(July 10, 1972)





　　[Robert Schuman (1886–1963) was a French statesman who served as France’s Foreign Minister. The Schuman Plan, named after him, paved the way for the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community, the precursor to the European Union. Together with Jean Monnet, he is regarded as one of the “Founding Fathers of the European Union.” He also held the office of the first President of the European Parliament.]






　　Chairman: I have a poor reputation. Dulles criticized me, saying I was more Hitler-like than Hitler himself. The Soviet Union also denounced me as dogmatic. What am I supposed to do then?

　　Schuman: I myself have studied history. Can you find in world history any great figure who has never been criticized? Great people are bound to face criticism; otherwise, they would not be great.

　　Chairman: I don’t consider myself a great person.
　　Schuman: You have proven yourself to be a great leader, because despite all the criticisms leveled against you, you continued to carry out momentous undertakings.
　　Chairman: Not that much has been accomplished.
　　Schuman: You changed the world.
　　Chairman: Not by much—just a little bit, like altering one finger out of ten. We made some changes here in Beijing. And recently we’ve also “reformed” someone surnamed Lin, namely Lin Biao. (laughter)
　　Premier (laughing): I don’t know if you’ve heard about it.
　　Schuman: I have heard about this person.
　　Chairman: (to the Premier) You should issue a notice about it.
　　Premier: I’ve seen the document and we’re working on it.
　　Chairman (to Schuman): This Lin Biao used to praise me incessantly, extolling my greatness. But in reality, he was plotting to take my life. I had been struggling against him for decades, only to see him later promoted to “close comrade-in-arms” and “Deputy Commander-in-Chief.” In the end, he seized power for two and a half days. We convened the Lushan Conference: one full day on August 23, 1970, another full day on the 24th, and half a day on the 25th. By the afternoon of the third day, I realized it was no longer tolerable; I could no longer continue. So I took a single drop of alcohol. Once that drop went down, the germs lost their ability to function.
　　Schuman: That just goes to show the power of that single drop of alcohol.
　　Chairman: As a result, Lin Biao couldn’t hold out even until last year—little more than a year later. No one forced him out, nor did anyone expect him to flee. He simply boarded an airplane and headed straight for the sky, intending to go to the Soviet Union. Now the Chinese people denounce him as a traitor! He opposed our efforts to improve relations with the United States and with the Western countries.




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