develops relations with other Third World countries and has contributed
positively to promoting economic exchanges and trade among nations.” Then he
read out his standard denunciation against superpower hegemony, referring
indirectly but obviously to the Soviets who were carrying out infiltration and
expansion in Southeast Asia after the American withdrawal from Vietnam.
I replied, “History
brought together Chinese, Malays and Indians in
Singapore. We are proud of our own heritage. Sharing a common experience, we
are developing a distinctive way of life. By geography, our future will be more
closely interlinked with those of our neighbours in Southeast Asia.”
We had three formal meetings for a total of seven hours. At the first three-
hour meeting in the Great Hall of the People on 11 May, Hua Guofeng invited
me to speak first. I spelt out the basic facts concerning Singapore. Malaysia and
Indonesia suspected Singapore of being pro-China because we were 75 per cent
Chinese. The Americans and Russians were also suspicious. Singapore had its
work cut out not to be seen in these simplistic terms, that because we had a
Chinese majority we must therefore be pro-China. The problem was there were
sections of our Chinese who were chauvinistic, the old generation born in China,
but they were an ageing and diminishing group. In addition there was a younger
generation, completely Chinese-educated, who
were unable to master the
English language and unable to get good jobs; although not as emotionally
attached to the fatherland as those born in China, they tended to be pro-China,
and some of them pro-communist. We had to prevent them from doing
Singapore harm.
Singapore would not be anti-China, I continued. The stronger China became,
the better and more equal the balance between the United States,
the Soviet
Union and China. This would be safer for the world and for Singapore. If China
concluded that an independent Singapore was not against China’s interest, then
many of the differences between our two countries would diminish. On the other
hand, if it believed that an independent Singapore was against its interest or if
China therefore wanted to help install a communist government, then
disagreements were bound to increase.
Instead of answering my points, Hua launched into his script, an analysis of
the “Three Worlds” which was then China’s standard exposition of the
international situation. It was couched in strong revolutionary language. The
current international situation would speed up the decline of the superpowers
and promote the awakening of the Third World. The United States and the
Soviet Union belonged to the First World, developing countries in Asia, Africa,
Latin America and other parts of the world (China and Singapore included)
belonged to the Third World, and the developed
countries were the Second
World. The United States and the Soviet Union were competing for world
hegemony. The United States was overstretched and the Russians wanted to
dominate the world. As long as they both continued this contest, the world was
heading for another war. All countries should therefore be prepared for such an
eventuality. However, China viewed both the United States and Russia as “paper
tigers”; their strength did not match their ambitions. In carrying out their policy
of expansionism and aggression the Russians were bound to be defeated. China
was concerned that one wolf (US) should not be replaced by a tiger (Russia) at
Asia’s backdoor. His speech was in the stilted language their radio and
newspapers used when berating imperialists and revisionists.
On 12 May, just before the second meeting was to begin that afternoon, their
protocol officer suddenly rushed to the guesthouse to tell us Chairman Mao
would receive us. Visiting VIPs were usually not given any appointment to see
the chairman. After they had sized up the visitor, if they thought it appropriate
they would inform him at short notice that he would be given this signal honour
of meeting their great leader. My wife and daughter were summoned back from
sightseeing at the Summer Palace of the Empress
Dowager without being told
the reason. Select members of the delegation – myself, my wife and daughter,
Rajaratnam (foreign minister), Hon Sui Sen (finance minister) and K.C. Lee
(minister of state for culture) – were driven in a convoy to Mao’s secluded
residence.
The cars turned into an old walled-off enclosure opposite the Great Hall of
the People, called Zhongnanhai, near Tiananmen Square. We went through
lacquered gates into a complex of Chinese-style low-rise villas sited around a
lake, stopped at one of the villas and were ushered in. In the drawing room was
“the great helmsman”, Mao Zedong, in a light grey Mao suit, supported by two
female aides. We shook hands.
Then we all sat down, correctly and properly,
taking care not to cross our legs, a gesture of disrespect. For some 15 minutes
Mao spoke indistinctly and a middle-aged woman repeated his words in
Mandarin in a high-pitched voice. On several occasions, she wrote down some
large Chinese characters to show to Mao who confirmed that that was what he
had said. Then it was translated into English.
It was not a substantial
conversation. They had extended a courtesy to the Singapore delegation to signal
that they considered us important enough. He no longer possessed the sharp
intellect which Nixon and Henry Kissinger had described so eloquently after
their meetings in 1972. I thought Mao had difficulty articulating not just his
words but also his thoughts. I guessed he had Parkinson’s disease. At 82, he
looked mentally and physically frail.
The next day their major newspapers, including the
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: 
