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墨書 Inktalez
In May 1955, Qian Xuesen happened to read an issue of the People's Pictorial published in China, which contained a report about May Day. A familiar name caught his eye.
Chen Shutong.
Qian Xuesen immediately recognized him as his fellow townsman from Hangzhou and a family friend of his father. More importantly, Chen Shutong was now the Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress, someone qualified to stand alongside the party and national leaders on Tiananmen Gate Tower to review the parade.
He fell into deep thought. Could he leverage this connection to persuade the Chinese government to help him out of his predicament? But how could he get in touch with Chen Shutong? Writing a letter directly was impossible, as he was still under surveillance by agents.
Thus, he had to find an indirect way to reach out.
Qian Xuesen recalled that Jiang Ying's sister lived in Belgium. He could discreetly hide the message for Chen Shutong within a letter addressed to Jiang Ying's sister, allowing her to forward it once she received it in China. So, if he could manage to escape from the agents and send the letter to Belgium...
And so, the scene at the beginning of this story unfolded.
In his letter, Qian Xuesen wrote: "However, the newspapers now say there is a possibility of exchanging detained individuals between China and the United States, while the American side falsely claims that all Chinese students who wish to return have been released. We cannot help but feel anxious. My government must not trust their words... These individuals must come back; they cannot be released by the United States. Of course, my government understands that the lies of the American government cannot deceive us. Yet we have been waiting for liberation for so long, our hearts are burning with anxiety, fearing we might miss this opportunity. Please forgive me, dear sir; please forgive my government!"
He had done everything he could; now it was up to fate.
What Qian Xuesen did not know at that time was that there were far more people concerned about his fate and determined to bring him back to China than he had imagined. The immense power and unwavering confidence driving this effort would also exceed his expectations.
The letter successfully reached Belgium and was safely forwarded to China, arriving in Chen Shutong's hands. Within a week, Chen Yi, representing the highest level of leadership as Vice Premier of the State Council, grasped Qian Xuesen's situation.
Before this, Qian Xuesen's situation had already attracted attention within China. When Qian Xuesen was first arrested in 1950, 189 Chinese scientists jointly protested, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry had been discussing how to address the issue.
Now, it seemed that the time was ripe. The Chinese government decided to take advantage of the talks between China and the United States in Geneva, Switzerland, to resolve Qian Xuesen's predicament.
Why were China and the United States meeting in Geneva at this time?
This was to address the issue of prisoners of war left over from the Korean War. At that time, about 155 Americans were still stranded in China, and in 1954, China agreed to negotiate with the United States regarding these prisoners. The United States hoped to secure the release of all Americans imprisoned in China, including military personnel and ordinary citizens, while China demanded that Chinese scientists stranded in the United States be allowed to return home.
However, the United States was very cautious about the fate of Chinese scientists in America, fearing that releasing someone might pose a future threat. They were particularly aware of Qian Xuesen's significance.
During the Geneva conference in June 1954, U.S. Secretary of State Dulles sent a telegram to the American delegation stating that the Attorney General had allowed Chinese students wishing to return to the mainland to leave gradually; however, "according to informal reviews, the Defense Department has so far found only one person who cannot leave."
Of course, that person was Qian Xuesen.
Nevertheless, pressure on the U.S. government was mounting domestically, as families of prisoners of war were urging the government to do everything possible to reunite them with their loved ones. Moreover, China had already released 15 detained American pilots, demonstrating goodwill; it was now time for the United States to respond.
On June 10th, perhaps around the time Qian Xuesen was writing a letter to Chen Shutong while avoiding the FBI, President Eisenhower and Secretary of State Dulles discussed Qian Xuesen. Eisenhower stated that all Chinese individuals should be allowed to return.
Dulles replied that there were two people who could not leave, one of whom was Qian Xuesen because they possessed highly classified information.
Eisenhower responded, "That shouldn't be an obstacle. The information they possess is no longer as valuable as we once thought."
His reasoning was understandable. After all, Qian Xuesen had been excluded from classified projects for nearly five years; technology was advancing rapidly, and what he knew might have become outdated by now.
As descendants, we must say that Eisenhower, an outsider to science, made perhaps the greatest misjudgment of his life.
For the United States, this misjudgment created a formidable opponent.
But that is a story for later.
Since the President had spoken, the Secretary of State had little to add. Thus, on the eve of the ambassador-level talks between China and the United States, a principle agreement was reached regarding whether to release Qian Xuesen.
Qian Xuesen, released!
On August 4, 1955, the United States Department of Justice signed the notice agreeing to Qian Xuesen's return to China.
On August 8, Wang Bingnan, the chief negotiator for China who received instructions from the highest levels back home, mentioned Qian Xuesen during the talks. This was the only named individual referenced throughout the entire negotiation process.
Indeed, Qian Xuesen was that important.
The U.S. ambassador responded, "The United States government has decided to agree to Qian Xuesen's return home."
In Geneva, thousands of miles away from both the United States and China, Qian Xuesen was finally pulled from the mire of his fate. Leaving the United States, he would devote the rest of his life to an uncertain future, but in any case, he had obtained what he desired most.
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