(August 7, 1971)





　　[Ne Win (1911–2002), known as the “Father of the Burmese Army” for co-founding the Burma Independence Army with Aung San, served for many years after 1949 as Commander-in-Chief and Chief of the General Staff of the Burmese Armed Forces. In 1962, he established the Burma Socialist Programme Party and became its chairman. Thereafter, he consistently held the highest leadership positions in Burma’s party, government, and military. In April 1972, he assumed the sole posts of Chairman of the Revolutionary Council and Prime Minister. At the beginning of 1974, he was elected Chairman of the State Council of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma (i.e., President of Burma). On March 7, 1978, the People’s Assembly of Burma re-elected Ne Win as Chairman of the State Council.]






　　Chairman Mao: The general principle of non-alignment is to create an intermediate force between the two superpowers and the two military blocs, each with its own objectives.

　　Currently, relations between our two countries are quite good.

　　Ne Win: We have never considered our bilateral relations to be bad, even during the most difficult periods.

　　Chairman Mao: For a certain period—in 1967—we lost control over our Foreign Ministry; we simply could not manage it. During those two months, there was utter chaos. Your embassy fared relatively well; ours was burned down, and the British chargé d’affaires’ office was also set ablaze.

　　Ne Win: That is correct.

　　Chairman Mao: What could possibly justify such an act?! Now we are rebuilding their buildings. How can one burn down another country’s embassy? It is utterly unacceptable! We must make proper reparations. So we rebuilt their facilities and offered them a formal apology, acknowledging our mistake.

　　Ne Win: Yes, the same applies to the Chinese Embassy in Rangoon.

　　Chairman Mao: At that time, anarchism prevailed. However, our burning of embassies occurred within those two chaotic months, when ultra-leftists were in power. They would send telegrams abroad on their own initiative—purely ultra-leftist actions! These were all carried out by Chinese citizens, which means not all Chinese people are good.

　　Ne Win: Indeed, only a few individuals should be held accountable.

　　Chairman Mao (nodding): There was a specific group—a conspiratorial clique—that was engaged in sabotage.

　　Premier Zhou: Sabotaging the Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

　　Chairman Mao: Undermining international relations and the Cultural Revolution itself.

　　Ne Win: Fortunately, those days are now behind us. Today, governing the country proceeds much more smoothly, and everything is back on track.

　　Premier Zhou: I wouldn’t go so far as to say that.

　　Ne Win: Of course, there may still be minor issues here and there, but overall, conditions are far better than they were then.

　　Chairman Mao: The problem of the “May Sixteenth Group” continues to be investigated. Some elements exhibiting ultra-leftist tendencies are not actually part of the “May Sixteenth Group,” and they require ideological education. One of the significant achievements of the Cultural Revolution was exposing these harmful individuals.

　　(To the Premier) Did you not arrange for the acting Foreign Minister to meet and talk with them?

　　Premier Zhou: We are preparing to do so. He has been occupied with other matters these past few days. All of these incidents involved Vice Minister Han Nianlong, who was present at the incident where the Wumen Gate assembly was attacked.

　　Chairman Mao: What were they planning to do—launch a jet aircraft?

　　Han Nianlong (hereafter referred to as Han): Nothing concrete happened that day, nor were we asked to take any position. Comrade Geng Biao was also present.

　　Premier Zhou (addressing Ne Win): Do you understand what we mean by “jet aircraft”?

　　Ne Win: No.

　　Chairman Mao (turning to Han): Why don’t you demonstrate it for him? (Laughter.) (Han stands up and imitates a jet aircraft.) That won’t do. (Vice Premier Li Xiannian rises and performs the gesture.) Have you ever actually done the “jet aircraft” movement?

　　Han: Not that day.

　　Chairman Mao: This is a great invention of the Chinese people—an excellent form of physical exercise. Before the Cultural Revolution, many cadres spent long periods in hospitals or sanatoriums, constantly ill, often for seven or eight months out of the year, and consuming expensive medications. But once the Cultural Revolution began, everyone was so frightened that they fled the hospitals and sanatoriums, returning en masse to their workplaces. Their illnesses disappeared, they no longer needed medicine, and instead devoted themselves to self-criticism and practicing this particular exercise. When they refused to listen to our explanations, despite our repeated attempts to persuade them, fearing the masses, we found it easier to address the issue. Through mass mobilization, we were able to correct many unhealthy habits and practices among the cadres.



Thanks to Ayana Sakura for collecting, entering, and proofreading.