On November 12, 1978, a Boeing 707 airliner stopped at Singapore's Baya Libar Airport, the hatch opened, and Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping disembarked briskly. The Singapore side attached great importance to Deng Xiaoping's visit, and Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew personally greeted him at the airport. At this time, there are still 12 years before the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Singapore, but this does not prevent the leaders of the two countries from talking openly and honestly about national affairs.
However, it is surprising that the Singaporean side actually made a request for Deng Xiaoping's preferences, and the two sides were inevitably embarrassed. However, one of Deng's moves defused the embarrassment and won praise and recognition from Singapore.
As early as two years ago, in May 1976, at the invitation of Prime Minister Hua Guofeng, Lee Kuan Yew led a delegation of the Singapore government to visit China, which was Lee Kuan Yew's first visit to China, which was of extraordinary significance as an ice-breaking trip in bilateral relations. At that time, The seriously ill Mao Zedong braced himself and met with Lee Kuan Yew.
Lee Kuan Yew, known as the "Father of the Nation of Singapore," has actually been very pragmatic in his relations with China.
In 1965, Singapore was officially established and Lee Kuan Yew became the first prime minister. During the Lee Kuan Yew era, Singapore's diplomacy had four characteristics: sovereignty, pragmatism, peaceful coexistence, and active diplomacy. Singapore takes a neutral position among the great powers and maneuvers between them in order to interact well with them. In the mid-to-late 1970s, after the issue of Singapore's basic national founding was resolved, Lee Kuan Yew actively expanded relations with China.
When visiting China in 1976, Lee Kuan Yew said: "Singapore believes that the stronger China is, the more beneficial it is to Singapore, and the more balanced The power of China with the United States and the Soviet Union, the more secure Singapore will be." ”
Lee Kuan Yew's visit to China also laid the foundation for Deng Xiaoping's subsequent visit to Singapore.
Bordered by Malaysia to the north and the Strait of Singapore to the south, Singapore is bordered by Indonesia to the south, and at the southern tip of the Strait of Malacca, it has an area of only 724 square kilometers and a population of 5.7 million (2019). How small is Singapore? In Hong Kong, for example, with a land area of 1,106 square kilometers and a permanent population of 7.47 million (2020), Singapore and Hong Kong are about the same level of congestion and much smaller than Hong Kong.
In 1965, the continued existence of the newly established Singapore was a big problem, with a shortage of housing, a lack of land and natural resources, and an unemployment rate of 12%. For Singapore's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, there is still a long way to go!
In order to keep Singapore alive, Lee Kuan Yew focused on the country's economic development. He attached great importance to the manufacturing industry, and the Jurong Industrial Zone was formally established, and light industrial bases were established in Kallang, Tai Payoh and other places. In order to attract foreign investment, the government has given enough preferential treatment to foreign enterprises. The rapid development of industrialization has made Singapore's manufacturing industry a major exporter of electronic products in the world within ten years, and its economy has developed rapidly, and it has soon become an important financial and entrepot trade center in Southeast Asia, and has become one of the "Four Asian Tigers", and the speed of development is amazing.
Deng Xiaoping's visit to Singapore was made with a mission, and he wanted to see why Singapore, such a land of bullets, could become one of the "Four Asian Tigers".
Deng Xiaoping visited Singapore's emerging industrial hub. Looking at Singapore's advanced industrial system and thinking about the current situation of China's industry, he couldn't help but sigh, but he was also more determined to change China's status quo.
Deng Xiaoping was very concerned about the question of what kind of life the people of Singapore were living. Lee Kuan Yew asked Singapore's Director General for Housing and Development, Van Duc An, to accompany Deng Xiaoping.
Deng Xiaoping visited some places, and suddenly he said to Van De'an, "I want to see the well-off house, the well-off house in Singapore." ”
So Van de An took Deng Xiaoping to a residence in Ta Toa Payoh. After entering the door, after obtaining the owner's consent, Deng Xiaoping opened the refrigerator, which contained chicken, duck, fish, pigs and other meats, and he sighed: "Your well-off family is very rich." We are also Chinese, why are you so rich and we are so poor? ”
During his visit to Singapore, when Deng Xiaoping received the principal responsible persons of the Chinese institutions in Singapore, he pointed out: Only by properly managing, quality, and technology can factories do a good job. He also said that Beijing has built 30 houses in the first three gates, and the outside looks good, but the inside is not good, and it is necessary to send people out to see and learn how others are doing it. He also said sternly and humorously, don't always feel good about yourself, don't just compare yourself with the domestic ones, you should take a long-term view, compare with the advanced things in the world, and compare that to the real good.
In fact, before visiting Singapore, Deng Xiaoping had already visited Thailand and Malaysia, and his journey had reached several thousand kilometers from November 5 to the final destination in Singapore. Why did he visit so many countries in succession?
At that time, in December 1978, a conference to rewrite China's destiny would be held, the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee. The reason why Deng Xiaoping wanted to visit so many countries in a row was because he wanted to understand the development trends of various parts of the world through a round of foreign visits and find some references for China's development.
When Deng Xiaoping saw that the people of Singapore were living a well-off life, he thought that Chinese people would also live a well-off life one day in the future. But when exactly? And how?
In his talks with Lee Kuan Yew, Deng Xiaoping openly and honestly expressed his doubts.
Unexpectedly, Lee Kuan Yew said bluntly: Chinese people all over the world have the opportunity to get rich, why can't Chinese get rich? That's a problem with the system.
When they heard this, many of the people present were shocked, didn't this embarrass Deng Xiaoping?
Deng Xiaoping paused for a moment, and instead of getting angry or refuting it, He asked very humbly, "What do you want me to do?" ”
At this moment, Lee Kuan Yew was taken aback, thinking that he had angered Deng Xiaoping, but he did not expect that the Chinese leaders were so sincere and humble that they suddenly brought them closer. So Lee Kuan Yew also magnified his courage, knowing everything and saying everything.
Lee Kuan Yew talked about education in China, and he believes that the most important issue in China's reform and development is education. Because in the special years, China has lost two generations of education, and the impact on the whole country is very large.
Deng Xiaoping said what was most attractive to China was Singapore's experience of opening up and attracting capital. At this time, Singapore was also in a period of transition, and he and Lee Kuan Yew also talked about the situation after the period of labor-intensive development.
The two had a pleasant conversation, during which Deng Xiaoping extended an invitation to Lee Kuan Yew to visit China. Lee Kuan Yew said he would go when China recovered.
In 1988, Deng Xiaoping met with Lee Kuan Yew
Deng Xiaoping thought about it and said, I'm afraid that it will take a long time.
Lee Kuan Yew shook his head and said, "China really wants to catch up, or even do better than Singapore, there will be no problem at all." ”
Deng Xiaoping had some doubts.
Lee Kuan Yew then explained: "How can we say that we (Singapore) are only the descendants of illiterate peasants in Fujian, Guangdong and other places who have no land, but some of you (China) are the descendants of high-ranking officials and eunuchs who stayed in the Central Plains and literati scholars." ”
After listening to this, Deng Xiaoping fell deeply into contemplation.
China has a civilization of 5,000 years, and in the long river of history, its economy and culture are at the world's advanced level. However, they failed to catch the train of the Industrial Revolution, and they were fiercely left behind by the capitalist powers, and they were bullied badly. After the founding of New China, although difficulties and opportunities are in front of us, the backbone of China, the foundation of China, and the spirit of Chinese are still there, as long as we work hard, there will be no difficulties that cannot be overcome, and we will be able to shorten the distance with a country like Singapore that first became rich, and even surpass them one day in the future.
Visiting Singapore, Deng Xiaoping gained a lot and was worth the trip, but there was one thing that made him a little "uncomfortable".
When arranging the talks between Deng Xiaoping and Lee Kuan Yew, the Singapore staff made a request to the Chinese side: Please ask Vice Premier Deng not to smoke during the talks.
This request was indeed a bit embarrassing for Deng Xiaoping.
In the 1920s, Deng Xiaoping developed the habit of smoking while working and studying in France, a habit that accompanied him for most of his life. In the harsh environment of the Red Army's 25,000-mile long march, a cigarette has become a luxury, what if the smoker is addicted?
Deng Xiaoping and Luo Ronghuan picked up some dried leaves, broke the leaves, and then found a little newspaper, wrapped the broken leaves, and became a "leaf smoke.". The two smoked and looked like that, but it was really choking. No way, conditions don't allow it, always find some fun for the hard years.
In the video materials we see, we often find that Deng Xiaoping's cigarettes are not in his hands, and occasionally we will see panda brand cigarettes placed next to him. Even when meeting foreign guests, he could not help but smoke. If you meet a foreign guest who also likes to smoke, Deng Xiaoping's topic often begins with smoking, looking casual and kind, without a shelf, and bringing them closer.
The cigarette in his hand seems to be a conciliator to relieve tension, which is not offensive, but adds a bit of unique charm to him. This also became Deng Xiaoping's most distinctive form of diplomacy.
It can be said that smoking was a major hobby of Deng Xiaoping.
Did the Singaporean staff's request that Deng Xiaoping not smoke because of the strict rules in their country? To know that Singapore can have the reputation of "garden city", they have introduced a series of measures on environmental protection, spitting, smoking, throwing garbage, etc., if caught, you will receive a ticket, one or two hundred New Dollars will not be there.
In fact, the Singapore side made such a request out of a private issue, Lee Kuan Yew suffered from rhinitis and was allergic to the smell of smoke.
Although Deng Xiaoping loved smoking, he definitely did not reach the point of being addicted to smoking, and after hearing that Lee Kuan Yew had rhinitis, he would also consider the other party's feelings, so he happily agreed to the staff's request.
Shi Yanhua
Arriving at the meeting place, shi Yanhua, the accompanying interpreter, inadvertently found that a new air purification machine similar to a range hood had been installed in the ceiling above Deng Xiaoping's head. The intention was obvious, and it didn't matter if Deng Xiaoping wanted to smoke.
In this regard, Singapore has done a good job. After all, Deng Xiaoping was Lee Kuan Yew's guest of honor, and it would be somewhat embarrassing to limit the preferences of vips.
During the talks, Deng Xiaoping and Lee Kuan Yew were very interested in talking. Shi Yanhua, who was sitting next to Deng Xiaoping, discovered a little secret.
Whenever Deng Xiaoping could talk vigorously, one hand would gently touch the pocket and take out the cigarette from it, and when he wanted to smoke one, he suddenly remembered that the host, Lee Kuan Yew, had rhinitis, so he gently put the cigarette in his pocket. The meeting lasted a long time, and Deng Xiaoping took out a cigarette from his pocket several times, but he did not light it and put the cigarette back in his pocket. Whenever he wanted to smoke so much, he remembered Lee Kuan Yew's allergy to the smell of smoke.
In this way, Deng Xiaoping endured again and again, and endured for a whole afternoon, and he did not smoke a cigarette. He would rather endure suffering than respect each other's habits, not only winning the favor of Lee Kuan Yew and the Singapore staff, but also highlighting his personal charm.
In fact, Deng Xiaoping respected the guests from the bottom of his heart, and it was common to restrain his preferences. When he met queen Elizabeth II in October 1986, he was also very restrained and did not smoke a cigarette the whole time.
Deng Xiaoping restrained his smoking preferences in order to respect Lee Kuan Yew or the Queen of England, and the subtle actions can also glimpse the greatness.
In his memoirs, Lee Kuan Yew commented on his meeting with Deng Xiaoping in 1978, writing: "Deng Xiaoping is the most impressive leader I have ever met. Although he is only 5 feet tall, he is the best of the best. Although he is 74 years old, he is ready to change his mind in the face of unpleasant realities. ”
If a person is entangled in the past, does not know how to be flexible, and will not meet tomorrow with an open attitude, the probability of becoming Xianglin's sister-in-law is very high.
Thank you To Comrade Xiaoping for proving one point after another with one decision after another: "People move to live"!