【Review of the CPC's Foreign Relations】
The future is full of bright roads, and we must not forget the twists and turns
-- Dong Biwu attended the inaugural meeting of the United Nations
Author: Chen Xiaoli
In 1945, at the dawn of victory in the world anti-fascist war, the United Nations Constituent Assembly was convened in San Francisco. China attended the meeting as one of the victorious powers in World War II. Dong Biwu, the elder of our Party, attended the meeting as a member of the Chinese delegation and solemnly signed the Charter of the United Nations. This is the first time in the history of the Communist Party of China to send official representatives to go abroad and participate in international multilateral affairs, and it has achieved the first appearance of our party on the international political stage. Exactly half a century ago, China regained its legitimate seat in the United Nations, but when we look back at history, the origins of the Chinese Communist Party and the United Nations began as far back as Dong Biwu attended the United Nations Constituent Assembly. The political contribution of our Party to the creation of the United Nations and to the birth of the Charter of the United Nations should be remembered by history and future generations.
At that time, the Kuomintang government attempted to monopolize the entire quota of the Chinese delegation. Through fierce struggle, our Party finally forced Chiang Kai-shek to reluctantly agree to Dong Biwu's joining the delegation as the only representative of the CPC.
On April 6, 1945, Dong Biwu led Zhang Hanfu, editor-in-chief of Xinhua Daily, chen Jiakang, an interpreter, and others to set off from Yan'an. Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Lin Boqu and hundreds of other people went to bid farewell. Chen Yi touched the scenery with affection and gave poems to each other: "Wait for the sky to go, and the Chinese spirit is majestic." ...... Representing forty million, the earth is red. ”
The Chinese delegation to the Constituent Assembly consisted of ten members, headed by Song Ziwen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the National Government. At that time, the three deputies Hu Shi, Gu Weijun, and Wei Daoming were already in the United States, and the six deputies in Chongqing took Song Ziwen's private plane and flew directly to the United States.
Dong Biwu and his party are far less convenient. They first flew from Yan'an to Chongqing, then took a small military plane, first flew over the Himalayas to Kolkata, India, then transferred to the Middle East, crossed Africa, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, came to Brazil, then transferred to LaGuardia Airport in New York, and finally flew from New York to San Francisco on April 24, which took nearly 20 days. Dong Biwu, who is more than a year old, has been bumping and turning all the way, running and working hard, which cannot be described as hard work.
On April 25, the United Nations Constitutional Convention opened at the palatial San Francisco Grand Theatre. The meeting set up four special committees, and Dong Biwu participated in the Third Committee, which dealt with the competence of the Security Council and the right of veto, and the discussion was the most intense. The Chinese delegation proposes three amendments to the draft CHARTER: first, if an international incident endangering peace occurs, the Security Council shall have the right to adopt an interim approach; second, when the party to the dispute is unable to implement the judgment of the International Court of Justice, the Security Council may take measures to bring it into force; third, when a non-member of the United Nations becomes a party or parties to an international conflict, when the disputed matter is submitted to the United Nations General Assembly or the Security Council, the Charter should have a corresponding statement of rights. With the efforts and persistence of the Chinese side, the first and third items were adopted and eventually written into the Charter, making a major political contribution to the founding of the United Nations.
On May 1, the Chinese delegation held a high-profile Chinese and foreign press conference, attended by more than 600 journalists. Journalists were curious about the fabled "dangerous CCP elements." An American journalist asked Dong Biwu to stand up and "see if he was in danger." Dong Biwu knew English, and without waiting for anyone to translate, he stood up with a smile and nodded to everyone. Reporters saw a gentle elder with a beard on his mouth. Dong Biwu said in front of the reporter: "I will first tell you a fable story, the title is "Hearsay". It is said that someone is digging a well, some people say that someone digs a well under the well, and some people say that the well is dug out of the person, and the result is more and more distorted. It can be seen that hearsay is not credible. I'm standing in front of you today, do you see if I'm a dangerous person? The humorous opening remarks made the reporters feel the unassuming, solemn and humble demeanor of a communist, and the rumors were self-defeating. Dong Biwu also won the respect of the members of the Chinese delegation. Gu Weijun later wrote: "He was the eldest member of the Chinese delegation, a man who had read ancient books, was amiable, but quite astute... I was surprised that he was a little older, but he knew international affairs. ”
On 26 June, the signing ceremony of the Charter of the United Nations was solemnly held. In accordance with the procedure agreed upon by the General Assembly, the Chinese delegation was the first to sign the Charter. In a solemn atmosphere, Dong Biwu signed "Dong Biwu" with a brush three strong and powerful italic characters. This precious historical record is still preserved in a chic glass cabinet on the third floor of United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Our Party also regards the attendance at the meeting as a rare opportunity to break the Kuomintang's press blockade. Dong Biwu instructed his assistants Zhang Hanfu and Chen Jiakang to compile and print 5,000 pamphlets in the English edition of "Records of China's Liberated Areas," which were widely distributed among the delegates, journalists, and American people of various countries attending the UN meeting, causing strong repercussions. Dong Biwu also delivered speeches entitled "The Basic Policy of the Communist Party of China" and "The Key to the China Question," which showed with a large number of detailed facts that the CPC has always adhered to the basic policy and won the understanding and sympathy of international friends and overseas Chinese and ethnic Chinese.
During his time in the United States, Dong Biwu also had extensive contacts with people from all walks of life in the United States and overseas Chinese, sowing the seeds of friendship. An old overseas Chinese who was in his old age said: "He is a kind man, and he will listen to me and talk from his heart." The Chinese Society in New York's Chinatown hosted a banquet for the Chinese delegation, but dong Biwu was not invited to attend under the control of the Kuomintang. The members of the New York Overseas Chinese Laundry Association were very angry when they found out, and immediately held a welcome dinner for Dong Biwu at the "Top Good Restaurant" to express their respect for the Communist Party. The overseas Chinese shook hands with Dong Biwu and shed tears and said: "You are the hope of China, the real hope. The next day, the front page of the New York Overseas Chinese Daily published a large photo of Dong Biwu shaking hands with his compatriots, and specially introduced the banquet under the title of "China's Light of Hope", which caused a great shock to the overseas Chinese society. As Kwong Zhizhong, a Chinese-American, put it: "When thinking about China's future in the post-war world, almost no one among the Chinese thought that it would be beneficial for the Kuomintang dictatorship to continue." ”
As a member of the Chinese delegation, Dong Biwu has a considerable amount of installation, living expenses and communication expenses, but he is meticulous about each expense, and the cost of living is reduced again and again. The day after arriving in the United States, Dong Biwu spent $25 to buy a suit, which became his only costume for attending diplomatic events in the United States. Dong Biwu did not live in the hotel, but lived in the dormitory of overseas Chinese and cooked by himself. His old towel was worn out and continued to be used, and the local Chinese friends really couldn't bear to buy a new towel for him, so they replaced the old one. In this way, Dong Biwu saved more than 2,500 US dollars, plus overseas Chinese donations, purchased a set of printing equipment worth 30,000 US dollars for Xinhua Daily, and also donated 10,000 US dollars to Huaqiao Daily. After returning to China, her daughter Dong Liangyi couldn't help but ask her father what "foreign goods" she had brought to them, and Dong Biwu said in a calm tone: "No belt, no belt at all, all the remaining money is filled in to confiscate and buy public property, you don't think this is too unkind, right?" Our life in Yan'an is still very bitter, the life of the people of the whole country is even more bitter, our penny should be used as two cents, what can be saved will be saved, and the money saved can be used for public affairs as much as possible. ”
On November 20, Dong Biwu successfully completed his mission and returned to China by plane. He wrote in his poem the feelings of participating in the meeting and the confidence of victory in the war: "It is a fast swim in life, and the empty journey is always leisurely." Riding the wind and waves is not a nonsense, and the clouds are floating under the eyes. Europe has no sharp edge for the time being, and Dongying will sacrifice Kou to take revenge. The future is full of bright roads, and we must not forget the twists and turns. ”
Guangming Daily (2021-07-22, 12th edition)
Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily