On the first day of the new year in 1979, the "Sino-US Joint Communique" signed by China and the United States half a month ago officially came into effect, which meant that China and the United States formally established diplomatic relations, and the confrontation between China and the United States that lasted for more than 20 years came to an end.
In order for the healthy development of Sino-US relations, the then Prime Minister of *** started his visit to the United States on January 29. The welcoming ceremony prepared by **Carter in the United States) was held on the lawn outside the White House. **A Chinese leader is visiting the United States for the first time in 30 years.
"China and the United States are great countries, the Chinese and American people are great people, and the friendly cooperation between the two peoples will certainly have a positive and far-reaching impact on the development of the world situation. ”
This loud speech attracted warm applause at the welcome ceremony, and he perfectly demonstrated the characteristics of China's all-encompassing and win-win situation.
The Sino-US Joint Communiqué clearly stipulates: ".The United States recognizes the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate People's Republic of China. Adhering to the "one-China" principle is a necessary prerequisite for the healthy development of Sino-US relations.
The establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, the Taiwan issue is unavoidable, before this visit to the United States, ** met with Donovan, editor-in-chief of the American Times Publishing Company, he said: ".We respect Taiwan's reality, and the Taiwan authorities, as a locality, have their own rights, that is, they can have their own army, their commercial relations with foreign countries can continue, and their way of life can remain unchanged. ”
As the core of the party's second leadership, he has always been devoting himself to resolving the Taiwan issue, and thanks to his efforts, cross-strait relations have achieved substantial development.
In 1987, the Kuomintang authorities announced that Taiwanese residents would be allowed to visit relatives on the mainland, and veterans who had been away from their homeland for 40 years finally saw their families in their lifetimes.
Although our party has always advocated "peaceful reunification," our party has never renounced the use of force in dealing with the Taiwan issue, and the reunification of force is not aimed at the Taiwan people, but at "** elements and foreign interference forces."
In fact, as early as the founding of New China, China planned to liberate Taiwan by force, but at that time China did not have a decent navy and air force, and the Soviet Union's attitude towards the Taiwan issue had always been relatively cold out of political considerations, so this plan has always been in the process of preparation.
Before and after the founding of New China, Su Yu devoted almost all his energy to studying landing operations, but our army experienced a crushing defeat in the first operation to seize the island.
In July 1949, Ye Fei led his troops to seize Kinmen Island, which was garrisoned by the Kuomintang, due to the lack of experience in sea-crossing operations, our army's ferry was blown up by the Kuomintang Air Force, resulting in the follow-up troops failing to follow up in time.
With this bloody lesson, all the commanders and fighters of our army have clearly understood the fact that it is extremely difficult to liberate Taiwan, but our army has never slackened its landing drills on the southeast coast.
After the outbreak of the Korean War, the US Seventh Fleet was stationed in the Taiwan Strait, and the plan to liberate Taiwan could only be postponed indefinitely. ** After the decision to "send troops to Korea" was made against public opinion, the troops that were originally going to liberate Taiwan were transferred to the Korean front.
Although the "United **" signed an armistice agreement with China and North Korea at Panmunjom, the US fleet never left the Taiwan Strait, and Chiang Kai-shek always dreamed of relying on the support of the United States ** mainland, so a large number of defenders were stationed on many islands off the southeast coast.
After 1954, the Kuomintang's infiltration activities on the mainland became more and more frequent, and the public security department cracked many espionage cases. In addition, the Kuomintang air force also frequently intruded into the mainland's airspace and distributed leaflets printed with reactionary remarks in inland cities. Due to the backwardness of our army's air defense at that time, the air force of the Taiwan authorities had nothing to fear.
At the end of 1954, the United States signed the "Mutual Defense Agreement" with the Taiwan authorities, and the US military set up the so-called "Taiwan Command for the Assistance in the Defense of Taiwan" in Taiwan to assist Chiang Kai-shek in defending Taiwan and the Penghu Islands. In order to deter the Taiwan authorities, our army has conquered a large number of coastal islands.
Chiang Kai-shek thought that the Americans would be able to help him realize his dream of "** mainland", but the United States ** abacus is also very good. Eisenhower deliberately added an article to the "Mutual Defense Agreement": ".Unless Taiwan and Penghu are hit, the United States will not intervene. In other words, the islands of Kinmen and Matsu, which were held by Chiang's army, were not under the protection of the United States.
The reason why the United States is doing this is actually that it wants to turn Taiwan into its quasi-colony and does not want to be dragged into a war between Taiwan and the mainland.
The US military even suggested to Chiang Kai-shek that Kinmen and Matsu should be abandoned, and that Taiwan and the mainland should be separated from each other with the Taiwan Strait as the boundary. In order for Chiang Kai-shek to accept this proposal, the United States also took out a large number of advanced ** as bargaining chips.
This move of the United States is undoubtedly in China, but fortunately, Chiang Kai-shek has never been ambiguous in the general interests of the nation and decisively rejected this proposal of the United States.
By 1958, relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait were becoming increasingly tense, and many people in our army at that time thought: ".It is not difficult to take Kinmen and Matsu, you can capture these two islands first to deter Jiang Mei. ”
However, *** believes that once the PLA lands in Kinmen, it may allow some ill-intentioned people to take advantage of the problem, which will boost the "** force." Moreover, there were 80,000 defenders stationed in Kinmen at that time, and the defeat of the previous Battle of Kinmen was vividly remembered, so this time we must be very cautious.
"No matter how US-Taiwan relations develop, it is always good to fight, but only Kinmen, not Taiwan, only Chiang's army, not the US military. As soon as these words came out, the People's Liberation Army began to nervously prepare a plan for the shelling of Kinmen.
On August 23, 1958, the Kinmen artillery battle officially began, and the People's Liberation Army fired more than 40,000 shells of various calibers on Kinmen Island within a few hours. Lieutenant General Zhao Jiaji, Major General Zhang Jie, Major General Ji Xingwen, and more than 600 Kuomintang soldiers who were guarding Kinmen were killed in the shelling.
The U.S. frigate escorted the Taiwanese transport ship to Kinmen the next day to deliver supplies, and the artillery units of our army followed the order of ***."Only hit Chiang's ships, not American ships", sank a large number of transport ships of the Taiwan authorities.
From the end of August to the beginning of October, the People's Liberation Army carried out a total of four large-scale artillery bombardments on Kinmen, and the US army once again proposed to Chiang Kai-shek to withdraw the defenders of Kinmen, but Chiang Kai-shek always had concerns, and the soldiers and civilians on the island were looking forward to material assistance, and once Kinmen was abandoned, Chiang Kai-shek's prestige in Taiwan would be affected.
Our army also actively launched a political offensive, and on October 6, the then Minister of National Defense issued a "Letter to Taiwan Compatriots" to explain the Kinmen artillery battle: ".The reason for the artillery battle at Kinmen was Chiang Kai-shek's provocation of the mainland, and both the mainland and Taiwan recognized that Taiwan was part of China, and there was no *** in the world
In the following years, under the influence of the international situation, the United States relaxed its interference in the Taiwan issue, and the Kinmen artillery battle gradually evolved into a kind of dialogue between the two sides of the strait.
As long as the United States does not interfere in the affairs of the Taiwan Strait, the PLA will deliberately let the shells fall in sparsely populated places, and the Kuomintang artillery understands that the shells of the counterattack will basically fall into the sea.
Later, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) implemented the strategy of "fighting alone, not fighting evenly", and most of the shells fired were no longer charged, and every holiday, the two sides of the strait would tacitly cease fire, and Chiang Ching-kuo often went to Kinmen Island on important festivals to comfort the soldiers guarding the island.
In October 1974, he proposed to serve as vice chairman of the Communist Party of China, first vice premier, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, and concurrently deputy chief of general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
At that time, two years had passed since Nixon's visit to China, and Sino-US relations had already moved towards normalization. On January 1, 1979, China and the United States established diplomatic relations, and the "Mutual Defense Treaty" signed by the United States and Taiwan was declared null and void.
** Immediately after the decision was made to terminate the Kinmen artillery battle, the PLA troops stationed in Xiamen returned to their original positions one after another, and the battle, which lasted for 21 years, finally came to an end. The Kinmen artillery battle is actually more like a diplomatic war, through which China has shown the world its attitude towards the Taiwan issue.
In order to further promote the development of Sino-US relations, on January 29, 1979, at the invitation of Carter of the United States, he went to the United States for a friendly visit.
In order to welcome the leader, who is visiting the United States for the first time in 30 years, the American side also attaches great importance to this, and Carter arranged for staff to bring 1,500 camellia plants with conspicuous colors from his hometown of Georgia.
At the dinner, American politicians toasted *** in turn, and said politely and confidently: ".China and the United States, which have been isolated and antagonistic for 30 years, are now in the end of this abnormal situation. ”
"Both China and the United States are aware that the interests of the two peoples and the interests of world peace require China and the United States to view their relations from the overall situation of the international situation and from a long-term strategic perspective. ”
Because the United States has been promoting hegemony in the world all year round, and the United States had just come out of the quagmire of the Vietnam War at that time, it called on the United States to restrain its behavior during this visit.
"Neither China nor the United States should seek hegemony and oppose the establishment of such hegemonic power by any other country or group of countries. This commitment binds us both and adds a sense of responsibility to the peace and stability of the world. We believe that the friendly cooperation between the Chinese people and the American people will not only benefit the development of the two countries, but will also become a powerful factor for safeguarding world peace and promoting human progress. ”
The main reason why the United States was able to establish diplomatic relations with China was to confront the Soviet Union. The United States had just escaped the quagmire of the Vietnam War, and its domestic economic situation was bleak, and it was at a clear disadvantage in the confrontation with the Soviet Union.
At that time, Sino-Soviet relations had already passed the honeymoon period, and as early as the time when Khrushchev was in power, the Soviet Union had withdrawn all the experts and equipment that had assisted China. He has also publicly denigrated the Communist Party of China at international conferences on many occasions.
After Brezhnev came to power, the relationship between China and the Soviet Union became more and more irreconcilable, especially after the Battle of Zhenbao Island, when the Soviet Union threatened to carry out a surgical nuclear attack on China.
After the death of Vietnam's leader, Ho Chi Minh, Le Duan became Vietnam's new leader. Le Duan was a veritable careerist, and after Vietnam had driven out the American invaders with the help of the whole country, Le Duan began to misunderstand the combat effectiveness of the Vietnamese army.
Le Duan's ambitions coincided with Brezhnev's great-power chauvinism, and after the signing of a treaty of friendship and mutual assistance between the Soviet Union and the acquiescence of the Soviet Union, Vietnam expanded aggressively in Southeast Asia.
Since 1978, the Vietnamese army has repeatedly harassed China's southern border, and in the face of Vietnamese provocations, ** has been waiting for an opportunity to send troops to Vietnam. Therefore, the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States is more like an act of "joining forces with Wu to resist Cao", and Carter is also optimistic about the cooperation between China and the United States.
At that time, the two leaders of China and the United States once again talked about the Taiwan issue, and a reporter present asked: "When does the mainland intend to 'liberate Taiwan'?”
After listening to it, he smiled and said: ".We no longer use the phrase 'liberate Taiwan'. As long as Taiwan returns to the motherland, we will respect Taiwan's current system. China is willing to settle the Taiwan issue by peaceful means, but it cannot assume the obligation not to use force to resolve the Taiwan issue, because this is not conducive to the peaceful settlement of the Taiwan issue. Since then, our party's new policy toward Taiwan has been widely known to the world.
**'s trip to the United States lasted a total of nine days, and he traveled to Washington, Atlanta, Houston, Seattle and other important cities.
At the end of the performance, more than 100 children of different colors sang "I Love Beijing Tiananmen" in Chinese, symbolizing that the relationship between China and the United States will continue to develop.
This visit to China has further drawn into the relationship between China and the United States, and for China, this visit to the United States has paved the way for the implementation of reform and opening up.
On January 16, 1980, the cadres of the Communist Party of China were convened to convene a meeting and made a "Report on the Current Form and Tasks", in which it was pointed out: ".We must strive to achieve the goal of the reunification of the motherland in the 80s, and even if there are twists and turns in the middle, the settlement of the Taiwan issue will always be a major issue on our agenda.
** believed that in order to deal with *** it was necessary to establish a channel of mutual exchange between the two sides of the strait, so he set his sights on his old classmate Chiang Ching-kuo.
In 1926, ** was sent to Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow for further study, where he met Chiang Ching-kuo, who was six years younger than him.
Although there is a certain age gap between the two, their daily interactions are very close, and the two have also cultivated a deep friendship with each other. ** Returned to China at the end of 1926, while Chiang Ching-kuo did not return to China until after the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War.
As soon as the Soviet Union parted, the two never met again. In May 1978, Chiang Ching-kuo was elected as Taiwan's supreme leader,** believing that Chiang Ching-kuo was the key figure in opening up communication between the mainland and Taiwan.
On May 14, Kazuo Yaji, the representative of the permanent director of the Japanese National Policy Research Association, visited China, and specially entrusted him to help him bring a message to Chiang Ching-kuo: ".I hope you will tell Mr. Chiang Ching-kuo that we are all over 70 years old. He's just over seventy, a few years younger than me, and history will tell us something good if our generation solves this problem. ”
"If they have any ideas, you can talk to them privately and tell us their opinions, so that the two sides can communicate their ideas as much as possible and seek reasonable ways and means to achieve reunification as soon as possible. ”
On September 9, 1980, ** met with Chen Shubai, a Chinese-American, the son of Chen Jitang, a veteran of the Kuomintang, who had planned to invest in education in the mainland after the reform and opening up.
**Entrust Chen Shubai to give a message:"Chen Lifu has a sense of nationality and will do something in his lifetime. I don't know him, you see him and greet him for me. ”
"Among the elders of the Kuomintang, Chen Lifu can still speak, and he can do something about reunification. Reunification is the trend of the times, and the question is whether it is our generation or the next generation, and I think it would be better for our generation to give the account. ”
**The reason why Chen Lifu is considered to be a person who can "speak" among the Kuomintang elders is because he once put forward the "theory of Chinese cultural reunification", and his idea was supported by both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and Chen Lifu was later elected as the honorary president of the "Association for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of the Taiwan Strait".
On 30 September 1981, the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) expounded to the Xinhua News Agency a nine-point principle for the peaceful reunification of the two sides of the strait.
Ye Jiutiao's "is actually a summary of the speech on the Taiwan issue, which shows our party's sincerity for the peaceful liberation of Taiwan." "Ye Jiutiao" has aroused strong repercussions in the international community, and even the United States ** has admitted it:"China's nine proposals are an extremely open-minded gesture of peace. ”
On January 11, 1982, ** met with the Chinese-American scientist Li Yaozi and said: ".The 'Nine Guidelines' were put forward in the name of Vice Chairman Ye, and in fact there are two systems in one country, and the two systems should be allowed, and they should not destroy the mainland's system, and we will not destroy theirs. ”
Two years later, when meeting with Margaret Thatcher, ** mentioned the use of the "one country, two systems" principle to solve the Hong Kong problem, he said: ".The principle of 'one country, two systems' was put forward from the Taiwan issue. ”
"When I was a child, nostalgia was a small stamp, I was at this end and my mother was at that end. When I grew up, nostalgia was a narrow ticket, I was at this end, and the bride was at that end. ”The patriotic poet Yu Guangzhong's poem "Homesickness" was widely circulated in Taiwan at that time, and whenever Taiwanese veterans heard this poem, their tears would fall uncontrollably.
Although there is only a shallow strait between the mainland and Taiwan, due to the influence of the current situation, countless flesh and blood have been separated. Those soldiers who followed Chiang Kai-shek's defeat and retreat to Taiwan were still heroic and hot-blooded young men when they left the mainland, and now they are gray-haired with two temples.
By the 80s, more and more Taiwanese veterans were calling on the Taiwanese authorities to allow them to return to the mainland to visit their relatives. Thousands of veterans held high slogans such as "White-haired girl, looking forward to the return of her children, red makeup guards the empty curtain" and "Forty years of isolation of flesh and blood", ** the "three noes policy" of the Taiwan authorities.
The cries of the masses grew louder and louder, and the KMT finally opened up the approval channels for visiting relatives on the mainland at the end of 1987. As soon as this policy came out, the Taiwanese people danced with their hands, and they have been waiting for this day for 38 years. The 100,000 applications prepared by the registration department for family visits were sold out.
As a matter of fact, as early as 1979, when China and the United States established diplomatic relations, after the United States recognized the legitimacy of the people, the Taiwan authorities were very dissatisfied, and Chiang Ching-kuo put forward the "three noes policy," that is, no contact, no negotiation, and no compromise.
As a matter of fact, the reason for Chiang Ching-kuo's abandonment of the "three noes policy" is not only the strong voice of Taiwan veterans, but also the mainland's moderate attitude toward Taiwan. Taiwan's permission for veterans to go home to visit relatives is an important sign of "breaking the ice in the strait".
After the nineties of the last century, he basically withdrew from the political arena, and he handed over the great cause of the reunification of the motherland to the next generation of leaders.
On November 21, 1990, Taiwan set up a non-governmental intermediary organization dedicated to contacting the mainland, the Straits Exchange Association. A year later, a similar organization was formed on the mainland, called the Straits Association.
In 1992, the SEF and the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) held consultations on the development of the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) and finally reached a consensus that "both sides of the Taiwan Strait uphold the one-China principle," that is, the "92 Consensus."
On 27 April 1993, Wang Daohan, chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), and Koo Chen-fu, chairman of the Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF), held a meeting in Singapore. This is the first formal contact between the high-level people on both sides of the strait after a long period of isolation, and it is an important milestone in the development of the two sides of the strait.
The "Wang-Koo talks" reached a total of "Joint Agreement on the Wang-Koo Talks", "Agreement on the System of Contacts and Talks between the Two Associations", "Agreement on the Use and Verification of Cross-Strait Notarial Certificates", and "Agreement on Cross-Strait Correspondence Inquiries and Compensation", which played a role in promoting the development of the two associations.
On December 15, 2008, the two-way direct air route of the northern line of the Taiwan Strait was officially opened and put into use, and the long-awaited direct, two-way and comprehensive air navigation between the people on both sides of the strait has been realized.
In fact, as early as 1981, the "three links and four streams" were proposed, that is, postal services, commerce, navigation, family visits, tourism, and academic, cultural, and sports exchanges. Due to constraints for a number of reasons, this goal has finally been achieved in the twenty-first century.
has been moving forward steadily, but the first person who made great contributions to the motherland passed away in 1997, and it is indeed a great pity that the generation failed to see the realization of the great cause of the reunification of the motherland.
Taiwan has been a part of China since ancient times, and the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have grown up on the same cultural soil, and we believe that in the near future, the great cause of the motherland's reunification will eventually be realized.