Mao's views of women revealed

Mao's views of women revealed
Feb 13, 2008 19:29
TOMSPENCER Points: Join Date: Feb 8, 2005 Status: offline	From the BBC news website: "The US state department has released documents from 1973, shedding light on relations with China - and on then leader Mao Zedong's attitudes to women. The papers include transcripts of talks between Mao and the then US National Security Adviser, Henry Kissinger. The talks covered a range of issues, including the Soviet threat and Taiwan. But during the talks, the Chinese leader made a surprising offer to send what he described as an excess of 10 million Chinese women to the US. The discussions between Mao and Mr Kissinger in February 1973 took place at a villa in Beijing. The Chinese leader smoked cigars and the two men talked and joked into the early hours of the morning. Apology to interpreter The papers show that Mao's comments about Chinese women were a recurring theme. He lamented the dismal state of trade between the two countries but remarked that China had an excess of women. He suggested sending tens of thousands to the US, but later in the conversation increased his offer to 10 million. The remark provoked laughter and was clearly meant as a joke, but Mao went on to complain that Chinese women were giving birth to too many children. If they were sent to the US he said, they would flood the country with disaster. When discussing the possibility of a Soviet invasion of China, Mao complained that too many Chinese women didn't know how to fight. A Chinese official warned that his comments would incur public anger if they were released. Mao later apologised to a female interpreter and he and Mr Kissinger agreed to remove his comments about women from the records."

Feb 13, 2008 19:29

TOMSPENCER
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Join Date: Feb 8, 2005
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From the BBC news website:

"The US state department has released documents from 1973, shedding light on relations with China - and on then leader Mao Zedong's attitudes to women.
The papers include transcripts of talks between Mao and the then US National Security Adviser, Henry Kissinger.

The talks covered a range of issues, including the Soviet threat and Taiwan.

But during the talks, the Chinese leader made a surprising offer to send what he described as an excess of 10 million Chinese women to the US.

The discussions between Mao and Mr Kissinger in February 1973 took place at a villa in Beijing.

The Chinese leader smoked cigars and the two men talked and joked into the early hours of the morning.

Apology to interpreter

The papers show that Mao's comments about Chinese women were a recurring theme.

He lamented the dismal state of trade between the two countries but remarked that China had an excess of women.

He suggested sending tens of thousands to the US, but later in the conversation increased his offer to 10 million.

The remark provoked laughter and was clearly meant as a joke, but Mao went on to complain that Chinese women were giving birth to too many children.

If they were sent to the US he said, they would flood the country with disaster.

When discussing the possibility of a Soviet invasion of China, Mao complained that too many Chinese women didn't know how to fight.

A Chinese official warned that his comments would incur public anger if they were released.

Mao later apologised to a female interpreter and he and Mr Kissinger agreed to remove his comments about women from the records."

Feb 14, 2008 10:52

MARRIE
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Join Date: Jan 7, 2008
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The possibility of Soviet invasion let Mao encourag women to reproduct more and more. Besides, based on Mao’s belief that more people meant more labor power, Mao’s population policy lead to massive population increase between ’50 and ’60.

QUOTES‘’When discussing the possibility of a Soviet invasion of China’’
‘’but Mao went on to complain that Chinese women were giving birth to too many children’’

Ironically, Mao Forced demogrpher, president of Beijing Uni. to resign who raised the issue that Cn development could be threaten by large population and proposed birth control !!

I am afraid you have twisted Mao’s views of Chinese women. If you want to get more objective views of Chinese women, more trips and penetration in daily life in different areas of china recommended.

Feb 14, 2008 13:30

JCNILE123
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Join Date: Mar 30, 2006
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I agree with Marrie fully,
Tom is intentionally twisted on his objectives.

Zhang Hanzhi became Mao Zedong's English teacher at a young age and went on to a career in China's diplomatic corps. She was a member of the Chinese delegation that traveled to New York in 1971 to take back the People's Republic's seat at the United Nations. She played a part in many of the high level political meetings that helped open China to the outside world, especially the U.S. And as The New York Times puts it, "Ms Zhang later wrote a best-selling memoir and became something of a celebrity in Beijing, where she was admired for her elegance, charm and perfect English."

This woman was the translator on the so call Mao's words, she was there, she never, never presented it as Tom presents it today.
She was there; Tom was not.

Feb 15, 2008 15:43	#3
APAULT Points: Join Date: Mar 11, 2006 Status: Offline	What I have heard is more in line with Marie's comments

Feb 19, 2008 13:38

GRIZ326
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Join Date: Jun 12, 2006
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I read this as a news item while in China. The news item said that Mao offered 10 thousand and then 10 million Chinese women to Kissinger during negotiations...and Kissinger said, "It is a novel proposal, we will have to study it." The article I read did not present Mao's comment to Kissinger as a joke.

I have read many times that Mao encouraged the people to make China strong with more children. The time being referenced in the article is from the Nixon era when the pressure of his previous "make China strong birth policy" was being felt.

Mar 18, 2010 22:33	#5
GUEST35130	It was meant as a warning to US about PRC potential then. Although they could not match US nuclear and ICBM arsenals, PRC have tens of millions of refugees and all Mao need to do was to open the flood gate. PRC refugees were a major problem to alot of other South East Asian countries and Hong Kong during 1960s to 1980s.

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