Tang Ning said in his heart that my contact with China has deepened, but I can't tell you whether it is my identity or the matter of the Terekin group, but fortunately, he still has an identity that can be put on the surface: "A good friend of mine is also my personal doctor, Dr. Han Xuewei, and Dr. Han Xuewei is Chinese, and I am also familiar with Mr. Mei Lanfang, a master of Peking Opera in China, and I met him when he came to Tokyo last time to perform." Through them, I still know a little about China, but I have not been to Chinese mainland, but Hong Kong several times. ”

Kissinger went on to ask: "What is your impression of China?" ”

Tang Ning thought for a while, and then said cautiously: "I can't say this well, after all, I haven't been to China." But I know that when I first came to Japan, China was in the midst of civil unrest, and I was still doing a few Chinese businesses. But then Chinese mainland began to become stronger, and even our American troops lost to them in Korea, and at that time I felt that China was still very strong. ”

Then he changed the conversation and said: "But I can't understand the situation in China recently, although I haven't been to China and no one has told me the details of China, but only from the madness of the Japanese radical youth worshipping the Chinese leader and those extreme slogans and actions, I can feel that the situation in China is not very good now." ”

Kissinger nodded and said: "Well, you're right, in just twenty years, China has changed too much, and major changes are one after another, and each time we are caught off guard, but fortunately, this time their relationship with the Soviet Union has stiffened, so we have a chance, by the way, Tony, do you want to go to China with me?" ”

Kissinger's proposal surprised and moved Downing, but he still refused: "Uh." Forget it this time, I'll have to cover for you in Okinawa, and if I leave, there will be no one in charge, and if something really happens then, it will be troublesome. ”

Downing's decision was deliberate. Although he really wanted to go back to the motherland to see, he felt that now was not the time, this time Kissinger was visiting China secretly, so there were definitely not many places to go, and the domestic defense must be very strict, and it was definitely not free to go to North Korea in later generations, so it was better to wait until after the reform and opening up.

In fact, this proposal was only mentioned casually by Kissinger, and when he saw Downing refusing, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Okay then." Let's wait for the next opportunity. ”

In fact, Downing's guess was not wrong, this time Kissinger's secret visit to China was very short, only 48 hours in Beijing, 17 of which were spent in talks with Premier Zhou, and the only leisure was to visit the Forbidden City, but it was only a sightseeing.

The reason for this nervousness is that the visit to China has not been approved by the government, not that it will not be approved, but because if the matter is made public. It requires layers of approval within the U.S. government and a complex process. Other countries associated with the U.S. will also insist on consultations. Nixon believed that this would affect Kissinger's visit to Beijing to find out China's attitude. Transparency is important, but it is also necessary to seize historical opportunities in order to build a more peaceful world order.

Kissinger's secret visit to China has two main tasks: First, to discuss the date and preparations for Nixon's visit to China; The second is to hold preparatory talks for Nixon. Then he touched on seven issues. On the Taiwan issue, he started with the issue of troop withdrawal: (1) The US Government plans to withdraw two-thirds of the US troops stationed in Taiwan after the end of the Indo-China War, and is preparing to reduce the remaining military forces in Taiwan with the improvement of US-China relations; (2) It does not support "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan". But it is hoped that the Taiwan issue can be resolved peacefully; (3) Recognize Taiwan as a part of China and not support Taiwan independence; (4) The US-Chiang Treaty is left to history to settle; 5. The United States will no longer blame and isolate China, and the United States will support the restoration of China's seat at the United Nations, but will not support the expulsion of Taiwan's representatives. Turning to the Indo-China issue, he pledged to negotiate an end to the Vietnam War. They are ready to draw up a timetable for the withdrawal of armed forces from Vietnam and Indochina. But they hope for a solution that preserves their decency and self-esteem. Then he touched on Japan, Soviet-American relations, and the South Asian subcontinent.

Although Downing did not know the details of this meeting, he knew that the meeting was very successful, otherwise there would not have been a subsequent Nixon visit to China, but the by-product of this visit to China was unexpected by Downing, and this by-product was the Chinese acupuncture fever that swept the United States.

James Reston, a well-known reporter for the New York Times, accompanied Kissinger to China this time, but unfortunately, he felt unbearable abdominal pain on the afternoon of the day he arrived in Beijing, and then a doctor came to diagnose and treat him, and then he was diagnosed with acute purulent appendicitis. Premier Zhou personally instructed: We must do a good job in the operation, and we must not be infected!

In 1971, Reston was already a veteran reporter in his 60s, and because of his extraordinary experience and the status of the New York Times in the press industry, in the eyes of ordinary Americans, the credibility of such an article written by such a reporter is extremely high.

Reston writes in the article: "The night after my appendectomy, I felt an uncomfortable feeling in my abdomen. Dr. Li from the acupuncture department of the hospital, with my consent, pricked three needles under my right outer elbow and knee with a slender needle, and at the same time twisted the needle by hand to stimulate my gastrointestinal peristalsis to reduce abdominal pressure and flatulence.

The pinprick caused bouts of pain in my limbs, but at least it distracted me from the discomfort in my abdomen. At the same time, Dr. Lee placed two burning cigarette-like cigarette-like moxa rolls on top of my abdomen and twisted the needles on my body from time to time. It only took 20 minutes, and I wondered if it was a bit too complicated to treat bloating with this method, but in less than an hour, my bloating felt noticeably less and never recurred.

This article by Ryston sparked an "acupuncture fever" in the United States. At the beginning of the acupuncture craze in the United States, there was a shortage of acupuncture talents in the United States because China had not yet opened up to the outside world. It is said that for a period of time, buses took patients from other cities to New York every day to see an acupuncturist. In 1972, the first acupuncture center in the United States was established in New York, and more than 8,000 patients were received in two weeks.

After a brief period of craze in the '70s, acupuncture then went into a downturn in the United States. The first thing it encountered was legal hurdles. Many states in the United States have made it clear that only licensed Western physicians are eligible for acupuncture. In California, there are also Western physicians who don't understand acupuncture and ask acupuncturists to prescribe acupuncture?" prescription", the acupuncture points that need to be pricked with needles are labeled, and then the needles are pricked by Western physicians. (To be continued.) )