Gratitude to our predecessors, blessings to China

我10岁那年春节，父亲对我说，你知道我们的新中国是怎么建立起来的吗？这真是一个绝对伟大的故事。当年北京、天津、河北、绥远都是在傅作义将军60万大军的手中。我父亲1939年加入了傅作义的部队。18岁做班长，20岁做排长，22岁做连长，25岁新中国就解放了。平津战役的天津战役，3万多老百姓在大清河上自发地用大冰锤凿开了冰面，让人民解放军的物资船开了进去。得民心者才能得天下。陈长捷给傅作义打电话：“我已经听到了人民解放军的脚步声进入到了我的作战指挥部了。”傅作义说：“我们在天津守了这么多年，为什么就守不住？我们要守住这座城市，不是我们想守就能守得住的，要老百姓让你守，你才能守得住。”人民解放军军民共计牺牲了39000人，1949年1月15日解放天津。我的父亲亲眼看见了人民解放军只用了29个小时迅速攻陷了天津。老蒋的特务准备在北平刺杀傅作义的女儿。我党派了一位北大的女学生去保护傅作义的女儿傅冬菊，当时整个服装店全部被特务包围了。这个女孩子立即跟傅冬菊换了大衣，她毅然决然地走上了傅冬菊的小车，后面我党也派了一辆小车来保护她。国共双方疯狂对决，我们所有的先辈大多牺牲了。天津解放后，北平市长何思源积极推动北平和平解放。特务就在何思源家里安装了炸弹。何思源的妻子是个法国人。他们有两个儿子，两个女儿。当天晚上，他的小女儿炸死了，其余的家人全部受伤。何思源全家被送到德国医院去抢救。何思源的手臂被炸伤了。这时美国西太平洋舰队的司令白吉尔亲自来找傅作义谈判。美军可以协助天津的守军从塘沽撤离。美国人想让傅作义取代老蒋。傅作义当场断然拒绝了白吉尔。老蒋的儿子蒋纬国还准备绑架傅作义。我党总共派了三拨人前来与傅作义的手下沈世昌和谈，前两拨人都牺牲了，第三拨人是一对父女。女儿刚从英国和美国学习回国。当年她才25岁。她的父亲就是她入党的介绍人。当天父女两人在前门火车站就被十几个特务围了。父亲被当街刺杀身亡，死之前田怀中对特务说，我们还会来第四拔人，第五拔人，随后他的女儿坐牢，越狱，于乱世中逃生，受老百姓帮助，最终她活了下来。上个月我与考考去北京与我的律师开会。当天晚上，我带考考去个特别地方。我告诉司机，当年我父亲是傅作义的手下，我们想去一个地方，司机对我们相当客气，他说我来帮你，让你们可以来回经过这个地方。你看到的北平就是现在的北京。因为傅作义最终选择了与中共的和平谈判，最终和平解放了北平，让200万人民和双方160万的军队安然获得了新生。傅作义后来成了新中国的首位水利部部长，一干就是22年。我父亲到了中国水电八局工作。1950年毛主席在莫斯科指挥父亲的部队进藏。10万部队修建了举世瞩目的康藏公路。后来新中国的许多著名水利工程项目都有我父亲的身影。天津解放了，北平也解放了，人民解放军又发动了渡江战役，百万雄师过长江，老百姓划着小船把解放军送过长江去，3天就解放了南京。随后历时16天把上海拿下。1949年的天津、北京、南京和上海全线解放，大局已定。如果当年没有傅作义的60万部队答应投诚，成功地把北平通过和平谈判的方式解决，就不会有如今的新中国。1949年1月31日，也是个新春，北平和平解放了。从1921年建党，28年我们共计牺牲了370万先辈，我们的新中国是370万条生命换来的新中国。我在从广州飞往无锡的飞机上一边写一边哭。我奔腾的眼泪流个不停。过去的北平就是今天的北京。2026年的春节又来了，这是我们新中国的第77年新年。新春快乐，平安喜乐。祝我们伟大的祖国繁荣昌盛，祝我们先辈们的后代平安幸福。感恩先辈，祝福中国。

During the Spring Festival when I was 10 years old, my father said to me: “Do you know how our People's Republic of China was founded? It is truly a magnificent story.” At that time, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, and Suiyuan were all under the control of General FU Zuoyi’s 600,000 troops. My father joined FU Zuoyi’s army in 1939. He became a squad leader at 18, a platoon leader at 20, a company commander at 22, and the People’s Republic of China was founded when he was 25. During the Tianjin Campaign of the Pingjin Campaign, more than 30,000 local people spontaneously used large ice axes to break through the ice on the Daqing River, allowing supply vessels of the People’s Liberation Army of China (PLA) to pass through. Those who win the people’s hearts win the country. CHEN Changjie telephoned FU Zuoyi: “I can already hear the footsteps of the PLA entering my command headquarters.” FU Zuoyi replied: “We have defended Tianjin for so many years, and why can’t we hold it now? You cannot hold a city just because you want to. You can hold it only if the people allow you to. ” A total of 39,000 PLA soldiers and civilians lost their lives. Tianjin was liberated on January 15, 1949. My father witnessed with his own eyes that the PLA took over Tianjin in just 29 hours. CHIANG Kai-shek’s secret agents planned to assassinate FU Zuoyi’s daughter in Beiping. The Communist Party of China (CPC) sent a female student from Peking University to protect FU Dongju, Fu Zuoyi’s daughter. At that time, the entire clothing store was surrounded by agents. The young woman immediately exchanged coats with FU Dongju, resolutely got into FU Dongju’s car, and the CPC sent another car to protect her afterward. The CPC and the Chinese Kuomintang（KMT） fought fiercely, and most of our predecessors sacrificed their lives. After the liberation of Tianjin, HE Siyuan, Mayor of Beiping, actively promoted the peaceful liberation of Beiping. The secret agents planted a bomb in HE Siyuan’s home. His wife was French, and they had two sons and two daughters. That night, his youngest daughter was killed in the explosion, and all other family members were injured. HE Siyuan’s entire family was sent to the German Hospital for emergency treatment. HE Siyuan’s arm was wounded. At this time, Badger, Commander of the U.S. Western Pacific Fleet, personally came to negotiate with FU Zuoyi. The U.S. military offered to help the Tianjin defenders evacuate via Tanggu. The Americans wanted FU Zuoyi to replace CHIANG Kai-shek. FU Zuoyi flatly rejected Badger on the spot. CHIANG Kai-shek’s son, CHIANG Wei-kuo, even planned to kidnap FU Zuoyi. The Communist Party of China sent a total of three delegations to negotiate with SHEN Shichang, FU Zuoyi’s subordinate. The first two delegations were killed, and the third consisted of a father and daughter. The daughter had just returned from studying in Britain and the United States. She was only 25 years old. Her father was the one who introduced her to join the CPC. That day, the father and daughter were surrounded by more than a dozen agents at Qianmen Railway Station. The father was assassinated in the street. Before dying, TIAN Huaizhong said to the agents: “We will send a fourth delegation, and a fifth delegation.” His daughter was imprisoned, escaped from jail, survived the turbulent times with help of ordinary people, and finally survived. Last month, Kaokao and I went to Beijing for a meeting with my lawyer. That night, I took Kaokao to a special place. I told the driver that back then my father had served under FU Zuoyi and that we wanted to visit a certain place. The driver was very courteous and offered to help us so that we could pass by this place both ways. What you see as Beijing today was once Beiping. Because FU Zuoyi finally chose to negotiate a peaceful settlement with the CPC, Beiping was peacefully liberated, giving new life to 2 million civilians and 1.6 million troops on both sides. FU Zuoyi later became the first Minister of Ministry of Water Resources of the People’s Republic of China, serving in that role for 22 years. My father went to work at Sinohydro Engineering Bureau 8 Co., Ltd.. In 1950, Chairman MAO Zedong, directed my father’s troops to enter Tibet from Moscow. A force of 100,000 soldiers built the world-renowned Kang-Tibet Highway. Later, my father took part in many famous water conservancy projects after the foundation of the People's Republic of China. Tianjin was liberated, Beiping was liberated, and the PLA launched the Yangtze River Crossing Campaign. The million-strong army crosses the Yangtze River. Ordinary people rowed small boats to ferry the PLA across, and Nanjing was liberated in just three days. Shanghai was liberated in the next 16 days. In 1949, Tianjin, Beijing, Nanjing, and Shanghai were all liberated, and the overall situation was settled. If FU Zuoyi’s 600,000 troops had not agreed to surrender and peacefully resolve the Beiping issue through negotiations, there would be no People’s Republic of China today. Beiping was peacefully liberated on January 31, 1949. It was also a Spring Festival. From the founding of the CPC in 1921, over 28 years, a total of 3.7 million our predecessors sacrificed their lives. The People’s Republic of China was built with 3.7 million lives. I wrote down this while crying on the flight from Guangzhou to Wuxi. Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. The old Beiping is today’s Beijing. The Chinese New Year of 2026 has arrived. This is the 77th Chinese New Year since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Happy Chinese New Year! I wish you peace and happiness. May our great motherland prosper, and may the descendants of our predecessors be safe and happy. Gratitude to our predecessors, blessings to China.