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But in 1976 things began to happen. The old boys started to die off, beginning with Zhou Enlai and, of course, Mao Zedong. Mao’s death was preceded by a massive earthquake which to the Chinese presaged a change of dynasty. The Gang of Four, led by the hated Jiang Jing, Mao’s widow, dedicated to maintaining the “purity” of the revolution, were arrested and tried. She committed suicide in jail.
Above all, pragmatist Deng Xiaoping was brought back from his latest stint in exile and proceeded to promise things would improve. The barefoot doctors, he said, should progress to straw shoes. His message to the so-called masses was greed is good and to get rich is glorious. The Chinese took it to heart, and being smart and entrepreneurial people they went for it in their millions. Many millions were taken out of poverty.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong boarding a plane to meet her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Certainly, many became filthy and dubiously rich and corruption abounded, but the country was transformed. No longer isolated, it grew despite many setbacks to become the rich, powerful and often threatening country it is today – a rival to the US itself.
It would have been impossible to foresee this amazing transformation in 1976. The future as we know is impossible to foretell. But we should always be prepared for unexpected change. Hopefully, following the Wong visit to China, there will be a shift for the better in our relations with the superpower that is our neighbour.
Yvonne Preston was China correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald from 1975 to 1978.
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