90-year-old newsman cherishes memory of Deng Xiaoping
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-07-24 16:27
Ninety-year-old Tsui Sze-man, wearing presbyopic glasses, opened his big album slowly to page 97, pointing to a picture with Deng Xiaoping sitting in the middle.
"This picture was taken on June 15, 1982. On that day, Deng Xiaoping declared to the world that China had made the decision totake over Hong Kong," said Tsui, former president of Hong Kong-based Mirror News.
This was also the first time that Tsui, former member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), met Deng Xiaoping. He all together cherishes three pictures of his meetings with Deng.
"When people today look back to the history, they don't have the feeling of us. I had no preparation and was very surprised when I heard Deng's declaration at that time," Tsui told reporterswhen receiving an interview of Ta Kung Pao, marking the 100th birth anniversary of Deng Xiaoping.
"After I came back to Hong Kong, the staff of Mirror News had meetings for three days, and all of us agreed to support China's taking over Hong Kong," Tsui recalled and added that "but some people worried whether China could successfully take over Hong Kong as China's national power was still weak at that time."
"Would there be any chaos during the transition period? Would Hong Kong maintain the prosperity?" With those doubts, many Hong Kong people chose to emigrate to other countries at that time.
"But I didn't have that worry at all. On the contrary, When many people sold houses to emigrate, I bought an apartment, worth 2 to 3 million Hong Kong dollars, at a price of only 840,000 Hong Kong dollars," said Tsui.
He turned to another picture taken on May 25, 1984, when Deng was meeting with the Hong Kong and Macao members of the CPPCC National Committee.
Deng, holding the hand of Fei Yi-ming, former president of Ta Kung Pao, said to all people on the scene, "I've a piece of big news to tell you," Tsui recalled.
"After China takes over Hong Kong in 1997, army will be stationed in Hong Kong," Deng said with firmness.
"Deng's remarks gave us great confidence," said Tsui, if it wasnot Deng Xiaoping, China couldn't have taken over Hong Kong that smoothly.
When former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited China in September 1982, she didn't believe China could really take over Hong Kong.
However, Deng said decidedly that China would take over Hong Kong in 1997. "If Hong Kong cannot be handed over to China, Chinese people would have no reason to believe the government," Deng told Thatcher.
Thatcher was shocked by Deng's toughness, and stumbled when shestepped down the stairs out of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, said Tsui, as his memory was still fresh.
During the talks between China and Britain afterward, the British side wanted to play tricks. Under such an environment, Deng's decision to station army in Hong Kong after 1997 broke British illusion to continue its control over Hong Kong, Tsui added.
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