On October 27, 1981, a tense election was underway in the united nations Security Council hall in New York, USA. But until 6 p.m., the election still had no final result. In the past six rounds of voting, China has unusually cast 6 negative votes in succession.
In order to make concessions to our country, the United States tried its best to put pressure on our country, but instead of choosing to compromise, Deng Xiaoping, who was far away in China, issued a directive to Ling Qing, who was then China's permanent representative to the United Nations, to "no to the end."
Deng Xiaoping
In the subsequent elections, the Chinese deputies always adhered to the position of voting against it, and in just over 20 days, China actually cast 16 consecutive rounds of negative votes.
What exactly is the function of the United Nations in this election? Why did China cast 16 rounds of negative votes for the first time? Who was the candidate who actually made Deng Xiaoping issue the instruction of "one or no to the end"?
On December 21, 1971, Waldheim, then Austrian Foreign Minister, received one of the most precious birthday gifts of his life. After fierce competition, Waldheim was finally elected as the fourth secretary-general of the United Nations with 11 votes in favor, 1 vote against and 3 abstentions, and his victory was closely related to China's vote in favor.
Waldheim
Since the beginning of the election campaign, Waldheim has been in the spotlight, many of which have been supported by the Western countries and the Soviet Union, but at the beginning my country has always been opposed, because two of the first three secretaries-general of the United Nations are from European countries, and we believe that Waldheim from Austria is not suitable for the next Secretary-General of the United Nations, so in the first few rounds of elections, our representatives have remained opposed.
In order to show sincerity, the Austrian government also specially sent their ambassador to China Hans Tarberg to negotiate with Premier Zhou, in the course of the conversation, Hans's words and demeanor left a good impression on Premier Zhou, and our country also truly felt the goodwill of Waldheim, and finally our government changed its attitude and cast the most precious vote for Waldheim.
Waldheim has always kept in mind the goodwill expressed by my Government and responded quickly after he took office.
New China only truly returned to the United Nations in October 1971, and before that, taiwan's Kuomintang had been maliciously occupying China's seat, and even many ulterior motives of Western countries expressed support for Taiwan's exercise of United Nations rights on behalf of China.
Even when my country's return to the United Nations was blocked, Waldheim publicly stated: "It is a big joke that a small island of just over 16 million people, on the edge of the Chinese mainland, is trying to exercise power on behalf of Chinese, who make up a quarter of the total population of mankind." ”
On the road to China's seat in the United Nations, Waldheim has always provided support to China, and it is precisely at his insistence that all the representatives of Taiwan have withdrawn from the United Nations. In addition, Waldheim made a special visit to our country shortly after taking office, and after his re-election in 1977, Waldheim also visited china for the second time and was received by Hua Guofeng and Deng Xiaoping.
Deng Xiaoping and Waldheim
During his tenure as Secretary-General of the United Nations, Waldheim's achievements were also remarkable. In October 1973, the fourth Middle East war broke out, the United States and the Soviet Union were eager to move, in the face of the imminent outbreak of the Third World War, the United Nations under the leadership of Waldheim quickly responded, less than 48 hours to the battlefield sent peacekeeping troops to the battlefield, strangling the Third World War in the "cradle".
In 1979, the Soviet-Afghan War broke out, and a large number of Soviet troops went to the battlefield of Afghanistan, and for a time the whole of Afghanistan fell into hell on earth. Faced with this situation, Waldheim immediately sent representatives to Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, in the name of the United Nations and the International Red Cross, and carried out a series of humanitarian relief on the ground, at the same time, under the active promotion of Waldheim, the Soviet Union finally agreed to peace talks, and in order to resolve the contradictions between The Soviet Union and Afghanistan, Waldheim also sent his own personal representatives to mediate.
During his 10-year tenure, Waldheim made a great contribution to world peace, and later he was awarded the "United Nations Peace Prize".
In this way, Waldheim's approach is commendable, whether in maintaining world peace or friendly relations with China, but why did China vote 16 times against Waldheim during the re-election in 1981? It all started with Waldheim's rivals.
According to the Charter of the United Nations, every appointment of the Secretary-General of the United Nations needs to be nominated by the Security Council, and the votes of 10 member states and 5 permanent members exceed 9 votes to pass, and 5 of them have 1 veto, that is, as long as any permanent member votes against it, the election result is invalid.
Since its return to the United Nations in 1971, China has rarely used the veto, and even because of the number of abstentions, China has also won the title of "Mr. Abstention". However, in the 1981 election of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, my country cast an unprecedented 16 vetoes.
There are two main reasons why Our country is abnormal, first, Sino-US relations at that time were at a relatively special stage, and second, Waldheim's competitors were too special.
On April 20, 1981, Reagan, who had just taken office as US president, immediately passed the "Joint Resolution No. 88", in which the United States issued "six guarantees" to Taiwan, including: the United States did not set an end date for the sale of military weapons to Taiwan; the United States did not agree to solicit opinions on arms sales to Taiwan from the Chinese mainland; the United States would not play a coordinating role between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland; did not agree to amend the "Taiwan Relations Act"; and the United States did not change its position on Taiwan's sovereignty The United States will not force Taiwan to negotiate with Chinese mainland.
Reagan
There is no doubt that these "six guarantees" of the United States have seriously violated China's interests and even affected the friendly relations between China and the United States; for this reason, our Government immediately sent representatives to hold consultations and negotiations with the United States.
Of course, the most important reason for my country to vote against it was because of Waldheim's rival, Salim from Tanzania. This man, like Waldheim, is a good friend of China.
Salim served as Tanzania's ambassador to China and has very good relations with China, and it is under his impetus that China and Tanzania have established more friendly relations. After learning the news of China's successful return to the United Nations, Salim danced excitedly in public.
Salim
The countries of the Third World can be said to have placed high hopes on Salim's participation in the election of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and he has not only been strongly elected by the Tanzanian government, but also supported by many organizations such as the Organization of African Unity, the Arab League and the Non-Aligned Movement. But even so, Salim's odds of winning compared to Waldheim are slim, and Salim's biggest stumbling block is the United States, because it is absolutely impossible for the United States to allow an African to serve as Secretary-General of the United Nations.
One is Waldheim, who has made great contributions to China's return to the United Nations, and the other is Salim, a close friend of China, and our Government has not hesitated in the slightest as to who to choose.
Waldheim did help China a lot, and his achievements in his previous terms were very prominent, but after all, he came from European countries, belonged to the West, and did not know much about the real demands of developing countries.
This election seems to be just a contest between Waldheim and Salim, but in fact it is a confrontation between developing countries and developed countries, and China, which has always supported equality and world peace, has naturally become a life-saving straw for developing countries at this time.
On October 27, 1981, the first round of voting began, and when the originally confident Waldheim heard a veto, the whole person was filled with doubts. Of course, Salim also received a veto, and it is certain that this vote must have come from the United States.
UN
In desperation, Waldheim and Salim had to enter the second vote, but the result of the second time still did not change, and the two were still rejected by one vote each. In the afternoon, the United Nations Security Council held several rounds of voting, but the results of each vote did not change at all, China and the United States each time cast the most critical veto in their hands, and the contest between Waldheim and Salim gradually evolved into an open confrontation between China and the United States.
For the results of each round of voting, Deng Xiaoping, who was far away in China, has also been paying attention, but many people are worried about such a tense situation, and many people have begun to put forward suggestions for compromise to Deng Xiaoping, but Deng Xiaoping very calmly issued instructions to Ling Qing on the other side of the ocean, which can be summed up in four words: one is not in the end!
After receiving Deng Xiaoping's instructions, Ling Qing immediately made a promise to the countries of the third world: "If China only supports the compromise twice, then we are not perfunctory African countries, this is not sincere enough, nor is it enough friends." Since China has chosen to stand behind Salim, it will persist to the end! ”
Regarding China's opposition, Waldheim also specifically asked our representative Ling Qing, who said very sincerely: "China's vote against it is not dissatisfaction with you, but hopes to express its attitude from the standpoint of the third world, hoping to make the world pay more attention to the voice of developing countries." For Ling Qing's explanation, Waldheim expressed great understanding.
Ling Qing
From October 21 to November 17, the Security Council held 16 rounds of voting in more than 20 days, and China voted against it 16 times in succession. It is clear that if the elections continue, nothing will change, and in order to resolve this issue, the Council has proposed two solutions:
(1) The term of office of Waldheim shall be extended for one year, after which elections shall be held; Waldheim and Salim share a 5-year term.
In the face of these two options, China did not choose either, but once again reiterated its position: "At any time, China's support for third world candidates will not change." "Sure enough, when the United Nations proposed a third option, my country quickly took practical action.
In early December 1981, the United Nations formulated a third electoral plan: Waldheim and Salim all withdrew from the election, and the United Nations re-voted for the Secretary-General.
China and the United States all agreed to this plan. Soon, new candidates for secretary-general emerged, and in the end, 9 people stood out, all of whom had a common characteristic, that is, they were all from developing countries.
On December 11, the highly anticipated 17th round of elections for the UN Secretary-General officially began, and in the end, De Cuélal from Peru was successfully elected as the fifth UN Secretary-General.
De Cuéliar
Soon after taking office, De Cuéllar visited my country in his capacity as Secretary-General of the United Nations. In the course of his conversation with Deng Xiaoping, De Cuéllar continued to express his gratitude to our country, and he also said very sincerely: "If it were not for China's insistence, I would never have been elected secretary-general, and China is the leader of developing countries." ”
Deng Xiaoping said very sincerely: "China will never be a leader, but as long as any country needs it, China will definitely come forward." ”
This tense "Sino-US election contest" is not only a victory for China, but also a victory for all developing countries. Since then, the Secretary-General of the United Nations has rotated among countries on all continents, most of them from developing countries. Unconsciously, China is influencing the world with great power.
With countless sacrifices, the Chinese nation has walked out of a century of humiliation, and with decades of arduous struggle, it has ushered in a new era of great brilliance. Against hegemony, China has always been on the road, as long as there is a five-star red flag, it will certainly be able to hear the strongest voice from China.