153 Great Change (12)
After Chen Ke returned to Zhengzhou, he received an official announcement from the US Minister to China, and Roosevelt invited Chen Ke to visit the United States. In the past, no matter what kind of invitations there were or what kind of major international conferences, Chen Ke always sent people there. This time, Chen Ke readily agreed to the invitation.
"The reason I'm willing to go out and about now is, of course, because Roosevelt is important, and the other reason is that I'm not afraid of death." Chen Ke explained at the Standing Committee meeting, "If it was before, I was worried that if something went wrong, a lot of work would be interrupted. Now I don't have to worry anymore that even if I die, most of the material conditions are already in place, and the role I can play in these aspects, the dedication I can make is not so great. Finally, you can go abroad with confidence. ”
In other words, it would be considered arrogant. Chen Ke said this, and the comrades of the Standing Committee were very happy for Chen Ke. The news of the successful nuclear weapons test has excited the current team. If you can reassure this old guy Chen Ke, it means that China's strength at this stage has indeed reached the point where Chen Ke is satisfied.
"If you go to the United States, you should take a break." Li Runshi said with a smile.
"I hope it makes me feel worthwhile to go here." Chen Ke replied quite easily.
Roosevelt did not expect that Chen Ke would really agree to come to the United States in person, and a subtle sense of unease floated in his heart. No matter what the BJP itself calls itself, in the eyes of the top level of the United States, Chen Ke is a dictator, just like Hitler and Stalin. And the most important characteristic of a dictator is that he never leaves the core of his power. Once you leave the core of power for a long time, there will definitely be internal opponents behind your back. The transition of power in China has already surprised the American elite, and the fact that Chen Ke has decided to visit abroad is a testament to Chen Ke's confidence in his own power system and in China.
Since Chen Ke agreed to visit the United States, Roosevelt could not say: "I didn't expect you to come at first, or you pretend to be sick and don't come, so let's change someone." "If that's the case, it's really an international joke. And Roosevelt really wanted to meet the Chinese dictator. After making intensive arrangements for the reception, the United States waited for Chen Ke to visit the United States.
On November 11, 1940, Chen Ke's plane landed at Washington Airport. The excellent performance of this four-propeller aircraft produced by China itself surprised the American side. The plane flew non-stop from China to Hawaii, where it refueled and then flew to Washington State for a brief pause for refueling and then all the way to Washington, D.C. Experts in the US Air Force understand at a glance that China has the ability to build long-range strategic bombers.
Given Roosevelt's physical condition, of course, he could not have gone to the airport to greet Chen Ke, who was greeted by Harry 61 Truman, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on National Defense Programs. This particular position means some unspeakable statements, and Chen Ke does not care that the United States has already indicated that they are ready to go to war. Even if the war between China and the United States is really hot, a single Chinese nuclear bomb can destroy an entire aircraft carrier group of the Yankees. Even in the competition of conventional forces, at the current level of the US aircraft carrier formation, when fighting under the same conditions, Chen Ke does not think that the United States can defeat China.
After reviewing the honor guard of the three services at the airport, Chen Ke took a car to the White House accompanied by Truman.
Harry 61 Truman described his first meeting with Chen Ke in his memoirs, "...... In addition to playing the Chinese national anthem, Chen Ke paid tribute to the music he had written. The rest of the time, like a Roman emperor, Chen Ke went to the White House under my guidance. Every action and every explanation I make, he can understand it very clearly and accurately. This man clearly positioned me in the role of a guide attendant, although my job was indeed that of a guide attendant. For me, Chen Ke did not show the slightest interest, and during his trip to meet President Roosevelt, all the actions Chen Ke accomplished were aimed at the simplest and most straightforward actions required to complete this short trip. He did not discriminate at all against me and the other greeters, and I did not consider him arrogant or humble. As if all the curiosity of humanity and the extraordinariness of order did not exist in the de facto leader of China, although Chen Ke did not have the reserved feeling characteristic of a cynic......"
Chen Ke didn't think about it that much, anyway, someone always had to guide the way. Since his purpose was to meet Roosevelt at the White House, Chen Ke was only going to accomplish the actions required for this purpose. Riding a car, a bicycle or walking doesn't make any difference to Chen.
President Roosevelt greeted Chen Ke at the entrance of the White House, and the two entered the living room soon after greeting each other. The two leaders, who can determine the future fate of the world, immediately discussed the strategic relationship between the two countries and the future world situation. Of course, Chen Ke wanted to reiterate China's stand on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence with the United States, saying that China has no intention of going to war with the United States.
What the major powers are most afraid of is misunderstanding, and what Roosevelt and Chen Ke want to have is a discussion between the basic positions and basic national policies of the two sides. After these are determined, the explanation of many specific actions of the anti-dumping and anti-dumping party can proceed smoothly. Of course, a large part of this work did not require Roosevelt and Chen Ke to finalize the details. After these two people set the tone, it is up to the State Council and ministerial-level figures who are presiding over the specific negotiations to refine it.
The biggest obstacle between China and the United States is the question of the succession of power to Britain in the United States, whose mainstream elite is the WASP, the white Anglo-Saxon Protestant, the Anglo-Saxon white Protestant (descendants of the 17th-century New England colonists). Britain is Anglo-Saxon, and it would be smoother for the United States, which is also Anglo-Saxon, to take over part of Britain's heritage.
Chen made it clear that China does not care about this and is even willing to support American action if the United States is aiming to advance globalization. Of course, Chen Ke made clear China's opposition to the British colonial system. He did not directly explain in words that if the United States played colonialism with Britain, then there would be no possibility of talks between China and the United States.
Roosevelt's policy belonged to economic colonialism, and he was unwilling to engage in a policy of colonization by force, and the two sides quickly reached a consensus on this matter.
Then the next question is whether there is a possibility of peace talks between China and the UK.
"We have no intention of destroying Britain by force, and our goal is to destroy the worldwide colonial system," Chen said. We want peace with England, but I don't think England is necessarily going to agree to the peace we advocate at this stage. ”
Roosevelt also knew the attitude of the Chinese authorities, and Roosevelt could even guess when he used the standard New York Manhattan accent he established from American dramas, as well as the mixed grammar that was neither Chinese nor beautiful. Roosevelt was engaged in community service when he was young, and when it comes to grammar and tenses, Chen Ke is not necessarily worse than many Americans. Not to mention that there are professional staff members who translate it in more accurate American English.
Of course, Chen Ke used the term England rather than the British Empire to refer to Britain, which contained a clear definition of the enemy by politicians, and Roosevelt certainly did not misunderstand the murderous spirit contained in it. This is a far cry from the best option that Roosevelt expected China to make concessions even on the territory of Australia and New Zealand. China wants to completely knock Britain back to the prototype.
Of the colonies of the British Empire, Canada was perhaps the only one that considered itself British, while Australia and New Zealand, which firmly considered themselves British, were not white at this time. In other areas, it is estimated that blacks want to think of themselves as British, and the British are firmly against it. As for the Indians, Roosevelt received news that there were many uprisings against the British in India. China is behind the backing of many of the seized weapons to the Indian rebels.
Even in the British Isles, the Irish do not consider themselves British. The Scottish kings became kings of England, but Britain and Scotland did not really merge. At the same time as the colonial system completely collapsed, Britain was really only England left. Canada would not even be a British country if Canada had not been declared a British mainland.
After confirming the fact that China had made it clear that it wanted to destroy the colonial system, Roosevelt was not willing to spend any effort on the Sino-British peace talks. All that remains is for the United States to decide who to support in this matter, and to what extent. What Britain lost in the war could only be regained by war. This is the iron-clad order of the world. Chen Ke is obviously not a person who can be impressed by persuasion.
Roosevelt's main concern was China's attitude to the status quo in Europe. The United States could choose not to go to war with China for the benefit of Britain, but once the United States was determined to fully dominate the North Atlantic, the world's largest economic circle, there was a high possibility of war with Germany and even with the Soviet Union. Of course, the United States is unwilling to take advantage of others' fire, and it is still less stupid enough to be the "precursor of the king" to others. If the United States fought with Germany and the Soviet Union and was exhausted, China, with sharp eyes, suddenly made a surprise attack on the exhausted countries, and won the final victory in the battle for hegemony......
Roosevelt could not fail to consider this possibility.
"I know that the isolationists in the United States oppose the United States' participation in a world war, and in this matter, we Chinese people are actually the same as the American people. When attacking the British, the Chinese people can still withstand the fight. Because we firmly believe that justice is on our side, even on the grounds of revanchism, the Chinese who participated in the brutal war believe that we have the moral high ground. This is important. Chen Ke was two years older than Roosevelt, so he never used honorifics when he talked.
"But if I tell my comrades that there are a bunch of bad people in other areas where they have never been, and then let them go to those areas to fight the bad guys and enforce justice. I must say that this is actually beyond the ability of the Chinese people to understand and bear now. And if, when they get to those areas, they find out that what I said is actually inaccurate, then the Chinese fighters will feel great unease and even frustration. I think it is an extremely irresponsible attitude to drag China into the world hegemony war with my own selfish selfishness or ideals, and it is also a foolish act in reality. We are not willing to interfere in European affairs. There is no longer a possibility of living by ourselves behind closed doors in this world, and when the war in Europe is over, the two sides will eventually have to continue doing business, and we are willing to wait until that time......"
The talks, which finalized the most basic positions of China and the United States, took two days and took more than 20 hours in total. Roosevelt finally understood China's position. Roosevelt, on the other hand, had no way to tell Chen Ke completely clearly about the final position of the United States. There is no way around it, Chen Ke can dominate China's position, but Roosevelt can't.
Later, Chen gave another speech in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Of course, Chen Ke knew about the "Iron Curtain Speech" delivered by Qiu Fatpang, a big opportunist, and Chen Ke did not hope that Qiu Fatpang would succeed in this time and space. Therefore, he is very willing to get this opportunity to publicly express China's attitude and position. Chen Ke has been preparing for this for a long time. Facing the members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, Chen Ketan said frankly:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have never concealed the fact that I am a communist, and the China that I have worked hard to build is a country with a socialist system, which is my ideal and the result of my hard work. If someone asks me if I think the capitalist system will die, I will always tell them very seriously that I think the capitalist system will die. If someone asks if there will be a war when the capitalist system dies, I will answer that there will be a war.
However, I believe that this kind of war is not a war in which one country annihilates another, but an act of war by the people of that country in order to resolve its own internal contradictions. This is not a war between the United States in which China with a socialist system wants to eliminate the capitalist system, but an action taken by the American people themselves after the development of the American capitalist system has reached the highest stage because it is unable to resolve the deep-seated internal contradictions.
As a communist, as a historical materialist, I must state that the bourgeoisie has played a very revolutionary role in history.
The bourgeoisie has destroyed all feudal, patriarchal and pastoral relations where it has gained domination. It ruthlessly severed the feudal fetters that bound people to their natural superiority, and it made it impossible for people to have any other connection with each other than naked interests, except for the ruthless "cash transaction". It drowns the sacred onset of religious piety, chivalric zeal, and the sadness of the burghers in the icy waters of self-interested intentions. It has transformed human dignity into exchange value, replacing the myriad of concessions and self-earned freedoms with freedom of trade. All in all, it replaces exploitation masked by religious and political fantasies with open, shameless, direct, and explicit exploitation.
The bourgeoisie has erased the sacred aura of all professions that have always been revered and revered. It turned doctors, lawyers, clergy, poets, and scholars into wage laborers that it paid for.
The bourgeoisie has torn off the veil of warmth and affection that has shrouded family relations and turned them into purely pecuniary relations. The bourgeoisie revealed that the barbaric use of manpower, which was so much appreciated by the reactionaries in the Middle Ages, was complemented by extreme indolence. It is the first demonstration of what can be achieved by human activity. It created miracles completely different from those of the Egyptian pyramids, Roman aqueducts, and Gothic churches; It accomplished an expedition that was completely different from the Great Migration and the Crusades.
The bourgeoisie cannot survive unless it is constantly revolutionizing the means of production, and thus the relations of production, and thus all social relations. On the contrary, the preservation of the old mode of production as it was was the primary condition for the survival of all industrial classes in the past. The constant change of production, the constant upheaval of all social conditions, the eternal instability and change, this is what distinguishes the bourgeois epoch from all previous epochs. All fixed and rigid relations and the revered ideas and opinions that correspond to them are eliminated, and all newly formed relationships become obsolete before they can be fixed. Everything hierarchical and fixed has vanished, and everything that is sacred has been desecrated. People finally have to look at their status in life, their relationship with each other, with a sober eye
……”
Chen Ke did not hesitate to quote extensively from the Communist Manifesto. Someone once commented that when Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto, he still used the framework of Hegel's philosophical dialectics in his thinking. In the later period, Marx himself finally entered the realm of true historical materialism. However, the high degree of inductiveness, profound insight, and profound writing skills of the "Communist Manifesto" made Chen Ke feel admired. Even for the representatives and spokesmen of these capitalists, Chen Ke never underestimated their IQ, and such a group of people can understand this. Although they will also oppose these.
"It is expressly written in the Constitution of the United States of America that the people of the United States of America have made this Constitution for the purpose of building a better union, establishing justice, guaranteeing internal tranquillity, providing common defense, promoting the public welfare, and bringing freedom and happiness to ourselves and future generations. History proves that the United States chose capitalism in order to protect the interests of the American people, and the development of capitalism eventually eliminated slavery in the United States. This proves the revolutionary nature of the capitalist system.
If we don't talk about revolution, democracy can be seen as a process of constant elimination of privileges, and the United States has faced many crises, each of which has given impetus to American democracy. In order to solve the crisis, the United States passed the Antitrust Law, which greatly promoted the economic development of the United States.
These are clear proofs of the continuous development of the capitalist system itself, which has constantly proved its vitality.
Some lawmakers will ask me what kind of war it would be if there was a war between China and the United States. And my answer is that if there is such a war, it will not be a war between the socialist system and the capitalist system, it will only be a war between China and the United States based on national interests.
As a materialist, I personally believe that the existence of facts must first be acknowledged. This fact refers to a material fact, not an imaginary fact. The material fact is that there is a capitalist system in this world, there is a socialist system. Both of these are going on, going on. Moreover, they can promote the progress of productive forces and promote the progress and development of society in their own mode.
In the same way, there is colonialism in this world, and the war waged by China is to destroy the colonial system in this world. Advance the world to a more progressive, more civilized era where everyone has more freedom. Colonialism is a cancer that needs to be removed from the world today, and the eradication of this cancer certainly requires the support of more advanced countries, and it is also necessary to rely more on the struggle of the colonial people against colonialism.
This is not a contradiction or struggle between the socialist system and the capitalist system. On the contrary, I see this as an opportunity for cooperation between the socialist system and the capitalist system to move our world forward and continue to develop together.
Of course, if the colonies are liberated, there will inevitably be attempts by some countries to monopolize the liberated former colonial countries, and the nature of the struggle that will arise at that time is different from the struggle for colonies, and it is the contradictions and struggles between countries and interest groups. I believe that these two things should not be confused, still less should the justice of the colonial liberation war be denied because of possible contradictions and conflicts in the future.
……”
It was a very important speech in which Chen implicitly stated that China was not willing to go to war with the United States, and at the same time pointed out China's position on the war and its attitude towards defining the war as an "anti-colonialist" war. Regardless of what later generations may say about China's merger of Australia and New Zealand, China's action of granting Chinese citizenship to the people of all the merged regions is itself an indication of China's attitude. Colonial peoples did not have citizenship in colonial countries, which in itself was the rule of the colonial era.
Chen Ke's speech was later called the precursor to the "complete collapse of the world's colonial system".