People Of The World Are Against Killing By Atombombs


PEOPLE OF THE WORLD ARE AGAINST
KILLING BY ATOMBOMBS*
(August 22, 1964)
Welcome to our friends. Thank you very much for coming to visit our
country. This is my first meeting with you, but we have common points in
our thinking. We are of different nationalities, different countries, and
probably different beliefs, but we have a fundamentally common point; that
is, to oppose imperialism and colonialism, old and new. Our countries, China
included, have no atom and hydrogen bombs. France has atom bombs, but the
French friends present here are against nuclear wars, isn t that so? Probably
China will produce a small number of nuclear weapons in the future, but we
are not prepared to use them. Then why should we produce them if we are
not prepared to use them? We shall take them as defensive weapons. Now the
nuclear powers, particularly the United States, are frightening other countries
with their A-bombs. The United States has big stacks of atom bombs, but used
them only twice. That was toward the end of the Second World War when
the United States dropped two atom bombs on Nagasake and Hiroshima in
Japan, which caused damage to the Japanese people. As a result, however, the
name of the United States was muddied among the majority of the world s
people. People of the world are against killing by atom bombs, against a third
world war, and against meddling in the internal affairs of others by foreign
troops in southern Vietnam through "special warfare."
The French govern
ment acknowledged defeat in Vietnam in the past. At present the U.S. is
fighting there. As the French see it, the Americans will be defeated as well.
Therefore, France is opposed to solving the Vietnamese and Laotian problems
through war; it stands for peaceful negotiations. Here France has acquired a
certain right to speak. Japan, too, has a certain right to speak. During the
Second World War the Japanese government forced its people into a war of
aggression, but things changed afterward. It suffered devastation from Amer-

ican atom bombs. So the Japanese people, including some government ele
ments, are against nuclear wars. Like ourselves, most of your countries have
no atom bombs. We have diplomatic relations with France, and we have one
thing in common—to oppose U.S. aggression. We share the common point
not only with our French friends here, but also with De Gaulle."' The world
has changed; no aggression or intervention in other countries is allowed.
Aggression and intervention are doomed to failure. Our friends here represent
the majority of the human population; your ideals are bound to come true.
Of course, what I said has not become reality; it will depend on our struggle
before it can be realized. Imperialism can be defeated, and the people will
emerge as victors. I don't believe that people cannot win. In my view you don't
believe that you cannot win either. "What we want is the liberation of people
all over the world.
(From the verbatim record)