On November 24, 2010, a 97-year-old Chinese man died in Beijing, and the New York Times across the ocean published a rare article about him that day, calling him a "respectable diplomat."
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who also had great respect for him, told reporters that Huang Hua was "one of the most capable servants of the people I have ever seen."
This old man, the "red diplomat" Huang Hua, served as vice premier and foreign minister of New China.
Huang Hua was born in 1913 in Ci County, Hebei Province, in 1932, at the age of 19, Huang Hua was admitted to the Department of Economics of Yenching University, when Huang Hua became very interested in teaching English at Yanda University, and he worked hard to learn English, which was also an important reason why he was able to enter the diplomatic field in the future.
At that time, North China could be described as an eventful autumn, there were Japanese and Koko tigers in the north, and inside there was a group of traitors waving the flag and shouting, and on the campus of Yanda University, there was an anti-Japanese salvation congress established by a group of progressive students, and Huang Hua joined in and became an activist.
At that time, the famous American journalist Snow taught in the journalism department of Yanda University, and had close relations with Huang Hua, Huang Jing, and other progressive students, and Snow's home in Beiping also became a window for Huang Hua and others to understand new things.
Although Huang Hua was arrested and imprisoned during the campaign, he remained confident in the revolution, and it was in the same year that he joined the Chinese Communist Party, which made Snow also respect him.
Snow admired the Red Army and the Communists, so he had long wanted to go to Yan'an, and in June 1936, when he was approved, he was worried about the lack of an interpreter around him, he thought left and right, remembered Huang Hua, so he hurried to talk to him and ask for his opinion.
Huang Hua was also pleasantly surprised, he had long had the idea of going to Yan'an, and since there was a sincere invitation from Snow, Huang Hua immediately agreed.
Interestingly, Huang Hua was preparing to take the graduation exam at the time, but he felt that going to Yan'an was much more important than the graduation exam, so he gave up the exam. Later, every time Huang Hua recalled this incident, he would smile and say, "I, I didn't graduate from Yanda University that year, I was a student!" ”
In Yan'an, Snow became acquainted with a large number of Communists and Red Army generals, and conducted extensive and meticulous interviews with them, and it was precisely because of Huang Hua's translation and proofreading that the content of these interviews was both accurate and true, which provided Great help to Snow in creating the book "Journey to the West".
(Pictured: Huang Hua and Snow returned to Yan'an in 1970)
After Chairman Mao saw Huang Hua, he listened to him talk about the "129" Movement and said with a smile: "Good, very good, don't look at you as a student doll, but your work ability is very good." In this way, Huang Hua stayed in Yan'an, successively serving as an interpreter for the Rear Command, Zhu De's political secretary, and other positions until 1944, when he became the chief of the liaison section of the Central Foreign Affairs Group, and he fought on the foreign front for the rest of his life.
At the Geneva Conference in April 1954 and the Bandung Conference in August 1955, Huang Hua served as an adviser and press spokesman for the Chinese delegation as an accompanying member, attracting the attention of the world with fluent English and extremely high diplomatic talent.
During these two meetings, Huang Hua also left a deep impression on Premier Zhou, who later told everyone: "Comrade Huang Hua's work is very good and meticulous, especially his English, everyone must learn from him." ”
On July 8, 1971, US Secretary of State Kissinger, who was visiting Pakistan, suddenly "disappeared" and disappeared in front of the eyes of the world media. A day later, a passenger plane slowly landed on the runway of Beijing's Nanyuan airport, and it was kissinger who had "disappeared".
Kissinger's secret visit to China was a precursor to President Nixon's visit to China and he held six rounds of talks with our side on this matter. After Premier Zhou met with Kissinger, Huang Hualai was responsible for the negotiation of specific matters.
Kissinger stressed that Nixon's visit to China was invited by China, but Huang Hua did not think so, insisting that it should be "agreed to visit" and could not deliberately add "China's invitation." The two sides were deadlocked, and Huang Hua had no choice but to report the matter to Chairman Mao, who would decide.
When Chairman Mao heard about this, he smiled and said to Huang Hua: "People are right, this is really not good, it should be changed." After receiving Chairman Mao's approval, Huang Hua went to Premier Zhou for consultation, and Premier Zhou added the word "learned" to it.
When Kissinger and Huang Hua saw it, they both admired Premier Zhou's changes, which could be described as a stroke of genius, and in return, Kissinger also added the word "happily".
After the dispute was resolved, Huang Hua, who was quick-witted and personable at the venue, left a deep impression on Kissinger, and the two became close friends.
On October 25, 1971, the 26th session of the United Nations General Assembly was convened and Resolution 2758 was adopted, restoring China's due status and legitimate rights in the United Nations. On that day, Qiao Guanhua, then vice foreign minister, laughed when facing the good news, which was described by foreign media as: "On that day, Joe's laughter shattered the glass in the United Nations hall." ”
The one sitting next to Qiao Guanhua was Huang Hua, the first permanent representative of China's United Nations, and his smile was a little subtle, but he still couldn't suppress the joy between his eyebrows.
After five years as a permanent representative of the United Nations, Huang Hua returned to China in 1976 and took over the baton of the foreign minister, becoming the fifth foreign minister of New China after Zhou Enlai, Chen Yi, Ji Pengfei and Qiao Guanhua.
In September 1980, Huang Hua was elected vice premier and foreign minister, becoming a deputy state-level cadre.
Huang Hua's friendship with Kissinger has also been maintained, and after the outbreak of the "9.11" incident in the United States in 2001, Huang Hua called Kissinger for the first time to express his condolences. Kissinger was greatly moved, telling the American reporter: "He (Huang Hua) is an outstanding diplomat in China, not only very determined, very talented, but also very humane. ”
When the 2008 Olympic Games were held in Beijing, Kissinger flew from the other side of the ocean and, in addition to participating in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, also went to the hospital to visit his old friend Huang Hua.
Huang Hua died in Beijing on November 24, 2010 at the age of 97. #为民族文化做出贡献的人 #
(References: "Personal Experience and Experience", "Guangming Daily", "People's Network", "Chinese Culture Network")