60 years ago today, Mao Zedong met Biswa Bandhu Thapa and Nepali parliament delegation
Nepal-China Newspaper Archives
On the evening of November 3, 1963, Bishwa Bandhu Thapa, the Speaker of the National Parliament of the Kingdom of Nepal, and his wife, as well as all members of the National Parliament of Nepal delegation led by Thapa, were hosted in Shanghai. Guo Moruo, a government official and literary scholar, and his wife Yu Liqun, a contemporary Chinese artist, were present.
Mao Zedong: I just arrived in Shanghai yesterday. Knowing about the arrival of your delegation in Shanghai, I wanted to meet you all. We feel equal when we meet you
You don't oppress us, we don’t oppress you; You don't deceive us, we don't deceive you; You don't subvert us, we don't subvert you.
Our two countries have signed a boundary treaty and a friendship treaty. When it comes to building a road from Nepal to Tibet, it is too slow to rely on ordinary people alone to build the road. The engineering corps should be sent to speed up the construction. There is no railway connection between our mainland and Lhasa, and it will take several years before there is a railway to Lhasa. When the railway reaches Lhasa, it will be convenient for us to exchange supplies with you.
The world is changing now, and it is impossible for a few big countries to control small countries. We are also bullied. They bully us that we do not have atomic bombs, we do not have nuclear weapons, and our industry is underdeveloped. But this will change, and it will change in a few decades.
By then, I will have already gone to see God. I only have a five-year plan. Any more plans would be meaningless and I wouldn’t be able to do much work. You are still young enough to see.
On 26 October 1963, the Chinese Premier met with Bishwa Bandhu Thapa, the Speaker of the National Parliament of the Kingdom of Nepal, and the parliament delegation.
Source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/k_GwJjHWdj0EB_44QCf4CQ
Three years earlier, in 1960, Zhou Enlai had dispatched a group of recent high school graduates to learn the Nepali language in Tibet under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Among the first batch of students was Zeng Xuyong, who would later become the Chinese Ambassador to Nepal from 1998-2001. During Bishwa Bandhu Thapa’s led parliament delegation visit to China, Zeng was seconded back to Beijing to receive the delegation and translate for the delegates who needed Nepali translation.
(Mentioned in Zeng Xuyong’s article: https://thearanikoproject.substack.com/p/zeng-xuyong-witnessing-60-years-of)
Very interesting communication and feelings.