The first years of returning to the United Nations
Playing Ding
The mainland is one of the founding members of the United Nations, and since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the United Nations should restore China's legitimate seat. After a long period of unremitting efforts, on 25 October 1971, the 26th session of the UN General Assembly finally adopted a proposal to restore the legitimate seat of the mainland and expel the representatives of the Taiwan authorities. The mainland government immediately decided to send a delegation to the United Nations to receive China's seat and participate in the ongoing 26th session of the UN General Assembly.
Zhou Enlai and other leaders personally went to the airport to see them off
At that time, the mainland did not have an embassy or any representative office in the United States, and the tension between China and the United States had not yet been eliminated. All of this had created great difficulties in carrying out the work, which the members of the delegation had fully estimated.
In addition to the head of the delegation, the deputy head of the delegation, the deputies, and the deputy representatives, the staff also includes researchers, translators, secretaries, reporters, doctors, newspaper operators, cooks, drivers, civil servants, and so on, a total of 60 or 70 people.
Several members of the translation team are responsible for all the interpretation and translation work, including typing, proofreading, and even printing and binding, and must be ready at all times. For Guo Jiading, the head of the translation team, although he has participated in various international conferences and overseas visits, there is no precedent for carrying out this mission, so he must make adequate preparations: bring all kinds of reference books and dictionaries; The bound edition of "Beijing Weekly" for more than ten years should be brought; The Chinese and English versions of the important statements of the mainland government over the years should be brought; Bring a typewriter; Also bring some basic stationery...... In the process of preparation, he was afraid of a slight negligence or omission, and at that time he really wanted to move all the translation agencies in Beijing, only in this way can he rest assured.
However, there are strict restrictions on the weight of luggage on long-haul flights, so Guo Jiading had to check and implement the materials and books one by one, bring as many public items as possible, and bring less personal belongings, and only bring two sets of personal formal clothes, and finally give up several large boxes of materials.
In the early morning of November 9, Guo Jiading and some comrades went to the airport to check the checked luggage. The weight of the luggage was indeed quite large, and the cooks brought iron pots, woks, and knives for chopping vegetables, as well as civil servants with haircutting tools. With excitement and excitement, everyone is ready to do their job brilliantly under very difficult conditions and win glory for the motherland.
At 9:30 a.m. on November 9, all members of the delegation were ready to leave at the capital airport. It was a solemn moment, and thousands of people in the capital came to bid farewell with gongs and drums and flowers in hand. Premier Zhou took a group photo with all the members of the delegation, and then shook hands one by one to say goodbye. The cabin door closed, the plane began to taxi slowly on the runway, Zhou Enlai and other party and state leaders kept waving their hands and watched the plane leave the runway and take to the sky before leaving. Such a grand and warm farewell scene left a lifelong memory for the members of the delegation, and at the same time, it also made each of them deeply aware of the heavy responsibility on their shoulders.
American reporters were already waiting in the cabin
The news of the Chinese delegation's trip to New York was the number one news in the world at that time. When the delegation arrived in the United States, it would be the target of the journalists' follow-up, and they were prepared for this, so they had already prepared a draft of the speech made by the head of the delegation at the airport and printed a written English translation, which was ready to be distributed as soon as they got off the plane.
Unexpectedly, when the members of the delegation boarded the flight, there were already three "uninvited guests" waiting in the first class. The leader is the TV news host of CBS, Walter Cronkite, who is the best in the United States. The other two carried video cameras. Cronkite knew the Chinese delegation's whereabouts well, so he booked a first-class seat next to the Chinese delegation's leader, so that he could conduct interviews on the spot.
Qiao Guanhua, head of the delegation, gladly accepted the interview and answered their questions, including China's feelings on joining the United Nations for the first time, China's views on the prospects for the development of Sino-US relations, and so on. At that time, this did represent an important statement by the Chinese government and was of great news value. On the afternoon of November 11, New York time, the plane landed at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. When in large quantities
As reporters flocked in, probably no one noticed that Walter Cronkite's news team had quietly left. Sure enough, when people turned on their television sets that night, the interview on the plane and other footage of the Chinese delegation's arrival in the United States appeared vividly on television screens in the United States and around the world.
He was greeted at the airport by the Director of Protocol of the United Nations, representatives of the New York municipality, and representatives of a number of friendly countries to the United Nations. A large number of patriotic overseas Chinese also rushed to the airport and waved their self-made five-star red flags to welcome them. Of course, the delegation was greeted not only by flowers and applause, but also by a group of opposition parties waving their flags and shouting at the scene, but the delegation could not hear what they were shouting, because their voices had long been drowned out by the welcoming voices.
Placement of delegations and security problems encountered
The presence of a Chinese delegation in New York is the first time that Chinese officials have come to the United States to conduct official diplomatic activities. At that time, Nixon was still waiting to visit China, and there were no formal diplomatic relations between China and the United States. Before the delegation left Beijing, Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai personally met with some of the delegation. Chairman Mao likened going to the United Nations to carry out work and struggle as "not going into the tiger's den, but getting the tiger's son." Premier Zhou earnestly exhorted everyone to brace their spirits, go all out to plunge into the diplomatic struggle of the United Nations, and never let down the great trust of the people of the motherland.
The Chinese delegation was staying at the Roosevelt Hotel, just across the road from the United Nations headquarters. It was booked by a friend of the Romanian delegation on our behalf. Every year, during the UN General Assembly, the hotel rooms in the vicinity are very tight, and the Romanian friends can book a hotel within a day or two after receiving a telegram from our side, which is not easy at that time.
In view of the situation of the Chinese delegation and the environment in New York, the delegation attached great importance to the issue of security. We have chartered all the more than 70 rooms on the 14th floor of the Roosevelt Hotel, some of which are for reception, and the rest are one for each person. Since the delegation did not have full-time security personnel, the task of security was given to the New York City police. The New York city authorities took the security of the Chinese delegation very seriously and sent double the number of armed police officers on duty around the clock. There are two people per shift on duty, one person sits facing the elevator, watching everyone who comes out of the elevator on the 14th floor, and the other person sits in the room.
The delegation's offices, dormitories and the duty room of the armed police are in close proximity. As a result, 24-hour activities were placed under their supervision, and secrecy became a top priority. In order to ensure safety, the delegation had to go down from the 14th floor with two people and three people from the hotel; To prevent photo theft, cover the mirror with a sheet in the bedroom; In order to prevent wiretapping, substantive working meetings are never held, and members of delegations exchange views softly in corridors on some issues, and important information is conveyed in documents or on paper.
Staff members of the Permanent Mission were killed
In January 1972, some members of the Chinese delegation went to Panama to attend a meeting of the Security Council to discuss Latin American issues. Guo Jiading went with him as the leader of the translation team. As soon as he returned to New York from Panama, he learned of the unfortunate murder of Wang Xichang, a worker. It turned out that on the previous Saturday night, Wang Xichang went back to his room to sleep after showing a movie for everyone, and the next day his colleagues found that he was no longer breathing, so they rushed him to the hospital. The medical examiner performed an autopsy on the body, but the cause of death could not be found, so the body was temporarily stored in the hospital freezer.
This incident alarmed Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai. The head of the delegation, Qiao Guanhua, wrote a letter to the US Permanent Representative to the United Nations in accordance with the instructions, demanding that the relevant US authorities immediately conduct a thorough investigation to find out the cause of death and the murderer. The US side promised to instruct the New York authorities to cooperate with the Chinese delegation in the investigation of the murderers.
More than two months later, the Chinese delegation received a notice from the New York City hospital that Wang Xichang had died of nerve center paralysis caused by drinking water containing nicotine. We immediately retrieved a small glass of the deceased's gastric juice, together with a glass of water that he had drunk before his death, and handed it to the courier and sent it back to China. The test results of the relevant domestic authorities are consistent with the conclusions of the American hospital. It turned out that the murderer put highly toxic nicotine into Wang Xichang's drinking pot. Fortunately, the killer did not find the kettle shared by the delegation. If fierce
If you throw nicotine into this communal kettle, the consequences will be unimaginable. Although the Chinese side has repeatedly urged the US side to help solve the case, and the US side has promised to cooperate with the Chinese side, due to the complexity of the situation, this question has never been answered clearly, and it has become a historical mystery.
Comrade Wang Xichang was posthumously recognized as a martyr, and his ashes were sent back to China for burial, and the memorial service was held in Babaoshan. The leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and some of the domestic personnel attending the 26th session of the United Nations General Assembly attended the mourning ceremony to pay their final respects to the young staff member of the Permanent Mission......
The first time I attended a meeting of the General Assembly, I enjoyed a very high level of courtesy
The first task of the members of the translation team attending the 26th session of the United Nations General Assembly is to prepare the first speech of President Qiao Guanhua at the plenary session of the United Nations General Assembly. This is the first time that the delegation of the People's Republic of China has appeared at the United Nations, the largest international organization in the world, and the content of the speech will be disseminated to every corner of the world.
The draft of the speech, which was prepared in China and was as long as 7,000 or 8,000 words, was personally revised by Premier Zhou Enlai and finalized by Chairman Mao Zedong. The delegation had prepared translations in English and French in China, and after arriving on the spot, they continued to revise and improve the drafts, and finalized the drafts, printing 300 English translations and nearly 100 French translations (there were only more than 110 Member States of the United Nations at that time).
In mid-November, the General Assembly had already concluded its general debate and moved on to concrete discussions on various topics. In order to welcome the arrival of the Chinese delegation, the United Nations is scheduled to hold a welcoming meeting on 15 November and give the Chinese delegation a address. At 10 a.m. on 15 November, the Chinese delegation appeared in the United Nations conference hall for the first time. The atmosphere of warm welcome immediately permeated the entire venue, forming another climax of this conference. Speeches continued until 6 p.m., and representatives of 57 countries addressed welcoming speeches to the Chinese delegation.
Head Qiao Guanhua's speech lasted about 45 minutes. He calmly laid out the facts and reasoned, and solemnly expounded the Chinese Government's stand on major international issues: "The affairs of the United Nations should be jointly managed by all countries participating in the United Nations, and the superpowers should not be allowed to manipulate and monopolize them. China is not and will never be a superpower that invades, subverts, controls, interferes in or bullies others. In accordance with the purposes of the UN Charter, the United Nations should play its due role in maintaining international peace, opposing aggression and interference, and developing friendly and cooperative relations among countries. We will stand with all peace-loving countries and peoples who uphold justice, and work together to safeguard the national independence and sovereignty of all countries, to safeguard international peace and to promote the cause of human progress. ”
After the speeches, the representatives of dozens of countries walked to the podium and shook hands with the head of the delegation, Qiao Guanhua, and congratulated him, a courtesy that exceeded the courtesy that any country received after speaking in the general debate. The pre-meeting prints were sold out during the meeting, and the members of the delegation had to rush back to the hotel to reprint and continue to distribute after the meeting (there were no photocopiers at the time, so it was necessary to reprint the wax paper and mimeograph it one by one).
The warm and touching scenes witnessed at the UN General Assembly enabled the members of the delegation to experience firsthand the enhancement of China's international status. At the same time, the members of the delegation felt that the most important reward for their efforts was to see that their translated and printed manuscripts were valued and welcomed by the representatives of so many countries, and that they had such a great impact. In addition to the excitement, they forgot the fatigue of working continuously after often staying up all night during this period.
Chinese translations are mentioned to prominence
The United Nations Secretariat has a large translation agency, divided into two main sections: translation and interpretation. There are more than 100 Chinese translators (including Chinese typists) and more than 20 Chinese interpreters, all of whom are local Chinese. Although most of them are patriotic, they do not understand the situation in the motherland, and some of them are suspicious of the personnel of the Chinese delegation because of the influence of Western propaganda or because of their relations with official personnel of the Taiwan authorities.
After the Chinese delegation arrived in New York, Head Qiao Guanhua and Ambassador Chen Chu promptly summoned all the Chinese translators and solemnly announced to them that the Chinese delegation attaches great importance to Chinese translation work, and advocates that the Chinese interpreters should be retained one by one and retain their original posts, hoping that they will stick to their posts, do their own work well, and bring glory to the motherland. This statement greatly encouraged the Chinese translators and created a new situation for the Chinese work of the United Nations.
Before the restoration of China's legitimate seat in the United Nations, Chinese, although it was also the official language of the United Nations, was not taken seriously in practice. The representatives of the Taiwan authorities do not use Chinese, with the result that translated Chinese documents often lose their statute of limitations, and some become a pile of waste paper. Chinese interpreters sometimes turn off their microphones and chat in the booth during work, as no one listens to their translations.
Representatives of the People's Republic of China attend United Nations meetings in Chinese. Since then, the status of Chinese in the United Nations Secretariat has become prominent, and Chinese translators and interpreters have been impressed, deeply feeling that their value has doubled, and their emotions have risen. At the same time, they are feeling the pressure of their work, as the demands on United Nations translators and interpreters have increased, and the days of perfunctory and unmotivated work are gone.
The translators of the UN Secretariat are all Chinese in the United States, some from Hong Kong and Taiwan, and some are from the mainland, but due to the isolation between China and the United States after the founding of the People's Republic of China, they have almost lost contact with the mainland. Some of them are nearing retirement age, and some are young people who have just been recruited by the United Nations from the United States or Hong Kong and Taiwan on the mainland. None of them had formal training in translation, especially in simultaneous interpretation, and were very unfamiliar with the language of the mainland. Therefore, the United Nations urgently needs to recruit a group of young people from Chinese mainland to enrich the translation team.
At that time, the Canadian Davidson, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Personnel, was very friendly to China and was very concerned about Chinese translation. Davidson took the initiative to suggest that the United Nations should fund a foreign language school in China to help the United Nations train a group of interpreters. For more than 10 years after the implementation of this agreement, the Beijing Institute of Foreign Chinese has trained batches of simultaneous interpreters to enrich the Chinese translation team of the United Nations.
As China's national strength grows and it becomes more active in the international arena, more and more young people will become "international organization talents" in the future, representing China in international organizations and striving for human well-being and sustainable development. In the face of the major challenges of the new century, young friends have a long way to go!
(This article is based on The First Years of the United Nations)
Source: Reading Commune (according to "China Diplomatic Story")
Author: Guo Jiading (Senior Translator, Former Chinese Ambassador to Malta and Portugal)