Beast Press: I knew the name Xujiatun for a long time, but I never had the chance to start reading his book "Memoirs of Xujiatun", and I suddenly remembered this book today. It feels like an opportunity to read.

2018-03-15 New third session of Yanni Chen

Chen Yanni, born in Hangzhou, grew up in Beijing, graduated from the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Shanghai Railway Institute, majoring in railway vehicles, a member of the Beijing Branch of the China Writers Association, and a former reporter of "China Social Security News". He went to the United States in 1988 and served as a reporter for the "Eastern Times" in the United States and a Chinese TV reporter in the United States. She is the author of "Tell You a Real America", "Chen Yanni: New York Consciousness" and "Encountering America", which records the mental journey of 50 Chinese people in the United States.

original title

I know that there is no Xujiatun in this world anymore

Saying goodbye to his old friend Xu Jiatun who passed away at the age of 101, he understands that he has a happy birthday, and in terms of age, he has lived much longer than his political opponents. This also resulted in a less tragic scene at the relative farewell party the day before his public observance.

I have no interest in political disputes. To put it more plainly, whichever faction benefits are the personal affairs of a few people in a certain circle, at most dozens of people, and it will never benefit me if it affects any gangsters. Therefore. My condolences are for friendship.

This day was also the first time I met with the old man's personal secretary and best friend HELLEN after several years of separation. In recent years, I know that she travels to the country a lot, so I have neglected contact. Fortunately, her WeChat account has always been there, her profile picture is a beautiful little Caucasian girl, and her WeChat name is astonishing and incomprehensible.

Mr. Xu was in critical condition a few weeks before his death. At that time, I called HELLEN to inquire about his condition. I learned that Mr. Xu’s body was a false alarm in the end. After only a few days in the hospital, he went home for recuperation. I also felt relieved, but it didn't take long before the sudden bad news came.

When she called HELEN again, she would be choked up and speechless. Twenty-six years of wind, frost, rain and snow were separated and heartbroken.

The so-called HELEN is Shan Qin, who is said to be "Xujiatun's mistress". Her name used to be Shan Qin, but it was changed back and forth several times during the Cultural Revolution and other turmoil, and finally became "Shan Qin".

Shan Qin was born in a military family, and he was a soldier himself. Over the years, the teasing of Xu Lao's so-called "confidante" has been faintly heard. In today's China, let alone high-ranking officials who have a history of choosing not to clean up their unruly extramarital affairs, they are the general public. Apart from being extremely poor, their private life is basically You can't get over it, let's put it this way, ask yourself, and you'll know the answer. So, at this level, is it too hypocritical to accuse others of wrongdoing?

The facade of HELLEN's life has spent almost all of his great years in this heavy ridicule.

Fa Xiaoluan's lawyer Xiaoming's father has been around, and has stayed in Beijing, Nanjing, and Shanghai. When he was in Beijing, his home overlapped with mine. Although I was quite different in age from him, I would be a "little friend". side. When Uncle Luan was serving in the Nanjing Military Region, Luan Lu happened to form a playmate relationship with HELLEN.

He is a few years younger than HELLEN, but he has the qualifications to appreciate senior beauties. He said that their group of half-old children all praised the beauty of HELLEN's appearance in those years, and recalled that HELLEN had a trendy complexion at that time. , known as "Black Peony", is a well-known beauty among the children of the Nanjing army.

These are the origins that I have checked later. As an "old man" who has been running a newspaper in Los Angeles for many years, Mr. Xu and HELLEN got to know each other shortly after they arrived in Los Angeles.

I remember one time I went to Xu’s house with Lawyer Luan. When I was eating, the chopsticks in front of me had a rare multi-curved shape at the root. They were obvious household chopsticks. They were made of ebony and used a little fluff. Evaluate chopsticks.

When the food was ready, Bin took the initiative. At this moment, he bowed his head and just wanted to comment on the shape of the chopsticks, but I didn't know when the chopsticks in front of me had become one-off and dull.

In fact, this is also my family's style. Guests do not use homemade chopsticks. This is not only mutual respect, but also mutual hygiene. From this, I know that Xu Lao's old age is actually stable and steady.

The only inconvenience is that Xu's house is located around a golf course in Chino Hills. As I am familiar with all kinds of golf courses, I sometimes worry that flying balls will reach the room. occur frequently.

In the last few years of Mr. Xu's life, HELLEN was so close to her that she never left her. She told me, "I was worried even when I went out to buy groceries, for fear that the master would fall at home by himself."

The emotions of the world, after sublimation, naturally make people move.

In front of me, HELLEN has always called Xu Lao the word "Master". This kind of name is casual and straightforward, and it also makes the truth of high morality vivid in my eyes.

Xu Lao's experience is very good, although it is redundant to recount his life, it is also necessary. Xujiatun, a native of Rugao, Jiangsu, joined the Communist Party of China in April 1938. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as secretary of the CPC Fuzhou Municipal Party Committee and Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee. In 1983, he served as the secretary of the Hong Kong and Macao Working Committee of the Communist Party of China and the head of the Hong Kong branch of Xinhua News Agency. Xu Jiatun is an enlightened and reformist in the CCP. In 1989, he went to the United States for a "tourism break" in support of the students during the "Tiananmen Incident". He began a 26-year exile career. He died of illness at his home in Los Angeles on June 29, 2016. , at the age of 101.

What's even more coincidental is that my most authentic hair family is also closely related to the people of Xujiatun. This time I knew that I was going to pay my respects to Xu Lao. The parents sent me a long message, and their eyes wandered to the old man from thousands of miles away. Neighbors read between the lines and feel that the world is indeed too small.

In the message, Fa Xiao confided as follows: "Thank you for participating in his ceremony! He used to be my father's superior. During the war years, they often walked side by side and took turns reading novels. There is a novel that my father borrowed before crossing the river. , called "The Story of Monte Cristo's Enmity and Enmity", they read while walking. This novel is said to have stayed in the Nanjing Military Region. After the Battle of Kinmen, the 29th Army was withdrawn, and Xu served as the deputy secretary of the Fuzhou Municipal Party Committee. My father went to the Fuzhou Military Region. We separated from then on. However, after my mother changed jobs, she was in the Dagen District Committee of Fuzhou, and she was still a subordinate to Xu. After Xu went to Hong Kong, she learned that my father was not working well, and he sent an order to let my father go to Hong Kong. Due to the disputes within the Central Organization Department, I messed up this matter, and we never saw each other again. My mother attended the investigation meeting and listened to Xu's report on the Hong Kong Work Committee. I am very grateful to participate in the commemorative ceremony! Please bring my heart."

The memorial ceremony in Xujiatun is divided into two days. The first day is the private memorial ceremony for relatives and friends, and the second day is the public sacrifice.

There are actually many opportunities to stare at Mr. Xu during the private memorial. When facing Mr. Xu alone, I couldn’t stop crying. I always disdain to look up at the brilliance. I only know that the one who came to say goodbye seriously is the one who lives in me. The loyal elders in the neighboring city are also kind deceased friends with whom I have all sorts of coincidences.

Xu Lao, who has left the high vocational school, is undoubtedly lonely. When he went to his house, he saw that Xu Lao was in a situation where he talked a lot but had no one to talk about. He is a person who has been strategizing and planning esoteric events for most of his life. He is suddenly idle at home and decoupled from decision-making, and some time and space are dislocated.

Normally, he always has a smile on his face, which often makes people forget that he was once a powerful man. Think about it, when he was in Jiangsu and he was in Hong Kong, he was very solemn and grand.

I remember that once I had an appointment with dozens of overseas Chinese people at my house in Los Angeles. I told HELLN in advance that she and Mrs. Xu would also come. As a result, when everyone was eagerly waiting, only HELEN appeared at the door late at night. I immediately invited The two business leaders at the party drove to Xu's house to greet him again, and Mr. Xu finally arrived.

I remember that all night, Mr. Xu had been sitting and talking in secret with a heavyweight overseas Chinese leader in Los Angeles, drinking tea.

I was very happy to see that the old man's loneliness was completely resolved every minute and every second.

In the more than 20 years that Mr. Xu was still around, I could hear people around me mysteriously revealing that they "played mahjong with Mr. Xu", and there were many words with honor.

Xu Lao, who is in his 80s, has extremely poor eyesight due to fundus lesions and has almost no anesthesia. When he was ninety-two years old, he tasted mahjong for the last time in my house. As a result, I turned on the three lamps in the house and pointed them at the huge characters on the mahjong. However, Mr. Xu still couldn't make it clear.

This is actually not surprising. In the 1990s, what else do you want? Just looking at Old Xu's smile from beginning to end is very distressing, knowing that this old man with a full belly is really heading towards his true twilight years.

During the two days of mourning, HELLEN's red and dazzling flowers were placed in an unparalleled position. In the past, it was basically placed directly in Xu Lao's arms. This is a very high degree of recognition. The long journey overseas has been a long way to settle the relationship between the eight children of the old Xu family and more than a dozen grandchildren. It is very knowledgeable.

If it weren't for my newspaper office receiving a submission from the grandchildren of the Xu family with the theme of "Missing Grandpa", I actually don't know that there were rifts within the Xu family at that time. Fortunately, after so many years, the symbiosis and common prosperity shared weal and woe. This everyone gradually merged, and the formal accumulation of family affection.

At the public sacrifice ceremony of Mrs. Xu the next day, I happened to be sitting at the back of HELLEN. I had seen her calmly and calmly listing the details of various public sacrifices in the memorial church. When she saw me, she was a little surprised and said: It's "thought you wouldn't come back today".

How is this possible?

In the important part of saying goodbye to the deceased, the host emphasized that it was only the moment when the "immediate family members" collectively came to power. I especially noticed that HELLEN basically acted as the leader of the relatives along the way, and was elected as the first flower presenter among the immediate family members. I remember how many times I had long conversations with HELLEN over the past 20 years, and I felt that although she had been in trouble, she was always determined. Now that she is over sixty years old, she must have gone through hardships to sit firmly in the top spot in such an official. When I met HELLEN this time, I also asked her privately about her future, but she was full of grief and could not answer.

Coincidentally, I met many acquaintances unexpectedly on the first day of the family memorial service, among which He Pin, the leader of the Der Spiegel Group, was the first big name. This guy has been completely fat, but he is still very smart, and he speaks in a Hunan township accent that is determined not to change, and even seems to be a little complacent about it. mean.

He Pin is an "enemy and friend" who has been entangled with me for more than 20 years and has a delicate relationship. He is also a long-term friend who has been noisy for more than 20 years with Mr. Xu because of their opposing positions. I have seen several debates between them. I saw with my own eyes that Elder Xu was full of love when he argued vigorously with He Pin. I was a little surprised because of this. There seems to be a gap of consciousness between them, but they also know that their affection has never been broken due to disputes.

I once said that Xu Lao was critically ill once before his death, and that time He Pin came from New York. This time, a few weeks later, I saw him in a hurry. I don’t know if he didn’t leave at all or turned around. During the public ceremony, I heard He Pin repeatedly criticize his failure to communicate with senior officials in the country about the old man’s return to China before Xu Lao’s death. Hearing him repeatedly express that he had done his best, I deeply understand that Xu has been in the opposition for more than 20 years. The old man walked away in a hurry, destroying almost all the indescribable relationship links and the exit.

Gao Falin was once a famous poet in China. He was famous for his poems. He was already well-known when he was studying at Wuhan University. After graduating from university, he was assigned to work in the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, and later transferred to the Beijing Railway Art Troupe as a professional creator, mainly engaged in reportage and quyi creation. After that, he stopped writing poetry.

The last time I met Gao Falin, I forgot where I was, but it must have been more than ten years since I met him. When I see him next to Mr. Xu this time, he is already full of white hair, but he still reminds me, "Back then. You won a prize for writing a poem at the Ministry of Railways, and I voted for you as a judge." Although these things have no memory, what he said must be true.

During the two-day memorial service, Mr. Xu's life pictures and resume were played on the big screen all the time. More than two-thirds of the original soundtrack was just "A Big River" performed by folk music. Another piece of music interspersed was "The Song of the New Fourth Army". , the tune is very Chinese and very left, I heard that it was Xu Lao's favorite music during his lifetime.

When the public sacrifice was not over, my preset alarm clock rang quietly, reminding me to take my son Xiao Ou to go to school according to the schedule. The trivial things in the world are so messed with the mood of reminiscence, sometimes people stand in the world of yin and yang. Will be a little confused.

The public sacrifice of the day is expected to end at three o'clock, and the cremation time of the body after that is set at three thirty, so I say goodbye to Xu Lao Fang with a smile, although it is inevitable but always sudden.

Knowing that the upper echelons of the country should allow the old ashes to return to China, he is of course happy for him. After 26 years of the bitter fruit of the line struggle, he died in a foreign country, and his former political enemy died prematurely. What else?

Today is another day that is almost always sunny and cloudless in Los Angeles. After I left the church and ran into the busy Highway 10 in Los Angeles, the festival also released a large group of white doves into the sky according to the procedure.

When I got home that night, I looked at the follow-up photos of the scene one by one, and felt that the temperature around me was as dry and hot as ever.

Ji Shuoming: Hundred-year-old Xujiatun, wandering overseas and unable to return to his homeland

Xu Jiatun, the former head of the Hong Kong branch of Xinhua News Agency, was seriously ill and was sent to the hospital recently. It is reported that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has made an internal announcement. After Xu left the United States, he wanted to return to China. He waited for more than 20 years, but his wish has not been fulfilled. Master Hsing Yun said that some things can be solved with time, but some things are gone when they pass.

Because renal failure affects urination, Xu Jiatun, the former head of the Hong Kong branch of Xinhua News Agency, has been threatening the heart with ascites and has to be rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment. Because of his 100-year-old age, he has been in a lethargic state, with only 10% of urine poisoning and renal function remaining. The doctor issued a critical illness notice.

When Xujiatun was still awake before being sent to the hospital, he did not forget to tell his family that he had asked someone to report his condition to Beijing urgently, and hoped that General Secretary Xi Jinping would know. It is reported that Beijing received the report and responded quickly. After all, Xu Jiatun was a minister-level official who was once a member of the Central Committee. Although he was expelled from the Communist Party, he has never done anything unfavorable to the Party for more than 20 years overseas.

Tears for the Sichuan Earthquake in 2008

Since the first time I visited Xujiatun in Los Angeles 8 years ago, I have had more than 6 exclusive interviews with Xujiatun, and I have also organized books for him for a while. Every time we meet, Xu Jiatun will talk freely, and the chatty old man will spend the whole afternoon chatting with you. Since then, I have been under the impression that Xu Jiatun wanted to go back to China and to go home, and this thought became a strong desire in his heart, which lingered on. According to online news, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has internally announced that Xu Jiatun, a former member of the Central Advisory Committee and former Xinhua News Agency bureau chief in Hong Kong, is seriously ill. It is said that the central government has made preparations, and the top leaders have approved the return of the crane if the crane is allowed to return, but it cannot be confirmed. If it is true, even if it is holding the ashes and falling leaves back to the root, the dream of the old man will be fulfilled, but what a shame!

After leaving the United States, Xu Jiatun never gave up his longing for the country. In May 2008, I went to Los Angeles to visit Xujiatun for the first time. At the age of 92, he wept for the Sichuan earthquake and observed a three-minute silence with the Chinese people in front of the TV. The old man who lived in seclusion in Los Angeles for 18 years couldn't hide his longing for his motherland and his compatriots, and said, "I really want to see it."

Chino Hills in the southeastern part of Los Angeles is a rolling hill with beautiful views from a distance. Surrounded by a grassy golf course, several detached villas are particularly eye-catching. Xujiatun's residence is here, where he has lived in seclusion for 20 years. The living room of the residence is spacious and tidy. There is a huge plaque on the front wall. The beautiful fonts copy Tao Yuanming's poems: "Pick chrysanthemums under the east fence, and you can see Nanshan leisurely. Forgetting to say." It can be seen that this poem is loved by Xu Jiatun, and it is also a portrayal of his mood over the years.

Xu Jiatun’s biggest wish is to return to the motherland. He has repeatedly told me that when he came out for refuge, he promised to go back and leave China for the opportunity to go back again, “If I don’t leave, I might even have the opportunity to explain. nothing". But I didn't expect it to take so long. Now that I want to go back, first, I know that China is developing very well, and I want to see it; second, when I am old, the fallen leaves will return to their roots. Before leaving, Xu Jiatun wrote to Deng Xiaoping and Yang Shangkun, proposing the "four nos" of not seeking political asylum, not revealing CCP secrets, not meeting the media, and not contacting pro-democracy activists after going to the United States, and wanted to live abroad for a short period of time. time.

Although old and frail, Xujiatun is still full of optimism: "The situation is complicated, and I can't be in a hurry. I can only ignore it and don't think about it too much." However, the words In the meantime, the nostalgic feeling of nostalgia is still difficult to wave away. Xu Jiatun said, not without concealing his emotions, "It is a natural idea for people to return to their roots when they are in their twilight years. Now the country is developing so fast, and since the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the new central team has proposed a harmonious society, peaceful construction, and peaceful revolution. Since the reform and opening up, it is a brand-new emancipation of the mind, a very important innovation. I am interested and want to see it, I am waiting for this day.”

Many people care about Xujiatun, and the old comrades who fought in the revolution publicly called for Xujiatun to return to China as soon as possible. All these made Xujiatun in his heart. Master Hsing Yun, who first received Xu Jiatun in the United States, also said to me: "I remember Xu Jiatun's return to China. Because he clearly remembers that the CCP leaders wanted Xu Jiatun to go back, and Xu also said that he was traveling and wanted to go back. At that time, the United States came from the west. The temple also temporarily accommodated him and wanted to persuade him to return to China."

Master Hsing Yun said in an interview with me earlier: I have always had good intentions and no bad intentions for Xu Jiatun to go back. Now it seems that it may take time. However, some things may be resolved with time, and some things are gone. Mr. Xu Jiatun is getting old. If an old man is gone, he will never change. I hope he will not leave any regrets forever!

You can go back to Hong Kong and back to the mainland

In 2012, at the age of 96, although Xu Jiatun was inconvenient to move, he was quick-witted and had a clear memory of the past. Xu Jiatun once again said to me: "It's been a long time since I've been out, I hope to go back, at least I want to go back and have a look. But I'm very conflicted, and I don't want to throw away some of the things I'm thinking about because of going back. If I don't throw it away, then of course it's good to go back. Go back to Hong Kong. , you can go back to the mainland." Xu Jiatun thought of some old places to look at, look at new noodles, and look at some old people. He is especially concerned about his hometown in Jiangsu. In the past, when he left, there were still some poor villages. What has changed now? Xu Jiatun sighed and said with emotion: "Alas, the old friends and acquaintances are gone."

Wu Renbao, the old secretary of Huaxi Village, Jiangyin, China, the first village in China, and Xu Jiatun have a long history. That is because Xu Jiatun became attached to Wu Renbao when he was the secretary of the provincial party committee in Jiangsu, and he also helped Wu Renbao. Xu Jiatun left the United States, and Wu Renbao made a special trip to the United States to visit. In the United States, the two old men talked for an afternoon, and Xu Jiatun talked about some inside stories about the handling of political events that year, and the details of how he went into exile in the United States. Wu Renbao said, I always thought that you did the right thing, but leaving the country has left people talking.

Wu Renbao once wrote a letter to the central government about Xu Jiatun's return to China. The letter was forwarded to Hu Jintao by Li Yuanchao, then secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee. Hu Jintao is no longer the general secretary, or the president of the country. He said that he does not care about politics and does not ask about the central government. The statement at the time was: Xu Jiatun returned to China, and personally had no opinion.

When Wu Renbao was dying of serious illness, Xu Jiatun was in tears on the other end of the phone. He told his son to tell Wu Renbao that he would wait for him to come back. Wu Renbao said four words: call him back.

That year, I visited Huang Yunxiang, an old comrade-in-arms in Xujiatun, in the old cadre ward of Yangzhou Subei Hospital. With greetings from Xujiatun far away in the United States, Huang Yunxiang seemed very happy and asked repeatedly: "How is he? How is he? I welcome him back. ."

Xu Jiatun came to Taixing in 1939 as secretary of the CPC Taixing County Party Committee, and Huang Yunxiang was the Minister of Propaganda. Xu Jiatun told Huang Yunxiang that if he could go back, he would definitely visit him as soon as possible. In order to allow Xu Jiatun to return as soon as possible, Huang Yunxiang reported the situation to the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee of the Communist Party of China several times, hoping to let Xu Jiatun return to China. "I think this will also ensure that he will not make mistakes in the United States." But the old man said helplessly: "I can't say it alone."

Usually, Xujiatun is used to sitting in the living room facing south by the window, with green grass outside the window, and under the sunlight slanting westward in winter, Xujiatun, who seems to be sleeping, either wears earphones against the back of the chair to listen to the news, or Why bowed his head and meditated, thinking about the questions he could never finish. He kept weaving the reflections and theoretical ideas of an old CCP member, but he kept waiting for the result.

I don't want to live in America

A piece of human life, a 20-year vacation, seems extravagant and a long time to everyone. Although, the scenery here is beautiful, the birds are singing and the flowers are fragrant, and the sunshine, the foothills and the green grass are connected, so it is a suitable place to prolong life. However, Xu Jiatun did not want to use this place as his destination. He said that the trip to the United States was only an expedient measure, and he was still waiting for the day when the "tourism vacation" ended and returned to China. ■

Article source: "Super News" June 2016 issue

Yang Liyu: Exiled overseas guests die in a foreign land without resting eyes ─ Xujiatun's fallen leaves cannot return to their roots

Xu Jiatun is similar to Fang Lizhi. They are both elites cultivated by the CCP. They were also loyal CCP members. They made a lot of contributions to China's development, but they were persecuted by the CCP and forced to go into exile. Although the two of them hoped that the fallen leaves would return to their roots, but in the end they died in a foreign land, and they died with hatred.

Deng Xiaoping pointed out as early as the 1980s that the CCP would adopt a "one country, two systems" policy towards Hong Kong, similar to the CCP's policy towards Taiwan. After Xu Jiatun came to Hong Kong, he immediately started preparations for "One Country, Two Systems".

In 1988, the author visited Hong Kong and held a symposium with several professors from the Chinese University of Hong Kong to discuss Hong Kong and cross-strait issues. After the meeting, I had an in-depth conversation with Xu Jiatun, director of the Hong Kong branch of Xinhua News Agency. Xujiatun was very frank, open-minded and open, which left a deep impression on me. His openness, openness and frankness are similar to those of Hu Yaobang. In 1986, I had a long talk with Hu Yaobang. Hu Yaobang severely criticized some of the CCP’s evil policies (including anti-rightist, cultural revolution, and anti-bourgeois liberalization). He also advocated simultaneous political and economic reforms and the adoption of Taiwan and Hong Kong. The enlightened policy is still fresh in my memory. However, Deng Xiaoping could not tolerate Hu's insistence and propositions, and ousted Hu Yaobang in 1987. Hu Yaobang died two years later.

Xujiatun's Path to Politics

During his stay in Hong Kong, Xu Jiatun presided over and was in charge of Hong Kong affairs on behalf of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China as the head of the Hong Kong branch of Xinhua News Agency. He adopts an enlightened policy and actively conducts exchanges, dialogues and cooperation with all parties in Hong Kong.

Xu Jiatun was born in Rugao, Jiangsu in 1916. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1938 and served successively as secretary of the CPC Fuzhou and Nanjing Municipal Committees, vice-governor of Jiangsu, and first secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee in 1976. Many people believe that Xu Jiatun is an enlightened faction of the CCP and made important contributions before coming to Hong Kong. In 1983, Xu Jiatun came to Hong Kong and served as the head of the Hong Kong branch of Xinhua News Agency, responsible for Hong Kong affairs, and was widely used by the CCP.

However, after the Tiananmen Incident broke out in 1989, Xu Jiatun opposed the CCP's repressive policies and gradually drifted away from Beijing. In 1990, the CCP categorically removed Xu from his post in Hong Kong. Xu Jiatun felt threatened and immediately decided to go into exile in the United States. In 1991 Beijing expelled Xu from the CCP.

In 1993 and 1998, Xu Jiatun published "Memoirs of Xu Jiatun Hong Kong" and "Memoirs and Thoughts of Xu Jiatun", revealing a lot of his ideas, ideals and ideas.

In 2004, Xu's wife died in the mainland. Xu Jiatun's children asked the CCP for permission to return to the mainland, but the CCP categorically refused.

In May 2014, Xu Jiatun accepted an exclusive interview with overseas media and sincerely expressed the hope of "falling leaves return to their roots". On June 29, 2016, Xu died in California at the age of 100.

Xu Jiatun lived in exile for twenty-six years, and the CCP did not allow him to return to his roots. He finally died in a foreign land, unable to rest his eyes.

Xu Jiatun's Three Wishes

Before his death in California, Xu Jiatun revealed three major wishes:

1. I am planning a long article, trying to summarize the experience and lessons of war and peace since the 20th century, hoping to combine the advantages of capitalism and socialism, and put forward ideas for the peaceful development of mankind.

2. Hold the last press conference to review his life and his dying wishes.

3. Arrange a trip back to China, hoping to settle in mainland China.

According to Xujiatun's friends, none of Xu's three wishes have been fulfilled. But the Chinese authorities finally agreed to send his ashes back to China to be buried with his wife.

Xu Jiatun's work in Hong Kong

Xu Jiatun worked in Hong Kong for a total of seven years. In addition to serving as the president of Hong Kong Xinhua News Agency, he also served as the secretary of the Hong Kong and Macao Working Committee of the Communist Party of China. He actively carried out necessary preparations for the return of Hong Kong. Includes the following:

1. Reassure people and make Hong Kong people believe that the CCP insists on promoting "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong ("the horse runs as it runs, dances as it dances"). Except for foreign affairs and national defense, the central government is in charge, and the local affairs of Hong Kong adopt the policy of "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong". The socialist way of life will never change.

2. Actively promote liaison, exchange, dialogue and cooperation with all walks of life in Hong Kong, and carry out extensive united front work.

3. To promote the merits of "one country, two systems", so that the people of Hong Kong believe that the CCP will never impose the socialist system on Hong Kong.

Xu Jiatun also hopes to promote democracy and the rule of law in Hong Kong, and he also hopes to implement genuine universal suffrage in Hong Kong.

Xujiatun "betrayal" and "treason"?

After the June 4th Incident, Xu Jiatun had a lot of sympathy for the students who participated in the pro-democracy movement. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China therefore severely criticized Xu and dismissed him from his post in Hong Kong, and Zhou Nan succeeded him. After Zhou Nan took office, he quickly began to rectify Xinhua News Agency and did his best to eliminate Xu's influence. After Xu Jiatun went into exile in the United States, the CCP began to accuse Xu of "treason," "treason," and even "corruption." It is said that Xu Jiatun was impoverished. After he came to the United States, he immediately sought refuge with Taiwanese Master Hsing Yun at Xilai Temple in California, and later borrowed money from friends in Hong Kong to buy a house in the new town of Chinogang, east of Los Angeles.

As for "betrayal" and "treason", relevant CCP officials have never provided concrete evidence. In fact, Xu Jiatun only advocates an enlightened and open policy towards Hong Kong, and insists on truly implementing the "one country, two systems" policy formulated by Deng Xiaoping. After he arrived in the United States, he adopted the "three nos" policy: not engaging in political protection, not revealing state secrets, and not participating in the democratic movement. Some overseas people have accused Xu Jiatun of cooperating with Taiwan's intelligence department, but they have not provided any concrete evidence, and Xu has flatly denied it.

After Xu Jiatun came to the United States, some pro-Communist figures made new accusations against him. In response to practical needs, Xu Jiatun vigorously carried out united front work (especially in the industrial and commercial circles) during his stay in Hong Kong, breaking the overseas impression that the CCP hated capitalists. Xian Da) did not take it seriously, and Xu Jiatun never denied this accusation.

Miss Xujiatun

Although various parties at home and abroad have different views on Xu Jiatun, there are many people who affirm Xu Jiatun's dedication and contribution to Hong Kong.

Recently, Hong Kong private person Zheng Zi published a long article in the US "World Journal" stating: "Xu Jiatun is loyal to Hong Kong and fully implements the one country, two systems policy required by the Basic Law." In fact, Xu Jiatun also encountered many difficulties in Hong Kong, and some academics criticized Xu Jiatun's philosophy After the June 4th incident, he lost the trust and support of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Because of his sympathy for the June 4th pro-democracy movement, he was finally forced into exile in the United States.

Xu Jiatun asked Beijing several times to allow him to return to his roots and settle in China, but the CCP categorically refused. After Xu Jiatun's death, many people at home and abroad have published articles, saying that the CCP lacks due goodwill and sympathy for a person who has made a lot of important contributions, which is amazing.

Article source: contention

Well-known political scientist Yang Liyu dies in the United States at the age of 86

Yang Liyu, an internationally renowned political scientist, died in the United States on August 17 at the age of 86. Yang Liyu is an honorary professor of the Department of Asian Studies at Northeastern University in New Jersey, USA, and an expert on mainland issues. In 1983, when Deng Xiaoping, the top leader of the mainland state, went to the United States to meet with Yang Liyu, he first proposed the concept of "one country, two systems".

Yang Liyu graduated from National Taiwan University, went to the United States to study in 1961, and received a Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1970. Yang Liyu once strongly criticized the mainland for threatening Taiwan with force and isolating Taiwan internationally. He believed that the mainland must show goodwill on the two major issues of force and diplomacy, which led to Deng Xiaoping's first proposal of "one country, two systems" in 1983, and peace between Taiwan and the mainland. Unified six propositions.

Zhuang Chuwen (Zhongshi Electronic News) 2019/08/19

Character close-up: The fallen leaves cannot return to their roots and end up in a foreign land in Xujiatun

June 29, 2016 BBC Chinese

In the early morning of June 29th, Western Time, an old Chinese man who was forced to leave the country in his sixtieth year passed away silently at his home in Los Angeles, USA, shortly after his 100th birthday, with his last regrets.

He is Xu Jiatun, a former senior CCP official. Xu Jiatun fled the United States the following year after the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989. His last official positions were: member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, head of the Hong Kong branch of Xinhua News Agency, and deputy chairman of the Hong Kong Basic Law Drafting Committee.

Fallen leaves do not return to their roots

Overseas, especially in Hong Kong, Xu Jiatun is considered an enlightened party within the CCP. During the 89 pro-democracy movement, Xu Jiatun was sympathetic to the students protesting in Tiananmen Square, acquiesced in allowing the Beijing office in Hong Kong under his control and the pro-China media in Hong Kong to express their opposition to the repression of students.

Xu Jiatun retired in early 1990 and left the United States without saying goodbye. He was expelled from the Communist Party of China and a member of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress.

Although in the United States, Xu Jiatun still paid attention to China's political situation and social development in his later years, saying that he "has always been a Marxist".

He has a positive attitude towards the evaluation of Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, Xi Jinping and other post-1989 leaders of the Communist Party of China. He avoids criticism, and hopes that the Communist Party can "open the door" to realize his last wish and return to the roots.

In 2013, Xu Jiatun visited Taiwan at the age of 97. In an interview with Taiwanese media, he expressed support for Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign. Regarding the suppression of June 4th, he said, "'June 4th' is a very complicated issue, and the conditions for rehabilitating 'June 4th' are not yet ripe".

Xu Jiatun used the Taiwanese media to shout to Beijing: "I have always wanted to go back, and I am always preparing, but Beijing has not agreed and will not let me go back; therefore, when I come to Taiwan this time, I am very moved and feel like I have returned to my hometown. ."

against repression of students

Xujiatun was forced to die in a foreign land because the CCP could not forgive his "performance" in the 1989 democracy movement.

In 1989, when a large-scale student pro-democracy protest movement broke out in Beijing, Xu Jiatun was the head of the Hong Kong branch of Xinhua News Agency. In his memoirs ("Xu Jiatun Hong Kong Memoirs"), Xu Jiatun recorded that he was invited to return to Beijing from Hong Kong on May 3 during the climax of the student movement in 1989 when millions of students gathered in Tiananmen Square to meet the then General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee. of Zhao Ziyang.

Xu Jiatun recounted in his memoirs that he affirmed the motivation of the student movement at that time. Xu Jiatun told Zhao Ziyang, "This is a patriotic movement, a movement to support the reform of the Communist Party." Xu Jiatun said that Zhao Ziyang agreed with his judgment.

During his stay in Beijing, Xu Jiatun also met with the then President Yang Shangkun, and Yang also agreed with Zhao and Xu's proposal on the identification of the student movement as not "turmoil" and on its peaceful handling.

After the June 4 incident, the Hong Kong branch of Xinhua News Agency issued a statement condemning the crackdown and calling for condolences in the name of "some cadres and employees of the Hong Kong branch of Xinhua News Agency":

"We are extremely indignant at the bloody repression that took place in the capital and the killing of patriotic students and people! We appeal to all employees of Chinese-funded institutions in Hong Kong to mourn in various forms on June 5 for the dead patriotic compatriots."

After the June 4th crackdown, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China announced that Zhao Ziyang would be removed from his post, and Jiang Zemin would be succeeded as general secretary. Xu Jiatun recounted in his memoirs: "I immediately asked someone to bring two sentences to Zhao Ziyang, one was "just and comfortable" and the second was "maintain good health". The person who brought the letter replied to me, and Zhao said two words after listening to it. word: 'Thank you!'".

When the news of Xu Jiatun's death came, many pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong expressed admiration for Xu Jiatun's position on the June 4 incident.

Li Zhuoren, secretary of the Hong Kong Stake, said that Xu Jiatun followed the Communist Party all his life and only woke up after the June 4th incident.

Li Zhuming, a member of the Hong Kong Basic Law Drafting Committee and the founder of the Hong Kong Democratic Party, expressed regret over Xu Jiatun's death. Li Zhuming said that when Xu Jiatun was the head of the Hong Kong bureau of Xinhua News Agency, his views on June 4 "all made him feel that they were similar to the views of the democrats, such as the use of force to suppress them is not equal."

Promote one country, two systems

From 1983 to 1989, Xu Jiatun served as secretary of the Hong Kong and Macau Working Committee of the Communist Party of China (i.e., secretary of the Hong Kong and Macau Working Committee) and head of the Hong Kong branch of Xinhua News Agency.

The predecessor of the Liaison Office was the Hong Kong Branch of Xinhua News Agency, which was established in 1947. It appeared in the form of a news agency under British rule, and was essentially the highest representative agency of the Beijing government in Hong Kong, which was in contact with the then colonial Hong Kong government, and at the same time carried out political work for the CCP in Hong Kong. After China regained its sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, it was officially listed as the Liaison Office of the Central Committee in 2000.

As secretary of the Hong Kong and Macau Working Committee and head of the Hong Kong branch of Xinhua News Agency, Xu Jiatun gained an enlightened reputation and maintained communication with Hong Kong pro-democracy figures.

Liu Ruishao, a current affairs commentator in Hong Kong, recalled that when Xu Jiatun first came to Hong Kong to take up his new post, he immediately launched an extensive united front against the consortium, the industrial and commercial circles and even all walks of life, and achieved certain results, which increased the confidence of all parties.

In an interview with Hong Kong's "Apple Daily", Ho Chun-ren, chairman of the Hong Kong Stake, pointed out that China and the United Kingdom started negotiations on the future of Hong Kong in the 1980s. Since the pro-democracy groups supported the "return of democracy in Hong Kong", Beijing began to contact pro-democracy activists in order to compete with the Hong Kong-British government. .

The late Hong Kong pro-democracy veteran and "Basic Law" drafting member Situ Hua also recalled that he had secretly met with Xu Jiatun many times. The first time was in 1987, when Xu Jiatun asked Situ Hua to meet with another drafting committee member, Li Zhuming, and suggested that they form a party, reflecting that Beijing's policy toward Hong Kong was relatively liberal and willing to maintain communication with the democrats.

Hong Kong's "Asian Finance" published the cover article of an exclusive interview with Xu Jiatun in the March issue of this year. In an interview, Xu Jiatun said that he misses Deng Xiaoping and Xi Zhongxun for their enlightened and open Hong Kong governance. When talking about the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong, he believed that it was an exposure of various uneasy factors reserved before and after the withdrawal of British colonialism from Hong Kong.

Li Zhuoren, secretary of the Hong Kong Stake, said that Xu Jiatun had promoted one country, two systems for 50 years, but he would eventually leave the United States. Li Zhuoren said that Xujiatun's experience shows that even if he is a relatively open person, if he does things for the Communist Party, he can do it without his own will. It always depends on the general environment and atmosphere at that time.

Liu Ruishao's evaluation of Xujiatun was "feeling that today is true and not yesterday", and chose to go his own way. Even if he wanted to go back to China, it was more out of falling leaves than returning to the system.

Hong Kong's "Apple Daily" reported that last year Xu Jiatun told everyone at a birthday party celebrating his 99th birthday in the United States: "If I can go back, I will definitely invite you to Changshu, Jiangsu to eat hairy crabs."

The deceased are long gone, and the living are like a man.

Xu Jiatun requested an exclusive interview published after his death

Published: 09/07/2016 - 13:45

Author: Sophie

Xu Jiatun, former member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, former secretary of the Hong Kong and Macau Working Committee and head of the Hong Kong Xinhua branch, passed away at the age of 101, taking away many party-state secrets that only he knew; four years ago, "Der Spiegel" committed several hours to Xu Jiatun The interview was not published at the request of Xu Jiatun.

Now, the latest issue of Der Spiegel has published the interview. In today's "Der Spiegel Books" program, we invited Ms. Ke Yuqian, assistant editor-in-chief of Der Spiegel Press and Publishing Group and a master's degree in mass communication from Indiana University, to introduce to you the past events and experiences that Xu Jiatun talked about in the interview that year.

Fa Guang: Under what circumstances did Der Spiegel conduct an interview with Xujiatun four years ago, and why was it not published?

Ke Yuqian: In June 2012, Xu Jiatun, who was then 97 years old, flew from Los Angeles to Meidong Xiaozhu, accompanied by his daughter. After learning about it, a reporter from Der Spiegel went to interview him at the place where he stayed. Xu Jiatun talked for several hours until late at night After 12 o'clock, it was still unfinished. But after Xu Jiatun was worried that once the interview draft was published, many media would flock to and request interviews, so he hoped that the publication of Der Spiegel Monthly would be postponed.

Fa Guang: What did Xu Jiatun talk about in the interview?

Ke Yuqian: Xu Jiatun talked about Deng Xiaoping's twists and turns in eliminating Yang's generals, analyzed the doubts left by Zhao Ziyang's recording of Xu Jiatun, recalled his impression of Bo Yibo and his words, and talked about "peaceful evolution" New insights into the theory, the origin and development of the "Southern Jiangsu Model", and the analysis of several possible solutions by the central authorities after the Bo Xilai incident.

Fa Guang: Regarding the fall of the Yang family generals, there are several opinions from the outside world. What is Xu Jiatun's view?

Ke Yuqian: According to the information obtained by Xu Jiatun, the Yang family general incident involved the relationship between Deng Xiaoping, Yang Shangkun and Jiang Zemin.

Deng Xiaoping and Yang Shangkun used to have a close relationship. Xu Jiatun said that during his southern tour, Deng proposed that "whoever does not reform and open up will step down." Yang Shangkun felt that he understood what Deng Xiaoping meant: it may not be just Li Peng who stepped down, Deng Xiaoping may also want to act against Westernization, Jiang Zemin, who was anti-liberal, so Yang Shangkun asked Yang Baibing to provide "escort" and prepared replacements for Jiang and Li. These actions gave Jiang Zemin and Li Peng a wake-up call. Jiang Zemin then handed over a document to Deng Xiaoping, saying that Yang Shangkun wanted to give "June 4th" was rehabilitated and wanted to be "the second Deng Xiaoping", which led to the breakdown of the relationship between Deng Xiaoping and Yang Shangkun and the downfall of the Yang family generals.

Fa Guang: Regarding Zhao Ziyang's recording, did Xujiatun reveal any inside information?

Ke Yuqian: He thinks that the part of Zhao Ziyang's memoirs that mentions himself avoids a fact. The memoir mentioned that Xu Jiatun wrote a note to Zhao Ziyang, saying that he had met with Yang Shangkun, and Yang strongly agreed with Zhao's speech on the student movement. Xu Jiatun said that it was actually Zhao Ziyang who asked Xu Jiatun to return to Beijing, and the two exchanged many views on the student movement. They also asked Xu Jiatun to go to Yang Shangkun, and asked Yang to go to Deng Xiaoping to persuade him to withdraw his characterization of the turmoil. But Zhao Ziyang did not mention this passage. Xu Jiatun believed that the reason was that Zhao Ziyang had changed a lot in his thinking. He realized that calling Xu Jiatun back to Beijing to discuss these central decisions violated the principles of the party. of.

Fa Guang: What other political figures has Xujiatun dealt with? What's your opinion on them?

Ke Yuqian: Xu Jiatun described the personalities of several people in the interview. He believes that Bo Yibo is opportunistic and fickle; Yang Shangkun is a polite corporal; Xi Zhongxun treats his subordinates equally, modestly, and politely; Tan Zhenlin is stubborn, straightforward, and does not tell lies.

Fa Guang: Did Xu Jiatun reveal the party-state secrets he held during the interview?

Ke Yuqian: Xujiatun still kept his promise and did not disclose any intelligence-related secrets. He said that he was the head of the spy. When he was in Hong Kong, he knew all the intelligence relations and United Front relations, but he insisted that he would not betray friends or leak secrets, so the underground intelligence network organization in Hong Kong was not damaged.

Fa Guang: One of Xu Jiatun's biggest expectations after coming to the United States is to return to China one day. However, in the end, this wish was not fulfilled. Regarding this issue, did Mr. Xu disclose any information in the interview?

Ke Yuqian: Xu Jiatun said in the interview that Li Yuanchao once stated that the leaders of the central government were very concerned about him and welcomed him back. But no one dared to criticize. Until Xu Jiatun passed away, he did not realize his wish to return to his hometown. Although he has been overseas all the time, Xu Jiatun still pays attention to the changes in China every second, and never stops thinking about the future of mankind, so that he can leave these rich life experiences to the world.

Times look at China

After the Tiananmen incident, how did Xujiatun escape secretly?

Di Yufei

July 28, 2016

BEIJING — Xu Jiatun, a former top Communist Party official, has brought many secrets to his grave, people familiar with the matter said.

Xu Jiatun died in June this year, ending his 26-year exile in the United States. Later, new details emerged about his bold escape from China after the June 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations at Tiananmen Square, and the Communist Party's presence in Hong Kong. From 1983 to 1989, Xu Jiatun served as the head of the Hong Kong branch of China's official news agency Xinhua News Agency. This made him a de facto representative of China in Hong Kong, then a British colony.

Communist and democratic forces were locked in a fierce battle in Hong Kong at the time, so these details are more than historical. The Communist Party has maintained a sort of refusal to testify about its activities in the land. Hong Kong returned to China in 1997.

Martin Lee, founder of the Hong Kong Democratic Party, said in an interview that he met Xu Jiatun several times while he was the Hong Kong bureau chief.

"Once, we had lunch together, and he told me not to worry too much. Beijing has transported about 50,000 people to Hong Kong to work in all walks of life - administrative, occupational." If Britain withdraws before the handover, he Say, "These guys will come on top."

Li Zhuming said that Xu Jiatun said these words to comfort himself. “But if you look at Hong Kong now, I think they are in control here. Our chief executive is one of them, an underground Communist, obviously,” he said. He blamed Hong Kong's chief executive, Leung Chun-ying.

Leung Chun-ying denies that he is a Communist.

Kam Kin-yat said Xu Jiatun had made many friends in Hong Kong, including pro-democracy activists and business tycoons. Jin Jianyi's father, Kam Yiu-yu, was then the editor-in-chief of the pro-Beijing Hong Kong-based Wen Wei Po and an old friend of Xu Jiatun.

Jin Jianyi said in a phone interview from Los Angeles that Xu Jiatun is more open-minded, but making friends is also part of his job.

Li Zhuming mentioned that Xu Jiatun had encouraged him, a lawyer, and Szeto Wah, a trade union organizer, to form a political party.

Li Zhuming said that when Xu Jiatun and Situ Hua were discussing, "he mentioned a point that I did not tell me - Situ Hua does not have to worry about funding issues. Of course, now the political parties of the Hong Kong establishment are also funded by Beijing, directly or indirectly through local tycoons. accomplish."

After the Tiananmen protests, Situ Hua became an open critic of the Communist Party.

As such protests shook China, then-party general secretary Zhao Ziyang asked Xu Jiatun to assess the government's best response from Hong Kong's perspective, Jin Jianyi said. Xujiatun told Zhao Ziyang that it needed to be resolved in a "peaceful way."

Zhao Ziyang agreed, but he was removed from office for this position and was placed under long-term house arrest by hardliners, including Deng Xiaoping, until his death. In 1989, Xu Jiatun applied for retirement, but was dismissed. In January 1990, conservative Zhou Nan was named his successor.

Xu Jiatun moved to Shenzhen, adjacent to Hong Kong, seemingly awaiting news from Beijing that would determine his fate. But he took his fate into his own hands.

According to Jin Jianyi, at about 8 pm on April 30, Xu Jiatun took an unusual walk outside the building of the Shenzhen branch of Xinhua News Agency. Jin Jianyi said this is the first time he has disclosed the details of the escape plan he helped realize.

"He went out for a walk empty-handed," Jin Jianyi said. "Not a single suitcase."

Jin Jianyi's role was confirmed by Ho Pin, publisher of Mirror Media Group, who now lives in New York.

Accompanied by a family member, Xu Jiatun wore a golf cap to disguise his identity, crossed the border at Luohu and entered Hong Kong. He then boarded a train, got off at Sheung Shui Station, and walked about 100 feet (30 meters) along the tracks to where Jin Jianyi drove to pick him up.

Jin Jianyi said that on the same night, Beijing's order arrived at the Shenzhen branch to confiscate Xu Jiatun's passport.

Xu Jiatun wrote a letter to Deng Xiaoping in Hong Kong, which was forwarded by the Hong Kong branch of Xinhua News Agency. In his letter, he promised not to reveal any secrets. Jin Jianyi, who sent the letter, said Xujiatun's hope was that his family in China would be given leniency if he kept his promise. The U.S. consulate issued him a visa and helped him get a last-minute ticket.

Xujiatun has been keeping secrets, but the Communist Party has never fulfilled his desire to return to China.

Didi Kirsten Tatlow is a Beijing correspondent for The New York Times.

obituaries

Xujiatun: CCP officials opposed to the June 4 crackdown

Di Yufei

July 18, 2016

BEIJING — Xu Jiatun, a senior Communist Party official who opposed the military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989 and fled to the United States the following year, died on June 29 in Chino Hills, California, at the age of 100.

The family revealed he died of kidney and heart failure.

Like his life, Xujiatun's death was full of political implications. As punishment for his 1990 flight, he was expelled from the party. His son Xu Jian said in a phone interview from Los Angeles that Xu Jiatun's wish to return to China had never been approved. Most of his family stayed in China, including his wife Gu Yiping.

Photos on overseas Chinese news media websites showed some prominent Chinese political families laying wreaths, including Zhao Ziyang's. As a liberal former premier and CCP general secretary, Zhao Ziyang has good relations with Xu Jiatun.

But China has not officially notified Xu Jiatun's death. Caixin Weekly's website published a message, but it was later taken down.

In a eulogy, He Pin, a publisher of Der Spiegel Group in New York, said CCP leaders had rejected Xu Jiatun's request to return to China during his lifetime, but a message was passed that he could return to China for a burial.

Xu Jian said that Xu Jiatun was born on March 10, 1916. He had five siblings. His father was a grass-roots government official and his mother had been at home.

Xu Jiatun joined the Communist Party in 1938 and held public office in the areas controlled by the Communist Party. Ten years later, he joined the East China Field Army as a political commissar. After the 1949 revolution ended, he became a CCP official in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province.

Xu Jiatun's wife died in Nanjing in 2004. The two had five daughters and three sons, nine grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

Like many officials, he suffered during the Cultural Revolution, but later became party secretary of Jiangsu province and became known for helping start capitalist-flavored local businesses.

Jin Jianyi, a friend of the Xu family, said that in the early 1980s, Deng Xiaoping proposed at a meeting that Xu Jiatun, who had reached retirement age, should continue to preside over the work. Jin Jianyi's father was a reporter for Wen Wei Po, a pro-Beijing newspaper in Hong Kong, and a political ally of Xu Jiatun.

But other officials in Jiangsu protested, Jin said, and Xu Jiatun was appointed in 1983 as Xinhua's Hong Kong bureau chief, then a British colony, an appointment that gave Beijing a voice there.

In Hong Kong, Xu Jiatun once told local TV news reporter Chen Runzhi that he had eaten with people of various backgrounds, including anti-communists and business tycoons, and gradually realized how worried people were about Hong Kong's return to China in 1997.

Quite the contrary is the view of many Chinese officials, who believe that Hong Kongers are eager to break free from the yoke of colonialism.

Like Zhao Ziyang, Xu Jiatun wanted a peaceful solution to the 1989 pro-democracy movement and publicly expressed his appreciation for Hong Kong citizens who supported the protests. However, hundreds—perhaps thousands—of Chinese protesters were killed. At the age of 73, Xu Jiatun applied for retirement.

However, Jin Jianyi said he was removed from his post and that private documents kept in the Xinhua office were also censored.

He has since stayed in Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, awaiting the verdict of his fate. One day in April 1990, Jin Jianyi said he crossed the border to Hong Kong while "out for a walk" and from there to the United States.

Xu Jiatun made it clear to U.S. officials that he would not trade classified information for asylum.

"They found nothing with him," Jin said. "It was a humanitarian standpoint to provide him with asylum."

"The reason why he keeps his secrets is that he promised to the CCP not to divulge secrets when he went abroad, and secondly, he wanted to protect his family who stayed at home," He Pin said.

"The deeper reason may be the belief of a Communist Party member," He Pin said. "He has always believed that the ideals of the Communist Party were right, but made mistakes."

Didi Kirsten Tatlow is a Beijing correspondent for The New York Times.

Follow author Yufei Di on Twitter @dktatlow.

Translation: The New York Times Chinese website

Dong Jian: Two or three things about me and Xujiatun

2016 Issue 6 Yanhuang Chunqiu Magazine

It is said that I have nothing to do with Mr. Xu Jiatun, I am afraid he has long forgotten my name. At that time, he was the "earth emperor" of Jiangsu, and I was just a scholar under his rule, and I was the ninth class among the grass-roots people - belonging to the so-called "stinking old nine" class. However, I do have a few things that have something to do with him, which seems ironic today.

Said he was a "local emperor", firstly because several old leaders of the Communist Party in Jiangsu, such as Liu Shunyuan, Hui Yuyu, etc., had come to Beijing to sue the central government that he had formed gangs in Jiangsu and started an "independent kingdom", which was quite a "local emperor". faction, and we have something to do with this case. Second, after being pulled down by several old revolutionaries, he went to Hong Kong to preside over the Xinhua branch. Some people once said that he was "earth". He could not speak English and Cantonese. He was afraid that he would not be able to open up the situation. Third, his name Tu, you listen: "Xujiatun", reminds people of a small village. There are many small villages called × × Tun in my hometown, and most of them are very dirty. I remember when I was in college, it was probably in the late 1950s. Chairman Mao visited Jiangsu and praised Xujiatun as "the youngest" among the provincial party secretaries, calling him the "baby secretary", and once said with a smile: "Xujiatun is like a village. name."

However, Xujiatun is a literate person after all, and he has long opposed "local" to "foreign". Judging from his political achievements in Hong Kong over the past few years and his relatively open remarks abroad after 1989, he is really different from the "local emperor" of Jiangsu at that time. Some of his practices in my two or three affairs with him, I think he himself will now disapprove of it. But the Chinese are forgetful, and there will be others who still take things that we have long taken for granted. Qian Liqun called out loudly to "refuse to forget," and I think he was right. So I'm going to put some "Chen millet rotten sesame seeds" in the sun to dry. Admittedly, it is boring to blame an old man who has lost power, but I just want to write about a certain situation in the "environment at that time", and readers will learn a lesson from it. It seems that it has nothing to do with today's Xujiatun.

The first thing to say is that I have been appreciated by Xujiatun. Sha Yexin criticized unpromising literati as "proud to be appreciated", and I have this problem. It was the late Cultural Revolution, and a political movement to comment on "Water Margin" swept the country. At that time, Xujiatun had long since been liberated from being "overthrown" at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution and returned to the "throne" of leadership. He asked the Provincial Party Committee's publication, Mass, to keep up with the "Water Review" movement, so the editor asked me to write a manuscript. I am a "follower", an intellectual who was made slavish by education after the founding of the People's Republic of China, especially the politics of the Cultural Revolution. Of course, I was flattered. I don't know anything about the political conspiracy of "Pingshui", and the article can only sing to the tune of "above". But after the article was published, the editor told me: "Your article was reviewed by Comrade Xu Jiatun himself, and he appreciated it very much." There is nothing more enticing to him than being appreciated, especially by a high-ranking official. More than ten years later, when I began to reflect on my own servility, I reread this "Shui Commentary" article, and I am ashamed! When Jiangsu Literature and Art Publishing House published my collection of essays "Literature and History", I once compiled this and several other articles touting "model opera" as appendices in the book, but the editor deleted it.

After the end of the Cultural Revolution, many people who had been "red" during the Cultural Revolution were out of luck, but Xujiatun's officials became more stable. He was attacked as a "capitalist roader" at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, and now it is his turn to attack those who attacked him. If the Jiangsu literary and art circles can be linked with the "Gang of Four", the novel, drama and movie "The Joyous Little Lianghe" should be the first to be recommended, because this work really closely cooperates with the "Gang of Four", "criticizing Deng, countering the right deviation and overturning the verdict". The "Wind" political movement has a considerable influence across the country. But this work was caught by Xu Jiatun himself, and a group of them would get on his head, becoming the evidence of his "criticism of Deng". So he came to a golden cicada escape plan, and took a young author to operate. The young author has written a novel "Our Generation" which describes "the struggle against the capitalist roaders". It was the propaganda department under Xujiatun who encouraged the author to write this novel. After it was published, it was enthusiastically affirmed and praised. It was publicized for a while as his "political achievement", but now it has been severely criticized. I have been to the Expo and Criticism Conference in the literary and art circles, and the atmosphere was no different from the Cultural Revolution. As I woke up from the nightmare of the Cultural Revolution, I was stunned by this practice, and my childish heart was trembling. How can a Communist Party official be so dishonest? It turns out that people who are full of "seeking truth from facts" are the most unrealistic ones. In a fit of rage, with a sense of trust in the Party, I wrote a short essay in which I grieved and complained about the author who had never known him as a scapegoat. The title was "You Can't Treat Young Authors This Way." With a sense of justice, Ms. Tang Shumin, the editor of "Zhongshan", immediately edited and published this article, and decided to call it a prominent position to meet readers. But her immediate boss was not at ease, and felt that it would be impossible for Xu Jiatun to not read such an article. So it was submitted for review, and the article was "killed", but the remuneration was issued. This is the first time in my life that I have been paid for an unpublished article. Why do you get such a treatment of "shooting first and then paying pensions"? I heard that it is related to Xujiatun. After reading my article, he gave an instruction to the effect: This article is well written, but considering the current difficulties in Jiangsu's work, stability should be the top priority, and it is recommended that this article be postponed for publication. Look at how well-written the instructions are, without leaving any scars. When I got this payment, I felt an indescribable feeling in my heart, like being humiliated and accepting bribes, and there was some inexplicable fear in my heart. For the "stability" of the powerful, black and white can be reversed, lies can be fabricated, and history can be fabricated. What a terrible thing!

Not long after this, however, another incident made my childish soul tremble even more violently, almost to the point of bloodshed. On the eve of the "Tiananmen Incident" in 1976, students and workers in Nanjing started to make trouble. They put up big slogans against the "Gang of Four", in fact expressing strong resentment against the Cultural Revolution initiated by Chairman Mao himself. The mighty parade with soaring pride and righteousness, singing and slogans all the way, swam from Nanjing University to Yuhuatai. In front of the team was a young man, Li Xining, secretary of the Youth League Committee of Nanjing University. Beijing cracked down and removed Deng Xiaoping from all positions; Xujiatun in Jiangsu was of course ordered to suppress it, and Li Xining was arrested by Xujiatun and put in prison. Li Xining is a member of the Communist Party, excellent in both character and study, and stayed on to work after graduating from the Mathematics Department of Nanjing University. Because he likes literature, he has some contacts with me. Soon after the Cultural Revolution ended, the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party was held, the "Tiananmen Incident" was rehabilitated, and Li Xining was released. A conference is about to be held at the Wutaishan Gymnasium to welcome and commend these heroes who dare to defend the truth in the face of tyranny. One day, Li Xining came to my house with a melancholy and sentimental face, saying that Xujiatun sent someone to talk to him and asked him to speak more "good things" about the provincial party committee at the Wutaishan conference. Such as how to be "protected" and "concerned" in prison and so on. He said sadly: "Mr. Dong, in prison they beat me, starved me, and didn't show me when I was sick. It was even scarier than the Kuomintang prison I saw in the movie. How can I say good things about them? Ah?" Li Xining is a man, even though his white face shows a scholarly childishness, but his spine is hard. He just refused to listen to that set of "political explanations" that tried to hide people's eyes and eyes and control public opinion. He made a generous speech at the conference, denounced the fascist rule of the "Gang of Four", and did not mention the unnecessary "protection" and "care". Needless to say, Emperor Xu was angry. "It's me to catch you, it's me to let you go, I'm always right, and you should be grateful to me" - this is the logic of the powerful. If you don't believe this logic, I'll show you the color. At that time, Xujiatun told the media to greatly "downgrade" Li Xining's publicity, and photos were not allowed to appear in newspapers, etc. Li Xining, who is upright, pure and has a high political enthusiasm, has never been able to renew his political enthusiasm since then. The political hypocrisy of Xu Jiatun deeply hurt him. He went abroad for further studies, studied natural sciences, and never came back after his studies. I also feel that there are too many traps and too many lies in partisan politics. I recently read Gorky's "Untimely Thoughts", and I feel the same about the critique of the dark side of political struggle. He said that political struggles sometimes "evoke" bad things in people such as lying, slander, hypocrisy, cruelty, etc. American scholar George Orwell also said something similar: some people's politics "make a lie sound like the truth, and murder like a decent act". If Li Xining lied at the Wutai Mountain Conference according to Xujiatun's intention, wouldn't it sound like the truth to those who don't know the truth? Xujiatun's "murder" of the young author, and our "murder" of such thinkers as Hu Feng, Chu Anping, Yuluoke, etc., since the founding of the People's Republic of China, how high-sounding and like "decent behavior"!

Two or three years after the Li Xining incident, my teacher, Mr. Chen Zhongfan, passed away. The memorial service was of a high standard, and the provincial leaders came forward. Before the start, Xu Jiatun came to the VIP reception room. Comrade Zhang De, Secretary of the Party Committee of Nanjing University, introduced me to shake hands with Xu Jiatun and said, "Secretary Xu has personally read the eulogy you drafted and is very satisfied." The name Jian" was associated with "the person", so he gave me a very special look. But I no longer have the pleasure of being "appreciated" by him when I "judged water" seven years ago. This is not only because I already knew the political deceit of the "water commentary" at this time, but also because I remembered the young author who was a victim of the political struggle, and the article of mine that was not published but received royalties, I remembered Li Xining's melancholy and sentimental face disappointed with politics.

In 1982, when I first shook hands with Xu Jiatun, his order to "ban" the "four men" in Jiangsu was secretly issued. The matter has to start with Xu Jiatun's order to "encircle and suppress" the writer Gu Erqian. After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the literary and art circles in Jiangsu were very active. Gu Ertian took the lead, denounced the shortcomings of the literary world, emancipated his mind, and dared to enter the restricted area. His remarks were "reported", and General Secretary Hu Yaobang made a statement that Gu Erqian's remarks were politically wrong, which triggered Jiangsu's "encirclement and suppression" of Gu. I was ordered to participate in this "encirclement and suppression" campaign, and I witnessed many "good shows" - performances by various people. Those who were dissatisfied with the ideological emancipation movement in the literary and art circles or had a prejudice against Gu Ertian personally fought violently. Unexpectedly, just when they were "fighting", a bucket of cold water was poured down. After listening to the real situation reported by some comrades, Hu Yaobang respected the facts, obeyed the people's will, and took his order back. Hearing this new spirit, we ran to tell each other and rejoiced. I remember that Gao Xiaosheng dragged me and immediately ran to Gu Ertian's house to report the good news. Many people who were forced to participate in the "encirclement and suppression" campaign and who have been speechless, trying to find something to say, flickering from side to side, and being unreasonable, felt very happy at this time. A few criticized the "heroes" who made outrageous words and attacked the general secretary for "returning his word"; we say that such a general secretary who seeks truth from facts is really rare. At this time, the problem of Jiangsu's "four men" emerged. This is just a metaphor, referring to Bao Zhongwen, a professor at Nanjing University, Gan Jingcun, a professor at Nanjing Normal University, Chen Liao, a researcher at the Jiangsu Academy of Social Sciences, and one other person. The four of us often made remarks criticizing the extreme "Left" ideological trend in forums in the literary and art circles or in published newspapers and magazines, especially in this struggle to "encircle and suppress" Gu Erqian, and there was resistance. A few words of disrespect appeared. Some people made a "little report" to Xujiatun about our remarks, and Xujiatun issued a so-called "four people and three no" instructions, that is, the four of us are not allowed to publish articles in the newspapers and periodicals. Second, they are not allowed to appear at various gatherings in the literary and art circles, and third, they are not allowed to appear in radio and television programs. Fortunately, Emperor Xu could only govern Jiangsu, and our articles could be published in other provincial or national journals. Chen Baichen, a famous playwright and a veteran of the literary world, said after hearing this: "Xujiatun is a famous 'Xu Third Edition' - he often publishes three full editions of big articles in the "Xinhua Daily". "The Song of the Wind", it is this "Xu three editions and one edition", and now the "three editions" for the four of you are "three not allowed", it's nothing special, don't be afraid."

It was not until Xu Jiatun was transferred to Hong Kong that the ban on "four people and three no" was lifted. The old leaders of Jiangsu Liu Shunyuan, Hui Yuyu and others went to Beijing to sue Xu Jiatun. It was mentioned in the materials that he undermined the party's policy on intellectuals and arbitrarily deprived the "four critics of Jiangsu" of their right to speak. Xu Jiatun couldn't stay in Jiangsu anymore, but he got a beautiful job to preside over the Hong Kong Xinhua branch. Of course, the set of "Tudi emperors" will not work in Hong Kong, so the "local" will soon become "foreign". Looking at his remarks overseas, he supports reform and opening up and Deng Xiaoping, which is of course very good. Naturally, I didn't disregard the past, and secretly respected. In the spring of 1992, when I went to the United States to study and passed by Los Angeles, someone told me, "Xujiatun lives in Master Xingyun's temple. If you visit him, maybe he will treat you to a vegetarian meal." I really want to go. Look at my "Secretary Xu" back then and say a few words from my heart. I always thought that officials who took off their black gauze hats had something to say. It would be interesting to have a vegetarian meal, stay away from political interests, and talk calmly about what happened to him and me between 1975 and 1983.

(The author is a professor and former vice president of the Chinese Department of Nanjing University)

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Xu Jiatun (March 10, 1916 - June 29, 2016), formerly known as Xu Yuanwen, ancestral home in Rugao, Jiangsu, former member of the Communist Party of China, served as the first secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, secretary of the Hong Kong and Macao Working Committee of the Communist Party of China, and member of the Central Advisory Committee of the Communist Party of China , Director of the Hong Kong Branch of Xinhua News Agency (equivalent to the Director of the Hong Kong Liaison Office at that time). After the June 4th Incident in 1990, he left the United States.

He joined the Communist Party of China in April 1938, and served as the head of the Organization Department of the Chinese National Liberation Vanguard in Dongguanshu, Jiangsu Province, the secretary of the CPC Ruxi County Party Committee, and the CPC Taizhou County Party Committee Secretary. In 1945, he was promoted to Secretary of the Third Local Committee of Central Jiangsu District. In April 1948, he served as the deputy political commissar of the thirty-third brigade of the eleventh column of the East China Field Army. In March 1949, he was the political commissar of the 87th Division of the 29th Army of the Third Field Army [4].

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, he served as deputy secretary and secretary of the CPC Fuzhou Municipal Committee, and deputy minister of the Industrial Department of the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee. In October 1954, he was appointed secretary of the CPC Nanjing Municipal Committee. In March 1956, he served as a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee. In July 1956, he served as secretary of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee Secretariat, concurrently director of the Jiangsu Provincial Science and Technology Commission, and president of the Jiangsu Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

In January 1967, the "May 7th" cadre school was delegated to work. In December 1970, he was a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee and Deputy Director of the Jiangsu Provincial Revolutionary Committee [5]. In September 1975, he served as secretary of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee and deputy director of the Jiangsu Provincial Revolutionary Committee[6]. From February 1977 to March 1983, he served as the first secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China. From February 1977 to December 1979, he served as the director of the Jiangsu Provincial Revolutionary Committee. From December 1977 to July 1979, he served as the chairman of the Jiangsu Provincial Political Consultative Conference. From December 1979 to April 1983, he served as the director of the Standing Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Congress.

In 1983, due to the death of Liao Chengzhi, Ji Pengfei succeeded as director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council, and Wang Kuang, the former director of the Hong Kong branch of Xinhua News Agency, was dismissed. ), Director of the Hong Kong Branch of Xinhua News Agency (equivalent to the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central Government in Hong Kong). On January 15, 1990, he stepped down as the head of the Hong Kong bureau of Xinhua News Agency.

Xu Jiatun is a member of the 11th and 12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. In 1985, he was elected as a member of the Advisory Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China at the National Congress of the Communist Party of China. member.

On April 30, 1990, Xu Jiatun was arranged to leave the United States by Jin Yaoru. On March 3, 1991, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China approved his expulsion from the Communist Party of China and his post as a member of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress [7]).

In 1993, he wrote "Memoirs of Xujiatun Hong Kong", and in August of the same year, he was interviewed by a TVB reporter in the United States.

In July 2007, Xu Jiatun was interviewed by Hong Kong Cable News and Ming Pao Monthly[8], in which he denied the accusation of traitorousness by the CCP conservatives. He admitted that after the June 4 incident, a wealthy businessman voluntarily submitted to him a proposal jointly signed by more than a dozen Hong Kong people[9] to lease Hong Kong for 10 years at HK$10 billion and let the people of Hong Kong govern themselves. At that time, he just reported the proposal to the central government truthfully, and he received the nod and acquiescence of Jiang Zemin, the then general secretary of the Communist Party of China.

In the spring and summer of 1989, when the June 4th student movement broke out in the mainland, Xu Jiatun tacitly agreed to support the student movement by the then Chinese government's institutions in Hong Kong. On May 20, 1989, Beijing declared martial law. On May 21, Wen Wei Po, which is controlled by the CCP, published an editorial in the form of "opening the skylight", and published the words "sorrowful". After the June 4 incident, Beijing purged those who supported the student protests, and Xu Jiatun felt threatened by the dismissal of Hainan Governor Liang Xiang and decided to flee. [10]

In 2002, "Next Magazine" reported that his granddaughter Xu Mei said in Hong Kong[11] that Tung Chee-hwa once sponsored Xu Jiatun's mistresses Li Hailun and Fok Yingdong also gave financial assistance to Xu Jiatun who fled[12].

On June 29, 2016, he passed away at his home in Los Angeles, USA, at the age of 100 [13].

reference books

"Memoirs of Xujiatun Hong Kong", Lianjing Publishing Co., Ltd., first edition in October 1993, ISBN 9570810530

"Memories and Thoughts of Xujiatun", Mingjing Publishing House, first edition in October 1998, ISBN 1896745806

"Zhou Nan's Oral Narration: Thinking Back to the Years of Feather Fan Lun Scarf", edited by Zong Dao, first edition of Qilu Publishing House in June 2007, ISBN 9787533318086