Telegram Congratulating President Zápotocký of Czechoslovakia on His Seventieth Birthday (December 16, 1954)  To the Esteemed Comrade Zápotocký, President of the Czechoslovak Republic:  On the occasion of your seventieth birthday, please accept the heartfelt congratulations of the Chinese people and of myself. You have waged a long and heroic struggle for the liberation of the working people of Czechoslovakia and have made outstanding contributions. At present, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and of yourself, the Czechoslovak people are building their homeland into an ever more prosperous and happy nation, while at the same time they are engaged in an unrelenting fight to safeguard peace and security in Europe. The Chinese people express their deep sympathy and support for this just cause of the Czechoslovak people.  I wish you even greater achievements in leading the Czechoslovak people in the cause of socialist construction and the defense of world peace, and I wish you good health and long life.  Mao Zedong  Beijing, December 16, 1954  Printed from the December 19, 1954 issue of the People’s Daily.