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rors. Then a luncheon, with about
three large round tables filled.
But at 4 o'clock that afternoon
carne the most important meeting of
the entire visit. We were again driven
to the Great Hall of the People on
People's Square. We were driven
around past three magnificent en–
trances on three sides, to a fourth
entrance.
Meeting With Vice-Chairman Tan
On walking up the spacious entrance
steps and entering the grand lobby,
we were met by a delegation headed
by Mr. Tan Zhen-lin, the vice-chair–
man of the National People's Con–
gress--one of the three top leaders of
Communist China. Chairman Hua
[Hua Guofeng] and Vice Chairman
Deng [Deng Xiaoping] were at the
airport, welcoming Prime Minister
Masayoshi Ohira of Japan, just
arriving for a four-day visit of excep–
tionally important (to them) confer–
ences over serious situations in Korea
and Vietnam.
Actually, it was well that my per–
sonal meeting was with Vice-Chair–
man Tan. To explain this, let me tell
you a little about him. He is age 77
and was a contemporary of the late
Chairman Mao Tse-tung [Mao Ze–
dong] and Premier Chou En-lai
[Zhou Enlai]. He was very close to
them throughout the war of the revo–
lution that overthrew the government
of Chiang Kai-shek. He is one of the
original died-in-the-wool Chinese
Communists.
Actually we have found that his
relationship to Mao and Chou En-lai
40
is most significant.
lt
has great
meaning for the People's Republic of
China, as well as the rest of t he world
as today constituted. Their associa–
tion was close and !asted almost 50
years. Though other revolutionaries
tried to break this long relationship,
it remained steadfast througb the
years.
To better understand the impor–
tance of my meeting with Vice–
Chairman Tan, let me here first give
you a little background.
Chairman Mao was the policy–
maker and architect of the entire
revolution. Also he was the " law–
giver" for the People's Republic of
China. He was the primary philoso–
pher for China's communism (as
differentiated
from
Russian
communism) .
Chou En-lai ac–
tually joined the
Chinese commu–
nist movement
prior to Mao. But
that was while he
was a student in
Europe. His edu–
cation was more
academic than
Mao ' s. He was
educated in Japan and France as well
as China, but Mao never left China
proper. An interesting sidelight is
that Chairman Mao had been once
an assistant librarían at Peking
[Beijing] University. lt was actually
while there that Mao carne into con–
tact with other early revolutionaries in
communist efforts in the early 1920s.
During all the years prior to the 1949
victory of communism, Mao was the
leader of the communist movement.
Chou En-lai also participated in the
military elfort. Both Mao and Chou
were at the front lines all through the
1930s and 1940s. T here they carried
on política! operations as well as mili–
tary.
After the Communist victory in
1949, Chou En-lai became premier
under Chairman Mao Tse-tung. Mao
set all policies up until his death.
Chou set up the administrative pro–
gram to implement Mao's p,olicies.
Mao also delegated
~dministration
of
foreign alfairs to Chou.
Chou En-lai traveled extensively
during the 1950s and early 1960s, as
China began emerging from a slum–
bering "dark-age" giant and began
establishing itself as a major world
power.
Their close relationship was above
the norm and has filled the Chinese
people with respect and admiration
for them both. A large mausoleum
was erected for Mao after his death .
His body lies in state in the same
preserved condition as that of Niko–
lai Lenin. But Chou En-lai had
decreed that his body be
cremated, and the ashes
scattered over China. So
there is no memorial
mausoleum for Chou.
However, the obelisk in
l
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.
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i _trq.
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the People's Square does have Chou
En-lai's handwriting engraved on one
side.
But now, as of today, neither
Chairman Hua or Vice-Chairman
Deng had the close long-lasting rela–
tionship to Mao Tse-tung and Chou
En-lai, dating as far back, as has
Vice-Chairman Tan Zhen-lin, who is
of older age.
1
have given you this pinpoint
background so that you may better
appreciate what I learned from Vice–
Chairman Tan.
The Message 1Speak
I did not go to Communist China to
approve or disapprove their commu–
nism. I once wrote articles against
communism. That was because of
their atheism and rejection of God.
But
l
think
1
realize now, more than
1
did then, that
ALL NATIONS,
except
those springing from ancient Israel,
have been cut off from God, by
Goo's
OWN DEC REE,
since the time
of Adam and Eve.
The
PLAIN TRUTH