Comrades and friends, welcome to our country for a visit. We are united, with the entire people standing as one. Many of you here today are friends of Iraq. Your revolution achieved victory in 1958, a revolution that once gave imperialism a great fright. On July 14, you staged your revolution, and on July 15, the United States ordered a landing in Lebanon. Why was it in such a rush? It feared that many countries would follow your example and seek liberation. At that time, people all over the world opposed the U.S. landing in Lebanon. That was an act of aggression, an act of interference. British troops also occupied Jordan. Under the opposition of the people of the world, they later had no choice but to leave. Back then, we Chinese people were very glad about your liberation and considered it an event of world significance. Now, there are still unfriendly countries around you, whose peoples have not yet been liberated. Many countries are still under imperialist control. For instance, Turkey is unfriendly toward Iraq. We have Iranian friends here today. It seems the people of your country have not yet been liberated; they have merely shifted from British control to American control. Your king stands on the side of imperialism, oppressing all your people. You were originally controlled by Britain, and now that control has shifted to the United States. Britain and the United States are fighting each other over Iran's oil. We have friends from Cyprus here. Is it not British imperialism that oppresses you, along with American imperialism? (Answer: There are the British, the Americans, and the Turks.) There must be Americans. Your three countries—one to the east, one to the west, and one in the middle—are all in western Asia. The countries of western Asia all place their hopes in the victory of the Iraqi revolution. We Chinese people support the Iraqi people, and we also support the Cypriot people and the Iranian people. Recently, mass demonstrations broke out in Turkey, in several major cities, opposing the government and Menderes. This is favorable for you. It seems this struggle will continue to develop. The people of South Korea rose up against Syngman Rhee, and Syngman Rhee has already fallen. To our east, there are also many unfriendly governments—Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan—and to the southeast, there are South Vietnam and Thailand, all under American control. Now the people of South Korea have risen up against the American lackeys, which is to say, against the rule of American imperialism. The Japanese people are also rising up. Today is May 9. Our Japanese friends have a broad mass movement opposing the aggressive military alliance treaty signed between the government led by Kishi Nobusuke and the United States. Like you, we jointly support this struggle, opposing the world's largest imperialism—American imperialism—and its lackeys in various countries.

We too are a victim of aggression, yet people call us an aggressor. But we have not occupied a single inch of foreign territory, while our Taiwan is occupied by foreign powers. Those who occupy Taiwan are not called aggressors; they are called peace lovers, countries with democracy and freedom. Whereas our country, according to the Americans, has neither democracy nor freedom. They say the Chinese people are all slaves, that the people's communes are organizations set up by slave masters to manage slaves; that there is no democracy or freedom, that forced labor is carried out, and family life is torn apart. How concerned they are! (Laughter fills the hall.) The first person in the world to oppose the people's communes was the late Dulles. Now the American authorities also do not welcome the people's communes. They like Taiwan and say Taiwan has democracy and freedom. It seems as if the American working class and the capitalists are alike all masters of the United States, and that the people of Taiwan, like Chiang Kai-shek, are all masters in control of their own destiny. Only the People's Republic of China is a slave state—the very place you are visiting now.

Iraq was also disliked by many countries at one time, and many still dislike it now. They recognize you in name but actually want to undermine you. You know what happened to Iranian Prime Minister Mossadegh. He was not a communist; he was a patriot, a representative of Iran's national bourgeoisie. He simply did not want foreigners to rule Iran. As a result, the British, through the Iranian king, had him arrested. The People's Party of Iran has no legal rights. The party in Cyprus still has no legal rights to this day. In short, imperialism likes to act this way. The people imperialism likes are not the same as the people we like. They like Chiang Kai-shek, Syngman Rhee, Menderes, Kishi Nobusuke; they like Faisal of Iraq and the king of Iran. (The hall is animated.)

The world is divided into different classes and different groups, each forming its own clique. The United States, Britain, France, West Germany, together with Faisal, Menderes, Chiang Kai-shek, Syngman Rhee, Kishi Nobusuke, and the king of Iran, all unite to oppose us. Can we unite? I think we can. Some people are unenlightened, but we can urge them to become enlightened. Our enemies are few in number. Yesterday, I spoke with friends from Latin America. The reactionaries, that is, the imperialists and their lackeys in various countries, account for at most one-tenth of the population. We account for nine-tenths or even more, including the working people in Western countries. The workers and laborers in Western countries are not our enemies. What race are you? (Answer: White.) The majority of white people are good. The Soviet Union is also white, and the seven socialist countries of Eastern Europe are all white. There are also bad people among the yellow race. Take Chiang Kai-shek, for example. (Laughter.) We do not love Chiang Kai-shek. We are friendly with you, but we cannot get along with Chiang Kai-shek. (The hall is animated.) Isn't Syngman Rhee of the yellow race? He is no good either. Menderes is also of the yellow race, but the broad masses in Turkey do not like him. When he passed along the street, the masses would not let him through. He told them not to stage that demonstration, but the masses all shouted together for him to step down. He had to switch three cars before he could escape. This shows that people are distinguished by class, not by color. Faisal is of the same race as you, but don't you dislike him? You are not brothers but adversaries. The entire Chinese people, apart from a small number of bad elements now being reformed, are of one accord with you.

As for the current situation in China, the people have been organized and are engaged in building their own lives. This construction work has only just begun, and we need the help of friends from all countries—we need your help. We must help each other. The struggles of the people of all countries are a help to China.

The Americans speak sweet words, saying they want peaceful coexistence and love peace. Yet on May 1, a U.S. plane intruded deep into Soviet territory. Taking off from Pakistan, it flew two thousand kilometers to the Soviet Ural region, where it was shot down by the Soviets and the pilot was captured. Its purpose was aerial photography to spy on Soviet military bases. The photos were also obtained by the Soviets. This is how they talk about peace. The way Americans speak of peace is different from ours. (Laughter.) By their account, aggression is peace, and those who speak of peace are the aggressors. We have been declared aggressors. Perhaps you Iraqis are aggressors too, because you aggressed against Faisal. (The hall erupts in laughter.) You Iranian people are also preparing to aggress against that king. He has been aggressing against you Iranian people for many years. Are you perhaps getting ready to retaliate? As long as you retaliate, it will be called aggression. (The hall is jubilant.) Cyprus is also restive, because Britain wants bases and you refuse. But in the end, victory will be yours.

The lifespan of imperialism is not very long. At first glance, it still seems to have some power, but in fact it cannot stand the test. We hope its lifespan will be short. It has already lived for so long, it is too old, and should go to meet God. God is ready to receive it. (The hall bursts into laughter.) But we must still prepare for arduous struggles. There is still some time. God is not yet ready to invite it. (Laughter.) Probably several more decades—the 20th century still has forty years left. Let's give it that much time! (The hall is animated, applause.) We hope that forty years from now, imperialism will no longer be seen anywhere in the world, nor will its lackeys in various countries! Send them all off to God. (Amid laughter, a foreign guest asks: I wonder if God will accept them?) Then lock them up, sentence them to life imprisonment, or let them perish. (The hall is animated.) In short, what they do is too terrible. They do no good deeds, only evil. I believe God will not forgive them. (The hall roars with laughter.) What is God? The people are God. The people will absolutely not forgive them. The people will sentence them to punishment. Some will have to be killed. For instance, the former government of Cuba killed twenty thousand Cuban people. ×××× arrested a group of reactionaries and sentenced only over two hundred to death. The American capitalists howled loudly, but when Batista killed twenty thousand Cubans, the Americans kept completely silent. Who knows how many Iraqi people Faisal killed? (Answer: Many.) Imperialism also kept completely silent. If your present government kills some bad people, imperialism will cry out. We have also killed some people. What Chiang Kai-shek killed were not a few tens of thousands, nor hundreds of thousands, nor millions, but tens of millions of Chinese people. No imperialist said he committed a crime. Now there is still a seat for Chiang Kai-shek's representative in the United Nations, which says he is very good, very moral, and fully capable of representing the entire Chinese people. What can be done about it? Then let it be! Chiang Kai-shek is very "moral," while we are "aggressors," and therefore we have no seat in the United Nations. Chiang Kai-shek is recognized by the United States and forty-four other countries. The number that recognizes us is not greater than that group. Just let it proceed this way! We will continue to live on. Take a look—are the Chinese people still alive? And quite happy, too. It is not the case that we cannot go on living just because the United States does not recognize us and the United Nations bars us from entry. This state of affairs is determined by them, not by us. This state of affairs may need to persist for several decades—say, forty years! In the 21st century, I think changes will occur. By then, imperialism itself will have problems, to say nothing of Chiang Kai-shek.

[After a West Asian friend spoke] Only by uniting the majority of the people is there a future. History is the history of the people. Political parties and leaders can only be representatives of the people; if they detach themselves from the masses, they will fall. How was Chiang Kai-shek driven off the mainland? Because he detached himself from the masses. The vast majority among the people are the workers and peasants. They alone are the producers. They produce industrial and agricultural goods. Without them, we could not live. Therefore, the primary, fundamental task is to unite the workers and peasants, to satisfy their demands and represent their will. Of course, there are other people as well. In our country, we have the national bourgeoisie and also the intellectuals. Now, in the socialist transformation, we still cooperate with them. Intellectuals, professors, teachers, scientists, cultural workers, engineers, and technical personnel—these people are indispensable. They have shortcomings but can be reformed. Today, among those present, there is such an example: him (pointing to the interpreter ××). He is a Mohammed—fifty-three years old this year—who specializes in studying the Quran. Without him today, we could not hold this meeting; we could not do without him. He believes in Mohammed; I do not. But the two of us do not fight. (The hall bursts into laughter.) We must unite all forces that can be united. Because he (pointing to the interpreter) does not oppose socialism, does not oppose the Communist Party—he supports socialism and, moreover, supports the Communist Party—that makes things easy. He believes in Mohammed and is not a Communist; that does not matter. There are people of all kinds, not all of them Communists. We have a population of 650 million, but only 13 million Communist Party members. The task of the Communist Party is to unite those 650 million people. We must also reform the overthrown classes, such as the landlord class and other exploiting classes. Even the captured Nationalist generals from the War of Liberation—we also adopt the method of reform. A group has already been granted amnesty. Among them there is even an emperor, now in Beijing, named Puyi. He ruled all of China from the age of six to nine—ruled over us—and was later overthrown. He has now made great progress. He has been pardoned, is no longer a war criminal, and his freedom has been restored. He is only fifty-three this year. He says he has now truly been liberated and is free. He currently works at the Beijing Botanical Garden. If you are interested, you can arrange a group discussion with him. He is such a person. We did not kill him either. After reform, he still has the ability to work; he just cannot be a king anymore.

To defeat imperialism, a broad united front is necessary; we must unite all forces that can be united, only excluding the enemy. This is our experience. China's experience can only be treated selectively and analytically by foreign countries. Every country and every nation has its own historical conditions. Our experience can only serve as a reference. What I have said is only for our friends' reference.

Congratulations on our unity. Congratulations on the unity of our countries, governments, parties, and organizations.

People of the whole world, unite! Oppose the common enemy—imperialism.

Today, millions of people in Japan are waging a struggle. Congratulations on the victory of the Japanese people's struggle!