From Third World to First The Singapore Story pdfdrive com

xiao kang
(comfortably off) stage, quadrupling their 1980 per
capita GDP to between US$800 and US$1,000. China had to learn from others,
“including you and even South Korea”.
I complimented him on the considerable changes in China, not only in new
buildings and roads but, more importantly, in people’s thinking and attitudes.
People were more critical and questioning, but optimistic. I said his 1979 visit to
the United States, telecast in daily half-hour programmes, had shown US
conditions, changing Chinese perceptions of America forever.
Deng remarked that the Americans had treated him very moughtfully. He
had told Secretary Shultz that Sino-US relations were developing smoothly but
the main problem remained Taiwan. He then asked whether I knew that “my
schoolmate and your good friend” Chiang Ching-kuo had on many occasions
said that he (Chiang) would “justify himself to history”. Deng obviously wanted
an answer to the message he had asked me to give to Chiang. I did not respond,
because Chiang had not given any reply. Deng said that although the United
States had publicly declared it did not want to get involved in the reunification
question, the US government had intervened in the handling of this question.
There were many obstacles to reunification but the “largest obstacle” was the
United States. He repeated the point he had made when I last saw him, that the
United States was using Taiwan as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier”. When he
normalised relations on his 1979 visit to Washington, President Carter had
agreed that the United States would do three things: abrogate the joint defence
treaty with Taiwan; withdraw US troops from Taiwan; and sever diplomatic
relations with Taiwan. These commitments had been carried out. But the United
States intervened many times on the Taiwan question through its Congress,
which passed the Taiwan Relations Act and various resolutions interfering in
China’s internal affairs. He had told Reagan and Shultz that they had to
reconsider their policy of maintaining “unsinkable aircraft carriers”. Deng said
he dearly wanted to ensure the reunification of Taiwan with the mainland before
he went to meet Karl Marx.

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