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●—≺ Preface ≻—●
In 1999, when China and Portugal were discussing the return of Macao, Portugal made an unreasonable demand to China: to prohibit the stationing of Chinese troops in Macao.
After the news leaked, Ma Mankei, a wealthy local businessman, immediately suggested to the Party Central Committee that troops must be stationed in Macao.
Who is Ma Wanqi, and why did he propose to the central authorities that troops must be stationed? How was the Macau garrison incident finally resolved?
●—≺ Contest between the two sides ≻—●
With the successful development of high-precision weapons such as the "two bombs and one satellite," China's military strength has been greatly enhanced, and its international status has also been greatly enhanced.
In 1987, China and Portugal agreed that Macau would return to China by the 21st century.
Initially, Portugal wanted to date Macau's return to the last day of the 20th century, December 31, 1999.
At that time, the Chinese government responded as follows:
"As you know, December 25th is Christmas every year, followed by New Year. I see, can we take a step forward and let Macao compatriots have a peaceful and stable holiday! ”
On this issue, the Portuguese government did not insist too much, believing that sooner or later Macao would have to return to the motherland, and it would be nothing to return a few days earlier, so they simply took a step back and directly set the time for the return to December 20.
While the negotiations were going smoothly, Portugal suddenly made an unreasonable demand: after the return of Macao, the Chinese side should not station troops in Macao.
The reason is that since Portugal withdrew its troops from Macau as early as the end of 1975, China should also refrain from stationing troops in Macau like Portugal;
Moreover, Macao has not had an army stationed in the past 20 years, and it has developed very well, indicating that Macao does not need to station troops at all.
As early as 1979, when China and Portugal negotiated the return of Macau to China before the 21st century, the two sides were already at loggerheads over the garrison.
In 1984, Macau's wealthy businessman Ma Man Kei suggested to the Chinese government that the Chinese army must be stationed in Macao.
The central government received Ma Wanqi's suggestion and attached great importance to it, and gave Ma Man Kei a forceful response: rest assured, the Chinese government will definitely station troops in Macao.
Why is the Chinese government so sure that China will be able to station troops in Macao?
First, the reasons given by Portugal are flawed. Although Portugal withdrew its regular troops in Macau in 1975, in fact, some Portuguese soldiers still work in Macao government departments and security teams.
The so-called withdrawal of troops is just a formality, and Portugal still controls Macau's military forces in various ways.
Secondly, Macao has been China's territory since ancient times and enjoys various territorial sovereignty. Macau was forced to secede from China for hundreds of years due to the forced invasion of Portugal, and now that it returns to China, all the sovereignty that was lost before has been returned.
The stationing of troops is an important right in the territorial sovereignty of the mainland, and we cannot give it up.
The most important thing is that after Macao's return to the motherland, how to govern Macao is an internal affair of the mainland. Portugal is not qualified to interfere in the internal affairs of the mainland, nor is it qualified to regulate whether the mainland has troops stationed in Macao.
The mainland government did not budge on the stationing of troops in Macao, and Portugal's reasons were insufficient, and because of the mainland's strong military strength and international status, it could only agree to China's stationing of troops in Macao.
On December 20, 1999, Portugal withdrew from Macau, and Chinese troops were stationed in Macao.
When the Continental Army men set foot majestically on the soil of Macao, when the five-star red flag was raised in Macao again, everyone burst into tears and pride.
●—≺ No concessions ≻—●
Why is the mainland so insistent on its decision to station troops in Macau?
In addition to the fact that the right to garrison is an integral part of the territorial rights of the mainland, Portugal has no right to interfere, there is another important reason.
Only when Macao possesses a powerful military force can it repay the basic rights of the people of Macao on the mainland, and can the people on the mainland truly be called the masters of Macao and not be bullied by others.
History has long taught us a lesson about this.
In 1842, after the signing of the Treaty of Nanjing, the great powers began to carve up China, and Portugal heard the wind and demanded the right to garrison troops in Macau.
In 1845, the Queen of Portugal named Macau a free port, allowing countries to stay in Macau. Since then, Portugal has considered Macau a colony of its own. They set up factories in Macau, plundered resources and enslaved the people of the mainland.
In 1887, the British and Qing governments signed the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce between China and Portugal, and Macau became a real Portuguese colony. In Macau, the Portuguese have always enjoyed privileges, while the mainlanders have struggled to survive.
It was not until the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 that the mainland's comprehensive national strength continued to increase, and the situation became better, but the people of Macao still lived in misery.
On July 25, 1952, Portuguese soldiers forcibly pushed the cordon between Macao and the interior several meters, which was an absolute violation of Portugal's territorial sovereignty over the mainland.
In the face of Portugal's contempt and provocation, the mainland army completely subdued the Portuguese army in 6 days.
When the Portuguese governor investigated this matter, he found that the Portuguese soldiers were indeed at fault, and feared that the mainland would start a war on this ground, so he took the initiative to ask the mainland government for peace.
In the face of Portugal's weakness, Marshal Ye Jianying accepted it after receiving the news. Because once a war breaks out between our side and Portugal, the battlefield must be in Macao. Portugal was defeated and could return home by plane. However, regardless of the mainland's victory or defeat, Macao's compatriots will suffer irreparable pain.
Although they forgave Portugal, they still compensated 440 million yuan after apologizing to us.
In 1974, the Portuguese revolution, they finally realized the danger of colonies to other peoples, and in the face of China's growing military power, they had to admit that Macau was China's inherent territory and that they were illegal aggression.
Although their regular army withdrew from Macau the following year, their senior officers were controlling Macau's military power in various ways.
It was not until Macao's return to the motherland in 1999 that the people of Macao finally got rid of the fate of inferiority and bullying.
This shows how important military power is to a region or even a country.
When the Qing government was cowardly and incompetent, Portugal turned Macau into its own colony; When the mainland becomes stronger, in the face of the provocations of other countries, we have the confidence to fight back without hesitation.
And the stationing of our troops in Macao is the most favorable guarantee for the livelihood of the Macao people.
There is no doubt that Macao is an inherent territory of the mainland, and Portugal knows this, but why did they make the whimsical request that our troops not be allowed to station in Macao?
In fact, Portugal wanted to learn from Britain's actions when Hong Kong was returned to the motherland, and to test whether it was possible for the mainland to back down on military power.
But the Portuguese wanted to manipulate the right to garrison, and they were indeed wishful thinking.
In 1984, Britain and China signed a contract on the specific date of Hong Kong's return and recognized China's sovereignty over Hong Kong.
But the British made a demand: China should not be allowed to station troops in Hong Kong.
There are two reasons: first, it is worried that the stationing of Chinese troops in Hong Kong will make Hong Kong people feel inferior; Second, I am worried that the quality of the Chinese military is not good.
These two bizarre reasons were taken as a joke by Chinese leaders, the Chinese army stationed in Hong Kong to ensure Hong Kong's security, and the quality of the Chinese army is not to worry about the British, at least better than the British army.
To this question, Duke Deng's response was:
"Hong Kong is China's territory, why can't it garrison? What else is the territory of China called without this power! ”
At China's tough insistence, Britain was forced to accept China's request to station troops in Hong Kong.
Moreover, on the issue of garrisoning troops in Hong Kong, Deng Gong made two preparations: if on the day of Hong Kong's return, Britain is honest, we will peacefully accept Hong Kong.
If the British dare to delay for a day, we will send troops directly into it.
Under the tough attitude of Deng Gong, on the evening of June 30, 1997, Chinese troops entered Hong Kong, and the next day, Hong Kong returned to China.
We didn't budge when we faced Britain, and now it's impossible to take a step back against Portugal.
China has become strong, so if you want to bully our country at this time, it must be self-inflicted.
Macao's return to the motherland is valued by national leaders, and our people also attach importance to it. That's why, in 1984, when Macao's wealthy businessman Ma Man Kei heard about the garrison, he wrote to the central government so excitedly to make suggestions.
What is the origin of Ma Wanqi, and why does the central government pay attention to his ideas?
●—≺ Patriotic businessman Ma Wanqi ≻—●
During his business trip, Ma Man Kei suffered from the country's weak military strength and bullying, so when he heard about the Macao garrison, he particularly stressed that he must station troops in Macao.
In 1914, Ma Wanqi was born in a wealthy merchant in Guangdong. Because his family was in business, he not only received the most advanced education, but also learned the law of business under the influence of his family.
Ma Wanqi's father died when he was 15 years old. He continued his studies and finally managed to open a sugar factory at the age of 18.
Ma Man Kei is well versed in the way of doing business and runs the sugar factory well. People around him were praising Ma Wanqi for his young age and not falling for his father's reputation.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last long, and in 1938, Japan invaded and occupied Guangdong. Although the sugar factory opened just right, under the Japanese pressing, the Chinese merchants simply could not survive.
As a result, Ma Man Kei was forced to close down a sugar factory with promising development prospects and bring his family to settle in Hong Kong.
Although the sugar factory was gone, Ma Wanqi was not discouraged. He sorted out his thoughts, adapted to the situation, opened a few banks in Hong Kong, and started a grain business.
In 1941, Japan invaded Hong Kong again, and although Ma Man Kei was reluctant, he could only resolutely abandon his business in Hong Kong and move to Macau again with his family.
He opened a Luso-French bank in Macau, as well as several other banks. This time, Macau was finally not occupied by other countries, but under the control of Portugal, how could the Chinese businessmen have a better life?
With his superb business awareness, Ma Wanqi finally squeezed out a way under the control of Portugal to make the business bigger and stronger.
Ma Man Kei's business was moved from Guangdong to Hong Kong and from Hong Kong to Macau due to the occupation of other countries. He knew very well how difficult life would be for the people once his country's territory was in the hands of an enemy country.
Therefore, when Portugal proposed not allowing China to station troops in Macau, the string in Ma Wanqi's head tightened again.
His mind kept replaying the scenes of Guangdong and Hong Kong being invaded by Japan.
Now that Macao is in return, if the motherland does not garrison troops, then for the enemy country, Macao will still be the land that can be trampled on.
Therefore, although Ma Wanqi trusted the mainland government and believed that the central government would not give up the right to garrison, he still wrote a letter to the central government specifically emphasizing this issue.
Fortunately, the central government was equally resolute on the issue and promised him that it would never give up China's right to station troops in Macau.
Ma Man Kei's proposal to station Chinese troops in Macao was not only thinking about his own business, but also about all his compatriots living in Macau.
He was not only a profit-oriented businessman, but also a patriotic citizen who helped the country through difficult times many times.
In 1949, Ye Jianying led the People's Liberation Army to clear the bandits of Guangxi and Hainan, and there were problems with military supplies. When Ma Wanqi heard about this, he didn't say a word, and immediately assisted Nanguang Company in preparing materials.
Since the people were not allowed to manufacture guns and ammunition without permission, they transported a large amount of hardware and materials to the front line.
In 1950, when there was a grain shortage in Guangdong, Ma Wanqi once again cooperated with Marshal Ye Jianying to send a large amount of grain from Macao to Guangdong.
As soon as Ma Wanqi heard that the country was in difficulty, he immediately extended a helping hand. His wife, Luo Baixin, is no less impressive, not only strongly supporting her husband's aid actions, but also actively participating in various charity work to help women and children.
After the founding of New China, he also vigorously appealed to the vast number of overseas Chinese compatriots to return to building the motherland. It can be said that in building the motherland, Ma Wanqi did his best.
●—≺ Author's Opinion ≻—●
Portugal wants to prevent the mainland from stationing troops in Macao, which is an act of violating the mainland's sovereignty, interfering in the mainland's internal affairs, and trampling on the mainland's principles and bottom line.
Macao is the inherent territory of the mainland, and the mainland enjoys all territorial rights of Macao. Military power is one of our inseparable sovereignty.
Military strength is the most basic guarantee of national security, and only when military strength is strong can a country gain a foothold in the world and protect its own people.
Not only Ma Wanqi is deeply touched in this regard, and all the people of our once fallen regions know the importance of military power.
Therefore, these people cherish the sovereignty of the country and will step up when the country needs it.
In addition to them, thousands of people on the mainland will not hesitate to contribute their strength when the country is in need.
These people are the strong foundation for the development of the mainland, and they deserve the praise of all of us.