Zhou Enlai before and after the founding of the People's Republic.

Commemorating the birthday of Premier Zhou Enlai124th anniversary.

Text/Geng Shui

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) went south to Jiangnan with thunderous momentum, and People's Republic of China (PRC) was about to be born. But before the founding of New China, there were many things. At the beginning, everything was in ruins. In order to accomplish these important tasks, Zhou Enlai worked day and night with amazing energy and wisdom.

Lead the preparations for the new CPPCC meeting.

The new China will be born in the embrace of China People's Political Consultative Conference, and it is a complicated and arduous process from preparation to convening the new CPPCC meeting. From August, 65438 to August, 0948, Zhou Enlai assisted Mao Zedong in commanding three major battles, and at the same time took on the heavy responsibility of leading all the preparations for the new CPPCC.

1948, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a "labor day slogan", proposing that all democratic parties and social leaders hold a political consultation meeting to form a democratic Coalition government. This call has received enthusiastic response from all walks of life. In August, Mao Zedong called the democratic parties to solicit their opinions on the time, place, convener, participants and topics of the new political consultative conference. Thus, the preparatory work for the new CPPCC officially began, and Zhou Enlai focused on these aspects.

First, carefully arrange patriotic Democrats to enter the liberated areas. CPPCC meetings need to be composed of democratic parties and other celebrities. In the telegram drafted by Zhou Enlai for the Central Committee, he pointed out: "We should invite more centrists who can still cooperate with us, even some people on the right side of the center, and even those who were originally connected with the ruling class and may now affect his support for the Coalition government to expand the United front." He drew up a list of 77 patriotic Democrats in Hong Kong at that time, and instructed the relevant departments to arrange for them to enter the liberated areas this winter and next spring. In order to ensure their safe arrival, Zhou Enlai made elaborate arrangements. The departure route was changed three times and the pick-up was completed in four times. While deploying Hong Kong-registered Democrats to the north, he also arranged to welcome Democrats from Peiping, Tianjin and other places to Li Jiazhuang, where the United Front Work Department is based. This small mountain village with only a few dozen families has become lively with the arrival of a group of Democrats. Zhou Enlai specially took time out to visit, report on the development of the Liberation War and have dinner with you. In a humble environment, dances and yangko dances were held, and the atmosphere was cheerful and warm. He also specifically instructed relevant personnel to do a good job in reception and arrange food, clothing, housing and transportation. Democrats deeply felt the warmth of the liberated areas and expressed their support for the * * * production party to overthrow Chiang Kai-shek and carry the revolution to the end. 1February, 949, arrived in Peiping successively. In March, during the peace talks, Zhou Enlai invited people from various democratic parties in Beiping to meet for five times to introduce the peace talks and listen to your opinions, and then told them about the breakdown of the peace talks.

The second is to preside over the drafting of the same program. The "one program" has the nature of the fundamental law of the country, which is not only the policy program of the Coalition government, but also the political basis for cooperation among all parties. The Central Committee entrusted Zhou Enlai with drafting this important document. This work began in June of 1948+00. He pointed out in his telegram to the Northeast Bureau on behalf of the Central Committee: * * * The same program and the establishment of a new central government in China are important issues that should be discussed in the new CPPCC, and the main contents of the program should seek the opinions of Harbin Democrats. 1 1 In June, Zhou Enlai called the Northeast Bureau again to inform that the document was being drafted, and then sent it to the representative of the unit in Kazakhstan for circulation and exchange of views. At the beginning of 1949, after the second draft was drafted, he instructed it to be compiled with four other documents on convening a new CPPCC for comments within a certain range. According to the war situation at that time, this draft emphasized mobilizing the people of the whole country to support the war of liberation. By the time the preparatory meeting for the new CPPCC was established in June, the original content was no longer suitable for the rapidly developing revolutionary situation, and the theme of building a new democratic new China was needed. Zhou Enlai said that now "our plan must turn to construction", "the key is that we should work together to build a new democratic new China" and redraft "June and July is a heavy task". The preparatory meeting elected him as the head of the drafting group. Therefore, Zhou Enlai shut himself up for a week in the Qin Zheng Hall of Zhongnanhai, and personally wrote a full text and five drafts, covering the basic provisions that should be possessed as the fundamental law of the new China before the promulgation of the Constitution. Since the beginning of September, Zhou Enlai has presided over or guided relevant meetings for seven times and listened to opinions from all sides. Among them, more than 500 CPPCC representatives who arrived in Beiping had two group discussions. According to everyone's suggestion, he and Mao Zedong and others revised the draft several times to make it perfect. The revised draft was named "The Same Program of China People's Political Consultative Conference (Draft)", which was adopted by the second plenary session of the Preparatory Committee of the new CPPCC and decided to be submitted to the China People's Political Consultative Conference for discussion. At this point, the task of drafting the same plan was successfully completed. This plan has been drafted for nearly a year, and it has been revised and renamed constantly, which embodies Zhou Enlai's painstaking efforts and wisdom.

The third is to organize and lead the preparatory meeting for the new CPPCC. 1949 On April 23rd, the People's Liberation Army occupied Nanjing, which Chiang Kai-shek had occupied for many years. A month later, Shanghai declared its liberation. In this way, the time for holding the CPPCC meeting is more mature. At this time, Zhou Enlai paid close attention to organizing the preparatory work for the new CPPCC, held talks and consultations with various democratic parties, and planned to hold a preparatory meeting for the political consultative conference.

With the good news of the People's Liberation Army's victorious March, the preparatory meeting of the new CPPCC held a preparatory meeting and agreed on the list of units and personnel participating in the preparatory meeting. On June 6, 2005, the first plenary meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the new CPPCC was held, and 134 representatives from 23 units attended the meeting. The meeting revised and adopted the organizational regulations of the Preparatory Committee, established the Standing Committee of the Leading Body, and elected Mao Zedong as the director and Zhou Enlai as the deputy directors. In order to strengthen the leadership of the new CPPCC, the Central Committee also set up a meeting of Party committee secretaries for the preparatory meeting of the new CPPCC, with Zhou Enlai as the secretary.

Group photo of the Standing Committee of the New CPPCC Preparatory Committee. Zhou Enlai is in the back row on the left.

The Standing Committee of the Preparatory Committee of the new China People's Political Consultative Conference held eight meetings, and the protagonist of each meeting was Zhou Enlai. He asked everyone to study repeatedly and determine the principles of the list of CPPCC representatives and the draft plan, the draft organic law of CPPCC and the draft organic law of the Central People's Government. At a meeting, Zhou Enlai explained the appellation of Democrats without party affiliation, fully affirmed the progressive role of Democrats in the China Revolution, and educated Party comrades to do a good job in uniting Democrats. He said: "We should be good at getting along with non-party people and be modest, sincere and frank. We should strive for principles and be good at compromising on non-principle issues. Don't be impatient, let alone afraid of trouble. Only in this way can we achieve long-term cooperation and ensure the continuous progress of the people's democratic United front. "

The fourth is to determine the list of delegates attending the CPPCC meeting through consultation. Preparations for the new CPPCC are in full swing. In addition to drafting the "one program", another very heavy task is to negotiate the list of participants. The list of representatives is generally registered by the unit, and then the opinions of various parties are listened to and initially determined after repeated consultations. In this process, letters and telegrams are often returned because of the appropriateness of the representatives, and they are considered repeatedly. This work was also carried out under the personal leadership of Zhou Enlai. If there is any dispute, he must personally discuss it. He adopted Chen Yi's suggestion and considered the enlightened gentry and others in the old areas. He also wrote a joint letter to Soong Ching Ling, invited her to attend the grand event in the north, and sent Deng to meet him in Shanghai. Zhou Enlai demanded that the list of delegates should include representatives from all walks of life, reflect the great unity of the people of all ethnic groups in the country, be both representative and balanced. After the list of representatives was initially produced, he instructed the relevant departments to spend three months brewing and finally determined the list of 662 formal representatives and alternate representatives. Based on serious political standards, it is extremely extensive, which not only ensures the leadership of the * * * production party, but also embodies the unity and cooperation with non-party people. The relevant departments of the central government printed the information of the units and candidates who participated in the new CPPCC and reported it to Zhongnanhai. After reading it, Mao Zedong said humorously that it was a "gobbledygook".

1949 On September 2 1, the first plenary session of China People's Political Consultative Conference was held in Huairentang, Zhongnanhai. After the 54-gun salute, Mao Zedong's voice sounded like Hong Zhong Road: the people of China, who account for one fifth of the total human population, stood up! 10 year 10 month 1 day, founding ceremony was held in Tiananmen Square, and Zhou Enlai faced a new historical mission.

Reverse the difficult situation in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China

At the beginning of the founding of New China, it was faced with a devastated mess. At that time, the war was still going on, and the military expenditure was a considerable expense. The prisoners of the Kuomintang army with millions of people still needed to be resettled. Years of war led to economic depression, transportation difficulties, poor commodity circulation, serious floods and droughts, and the producers who just entered the city lacked experience in managing the country. Where does the work start? Zhou Enlai went all out to grasp three major events: establishing political power; Restore the economy; Establish an international camp.

First, set up government committees and their subordinate institutions. After Zhou Enlai was appointed as Prime Minister, he first concentrated on establishing the organization of the Special Executive Council, otherwise all the work could not be started. How are the heads of the Council and its subordinate committees equipped, and where do a large number of staff come from? These are two key issues.

After repeated research with Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai took the staff of the former North China People's Government as the team of the Special Affairs Council, but this does not mean that the original organization was moved to use, because the scope of management is not the same except for the increase of functions. Only on this basis, and then gradually transferred from all parts of the country, has the personnel structure of revolutionary cadres, old organs, young intellectuals and students been formed.

What bothers Zhou Enlai most is the arrangement of leadership positions. He is personally in charge of this work, and after proposing candidates, he submits them to the Central People's Government for appointment after full consultation. Zhou Enlai paid special attention to selecting a group of non-party people to hold various leadership positions, and Mao Zedong agreed. These influential and professional non-party people can not only make up for the lack of experience of the * * * Production Party in managing the country, but also help unite and drive people of all social classes and strata to jointly build a new China. However, how to measure and balance talents is indeed an extremely complicated matter. Zhou Enlai, who has worked in the Kuomintang-controlled areas for a long time, is familiar with the situation of Democrats of all parties and has close contacts, so he put forward a list that can be recognized by both inside and outside the party. Among the four deputy prime ministers of the Special Committee, two are from party member and two are from democratic parties and independents; Among the 265,438+0 members, * * produced 65,438+00 party member, 65,438+065,438+0 democratic parties and personages without party affiliation; Of the 93 directors of various committees, departments, hospitals, banks and departments, 5 1 is from party member, and 42 are from democratic parties and people without party affiliation. For this arrangement, the comrades working in the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee deeply feel that Zhou Enlai has made great efforts, is far-sighted and comprehensively balanced. Chen Yi also spoke highly of the personnel arrangement of UNSCOM. In his view, Premier Zhou's contribution to balancing this team is that he has taken care of all aspects of the liberated areas and Yan 'an. Not only the democratic parties are taken care of, but also the qualifications, occupations and abilities of the arranged people are taken care of. Many non-party people are even more satisfied to say: China's * * * production party is really "painstaking and thoughtful", and Premier Zhou is really "Premier Zhou"!

Group photo of China delegation attending the first plenary session of China People's Political Consultative Conference. The third from the right in the back row is Zhou Enlai.

The second is to restore the national economy. In old China, industry and agriculture were extremely backward, and the national economy was greatly damaged by years of war. When New China was founded, industrial and agricultural production was far from the level before the Anti-Japanese War. Obviously, it is very difficult to keep the war of liberation going, to build peace and to be a good steward of a country with a population of 500 million. Chiang Kai-shek once threatened that he would leave the burden of feeding hundreds of millions of people to the * * * production party. Hostile forces at home and abroad want to see the jokes of the new China and predict that "the * * * production party will soon win the world, but it will not rule the world at once."

At that time, there were two most pressing problems: one was soaring prices, and the other was the serious disaster.

The Kuomintang government left behind a mess of total financial and economic collapse, completely out of control of price increases and rampant speculation. Some speculators openly compete with the government, the black market is rampant and the market order has not yet been established. From mid-June 5438+ 10, North China took the lead in grain production, and Shanghai took the lead in yarn production. Prices began to rise sharply, like runaway wild horses, people's lives were seriously threatened and people's hearts began to fluctuate. With the assistance of Chen Yun, Zhou Enlai took immediate measures. In their view, in addition to the problems left over from history, the main reason is that the fiscal deficit is too large and too much money is issued. When discussing the price issue at the government meeting, Zhou Enlai said, "The burden of this victory is inevitable for some time." The solutions to the problem are "resuming production", "increasing revenue and reducing expenditure" and "rational use". These measures have achieved remarkable results in a short time. 1950 in March, the State Council promulgated the "Decision on Unifying the National Financial and Economic Work", which unified the national fiscal revenue, unified the material dispatching and unified the cash management. In this way, they avoided the excessive dispersion and waste of limited financial and material resources, enabled them to concentrate on doing great things, and played an important role in reversing the extremely difficult financial and economic situation at that time. Therefore, the national fiscal revenue and expenditure are close to balance, and prices are becoming more and more stable. For China * * * to create such a miracle in a short period of time, "bourgeois representatives have to admire". Mao Zedong praised that the significance of stabilizing prices and unifying finance and economics is "no less than Huaihai Campaign".

At the beginning of the People's Republic of China, except for a tiny part of drought, most of them were floods. 1949 In China, the flooded arable land reached121560,000 mu, the grain output was reduced by 20.2 billion Jin, and 40 million people were affected, including100000 people in the hardest hit areas. Among them, more than 50 million mu of cultivated land was flooded in East China, accounting for one-fifth of the total cultivated land, and the grain production was reduced by more than 7 billion Jin, and the affected population was160,000. 1June, 950, it rained heavily for seven days in the north of Anhui, and the Huaihe River burst again, leaving a Wang Yang on both sides of the Jin-Pu Railway. The flooded arable land reached 3 1 10,000 mu, hundreds of thousands of houses were destroyed, 9.95 million people were affected, and10.09 million people stopped cooking. Faced with a disaster that directly affects the lives and deaths of millions of people, Zhou Enlai is very anxious. Since then, he has been working tirelessly on water conservancy with great energy. In the name of Premier the State Council, he successively issued "Instructions on Production Disaster Relief" and "Instructions on 1995 Water Conservancy Spring Repair Project", taking water conservancy as a way to resume production. After listening to the report on the disaster in Huaihe River, Zhou Enlai said excitedly, "The flood must be cured. If the land is not flooded, it will be dry, and if the land is not changed, it will be abandoned. " He presided over two government affairs meetings to discuss the problem of harnessing the Huaihe River, put forward the general direction and five principles, and then issued the "Decision of the Government Council on Harnessing the Huaihe River". 195 1 Since February, a large-scale harnessing of Huaihai River has been carried out, and the long-term situation of people suffering from disasters in this basin has gradually changed.

Zhou Enlai made a report on the drafting process and characteristics of the same program (draft) at the preparatory meeting of the new CPPCC.

As early as Xibaipo, Zhou Enlai began to think about the management and economic construction of new China. He presided over the drafting of the "* * * Same Program" and clearly put forward the "New Democratic Economic Policy". After more than two months as prime minister, Zhou Enlai made a comprehensive reflection on the whole economic work after carefully understanding the actual situation, and systematically expounded six relations in the new China economy at some meetings, namely, urban-rural relations, internal and external relations, industrial and commercial relations, public-private relations, labor-capital relations and up-and-down relations. When discussing the relationship between urban and rural areas, he said: "Without the development of agriculture, there can be no industrial development". Therefore, "we must develop industry on the basis of developing agriculture and improve the level of agricultural production under the leadership of industry." Without agricultural foundation, industry can't move forward; Without industrial leadership, agriculture cannot develop. " This is the embryonic form of the policy of "agriculture as the foundation and industry as the leading factor" to develop the national economy. Shortly thereafter, Zhou Enlai raised the question of how to treat the national bourgeoisie at the national United front work conference. He said, should we continue to cooperate with the bourgeoisie or fall out with it? Always unite and cooperate with the bourgeoisie! "It should be admitted that the state-owned economy is still very small today, and the private economy that is conducive to the national economy and people's livelihood has a certain positive role and should help development." These spirits are of great significance in guiding the economic construction of new China. Thus, while leading the national economic recovery and overcoming the current difficulties, Zhou Enlai focused on the long-term and the fundamental problem of "restructuring China's economic structure confidently and steadily".

The third is to create a new situation in diplomatic work. After the founding of New China, it is necessary to establish diplomatic relations with other countries and move towards the international community. This is an extremely important and unfamiliar topic faced by Zhou Enlai as Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the State Council.

To carry out diplomatic work, we must first have clear principles. At the inaugural meeting of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zhou Enlai detailed the humiliating history of China's "kneeling on the ground to engage in diplomacy" in the past 100 years, and expressed with national pride: "Be independent, strive for initiative, be fearless and have confidence." He pointed out, "Our current diplomatic task is divided into two aspects. On the one hand, it is to establish brotherly friendship with the Soviet Union and people's democratic countries. We belong to a system in the struggle camp, with the same goal, and all strive for lasting peace, people's democracy and the future of socialism. On the other hand, it is against imperialism. " "Diplomatic work has two sides: one is unity and the other is struggle. We are no different from brotherly ties. In other words, we should unite the fraternal countries strategically, but criticize them tactically. Strategically opposed to imperialist countries, but tactically, they can sometimes unite on individual issues. " He also reminded everyone that diplomacy should not be impulsive, but should be more cautious, carefully analyze and study, and cultivate thinking ability. The basic policy and brand-new style of the new China diplomacy have made the world find everything new and fresh. Zhou Enlai has always steadfastly safeguarded the sovereignty and dignity of the Chinese nation and displayed its unique style in the diplomatic arena.

1950 February 14, Zhou Enlai was at the signing ceremony of Sino-Soviet friendship, alliance and mutual assistance treaty and other treaties and agreements.

After World War II, the capitalist camp headed by the United States and the Eastern bloc headed by the Soviet Union gradually formed. The American government was politically hostile to New China and blocked New China economically. Under the historical conditions at that time, we could only implement a "one-sided" foreign policy. It was the Soviet Union that first recognized People's Republic of China (PRC), and the two sides decided to establish diplomatic relations on June 2, 65438/KLOC-0. In the following three months, New China established diplomatic relations with 1 1 countries, all of which are countries of the Eastern Group. Subsequently, 13 countries successively announced their recognition of the new China. According to the different situations of different countries and their attitudes towards China, Zhou Enlai adopted different ways to establish diplomatic relations. He made it clear that treating western countries is "peace" politically and "transaction" economically. Therefore, diplomatic relations are established and developed on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect for territorial sovereignty. For those who are willing to associate with the new China, but dare not openly recognize the new China and establish diplomatic relations due to American pressure and other reasons, he strives to carry out non-governmental exchanges and economic and cultural exchanges first. By the first anniversary of the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), China had established formal diplomatic relations with 65,438+07 countries, including the countries of the Eastern European Group, the newly independent countries in Asia and the countries of Northern and Central Europe. It should be said that it is a great thing to have such achievements since the opening of the port, and the basic pattern of new China's foreign relations has been basically determined. Zhou Enlai is a well-deserved founder and founder.

The most influential diplomatic event in the early days of the founding of New China was that Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai visited the Soviet Union and signed the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance. On February 6th, Mao Zedong went to the Soviet Union by special train. In Zhou Enlai's words, the first purpose of this trip is to congratulate Stalin on his 70th birthday and exchange views on the world situation. The second is to conclude a treaty with the Soviet Union; The third is to borrow money from the Soviet Union. But the talks between the two sides were not very smooth. 1950 10 10/month 10, Zhou Enlai led a government delegation to Moscow, aiming at signing a new Sino-Soviet friendship and alliance treaty and agreements on loans, trade and civil aviation through negotiations. On the way, Mao Zedong talked with Zhou Enlai about his activities, wishes and the general contents of the treaty to be signed, and asked for his advice. In this way, Zhou Enlai had a bottom in his heart and immediately put into work. He is very clear, the new people * * and China want to develop steadily, must get further assistance from the Soviet Union. For nearly a month, Zhou Enlai and the Soviet Union held intense negotiations and consultations on the specific contents of the Treaty and related agreements. The draft was originally drafted by the Soviet side according to his basic ideas and general contents. After reading it, Zhou Enlai said, "No, a lot of what I said is not fully included and needs to be revised." Later, he carefully studied and drafted the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance and the China-Changchun Railway, Lushunkou and Dalian Agreement. He told the staff that this treaty should be read not only today, but also in the future. It should stand the test of time and be tested by future generations. In a long telegram to the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, Zhou Enlai clearly outlined the specific content and process of the negotiations. Today, when we read this document, we still feel his tireless figure flowing between the lines. Zhou Enlai was very excited on his way home. The troubled New China not only got help from the Soviet Union, but also solved some unsolved cases in history. He said: "Sino-Soviet friendly and cooperative relations will be fixed by the new treaty, and close cooperation will be carried out in the military, economic and diplomatic fields." The signing of the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance and related agreements is a great success in the diplomatic work of New China.

At the celebration of the first anniversary of the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), Zhou Enlai proudly reviewed the first year of the new China. He said: "People at home and abroad have seen that after this year, China has experienced more important changes than in the past hundreds or even thousands of years; The old China is rapidly disappearing, and the new people China must have grown up. " This is a summary of the work of the Central People's Government for one year, not an evaluation of his own contribution by the world.

Before and after the founding of the People's Republic of China is a very important historical stage. Every key link and every major event cannot be separated from Zhou Enlai's participation and leadership. A new era has begun. For the sake of the country's prosperity and the people's happiness, Zhou Enlai shouldered great trust and devoted himself to the arduous exploration of building a socialist road in China.