Deng Leads China to Great Leap

If there is no Deng Xiaoping, can China make its country as advanced as it is today?

Deng has made great transformation in China’s history, not only from a poor to prosperous country, but also from a closed-totalitarian to an open-modern country.

This book contains a lively portrait of the man, written by Ezra F. Vogel –a Professor of the Social Sciences Emeritus at Harvard and former Director of Harvard Fairbank Center for East Asian Research and the Asia Center.

Deng was at sometime a rising star under Mao Zedong but experienced being sidelined because of his stance as a revisionist and accused as a person pursuing the capitalist road. He was even completely stripped of all his positions and forbidden to take part in high-level party discussions and public meetings.

But not long after Mao’s death in 1976, under the leadership of Hua Guofeng, Deng returned to work and was officially returned to all positions he had held before. After that, Deng’s political career went up until he reached the top position.

Deng set a turning point and led China on the road to modernization. He opened the door for advanced countries like Japan, South Korea and the United States for economic cooperation and investment. Deng chose to be closer to Western Europe and America than Sovyet. He actively pursued development of science, technology and education. Deng sent thousands of Chinese students to study in the US.

In 1979 when Deng visited the US, he was warmly welcome by President Jimmy Carter. There was an interesting talk between the two leaders in the state banquet when Carter praised China for allowing Christian missionaries in building schools and hospitals in China. Carter also suggested that Deng allow the distribution of Bibles in China, a communist country.

Deng was considered an anti cult of personality. In contrast with Mao who happily indulged in, no statues of Deng were placed in public buildings and virtually no pictures of him hung in homes.

Despite a lot of achievement, the Tiananmen tragedy in 1989 tarnished Deng’s administration when student demonstrations were handled hardly by tanks, armored vehicles, and armed men.

But Deng Xiaoping is still remembered as the leader who transformed China, as we can see China today.

***

Serpong, 28 Jan 2025

Titus J.

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