The Prime Minister who stayed in Beijing for three years: secrets of China-Nepal exchanges 60 years ago

Author: Shi Xuan

For nearly three years, former Nepali Prime Minister K.I. Singh was trapped in Beijing and never got a chance to meet Mao Zedong. During Nehru's visit to China, his already unstable mood suddenly exploded.

On October 5, 1955, Kathmandu, Nepal, Singh, who had just returned from China, stood on a jeep and was surrounded by a large crowd. A huge local parade was held to welcome the beloved leader back to his hometown.

In 1989, Xia Dengjun went to the University of California, Berkeley School of Law as a visiting scholar as the librarian of Southwest University of Political Science and Law.

At a gathering, he learned that the hostess's husband had been a military attaché at the US Embassy in Nepal for 17 years and had just returned from his post, so he greeted him in standard Nepali: Namaste (hello)! He was surprised when he heard the Nepali greeting.

Xia Dengjun simply told him that he had served as a soldier in Tibet for 10 years and had many contacts with Nepali businessmen, so he could speak Nepali.

He said that he had met former Nepalese Prime Minister Kunwar Indrajeet Singh in Lhasa and asked the former military attaché about Singh's current situation. The former military attaché said that Singh had passed away in 1987 (otherwise believed to have passed away in 1982).

The reporter of "China News Weekly" met Xia Dengjun in a hospital ward in Chongqing. He was cheerful, chatty, and often laughed out loud. The 87-year-old leaned against the head of the bed and closed his eyes to reminisce.

The old man's second daughter Xia Xiaojun listened with relish. She said that her father worked in the secret department in the past, and he never told anything that should not be said. Even she had never heard of these stories from 60 years ago.

Robin Hood of the Himalayas

In 1952, 26-year-old Xia Dengjun had graduated from the famous Aurora University Law School after three years. Proficient in English and French, he worked in the Sichuan Provincial Public Security Bureau.

One day in September, Xia Dengjun suddenly received an instruction from the director Liu Jinzhou: go to the Li Jiayu mansion to report to the director of the United Front Work Department of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chen Xichen, and greet the public leader K.I. Singh and his delegation from Nepal as the reception supervisor and translator. Liu Jinzhou emphasized that this is a top-secret work, and it is necessary to ask for more instructions and reports.

Gao Zanting also received instructions. At the age of 19, he has had participated in the revolution for many years. He can shoot accurately and drive well. He is the backbone of the political security team belonging to the Political Security Department, so he was transferred to perform security tasks.

Early the next morning, Xia Dengjun arrived on time at the Lijiayu Mansion at No. 92, Confucian Temple Front Street, Chengdu, which was a guest house under the Sichuan Provincial Government Communications Office at that time.

The reporter of "China News Weekly" saw that today's No. 92, Confucian Temple Front Street, has already changed beyond recognition and has become a residential area. Only after entering the door is a two-story building with blue-gray bricks and crimson wooden railings on the right side which still retains its old appearance.

The 80-year-old Gao Zanting told China News Weekly that the preserved two-story building is where the Nepali exiled to China lived. K.I. Singh and General K.B. (格隆Gé long)[1]lived in a single room upstairs, the staff and soldiers lived downstairs, two or three people in a room.

This is a group of dark-skinned South Asians. Including Singh and General K.B there were a total of 27 people, most of whom were Nepali people, and a few staff members were Pakistani.

This was originally an anti-government "uprising army" of more than 2,000 people in Nepal.

In 1951, with the support of India, the Prime Minister Rana family, who had ruled Nepal for more than 100 years, was ousted from power and King Tribhuvan returned to power.

Singh, who studied in India and Thailand in his early years and practiced medicine in Myanmar, returned to Nepal to participate in this operation. As two members of the Rana family still hold prominent positions in the government and the ruling party, the Nepal Congress Party, Singh was arrested for refusing to implement the Congress party's ceasefire order.

In the second half of 1952, after being arrested, escaped, arrested again, and escaped again, Singh led his followers across the Himalayas and entered China from the Nyalam Tong La. After encountering the Chinese army in Tingri County, Tibet, they took the initiative to disarm and take refuge.

Soon, the large army was sent back home. The remaining 20 people, under the arrangement of the Chinese government, followed Singh to Chengdu.

Xia Dengjun, who was in charge of the daily lives of these special guests, vaguely recalled that in that era of material scarcity, there were often trays of chopped mandarin oranges (called oranges: 橙子 in Sichuan) in their rooms for consumption. There are also several high-quality peach trees in the courtyard of the mansion, which do not bear many fruits every year, but tasted very delicious. "There are several peaches on those trees. The one on this tree will be sent to Beijing for Chairman Mao, and the one on that tree will be given to other leaders. Sichuan Province can only keep one three. But two peaches must be left for Singh and General K.B."

In Xia Dengjun's memory, Singh, who was 46 years old at the time, was stout and strong, with dark bronzed skin and a bushy upturned beard on his lips, which was particularly conspicuous.

This surgeon, who has been arrested and escaped successfully many times, is known as the "Robin Hood of the Himalayas" among the people because he leads the armed peasants to rob the rich and help the poor. Xia Dengjun noticed that even though he was in semi-recuperation, Singh's state was completely different from his subordinates.

Singh had a regular schedule. Usually, he lies down at 9:00 p.m. and gets up at 4:00 a.m. to meditate. He also wears thin clothes in winter, often sleeping on the floor wrapped in a blanket, with both hands under his head, and sometimes sitting down to sleep. He never participated in the soldiers' studies and activities, never went out to watch movies, and rarely interacted with people. On weekdays, he passed time by reading political books such as Selected Works of Mao Zedong in English and medical books which he carried. "Just like when he was in Nepal, he consciously exercised his body, sharpened his will, and was ready to go to jail at any time." Xia Dengjun said.

On March 5, 1953, Stalin, the supreme leader of the Soviet Union, died of illness. As an admirer of Stalin, Singh lay on the ground and fasted for seven days to commemorate. After repeated persuasion by Chen Xichen and others, he reluctantly drank some boiled water and ate some fruit.

"China will never dispatch a single soldier"

Apart from Stalin, Singh also worshipped Mao Zedong. In fact, when he took people across the mountain to enter the country, he followed the example of the Chinese Red Army's 25,000-mile Long March. The ultimate goal of the "Long March" is to visit Mao Zedong and use troops to go south, in an attempt to completely overthrow the Rana family and drive away the Indian forces that control Nepal.

In May, Singh left Sichuan for Beijing as he wished. However, coming to Beijing does not mean meeting Mao Zedong.

As far as Xia Dengjun remembers, the United Front Work Department and other departments were responsible for receiving Singh, and reported directly to Zhou Enlai, Premier of the State Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

At first, according to Zhou Enlai's instructions, the Chinese side planned to arrange for Singh to go abroad for inspection, with the destinations in turn being North Korea, the Soviet Union, and several socialist countries in Eastern Europe. Yang Yindong and Xia Dengjun were among the accompanying people on the visit.

At the end of 1953 and the beginning of 1954, Xia Dengjun accompanied Singh to take pictures, fill out forms, and apply for a passport. The organization also gave him a set of blue khaki cotton-padded clothes and trousers.

However, it didn't take long for the Chinese side to receive a call back from Kim Il Sung. According to the cable, there was news that the CIA is looking for Singh, so North Korea cannot host him for the time being. Therefore, the original plan to go abroad was cancelled, and the visit was made inside China instead.

Recalling the years, he spent with Singh in Beijing, Xia Dengjun said happily that he enjoyed the best treatment in his life during that time: he only paid 6 yuan for food a month, but he ate the standard food of 54 yuan.

Where they live, there was both Western and Chinese food every morning, buns, dim sum, bread, butter, jam, cheese, everything. Once, they took Singh to Quanjude to eat roast duck. A roast duck weighs 10 to 20 pounds and can make a large table of dishes. "He was so surprised that he stood up and said he didn't believe it. I called the chef and took him to the kitchen to see that it was indeed a duck." Xia Dengjun said.

In order to stabilize Singh's mood, Chen Hansheng, then advisor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and vice president of the China-India Friendship Association, and Liu Zunqi, vice president and editor-in-chief of the Foreign Languages ​​Press, explained Chinese revolutionary theories such as Mao Zedong Thought to him in English twice a week.

Xia Dengjun remembered that both Chen Hansheng and Liu Zunqi spoke English beautifully. "They can express very deep meanings in very simple, very basic vocabulary, and it is a pleasure to listen to."

In one of the classes, Chen Hansheng asked Singh, "After studying for so long, do you know how many magic weapons the Chinese Communist Party had to win?" Singh shook his head. Chen Hansheng said: "The three magic weapons are the united front, armed struggle, and party building." Hearing this, Singh immediately discussed with them the feasibility of establishing a united front in Nepal.

In addition to taking classes, Singh also studied Mao Zedong's writings while translating them into Nepali, and translated four books in more than two years.

Singh had almost no interest in leisure and entertainment activities. In the past three years, he had only seen "The White-Haired Girl" starring Tian Hua in the theater. But he had a strong interest in industry and has visited many factories such as Beijing Machinery Factory and Changchun First Automobile Factory.

It wasn't until more than a year later that Singh finally met Zhou Enlai. Chen Hansheng and Liu Zunqi also attended the meeting.

Singh later told Xia Dengjun that during the 40-minute meeting, Zhou Enlai's attitude was clear: China supports the Nepali people's revolution, but will never dispatch a single soldier.

The Chinese side has adopted strict measures to Singh's presence a secret. Every correspondence between Xia Dengjun and his wife in Beijing had to be delivered by someone, and it usually took more than two months for the letters to arrive. However, during the National Day in 1954, news of Singh's exile still spread like wildfire.

Former Nepalese Prime Minister, Singh[2]

During the National day ( called 十一[3]in Chinese) , Xia Dengjun and others accompanied Singh to observe the ceremony at Tiananmen Square.

On the viewing platform in front of the Jinshui Bridge, a tall, dark-skinned foreigner caught sight of Singh among the crowd. The man, who claimed to be a reporter for the Times of India, quickly approached to inquire about Singh's origins. Before he could speak, the staff around Singh stood in front of him as if nothing had happened. Even so, the Times of India published the news that Singh was in Beijing the next day.

Conflict broke out

When Singh was stranded in Beijing, more than 20 Nepali who stayed in Li Jiayu's mansion lived leisurely in Chengdu.

They were divided into several groups, and each group was headed by a Chinese person, who taught Chinese and learned Nepali language while Nepali people learned Chinese. Soon, the two sides were able to conduct basic communication.

When not in class, everyone often got together to chat. "I heard from them that Nepali people like to eat spicy food very much. Sichuan people are far behind them. They even eat fruit with chili peppers." Gao Zanting told China News Weekly, "Also, Nepal's cavalry, like India's, fought on camels."

Gao Zanting is the direct manager of the daily lives of Nepalese soldiers. He took General K.B to the hospital several times to see his teeth, introducing him as a minority in the southwest and could not speak Mandarin. Occasionally, when encountering some doctors who have returned from overseas, the two sides will talk directly in English. But the knowledgeable doctor never asked for the origins of these people.

Xia Dengjun returned to Chengdu after Singh's plan to go abroad for inspection was stopped. After that, he often traveled between Chengdu and Beijing.

In the summer of 1954, Xia Dengjun and Gao Zanting took these Nepalese people to Qingcheng Mountain, not far from Chengdu, to escape the summer and lived in the backyard of the Taoist Temple in Tianshidong.

That month and a half was the most carefree day for the two sides in the past few years. There was no need for classes or studies, and they enjoyed and relaxed on the mountain every day. The mountains were very quiet, there were a few tourists, and the Taoist priests in the temple also kept their distance from them and did not disturb them. The days were leisurely.

Unlike Singh and General K.B, who are tall and older, most of the lower-level soldiers were only in their 20s and were cheerful. When a traditional Nepalese festival came, the soldiers proposed to invite the Chinese to have a Nepali-style meal. They opened up a shopping list, "all of the bizarre stuff". Xia Dengjun, who was highly proficient in Nepali, checked the dictionary before translating it. Many things were bought in Chinese medicine shops.

He still remembers that the Nepali people used betel nut, sugar and curry when they stewed braised pork. When he tasted betel nut for the first time, he found it unpalatable at first, but it was cool and worth the aftertaste.

However, strong homesickness also began to spread, and some people began to express dissatisfaction with the Chinese side. Negative anger, cursing, throwing plates and bowls, happened from time to time. In order to do a good job of appeasement, Du Xinyuan, a veteran cadre who stayed in the Soviet Union and then the propaganda director of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, made a special report to the Chinese staff: "You have to understand the feelings of these people, when I was in the Soviet Union, not just throwing plates and bowls, even eating tables were overturned."

"Actually, if they were really asked to go back at that time, they also had concerns." Gao Zanting said, "After all, their status in Nepal had not been resolved, and they will have to be charged with treason when they go back, either beheading or going to jail. So they have mixed feelings."

In fact, their way home is being paved.

In 1951, Mao Zedong instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strive to establish diplomatic relations with Nepal, but Nepal said that due to its closer relationship with India, there were still difficulties in establishing diplomatic relations between Nepal and China. In a report written by Vice Foreign Minister Li Kenong to Mao Zedong and other state leaders, he also said, "India seems to regard Nepal as a vassal state.".

In April 1954, China and India signed the "Agreement on Commerce and Transportation between China's Tibet Region and India". India recognized China's sovereignty in Tibet and cancelled all the old privileges in Tibet. Significant progress was made in China-India relations.

At the end of October of the year, Indian Prime Minister Nehru visited China, during which he discussed with China the issue of establishing diplomatic relations between China and Nepal. The biggest obstacle on the road to the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Nepal was been removed.

With all this, Singh and his soldiers were unsure. The proximity of China and India made Singh, who has always been anti-India, feel abandoned. For nearly three years, he never got the chance to meet Mao Zedong. During Nehru's visit to China, he had a sudden outburst and had a big quarrel with the Chinese.

Returning home

In March 1955, King Tribhuvan, who had close ties with India, died. Mahendra, who succeeded his father, was very different from his father in both personality and way of doing things. He was not willing to be a monarch who reigns but does not govern.

In April, the Bandung Conference was held, and the Chinese delegation led by Zhou Enlai came in contact with the Nepalese delegation during the conference. The establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries accelerated.

According to the agreement reached between the two sides, Singh and his soldiers were both pardoned and allowed to return as revolutionaries.

In May, Singh returned to Chengdu from Beijing. After packing up, Xia Dengjun and several other Chinese personnel accompanied Singh and embarked on the road back home in two Soviet GAZ-69 jeeps.

A few days later, the remaining 26 people, including General K.B, led by Gao Zanting, traveled to Tibet in two military trucks. Before leaving, these Nepalese, who had lived in China for more than three years, failed to take a copy of the CPC constitution with them. In addition to clothing, blankets and other personal items, only individual soldiers took a few copies of the People's Daily.

At that time, only 4 years after the peaceful liberation of Tibet, RMB could not be circulated. Before entering Tibet, they stopped at Dege County in Ganzi, Sichuan, exchanged banknotes for silver dollars, and packed several mules. "At that time, things were quite expensive. It cost half an ocean to eat a bowl of noodles in Lhasa. There was no money to find it, so I could only find you a pair of wool socks or twenty or thirty peanuts." Xia Dengjun said.

Despite the harsh conditions, the scenery along the way was amazing. The feeling of flying through the clouds and fog, the wild flowers in Linzhi, the mirror-smooth ground on the mica mine, and the extremely rare golden-wired wild yak were all eye-opening for the staffs who had never been to Tibet. Decades later, Xia Dengjun still remembers the unnamed lake at the foot of the Himalayas: the lake was very large and serene, the snow-capped mountains reflected in the lake, and the blue water was full of snow-white swans.

After more than a month, Singh and his party finally arrived in Lhasa. Because of the flat terrain, Xia Dengjun saw the golden dome of the Potala Palace from a distance, "a piece of resplendent gold".

Starting from Lhasa, a team of more than 100 people was dispatched to take over Singh's escort work. After that, the road was impassable for cars, only horses were allowed. Together with the mule and horse team transporting luggage, a huge escort team of more than 300 people marched in mighty ways.

In the last few days, Singh thanked China many times for their protection and care over the past three years, and invited Xia Dengjun and others to visit Nepal in the future.

At the Rasuwa Mountain Pass on the Sino-Nepalese border, Xia Dengjun wore a military green fur coat, black dog-skin boots, and glasses that were glued with adhesive tape after being broken, and took a photo with the boundary marker.

When Singh was leaving the country, Xia Dengjun looked down from the telescope and saw that there was a welcome team of about 100 people and a band of more than a dozen people across the Rasuwa Mountain Pass. Indian officers stationed on the Sino-Nepal border were among them. The red banner behind them read in Nepali, Chinese and English: Welcome Dr. Singh back to Nepal.

In Xia Dengjun's diary, that day was September 4, 1955. Earlier on August 1, China and Nepal formally established diplomatic relations.

"Maoism" in power

Two years later, Singh, who returned to Nepal, finally realized his political ambitions, formed the United Democratic Party (United Democratic Party), and was elected Prime Minister of Nepal in July 1957.

The "Reference News[4]" on August 3 excerpted the report of the American "Christian Science Monitor" on Singh, titled "The American News Talks About the New Prime Minister (Prime Minister) Singh's Attitude towards China and India". "Dr. Singh has shown himself to be more and more friendly to India since his return to Nepal in September 1955. Despite Dr. Singh's recent pro-India stance and vehement denial that he is a communist, but his critics still saw him as at least a fellow traveler (of the Communist Party)."

However, Singh's road to prime minister did not go too far. After only a few months (one said 4 months, another said 8 months), he had no choice but to step down.

After the separation, Xia Dengjun, Gao Zanting and others never had any contact with the 27 Nepalese. But they were particularly concerned about the situation in Nepal.

In 1996, the radical faction of the Communist Party of Nepal announced the withdraw from the parliamentary struggle, established the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), and launched a "People's War". In April 2008, it won 220 seats in the Constituent Assembly and became the ruling party of Nepal.

The link to the original article can be found here.

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[1] Unsure about the real name. Name in the Chinese article: 将军(general) K.B格隆. Will herby refer to the person as General KB throughout the translation.

[2] Seems like the Chinese source got the wrong picture of KI Singh.

[3] 十一:十（ten）indicating October and 一（one） meaning first, October 1st is marked as the National Day of PRC.

[4] PRC limited-distribution daily newspaper)