten.
After the demise of the Qing government, the Republic of China government was unstable, and in order to gain the international support and help of the British government, it could only recognize that this treaty of loss of power and humiliation of the country continued to be valid. During World War II, the Japanese army swept through Southeast Asia, the British army could not resist the Japanese competition, the British in Hong Kong surrendered to Japan, and the Japanese occupied Hong Kong. Then after the end of the second world war, Japan surrendered, and the Japanese troops stationed in Hong Kong also surrendered, which was the best time to take back Hong Kong. However, the Nanjing Nationalist Government, represented by Chiang Kai-shek, decided not to take back Hong Kong for the time being, in order not to offend the British, to deal with the Communists first.
After the founding of New China, many people proposed to the Party Central Committee to reclaim Hong Kong's sovereignty, and on the first day of the founding of New China, our Party also declared to the outside world that it would not recognize a series of treaties signed by the previous governments and imperialist countries that lost power and humiliated the country. However, Chairman Mao judged the hour and sized up the situation and held that it was inappropriate to recover Hong Kong's sovereignty now. Later, the deterioration of Sino-Soviet relations, coupled with domestic natural disasters, China was in the midst of internal and external troubles, and the matter of recovering Hong Kong's sovereignty could only be put aside for the time being, leaving it to be resolved through consultations between future leaders and britain.
Hong Kong policy after the founding of New China
Chairman Mao
After the founding of New China, the government successively recovered the sovereignty and interests illegally occupied by imperialism. However, the issues of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan have been slow to resolve. As early as 1956, Chairman Mao put forward the strategic idea of "one program and four objectives" to accomplish the great cause of the reunification of the motherland. "One Program" refers to "upholding one China," and one of the "four eyes" is that "Hong Kong can continue to implement the capitalist system and maintain the status quo under the premise of adhering to one China." This has set the blueprint for Hong Kong's early return to the motherland and laid the foundation for the proposal of "one country, two systems".
In fact, chairman Mao's strategic thinking was first used on the Hong Kong issue to solve the Taiwan issue. After the reform and opening up in 1978, state leader Deng Xiaoping set out to prepare for the recovery of Hong Kong's sovereignty, inheriting Chairman Mao's ideas on the great cause of the reunification of the motherland and formally proposing "one country, two systems." That is, one country, two systems. The mainland continues to uphold the socialist system unshakable, while Hong Kong can maintain the capitalist system. This formulation hastened the great cause of the reunification of the motherland.
Prelude to negotiations
Deng Xiaoping
After Nixon's visit to China in the 1970s, China's relations with Western capitalist countries gradually improved. And in 1979, a special guest came to Beijing, he was macLehose, the 25th British governor in Hong Kong. He came to Beijing this time at the behest of Margaret Thatcher to test Beijing's attitude toward the Hong Kong issue. We have mentioned before the Hong Kong Lend-Lease Treaty between the British government and the Manchu Qing government, which was 99 years old and expired in 1997, and there were more than a dozen years left before the expiration time.
Therefore, it is necessary for the British government to test China's attitude towards Hong Kong. Deng Xiaoping received him. During the talks, Deng Xiaoping clearly expressed to him China's position of reclaiming Hong Kong's sovereignty. But the British government was not happy, they had painstakingly operated Hong Kong for nearly a hundred years, how could they return Hong Kong to China so easily. After meeting with MacLehose, the Chinese government constructively proposed a twelve-point policy for recovering Hong Kong. The idea of one country, two systems was also interpreted at this time.
During the talks between MacLehose and Deng Xiaoping, Hong Kong also had a sudden change in the situation, and the stock market changed ups and downs. The Hong Kong stock market seems to have become a barometer of the direction of the Sino-British talks. When there was a turning point in the Sino-British talks, the Hong Kong stock market rose sharply; when the Sino-British talks reached an impasse, the Hong Kong stock market fell sharply. Hong Kong's entrepreneurs and capitalists were also paying close attention to the results of the talks between Deng Xiaoping and MacLehose. Their mood was equally restless at the moment. They are afraid that after the return of Hong Kong, their capital will be directly nationalized by the state. But Deng Xiaoping's phrase "reassure Hong Kong investors" can be said to have given them a reassuring pill. They know that regardless of the outcome of the talks, the capital they invest in Hong Kong will not be affected. With the continuous consultations between China and Britain, it was decided to set negotiations on the Hong Kong issue in 1982.
The beginning of negotiations
In 1982, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, known as the "Iron Lady," came to China, despite the Chinese government's explicit intention to reclaim sovereignty over Hong Kong. But the significance of Thatcher's visit was not to return Hong Kong's sovereignty, but to extract as much political benefit as possible for the British Empire. With self-confidence and pride, she stood at the door of the Great Hall of the People. Thatcher then negotiated with Then China's leader, Deng Xiaoping.
Deng Xiaoping and Thatcher were in talks
Margaret Thatcher has always insisted that the British government has signed three treaties with China in the past, that the Chinese government should abide by those three treaties, and that Sino-British negotiations on the Hong Kong issue should revolve around these three treaties. But Deng Xiaoping was called a "little man who couldn't be defeated." In the face of Thatcher's concept of stealing, Deng Xiaoping was not willing to show weakness, always insisting that Hong Kong has been China's territory since ancient times. Reaffirmed that New China does not recognize all unequal treaties signed with foreign governments. Then the treaty with the British government to cede Hong Kong is naturally invalid.
But Margaret Thatcher paid no attention to China's position, always focused on the three treaties, and tried to force China to comply by delaying and shelving. But Margaret Thatcher was overconfident, and she was not facing anyone else, but Deng Xiaoping. Deng Xiaoping slowly took out a cigarette and smoked it, and he had already seen that Thatcher's trick. Only to see Deng Xiaoping clear his throat and say with great momentum: "The issue of sovereignty cannot be negotiated." The fact that Hong Kong's sovereignty belongs to China will never change. We have only one purpose in our negotiations, and that is the issue of Hong Kong's ownership. If you must talk about the question of sovereignty, then I see that we have nothing to talk about. ”
But Margaret Thatcher was still unwilling to back down, and finally Deng Xiaoping said a very domineering sentence. "If this issue cannot be discussed, Chinese poor is a little poor, but when it comes to fighting, we are not afraid of death!" As soon as this sentence came out, Margaret Thatcher was stunned on the spot, and she did not expect that Deng Xiaoping would actually speak amazingly. The assistant next to him was also stunned, repeatedly confirming whether Deng Xiaoping was wrong. Comrade Xiaoping went on to say, "We have a satisfactory result in our negotiations, but if you insist on not giving it, then we will have to take it ourselves." "The negotiations reached a temporary impasse, and in order to prevent the negotiations from breaking down, the representatives of the two sides decided to suspend the meeting for the time being. This is also the first collision between the Chinese and British high-level on the issue of Hong Kong.
Margaret Thatcher
It is said that after Thatcher walked out of the Great Hall of the People, he stumbled and fell, and the scene was once very embarrassing. This is in stark contrast to her toes before coming to China. Foreigners are curious about what kind of person can make the negotiator "Iron Lady" helpless? Since then, the Chinese and British governments have decided to continue negotiations through diplomatic channels. In order to prevent Britain from delaying the negotiation process, Deng Xiaoping also set a two-year deadline for the negotiations.
If the Chinese government and the British government cannot agree on their views on Hong Kong within two years, China will take its own approach. After returning to Britain, Margaret Thatcher also discussed the Hong Kong issue in Parliament. Some deputies proposed that in order to protect the interests of the British Empire in Hong Kong, they would not hesitate to go to war with China. However, the lessons of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea are still vividly remembered, and the British are still a little afraid when they think about it.
The war proposal was quickly rejected. In the end, the British government decided to properly resolve the Hong Kong issue by negotiating this peaceful method. China and the UK have launched several rounds of negotiations on Hong Kong's sovereignty. Eventually, the British government was pressured to recognize China's sovereignty over Hong Kong.
Margaret Thatcher suddenly fell
After the sovereignty issue was resolved through negotiations, the issue of ownership of management rights became the focus of negotiations. The British government insisted that sovereignty over Hong Kong could be vested in China, but that the administration of Hong Kong must be exercised by the British government. In order to gain the right to administer Hong Kong, the British government even said that it was to protect the interests of the British in Hong Kong. But naturally, China cannot easily relinquish its management of Hong Kong. The Chinese government immediately promised to protect the interests of all foreigners from infringement after the recovery of Hong Kong. At the same time, it shows that China needs to have the right to administer Hong Kong, which is Chinese territory and should naturally be administered by Chinese.
However, at this time, the British representative also talked about the social system, saying that Hong Kong has been a capitalist system for a long time, and suddenly transformed into a socialist system, and it is difficult for the Hong Kong people to adapt, which is not conducive to social stability. The Chinese government has also reinterpreted "one country, two systems" to show that if necessary, Hong Kong can continue to use the capitalist system after its return to the motherland. The Chinese government will not force the people of Hong Kong to take the socialist road.
But the British government still refused to give up. In order to speed up the negotiation process, the Chinese government has taken the initiative to make concessions. The Chinese government suggested that in order to maintain stability during the Hong Kong handover period, a "joint committee" could be set up, which would be jointly administered by China and Britain. After the official return of Hong Kong, the administrators of Hong Kong were independently elected by the people of Hong Kong, realizing "Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong".
Deng Xiaoping on the plane
It can be said that this is already a huge concession made by the Chinese government for the return of Hong Kong, but the British do not seem to buy it, and still find various reasons to continue to gain control of Hong Kong. The Chinese government decided not to back down and issued an ultimatum to the British government, saying that "if such a plan cannot be accepted by the British government, China will take unilateral action and issue a unilateral statement." And a large part of Hong Kong's water supply is supplied by the mainland, if you do not agree, we will cut off Hong Kong's water source, so that Hong Kong will become a "dead port", I think this is not what you want to see. ”
The British, seeing that it is difficult to ride a tiger, will be even more embarrassed if they do not agree to this plan. Therefore, British Foreign Minister He Wei visited China and finally reached an agreement with the Chinese government, and he personally said that "it is indeed unrealistic for Hong Kong to remain under British administration after the handover." So on December 19, 1984, a joint statement was issued announcing that It would be returned to Hong Kong on July 1, 1997, and that Hong Kong's social system would remain unchanged for fifty years.
Deng Xiaoping is speaking
The return of Hong Kong
In 1990, China's National People's Congress voted to pass the Hong Kong Basic Law, which provided legal guarantees for Hong Kong's return to the motherland. From the evening of June 30 to the early morning of July 1, 1997, the handover ceremony of Hong Kong officially began between China and britain. The "rice" flag of the British Empire slowly fell, and the five-star red flag of the People's Republic of China was slowly raised in the "March of the Volunteer Army".
For Hong Kong, this is the end of one era and the beginning of another. Centuries-long British colonial rule in Hong Kong was finally over. Hong Kong eventually returned to the embrace of the motherland. What followed was the British army stationed in Hong Kong, Chinese people's liberation army officially stationed in Hong Kong. This is a historic moment and one that deserves to be remembered by all Chinese.
After the reversion, Hong Kong continued to maintain prosperity and stability with the policy support and financial support of the central government. Today, Hong Kong is not only the "Four Asian Tigers", but also a highly prosperous economic and trade metropolis. It became one of the most developed regions in the world. Hong Kong continues to play a huge role in international exchanges and trade.
Until now, we have to lament the greatness of Comrade Deng Xiaoping, and it is precisely his great concept of "one country, two systems" and wise and decisive policy decisions that have enabled us to have such a prosperous and powerful Hong Kong. Comrade Deng Xiaoping's boldness in negotiating with Margaret Thatcher deserves the admiration of all of us. "China's territorial and sovereign integrity is sacred and inviolable." "Sovereignty is not negotiable." "There is no doubt that Hong Kong has been China's territory since ancient times." These words deserve to be remembered by all of us.