Mikhail Gorbachev just passed away (Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet leader who ended Cold War, dies at 91). Hailed as a hero in America, he will eventually be, if not already has been, regarded as a traitor in Russia. In contrast. China’s Deng Xiaoping has proven to be the greatest peaceful transformation leader in human history!
What, then, is the relationship between Gorbachev and Deng?
1. Gorbachev: “We did not have Deng Xiaoping”
Here is a news story from China in 2014: Gorbachev: we did not have Deng Xiaoping. Click the link to read the original story in Chinese. Below is my Chinese-to-English translation.
A short while ago, the former (Chinese) Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing published his first memoir. Here is an excerpt:
In 2004, as President Hu Jintao‘s special envoy representing China, I attended the funeral of former American President Ronald Reagan. When the funeral was over, I bumped into Mr. Gorbachev. I very politely said to him: “It is a great honor to meet you. I do not want to miss this opportunity to learn something from you. For many years, I, as well as many friends of mine in China, especially wanted to know this: how could such a mighty and strong socialist country like the Soviet Union have disintegrated in such a short period of time – What was the main reason?” To avoid embarrassment on the other side, I pointedly added: “This question is not very diplomatic. You may choose not to answer.”
Mr. Gorbachev hesitated for a moment, and answered seriously: “About this question, I can answer you this way: I admire Deng Xiaoping the most. We did not have Deng Xiaoping.” He stopped right there. What did he mean? It’s anyone’s guess.
2. My guess
Mr. Gorbachev obviously became older and wiser by 2004: He recognized and acknowledged the greatness of Deng, while implicitly humbling himself.
Reality check: Mr. Gorbachev faced similar challenges, or opportunities, as Deng did, and at roughly the same time. However, Deng transformed China for the better, fundamentally and significantly, while Mr. Gorbachev made one disastrous wrong turn after another, resulting in the disintegration of the USSR!
3. Gorbachev vs. Deng
Let’s look at what has happened to the USSR (and Russia) and China over the past 40 years, respectively.
3.1 The USSR or Russia
The USSR was dissolved, became Russia, and changed to a sort of stilted democracy overnight, thanks to two disastrous leaders Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin, resulting in untold human misery, a few billionaires (e.g. Mikhail Prokhorov), and a doubtful future.
Vladimir Putin has been very good for Russia over the past 20 years, but he inherited a very bad hand to begin with.
For more, read What is Russia, anyway?
3.2 China
Deng Xiaoping has proven to be the greatest peaceful transformational leader in human history!
Two informative readings:
4. Discussion
History is made by great men (and women) like Deng, as well as his total opposites like Mr. Gorbachev!
Any doubt?
Look at China and Russia today: what a huge difference in prosperity, with China ahead by several decades, at least!
More importantly, China has proved that “communism” works, while the USSR abandoned it too soon! For more, read What is communism, anyway?
Yet, Mr. Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990, while Deng’s greatness in history has yet to be widely recognized in America – What a funny world we live in!
FYI: Deng died in 1997. His body was cremated, with the ashes being spread over the lands and rivers in China, according to his will …
5. More discussion
Why is Mr. Gorbachev so highly regarded in America?
It is not a good thing, either for Russia or for mankind, as highlighted by the image below.
6. Still more discussion
Deng is what Russia needs today! Without a Deng-like leader in Russia, it is extremely unlikely for Russia to see its day in the sun any time soon.
Deng is also what America needs today! Without a Deng-like leader in America, American democracy may not even outlast Soviet communism in longevity (Longevity: American Democracy vs. Soviet Communism).
For more, read History 2.0 – China’s Comeback vs. America’s Decline.
7. Closing
Mikhail Gorbachev will eventually be, if not already has been, regarded as a traitor in Russia. In contrast. China’s Deng Xiaoping has already proven to be the greatest peaceful transformation leader in human history!
