Transcript Photo: fmprc.gov.cn

The Making of Modern China
The People's Republic of China had
celebrated its 60th anniversary on Oct.
1, 2009, a look back at the watershed
moments that helped make the nation
what it is today.
pps by: Oei Hui Kiat
Singapore, mid November 2009
1 Oct. 1949 Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and others at Tiananmen Gate.
1949: The People's Republic Is Born
Mao Zedong declares the founding of the
People's Republic of China on Oct. 1 in
Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
Sixty years ago Mao Zedong stood
before a sea of people atop Tiananmen
Gate proclaiming, in his high-pitched
Hunan dialect, the founding of the
People's Republic of China and that the
"Chinese people have stood up!" The
moment was marked with pride and
hope. The communists' victory had
vanquished the Nationalist regime,
withstood the vicious onslaught of the
Japanese invasion and overturned the
century of foreign encroachment on
China's territory. Moreover, Mao and the
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) came
to power without significant external
support — theirs was largely a
homegrown revolution.
In 1954, Premier Zhou Enlai at the Geneva Conference, and its extraordinary
style impressed the leader of the presence of foreigners.
October 1963 Deng Xiaoping and Zhou Enlai at Tiananmen.
On Oct. 1, 1970, Chairman Mao Zedong invites American writer Edgar Snow to the National Day celebration on
the Tian'anmen rostrum, sending a signal to the United States that China is willing to improve relations with the
United States. On Dec. 18, Mao Zedong asked Snow to pass the message to Washington that President Richard
Nixon would be welcome to Beijing for talks. (Photo: fmprc.gov.cn)
In April 1971, the U.S. national team of table tennis at
the 31st World Table Tennis Championships in Japan
expressed to the Chinese national team that it hoped to
visit China. On April 6,the Chinese Table Tennis
Association issued an invitation to the U.S. table tennis
team. On April 14, Premier Zhou Enlai met with all the
members of the U.S. table tennis delegation. Zhou said:
"By visiting our country you have opened the gate for
the exchanges between the people of the two nations.
We believe that a friendly exchange will win approval
and support from both the Chinese and American
peoples." (Photo: fmprc.gov.cn)
BEIJING, Jan. 7 (Xinhuanet)-- From April 11 to 17, 1971, the U.S. table tennis team,
after attending the 31st World Table Tennis Championship in Nagoya, Japan, visited
China at the invitation of the Chinese team, thus opening the door to Sino-U.S.
exchanges which had been shut close for 22 years. The move was praised as "PingPong diplomacy" by the international media.
In July of 1971, Premier Zhou Enlai met with Dr. Kissinger, the National Security Advisor
to US President, who was on a secret mission to China. Both sides made a public
announcement that the US President Richard Nixon would be invited to visit China soon.
China's seat in the United Nations and
membership of the United Nations Security
Council has been occupied by the People’s
Republic of China (PRC) since October 25,
1971. The representatives of the PRC first
attended the UN, including the United Nations
Security Council, as China's representatives on
November 23, 1971. China's seat in all UN
organs had been previously held by the
Republic of China since the UN's founding
(1945-1971), until replaced by the PRC.
The PRC gained admission into the UN in
1971. This was the 21st time there was a vote
on China's admittance. The U.S. tried to expel
the PRC, which required a two-thirds vote, but
the motion failed and the PRC was admitted
into the UN on a vote of 76 in favor, 35
opposed, and 17 abstentions.
The General Assembly Resolution 2758
referred to "restoring all its rights to the
People's Republic of China" and recognizing it
as the "only legitimate representatives of
China", while expelling "the representatives of
ROC of Chiang Kai-shek in Taiwan."
Excerpt from Wikipedia
February 21, 1972, the United States of America President Richard Nixon arrived in Beijing. This is the first visit
by U.S. President to the People's Republic of China. During Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai met
with him. February 28, Sino-US Shanghai Joint Communique issued. Nixon's visit to China in the history of SinoUS relations is an important page, it shows that China and the United States in the fight against more than 20
years after the normalization of relations between the beginning of the process for the future to further improve
Sino-US relations and laid a foundation for development.
Nixon, Accompanied by Premier Zhou Parading
On Feb. 21,1972, Chairman Mao Zedong meets U.S. President Richard Nixon
at the Zhongnanhai, Beijing. (Photo: fmprc.gov.cn)
President Nixon with Premier Zhou En-Lai (25 Feb 1972) (≈400K)
1972: President Nixon Pays a Visit - U.S. President Richard Nixon watches Premier Zhou Enlai
eat at a banquet in Shanghai on Feb. 28. Nixon was the first President to visit the People's
Republic; his trip paved the way for formal diplomatic relations between the two countries.
President Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou En Lai toast each other during the reciprocal
banquet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photograph by Dirck
Halstead/UPI/Bettman/Corbis
On Feb. 22, 1972, Premier Zhou Enlai and President Richard
Nixon hold talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on the
normalization of the Sino-U.S. relations and other issues of
common concern. Zhou said that the Taiwan issue is the largest
obstacle that blocks the normalization of the bilateral relations.
Nixon said that the United States recognizes only one China in
the world and that Taiwan is a part of China.
(Photo: fmprc.gov.cn)
On the evening of Feb. 17, 1973, Chairman Mao Zedong meets with Dr. Henry Kissinger, national
security adviser to the president of the United States. During Kissinger's visit to China, both sides
decided to set up a liaison office in each other's capital to establish a direct link between the two
countries. In May, the liaison offices began to function. (Photo: fmprc.gov.cn)
On Dec. 2, 1975, Chairman Mao Zedong meets with U.S. President Gerald Ford and
his wife Betty Ford and daughter Suzanne Ford. (Photo: fmprc.gov.cn)
Betty, wife of U.S.
President Gerald Ford,
learns Chinese dance
during their visit in
December 1975.
(Photo: fmprc.gov.cn)
On Jan. 29, 1979, Vice-Premier
Deng Xiaoping and President
Jimmy Carter have a chat before
their talks. During his visit, VicePremier Deng Xiaoping and
President Carter exchanged views
on the Sino-U.S. relations,
especially the Taiwan issue and
international situation. The
Chinese and American sides
signed a scientific and
technological cooperation
agreement, a cultural agreement
and an agreement on establishing
consular relations and opening
consulate generals in each other
country. Each side also agreed
soon to sign air and shipping
agreements, and send students
and resident journalists to the
other. (Photo: fmprc.gov.cn)
1981: Confronting Past Excesses
Jiang Qing, Mao Zedong's widow, was sentenced to death on Jan. 25 for her role in the Cultural
Revolution. Jiang and three other top leaders who formed the Gang of Four were arrested a
month after Mao's death in 1976, marking what most consider the true end of the Cultural
Revolution era, despite Mao having declared it to be officially over years before. Jiang's sentence
was later commuted to life imprisonment.
On April 28, 1984, Deng Xiaoping, Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party of China, meets U.S.President Ronald Reagan in
the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (Photo: fmprc.gov.cn)
On April 29, 1984, President Ronald Reagan and his wife visit the Museum of Terracotta Warriors
and Horses in Xi'an with great interest. They went down to the 10- metre -deep pit, watched the
historic relics closely while tentatively listening to the introduction. Greatly amazed by the
achievements of China's ancient civilization, Reagan asked the host," May I touch the horse?"
And he jokingly added, "He will not kick me." (Photo: fmprc.gov.cn)
1984: "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics"
Paramount leader Deng Xiaoping visits Shenzhen, once a humble fishing village in
southern China until it was turned into the nation's first special economic zone (SEZ) in
1980. Today Shenzhen is considered one of the megacities of the world, with a
population 32 times what it was before becoming an SEZ, and is ranked as having the
highest quality of life in China.
U.S. President George Bush arrives in Beijing by a special plane on Feb. 25, 1989 for a
working visit to China. The picture showsBush waving his greetings to the crowd at the
Tian'anmen Square. (Photo: fmprc.gov.cn)
While attending the Informal APEC Leadership Meeting in Manila, the Philippines,
Chinese President Jiang Zemin and U.S. President Bill Clinton hold a meeting on Nov.
24, 1996. Both sides agreed that the heads of state of China and the United States
would conduct mutual state visits between 1997 and 1998. (Photo: fmprc.gov.cn)
1997: The Handover of Hong Kong
Members of the combined Chinese armed-forces color guard raise the Chinese flag at
the Hong Kong Convention Center on June 30, marking the moment Hong Kong
returned to China after 155 years of British rule. Macau, a long time colony of Portugal,
was handed over two years later.
On June 27, 1998, Chinese President Jiang Zemin and U.S. President Bill Clinton meet the press
after their formal talks, in which they expressed their view of seeking commonness while shelving
the differences in bilateral development and cooperation. (File Photo)
U.S. President Bill Clinton and his wife and daughter tour the Great Wall on June
28,1998. Clinton said repeatedly in admiration: "Wonderful, magnificent! The Great Wall
runs up and down steeply. It is much more magnificent than I can imagine!" (File Photo)
1999: Popular Anti-Americanism (Date of bombing May 7, 1999)
Chinese policemen surround the U.S. embassy in Beijing on May 10 to prevent
demonstrators from storming the compound, following the accidental NATO bombing of
the Chinese embassy in Belgrade by US plane resulting in 3 Chinese death. Tens of
thousands besieged the U.S. embassy for three days, attacking it with chunks of
concrete and glasses. President Bill Clinton later apologized for the bombing.
On Nov. 15, 1999, China and the United States signed a bilateral agreement on
China's accession into World Trade Organization (WTO). (Xinhua Photo)
Chinese President Jiang Zemin greets U.S. President George W. Bush at the Shanghai
Scientific and Technological Hall on Oct. 21, 2001. (Photo: fmprc.gov.cn)
On Feb.
22, 2002,
Chinese
President
Hu Jintao
meets
with U.S.
President
George
W. Bush
at
Qinghua
University.
(Photo:
fmprc.gov.
cn)
2003: The First Taikonaut
Staff members examine the re-entry capsule of Shenzhou-5, China's first manned
spacecraft, in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Oct. 16. Yang Liwei,
China's first astronaut, or taikonaut, emerged safely.
2008: Disaster Response
Troops help a victim of the earthquake in Sichuan province that killed an estimated 70,000 people
on May 12. Though faulty state-built infrastructure was partially responsible for the magnitude of
the disaster, Beijing was lauded for its fast and thorough response.
Chinese President Hu Jintao (2nd R) waves during a ceremony held by his U.S.
counterpart George W. Bush to welcome his state visit on the White House South Lawn
in Washington April 20, 2008.(Xinhua Photo)
Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) and U.S. President George W. Bush shake hands during their
meeting at the White House for talks on issues ranging from Sino-U.S. relations to major
international and regional issues in Washington April 20, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)
2008: Olympic Dreams
Fireworks explode above the stadium roof during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008
Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on Aug. 8. The Olympics were seen
as a "coming out" party for a more modern and growing China on the global stage, and
preparation and security for the event were extensive.
2008: Public Shame
People holding babies who drank tainted milk powders queue to receive Type B ultrasonic
examination in a hospital on Sept. 17 in Hubei province. At the time, three infants had already died
from melamine-contaminated milk and 6,244 had been sickened, causing a outcry both within
China and from countries around the world who rely on Chinese food imports.
President Obama meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao at Diaoyutai State Guest
House in Beijing Monday, Nov. 16, 2009.