Historical background

With the end of WW II and the Japanese surrender in China in August 1945, the question of China’s future was at stake. During the so called “War of Resistance against Japan” (1937-1945), the two rivalling parties in China, the dominant Guomindang (GMD) and the much smaller Chinese Communist Party (CCP), had more or less cooperated in the “Second United Front”. In fact, the latter mostly equalled a truce between the two rivals in face of another common enemy. When the Japanese surrendered due to their having lost the Pacific War, in China a race set in between the two rivalling parties to take over the territories formerly under Japanese control. To prevent the outbreak of animosities between the two, which would lead immediately to civil war after so many years of war against Japan, the international powers aimed at some time of peace in China. The Soviets as well as the US, both not interested in being drawn into a new conflict, tried (unsuccessfully) to prevent both parties from taking up hostilities for the time being and favoured negotiations. US ambassador Hurley was instrumental in bringing the negotiations in Chongqing (the war-time capital of the GMD-dominated National Chinese Government) about, guaranteeing personally for the safety of CCP-leader Mao Zedong. Nevertheless, Hurley, pretending to be “neutral”, did not intervene in the negotiations directly, which in the end did not produce real results, but only a signed “record of negotiations”, which showed that merely very partial agreements had been reached. The most crucial issues, though, remained unsolved. In fact, very soon after the signing a full-fledged civil war broke out.

1993, at the time the film “Chongqing Tanpan” was launched, however, relations between the CCP-governed PR China and the GMD-governed Taiwan had improved and were at their heights. The stress on Jiang Jieshi in this film – combined with Mao who’s 100th birthday was to be remembered – very probably reflects the contemporary economic and political developments between Mainland China and Taiwan (though there is no explicit reference stating that the production of the film was motivated by the issue of cross-Taiwan-Straits relations). Jiang’s as Mao’s commitment to the idea that there would always be only “one China”, could be promoted as a “common basis”. (Therefore, it seems, the historically proved visit of Mao to GMD right-wing CC Clique member Chen Lifu in Chongqing is also cited in the film, since Chen, later living in Taiwan, continued to voice his sticking to the “one China” principle after Jiang’s death in 1975, and in the 1990s expressed his criticism of any moves to build up a distinct Taiwanese identity. One may assume, that this PRC film thus wants to bolster the GMD “one China” principle against upcoming pro-independence voices in Taiwan).

When Jiang Jieshi’s son and successor Jingguo had died in 1988, his position as president was taken up by the Taiwanese-born GMD member Li Denghui. The following year the law forbidding travels to mainland China was lifted. Following the economic developments, the GMD granted more freedom to communicate with mainland China. Indirect connections through Hong Kong were legalized, and in 1989 direct mail contacts were possible. The trade across the Taiwan Straits and the integration of investment and labour intensified quickly. In 1991 and 1992, private and diplomatic activities increased as well, especially the Taiwanese “Straits Exchange Foundation”- (SEF) and the PRC “Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits”- (ARATS) meetings promoted several “quasi-official” efforts to bring both sides of the Straits closer together. Step by step the ideas of the „three links“ (mail, air and shipping services and trade) and „four exchanges“ (relatives and tourists, academic groups, cultural groups, and sports representatives), first called for in 1979 in the PRC, were realised. The relationship between Taiwan and Mainland China improved steadily this way. The movie “Chongqing Tanpan” thus can be seen in the context of the “Wang-Koo” talks in April 1993, promoting the issue of unification in the future. (Thus, in the film, the handshake of Jiang Jieshi and Mao is extraordinarily dramatised.) (Wang is the chairman of ARATS and Koo ist one of the richest people on Taiwan, who invented the “unofficial” SEF in 1990, being very famous for “money diplomacy”).
However, the diplomatic climate between Taiwan and the PRC started to cool down already shortly after the film came out. In 1994, Li Denghui refused a “private meeting” with Jiang Zemin, president of the PRC, and suggested a “public meeting”, which Jiang, in turn, refused for fear of “legitimising” Li this way. Nearly at the same time, France sold weaponry and marine equipment to Taiwan, updating her military technology, and Taiwan furthermore imported F-16 jet fighters from the USA, which greatly disturbed the PRC. The probability for a compromise between the ideas for a possible national unification formulated by the ever more self-confidant Taiwanese side and the “one country, two systems” idea promoted by Deng Xiaoping, the still most influential leader in the PRC at the time, became less and less. (Deng appears in the movie, too, although he has no important historical relationship to the negotiations in Chongqing. His mentioning might be interpreted as a way to indirectly cite his “one country, two systems” formula, emphasizing the Communist vision of a peaceful reunification, which is the major topic throughout the movie).

Li Denghui steadily moved away from the “one China” formula of Jiang Jieshi. When in early 1995 Li politicised his 25th graduation anniversary meeting at Cornell University, the PRC answered with military manoeuvres at sea. During Li’s election campaign as the first president to be elected directly by the populace in Taiwan in 1996, PRC rockets again hit the sea near Taiwan for intimidation and the next period of diplomatic tension between Taiwan and Mainland China was under way.

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