In the autumn of 1972, China and Japan formally normalized diplomatic relations. Forty-five years later, Premier Zhou Enlai's niece Zhou Bingde and Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka's daughter Makiko Tanaka attended a reception in Beijing to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. Looking back on the past, what untold stories do they bring to us?
The Chinese Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the China-Japan Friendship Association held a reception in Beijing on the 8th to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations. (Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Zhang Ling)
"I really should have taken you to Beijing!"
As long as China is mentioned, Makiko Tanaka will remember her father when she was a child: "Makiko, I want to take you all over the world, this is my dream." ”
From Buckingham Palace in the United Kingdom to the White House in the United States, from Moscow to Bonn, Almost every foreign visit, Kakuei Tanaka will bring Makiko with him. But when he visited China in 1972, he did not bring his daughter with him.
At that time, during the Cold War, Japan did not understand the information about China on the other side of the "Iron Curtain". But he still said to his daughter, "Makiko, you've listened. After 50 years, the Japanese people and the Chinese people will certainly be able to greet each other with a smile and communicate with each other, which is my real mission. ”
Tanaka Kakuei's daughter, Makiko Tanaka, delivered a speech at the reception marking the 45th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. (Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Zhang Ling)
On the day of Tanaka Kakuei's departure, the weather in Tokyo was clear. He hugged the eldest grandson, Yuichiro, and said, "Xiaoxiong, I will play with you when Grandpa returns." "This is a day that Makiko will never forget.
On September 25, 1972, Kakuei Tanaka's plane landed at Beijing Capital Airport. Premier Zhou first welcomed Kakuei Tanaka, who responded: "It is a great pleasure to come to China. Then, the hands of the two men clasped tightly together.
On that day, Makiko was broadcasting live on a TELEVISION station in Tokyo. Through television, she saw her father and Premier Zhou Enlai's hands clasped together. Subsequently, the announcer interviewed her thoughts, and she felt that there was an infinite intertwined emotion in her chest.
That year, Kakuei Tanaka, as the first Japanese prime minister to visit China after the war, held talks with Premier Zhou Enlai on the issue of restoring the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries, issued a Sino-Japanese joint statement, and normalized diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Makiko recalled that after her father returned to China, he once said to her, "I really should take you to Beijing!" You should be taken to see Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai! ”
"Allow me to help you take off your trench coat."
At the welcome banquet held on the evening of arrival, Premier Zhou specially arranged for the band to play the music of Tanaka Kakuei's hometown, and Tanaka was very surprised and deeply moved.
Zhou Bingde said that Premier Zhou has a clear understanding of Tanaka Kakuei's living habits. Premier Zhou is accustomed to working at night, resting in the early morning, and getting up at noon. Tanaka used to go to bed early and get up early, and his life was very regular. In order to cooperate with Tanaka Kakuei, Premier Zhou deliberately adjusted his work and rest time.
Zhou Enlai's niece Zhou Bingde delivered a speech at the reception commemorating the 45th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations. (Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Zhang Ling)
In Building 18 of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse where Tanaka Kakuei stayed, there was an interesting episode. Once, after arriving at the hotel, Premier Zhou Enlai wanted to take off his trench coat, because his arm had been injured during the war years, and he seemed to have a hard time taking off his trench coat.
After Tanaka Kakuei saw it, he rushed ahead of the staff next to him and took the initiative to help Premier Zhou take off his trench coat. Premier Zhou hurriedly said: "No, no, you are a guest, how can you let you take off my trench coat for me?" At this time, Tanaka Kakuei said: "You arranged me in Building 18 of the State Guesthouse, these days I am the host here, you are my most honored guest, I should serve you." Allow me to help you undress your windbreaker. ”
Many years later, Makiko Tanaka listened to her father and fellow Japanese Foreign Ministry officials recall that the negotiations were extremely difficult at that time, and everyone felt that they must not be able to negotiate. "My father said that in every difficult moment, the only thing he could do was to drink Chinese liquor, and when he woke up after drinking, maybe the wisdom to solve the problem appeared."
Zhou Bingde said: Although there were occasional arguments between the two sides in the course of the talks, through constant running-in and seeking common ground while reserving differences, they finally overcame various obstacles and normalized Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations. "It took only 84 days from Tanaka's appointment as prime minister to the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations. Uncle Great admired his decisiveness and extraordinary courage. ”
"Today, I want my father to see me here"
After Zhou Enlai's death, in order to inherit his legacy, in April 1979, the 75-year-old Deng Yingchao led a delegation to visit Japan. During this period, he was warmly received by Mr. and Mrs. Kakuei Tanaka.
The years flew by. In the early autumn of 2017, Zhou Bingde and Makiko Tanaka met in Beijing and embraced each other warmly.
Dressed in a black skirt, Makiko Tanaka wore the watch her father had been using until her death, and the chic brooch on her chest was modified from the decoration on her mother's belt, and she said affectionately: "I came with the wishes of my father and mother." ”
Ms. Zhou Bingde and Ms. Makiko Tanaka took a group photo at the reception commemorating the 45th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. (Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Zhang Ling)
Makiko Tanaka said that when her father visited Shanghai that year, he saw many cute children singing songs and saying "Welcome, warm welcome", and he was determined to work hard for the future and smiling faces of these children. "Today, I want my father to see me here."
At the commemorative reception, Makiko Tanaka showed two calligraphy works to chinese and Japanese friends: one was written by her husband, Naoki Tanaka, writing a sentence from the Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu's "Afang Palace Endowment": "The heart of one person, the heart of ten million people", which means that the leader of a country should bear the people in mind; the other is her own work, from the "Huainanzi Benjingxun" "Different Ways and Returns", which means that although there are differences in political concepts, they all pursue the same goal.
"The sincere man is the true warrior." Makiko Tanaka said that the leaders of the older generation in Japan and China are courageous politicians who share the same goal and seek common ground while reserving minor differences, thus contributing to the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Journalist Hou Lijun