A little history lesson

[lostinblue]

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/...ref=werecommend

Maybe in the future north korea will be next.

[rogerluli]

Very interesting...I never read that story before on how it all started...

[IllinoisDave]

Thanks, I hadn't read that before either. Interesting to ponder where we'd be today if not for a chance encounter on a bus.

[Corbin]

Thanks, I hadn't read that before either. Interesting to ponder where we'd be today if not for a chance encounter on a bus.

A chance encounter that was used to it's fullest. Think the walls would have come down even without this, but how long it would have taken is hard to say. No matter how you look at it Zhuang Zedong was one brave person. It could have gone real bad for him if the people in power were not ready to talk turkey or as he said engage in "pingpong diplomacy."

 

I'm glad that he did have the courage to talk to that American player. It opened the doors to many people.

 

As for North Korea, I have my doubts, but will not speak them now.

[rogerinca]

Very interesting...I never read that story before on how it all started...

 

 

Ya' see, because I am older than you Roger (even though I don't look it) I can clearly remember this entire story as recounted in Time Magazine. I may even still have the copy, in my garage. Not only was this in the print media, the TV news was filled for several nights with this story.

 

However, there is more to the story.

 

Richard Nixon¡¯s trip in February 1972, some ten months after the ping pong encounter, had been actually three years in the making. There were delicate feelers, indirect contacts, intense debate on both sides, and then direct negotiations. Henry Kissinger, Nixon¡¯s then Natl'SecAdv¡¯, as a part of these ongoing talks, had made a secret trip to Beijing in 1971, to meet with Prime Minister Chou En-lai, and then another public one, later that autumn, to prepare the way for Nixon¡¯s historic visit.

 

So while the ping pong incident did nothing to inhibit the coming thaw in Sino-American relations, it was not unto itself the [real] 'catalyst' for this momentous visit; which had already been in the works for a few years and was a secret at the time. Most likely, this is why Mao reacted to, and then used the encounter on the bus, to acheive an end, he could see on the horizon.

 

When Nixon departed Shanghai at the conclusion of his visit, he made a toast: ¡° We have been here a week. This was the week that changed the world.¡±

 

I would offer, that because of that week, CFL exists, and today, we each have greatly changed lives.

 

There is a very good book published by Random House in 2007, which recounts all that was involved in this meeting and exchange between Chairman Mao and President Nixon.

 

Nixon and Mao (The Week That Changed The World) Margaret MacMillan.

[rogerluli]

Very interesting...I never read that story before on how it all started...

 

 

Ya' see, because I am older than you Roger (even though I don't look it) I can clearly remember this entire story as recounted in Time Magazine.

 

Wait a minute Roger...You claim to be older than me and yet you can remember something that you read in a magazine in 1972...

 

FRAUD, CHARALATAN, POSEUR...

[rogerinca]

Very interesting...I never read that story before on how it all started...

 

 

Ya' see, because I am older than you Roger (even though I don't look it) I can clearly remember this entire story as recounted in Time Magazine.

 

Wait a minute Roger...You claim to be older than me and yet you can remember something that you read in a magazine in 1972...

 

FRAUD, CHARALATAN, POSEUR...

 

 

[Corbin]

Very interesting...I never read that story before on how it all started...

 

 

Ya' see, because I am older than you Roger (even though I don't look it) I can clearly remember this entire story as recounted in Time Magazine.

 

Wait a minute Roger...You claim to be older than me and yet you can remember something that you read in a magazine in 1972...

 

FRAUD, CHARALATAN, POSEUR...

 

 

Now be good little boys and don't fight.............

[Finer in China]

In other ping pong news:

In what was probably one of the least surprising results in sports history, China claimed the top spots in both the Men's Team and Women's Team events at the 2008 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Guangzhou, China.

 

The Chinese men faced off against South Korea in their final, and came through 3-0, although they didn't have things all their own way. In the first match, Ma Lin was tested by Olympic champion Ryu Seung Min, but steadied to record a 3-1 win. In the second match, Korea's Lee Jung Woo won the first game and was 12-all with Wang Hao in the second, when Wang had two lucky net balls on successive points, helping Wang to win the second 14-12. With fortune on his side, Wang took the next two games and the match 3-1. In the final match, Wang Liqin was far too good on the day for Joo Se Hyuk, and achieved a comfortable 3-0 victory, wrapping the final up for China. You can read more details on the ITTF website.

 

In the Women's Team event, China faced off against the Singapore women, and although Singapore started well with Li Jia Wei beating Guo Yue 3-0, that was the last success for the Singaporeans, as the China women came to life and ran out the next 3 matches - Zhang Yining defeating Feng Tianwei 3-1, Wang Nan beat Wang Yue Gu 3-0, and then Zhang Yining completed the match by stopping Li Jia Wei 3-1. More details can be found on the ITTF website.

 

So once again China is dominant in world table tennis. And while you have to admire the skills of the Chinese players, it would be nice to see another nation win now and again. But at present it is hard to see exactly where such a challenge is going to come from - Europe had it's worst championships on the men's side for many years, South Korea's administration is in turmoil at present, and everyone else still looks a level below the Chinese. Team China must be eagerly awaiting the 2008 Olympic Games - there appears to be 4 gold medals there for the taking.