中国人民永远是亚非拉各国被压迫人民最可靠的朋友 首都盛会热烈欢迎亚非拉妇女代表 (Beijing rally warmly welcomes women delegates from Asia, Africa and Latin America)

人民日报 Renmin Ribao, 1963-07-15, 第1版 (page 1)标题: 中国人民永远是亚非拉各国被压迫人民最可靠的朋友 首都盛会热烈欢迎亚非拉妇女代表English gloss: Beijing rally welcomes Afro-Asian-Latin American women delegates; Pardjani speaksSource: 人民日报图文数据库 (People's Daily database), via Columbia University Libraries; article URL http://data.people.com.cn/rmrb/19630715/1/ae816fab894d4302b9668262f7129bc9Retrieved 2026-10-18. Article full text as given by the database (replaces the earlier snippet-only file; full-page scan is in the matching PDF).中国人民永远是亚非拉各国被压迫人民最可靠的朋友 首都盛会热烈欢迎亚非拉妇女代表各国妇女代表发表热情的讲话。许多代表严厉指责最近在莫斯科举行的世界妇女大会抛弃反对帝国主义旗帜并且采取种种不民主的办法来操纵组织一系列反华丑剧。 全国妇联负责人和首都人民向坚决反对帝国主义和殖民主义、坚决维护真理和主持正义的各国朋友致敬，感谢她们带来的珍贵友谊和对中国人民的巨大鼓舞与支持。据新华社十四日讯　首都各界人民七千人今天下午在人民大会堂举行盛大集会，热烈欢迎参加世界妇女大会后前来我国访问的亚洲、非洲、拉丁美洲各国妇女代表团。 在欢迎大会上，全国妇联的负责人在讲话中强调指出，在反对帝国主义的共同斗争中，中国人民和妇女永远是亚洲、非洲、拉丁美洲各国被压迫人民和妇女最可靠的朋友。各国妇女代表在会上讲话时，热烈赞扬了中国人民和妇女的成就，赞扬了中国人民在反对帝国主义、维护世界和平、支持民族独立运动中的贡献。许多代表在讲话中还严厉地指责最近在莫斯科举行的世界妇女大会抛弃反对帝国主义旗帜，并且采取种种不民主的办法来操纵组织一系列反华丑剧。 应邀参加今天大会的各国妇女朋友，是来自巴西、科摩罗、印度尼西亚、莫三鼻给、尼泊尔、委内瑞拉、越南南方、桑给巴尔等国家和地区的妇女代表团和妇女代表。 下午二时半，在《全世界人民心一条》的乐曲声中，来自亚洲、非洲、拉丁美洲的各国妇女朋友，同全国妇联副主席邓颖超、李德全、许广平、史良、杨之华、刘清扬以及中国亚非团结委员会主席廖承志、中国人民保卫世界和平委员会副主席包尔汉等走上主席台。这时，全场起立，响起了长时间的雷鸣般的掌声。 邓颖超副主席主持欢迎大会，她宣布大会开始时，全场再一次响起极其热烈的掌声。史良副主席接着致欢迎词（全文见第二版），她代表全国妇联和参加欢迎大会的我国各人民团体，向各国妇女朋友表示最热烈的欢迎。 史良副主席指出，目前美帝国主义在加紧进行侵略和扩军备战的同时，伪装和平姿态，玩弄“和平战略”，妄图麻痹世界人民的斗志，分裂世界人民在反帝斗争中的团结。她说，中国人民和妇女从切身的经历中深深地体会到，帝国主义是侵略、压迫和战争的根源，是妇女儿童遭受苦难的根源。要防止世界战争，保卫世界和平，就必须反对以美国为首的帝国主义。她说：“有些人竟然为帝国主义涂脂抹粉，说肯尼迪是‘明智’的，抱有‘和平诚意’的。他们硬要把全国彻底裁军作为压倒一切的任务，强加在各国人民头上，妄图使被压迫民族、被压迫人民同帝国主义和平共处，妄图使妇女和儿童听任帝国主义的宰割。他们自己不反帝，还不准别人反帝，这就充分暴露了他们为帝国主义效劳的丑恶面目。”史良副主席讲话以后，乐队高奏《团结就是力量》的乐曲，一群少年儿童跑上主席台，向各国贵宾献鲜花。这时会场上的掌声经久不息。各国贵宾们同献花的儿童亲切握手、亲吻，并且挥动花束，向全场中国兄弟姐妹们致敬意。 接着，各国妇女朋友在欢迎的掌声中先后在会上发表了讲话（全文见第二、三版）。 巴西代表玛利亚·阿巴里西达·德·法利亚·帕切科小姐在讲话中向中国人民热烈致意，她赞扬了中国的成就。 她说：“不管帝国主义和殖民主义的奠基人愿意与否，亚洲、非洲和拉丁美洲人民的反帝革命斗争正以不可抵挡之势高涨着。”她强调说，我们坚信和平是会来到的，而且是注定会来到的，但是我们必须为反对统治和奴役人民的帝国主义而斗争到最后的时刻。 来自非洲的科摩罗民族解放运动书记扎哈拉·易卜拉欣夫人讲话说：在这次世界妇女大会上，“两派之间存在着剧烈的斗争。在讨论方针和任务时，出现了两条路线的分歧，因为人们通过了一个没有被很多代表所接受的文件，即放弃了反对帝国主义的那个纲领。大会通过的纲领把全面彻底裁军与和平共处当作最主要的任务，有些代表既不能在大会全体会议上，也不能在大会小组会议上发表她们自己的意见。我认为，今年的大会是为帝国主义服务的。”她质问世界妇女大会上那些不反对帝国主义的人说，“你们什么时候看到帝国主义者自动放弃过他们的战争政策呢？我们受压迫的各国人民应当继续进行斗争，反对帝国主义统治下的一切形式的奴役”。她强调说：“没有民族独立，没有反对帝国主义和殖民主义的坚决斗争，就不可能有世界和平，也不可能有妇女和儿童的权利。”印度尼西亚妇女访华代表团团长帕亚尼·普拉杜诺夫人讲话说，印度尼西亚妇女从亲身的斗争经验中知道，“为争取妇女解放和家庭幸福的斗争是不能跟争取民族独立的斗争分隔开来。只要在世界上还存在帝国主义，世界各国人民就不能享受到幸福。”普拉杜诺夫人说：“我们深信，帝国主义和一切压迫剥削制度是使人民、妇女和儿童痛苦的主要根源。在这次世界妇女大会上，我们也讲了我们的这些观点。我们的代表团向大会建议，争取妇女权利、儿童幸福、世界和平和裁军的斗争不能跟争取民族独立、反对帝国主义和新老殖民主义的斗争分隔开来。因为印度尼西亚人民的亲身经历证明了，如果不完全消灭战争的根源——以美帝为首的帝国主义，就不能实现世界和平。”她说：“中国妇女代表团和其他代表反帝和热爱和平的人民的代表团也有同样的看法。因此，我们的代表对不包含革命灵魂的国际民主妇联纲领，感到遗憾。所以我们不同意这个领纲。”普拉杜诺夫人还说：“使我们感到十分遗憾的是，世界妇女大会的一些领导人采取了不明智、偏袒、不民主和破坏大会气氛的态度。从大会一开始，印度尼西亚代表团就反对印度妇女代表团向大会提出中印边界问题，因为我们认为这次大会不是解决这个问题的场所，这个问题应该由有关的两个政府来解决，而大会的目的是为了团结全世界妇女为反对共同的敌人帝国主义，争取完全的民主、妇女儿童权利、民族独立和世界和平而斗争。但我们的声明完全没有得到大会领导人的重视。在印度尼西亚代表团的倡议下，亚、非十八个国家发表了反对印度代表团建议大会讨论中印边界问题的联合声明。”莫三鼻给民族民主联盟妇女事务部书记普丽西拉·古曼尼夫人强烈地谴责了在非洲的殖民主义者，她说：“自由的人是自由社会的基础，只有自由的人才能建立自由的社会。”“我们必须认识到，除非每个人首先摆脱剥削的枷锁，否则没有一个人能获得自由。”尼泊尔妇女代表夏尔马夫人在讲话中赞扬了尼泊尔人民同中国人民的友谊，她说，我们两国友好和平地解决了两国的边界问题。让我们团结起来，消除亚洲、非洲、拉丁美洲最危险的敌人——帝国主义和新老殖民主义。 越南南方民族解放阵线中央委员、越南南方妇女解放联合会中央执行委员阮氏萍在讲话中指出：“在越南南方的事实和在其他国家的事实使我们更清楚地看到，一切压迫和战争，以及妇女和儿童所遭受到的痛苦，其主要根源是由帝国主义，特别是由美帝国主义引起的。我们是带着越南南方人民和妇女的这种反帝精神来到世界妇女大会的，同时我们也曾经积极支持这种态度的各国代表。”阮氏萍强调说：“世界妇女运动的路线必须是团结各国妇女，进行反对以美帝国主义为首的帝国主义，为争取和平和独立，争取妇女和儿童的权利而斗争。唯有这样，才能符合各国大多数妇女的要求和愿望。”委内瑞拉妇女代表埃列娜·加尔西亚夫人讲话说，委内瑞拉人民清楚地知道，“和平是不可缺少的，而且为了和平我们应该斗争。作为爱好和平的人民，我们的首要任务是进行反对帝国主义的斗争，因为帝国主义是可能发生的战争的唯一祸首。”她说，在委内瑞拉，人们采取了以武装斗争为主要形式的各种不同形式的斗争。人民力量正在起来保卫民族主权和反对美帝国主义的压迫和掠夺。 她列举事实，叙述了委内瑞拉人民的苦难和帝国主义对她们国家的干涉。她说：“我们为和平而斗争，我们右手拿着冲锋枪保卫我们的主权，左手拿着书本保卫我们的未来。我们不是好战分子，我们是爱好和平的，这点是很清楚的。但是我国现实的状况迫使我们为了保卫主权和我国人民自己的生存而战。”桑给巴尔全国民主妇联总书记艾沙·阿里·苏丹夫人在会上揭露了世界妇女大会上的玩弄阴谋和不民主的情况，她说，这次大会使她感到极为不满和沮丧。大会的结果“变成了一个压制任何真正的讨论和不一致意见的一个阴谋。特别是，把中印边界争端提到会上来，这一做法以及对整个事情的操纵和处理，是不光采的。大会的组织者在讲话发表以前就先看过了所有的讲话稿。他们为什么不请印度代表删去仅仅涉及两个国家的那一部分发言呢？中国代表发言时并没有谈到任何有关中印边界的问题。如果说有什么民主的话，那么为什么不准中国代表答复呢？如果让一个人发言，而不让另一个人当场答复，那能叫做民主吗？”她谈到大会上有些代表强调必须对一切形式的压迫进行战斗性的斗争以争取和平，却受到另一些代表的攻击，说她们是不负责任和不现实的。（⑴⑵）她说，中国代表刚讲完话，一名德意志民主共和国的代表就上去发言，就和平共处的问题对中国代表进行了攻击。次日，又发生了同样的情况。一名保加利亚代表，接着是一名墨西哥代表攻击了中国人。 艾沙·阿里·苏丹夫人说：“我生平从未参加过像这次在莫斯科举行的国际民主妇联大会这么极端不民主的会议！我从未想到所谓的进步人士会如此下流。他们使用了各种诡计来实现自己的目的。”她说：“我在二十三日就交出了我的发言稿。有人看了我的稿子，不知怎么发现并不合适，因此她们就设法不让我讲，她们说我不能发言，因为我坐在主席台上。可以请桑给巴尔另一位代表发言。她们期待着我们反对党的一位代表到会，可是直到那时她还没有来。 “可是，她于二十五日夜晚到达了。人们没有告诉我，我直到第二天中午才发现。当我得悉她抵达后，我就去同她交谈，商谈后她同意我们发表一个联合讲话。她没有准备发言稿，她除了一小段外都同意我的稿子，这一段已被我们删去。大会组织者以此为借口扣压我的稿子，不让我发言。我气愤极了，不能接受她们说整篇稿子得重新翻译的借口。在同大会组织者争吵之后，她们在二十八日晚大厅里人已走掉一半时才让我发言。”艾沙·阿里·苏丹夫人还揭露了这样一件事情：“二十七日我们开始在小组委员会里工作，我们起草总文件的小组委员会应于上午九点开会，可是我们得等戈登夫人，她一直到十点过了几分才到会。她一来就指名能当主席的国家——也不看看我们是否同意，很快就走了，借口说她身体不好。我们大声表示抗议，但无济于事。她的身体情况能允许她向我们发号施令，可是就不能呆几分钟听听我们要说些什么。当另一位主席发言时，我们告诉她我们要民主，不要独裁。那些想对我们发号施令的人同我们这些要民主的人之间，发生了一场激烈的斗争。她们想用站不住脚的借口——如要尊敬上年纪的人（指戈登夫人）、不要浪费时间——来指挥我们。当她们发现事情难办了，她们就设法把我们大多数人都排斥在外。”她说，就是这样，我们被排斥在外的代表没有看到起草的文件，我们对文件没有进行讨论，我们所知道的只是在闭幕会上听到这个文件的宣读。“民主”这两个字确实同我们所知道的含义截然不同。 艾沙·阿里·苏丹夫人说，大会上出现这种种自欺欺人的事，是很危险的。全世界都知道，以美国为首的帝国主义是我们的共同敌人。她强调说：“我们要和平，但是我们要有尊严的和平。我们知道以美国为首的帝国主义是不会自愿裁军的。我们应当勇敢坚毅，我们永远应当鼓励和支持同殖民主义、封建主义和帝国主义进行斗争的人。我们必须团结自己的力量，给一切寄生虫以沉重的打击，只有这样，我们才能得到真正的持久和平。”各国妇女代表在会上的讲话，受到了极其热烈的欢迎。人们不断以长时间的掌声，向这些坚决反对帝国主义和殖民主义、坚决维护真理和主持正义的各国朋友，表示崇高的敬意。 邓颖超副主席最后代表大会向各国朋友再一次表示感谢，感谢她们带来的珍贵友谊，感谢她们对中国人民和妇女的巨大鼓舞和支持。 出席世界妇女大会的中国妇女代表团团长杨蕴玉，副团长郭建、吴全衡和代表团全体成员参加了今天的大会。参加今天大会的还有，国务院各部女副部长刘亚雄、张琴秋、罗叔章、胡子婴、钱正英、夏之栩，以及中国人民对外文化协会、中国非洲人民友好协会、中国拉丁美洲友好协会、中国印度尼西亚友好协会、中国尼泊尔友好协会、中华全国总工会、中华全国青年联合会、中国文学艺术界联合会、中国作家协会、中国美术家协会、中华全国新闻工作者协会、中国政治法律学会和中国人民保卫儿童全国委员会等单位的负责人楚图南、张铁生、丁西林、胡愈之、吴晗、马纯古、王照华、阳翰笙、张友渔、严文井、王芸生、刘开渠等，以及全国妇联和北京市妇联的负责人。 盛大的集会结束以后，首都文艺工作者为各国贵宾们演出了精采的歌舞节目。 首都各界人民在人民大会堂举行盛大集会，欢迎参加世界妇女大会后来我国访问的亚洲、非洲、拉丁美洲各国妇女代表。图为欢迎大会会场。 本报记者　吕相友摄

=== [Page 1] === The Chinese people are forever the most reliable friends of the oppressed peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America; grand rally in the capital warmly welcomes women delegates from Asia, Africa and Latin America The women delegates of various countries delivered warm speeches. Many delegates sharply condemned the World Congress of Women recently held in Moscow for abandoning the banner of opposition to imperialism and for using all sorts of undemocratic methods to manipulate and stage a series of anti-China farces. Leaders of the All-China Women's Federation and the people of the capital paid tribute to the friends from various countries who resolutely oppose imperialism and colonialism and resolutely uphold truth and justice, and thanked them for the precious friendship they brought and for the great encouragement and support they gave the Chinese people. According to Xinhua, 14th: Seven thousand people from all walks of life in the capital held a grand rally in the Great Hall of the People this afternoon to warmly welcome the women's delegations and delegates from Asia, Africa and Latin America who came to visit our country after attending the World Congress of Women. At the welcoming rally, leaders of the ACWF stressed in their speeches that, in the common struggle against imperialism, the Chinese people and women are forever the most reliable friends of the oppressed peoples and women of Asia, Africa and Latin America. In their speeches at the rally the women delegates of various countries warmly praised the achievements of the Chinese people and women, and praised the contribution of the Chinese people in opposing imperialism, defending world peace and supporting national independence movements. Many delegates in their speeches also sharply condemned the recent World Congress of Women in Moscow for abandoning the banner of opposition to imperialism and for using all sorts of undemocratic methods to manipulate and stage a series of anti-China farces. The women friends from various countries invited to today's rally came from women's delegations and women delegates of Brazil, the Comoros, Indonesia, Mozambique, Nepal, Venezuela, South Vietnam, Zanzibar and other countries and regions. At 2.30 p.m., to the strains of 'The Peoples of the Whole World Are of One Heart' [as written in the source], the women friends from Asia, Africa and Latin America mounted the platform together with Deng Yingchao, Li Dequan, Xu Guangping, Shi Liang, Yang Zhihua and Liu Qingyang, Vice-Chairwomen of the ACWF, Liao Chengzhi, Chairman of the China Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee, Burhan, Vice-Chairman of the Chinese People's Committee for Defending World Peace, and others. At this the whole hall rose, and long, thunderous applause broke out. Vice-Chairwoman Deng Yingchao presided over the welcoming rally, and when she announced the opening of the rally the whole hall again burst into extremely warm applause. Vice-Chairwoman Shi Liang then delivered the speech of welcome (full text on page 2), in which, on behalf of the ACWF and the people's organisations of our country attending the rally, she expressed the warmest welcome to the women friends of various countries. Vice-Chairwoman Shi Liang pointed out that at present US imperialism, while stepping up aggression and arms expansion and war preparations, is disguising itself with a peaceful posture and playing a 'peace strategy', in a vain attempt to paralyse the fighting will of the world's people and split the unity of the world's people in the anti-imperialist struggle. She said that the Chinese people and women have come to understand deeply from their personal experience that imperialism is the source of aggression, oppression and war, and the source of the suffering of women and children. To prevent world war and defend world peace, it is necessary to oppose imperialism headed by the United States. She said: 'Some people even whitewash imperialism, saying that Kennedy is "sensible" and has "sincere intentions for peace". They insist on imposing general and complete disarmament as the overriding task on the peoples of all countries, in a vain attempt to make the oppressed nations and peoples coexist peacefully with imperialism and to make women and children submit to imperialist butchery. They themselves do not oppose imperialism and do not permit others to oppose it, which fully exposes their ugly faces as serving imperialism.' After Vice-Chairwoman Shi Liang's speech, the orchestra played 'Unity Is Strength', and a group of children ran onto the platform to present flowers to the distinguished guests of various countries. The applause in the hall went on and on. The distinguished guests shook hands and kissed the children who presented the flowers, and waved their bouquets to salute the Chinese brothers and sisters in the hall. Then the women friends of various countries, to the applause of welcome, spoke at the rally one after another (full texts on pages 2 and 3). The Brazilian delegate Miss Maria Aparecida de Faria Pacheco warmly greeted the Chinese people in her speech and praised China's achievements. She said: 'Whether or not the founders of imperialism and colonialism are willing, the anti-imperialist revolutionary struggle of the peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America is rising with irresistible momentum.' She stressed that we firmly believe peace will come, and is destined to come, but we must struggle to the last moment against the imperialism that dominates and enslaves peoples. Mrs Zahara Ibrahim, Secretary of the Comoros National Liberation Movement, from Africa, said that at this World Congress of Women 'there was a fierce struggle between two factions. In discussing the line and tasks, a divergence of two lines appeared, because a document was adopted that was not accepted by many delegates, namely the abandonment of the anti-imperialist programme. The programme adopted by the congress treated general and complete disarmament and peaceful coexistence as the most important tasks, and some delegates could not express their own views either at the plenary sessions or at the group meetings of the congress. I think this year's congress served imperialism.' She asked those at the World Congress of Women who do not oppose imperialism: 'When have you ever seen imperialists voluntarily abandon their war policy? We oppressed peoples of all countries should continue the struggle against all forms of enslavement under imperialist rule.' She stressed: 'Without national independence, without resolute struggle against imperialism and colonialism, there can be no world peace and no rights for women and children.' Mrs Pardjani Pradono, head of the Indonesian women's delegation to China, said in her speech that Indonesian women know from their own experience of struggle that 'the struggle for women's emancipation and family happiness cannot be separated from the struggle for national independence. As long as imperialism exists in the world, the peoples of the world cannot enjoy happiness.' Mrs Pradono said: 'We firmly believe that imperialism and all systems of oppression and exploitation are the main source of suffering for peoples, women and children. At this World Congress of Women we also stated these views of ours. Our delegation proposed to the congress that the struggle for women's rights, children's happiness, world peace and disarmament cannot be separated from the struggle for national independence and against imperialism and old and new colonialism. Because the personal experience of the Indonesian people has proved that, if the source of war, imperialism headed by US imperialism, is not completely eliminated, world peace cannot be realised.' She said: 'The Chinese women's delegation and the delegations of other anti-imperialist and peace-loving peoples have the same view. Therefore our delegates regretted the programme of the Women's International Democratic Federation that does not contain a revolutionary soul. Therefore we do not agree with this programme.' Mrs Pradono also said: 'What caused us great regret was that some leaders of the World Congress of Women adopted an unwise, partial, undemocratic attitude that spoiled the atmosphere of the congress. From the very beginning of the congress, the Indonesian delegation opposed the Indian women's delegation raising the Sino-Indian border question at the congress, because we consider that this congress is not the place to settle this question, which should be settled by the two governments concerned, and that the purpose of the congress was to unite women of the whole world to struggle against the common enemy, imperialism, for full democracy, the rights of women and children, national independence and world peace. But our statement was not taken seriously at all by the congress leaders. On the initiative of the Indonesian delegation, eighteen Asian and African countries issued a joint statement opposing the Indian delegation's proposal that the congress discuss the Sino-Indian border question.' Mrs Priscilla Gumane [Kumani], Secretary for Women's Affairs of the Mozambique National Democratic Union, strongly condemned the colonialists in Africa, saying: 'Free men are the foundation of a free society; only free men can build a free society.' 'We must recognise that no one can win freedom unless each person first throws off the yoke of exploitation.' The Nepalese women's delegate Mrs Sharma praised in her speech the friendship between the Nepalese people and the Chinese people, saying that our two countries have settled their border question in a friendly and peaceful way. Let us unite to eliminate the most dangerous enemy of Asia, Africa and Latin America, imperialism and old and new colonialism. Nguyen Thi Binh, member of the Central Committee of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam and member of the Central Executive Committee of the South Vietnam Women's Liberation Association, pointed out in her speech: 'The facts in South Vietnam and the facts in other countries make us see more clearly that the main source of all oppression and war, and of the suffering of women and children, is imperialism, especially US imperialism. We came to the World Congress of Women with this anti-imperialist spirit of the people and women of South Vietnam, and we also actively supported the delegates of various countries who held this attitude.' Nguyen Thi Binh stressed: 'The line of the world women's movement must be to unite the women of all countries to struggle against imperialism headed by US imperialism, for peace and independence and for the rights of women and children. Only in this way can it accord with the demands and aspirations of the majority of women in all countries.' The Venezuelan women's delegate Mrs Elena García said in her speech that the Venezuelan people clearly know that 'peace is indispensable and we should struggle for it. As a peace-loving people, our first task is to carry on the struggle against imperialism, because imperialism is the sole culprit of any war that might break out.' She said that in Venezuela various forms of struggle, with armed struggle as the main form, have been adopted. The people's forces are rising to defend national sovereignty and oppose the oppression and plunder of US imperialism. Citing facts, she described the sufferings of the Venezuelan people and imperialist interference in her country. She said: 'We struggle for peace; with our right hand we hold a submachine gun to defend our sovereignty, with our left hand a book to defend our future. We are not warmongers; we are peace-loving, that is quite clear. But the actual situation in our country forces us to fight to defend our sovereignty and the very existence of our people.' Mrs Aisha Ali Sultan, General Secretary of the Zanzibar National Democratic Women's Federation, exposed at the rally the intrigues and undemocratic conduct at the World Congress of Women. She said that the congress had left her extremely dissatisfied and dejected. The outcome of the congress 'turned into a conspiracy to suppress any real discussion and disagreement. In particular, the raising of the Sino-Indian border dispute at the meeting, and the manipulation and handling of the whole matter, were disgraceful. The organisers of the congress had seen all the speech texts before the speeches were delivered. Why did they not ask the Indian delegate to delete the part of her speech that concerned only the two countries? The Chinese delegates, when they spoke, did not touch on any question concerning the Sino-Indian border. If there was any democracy, why were the Chinese delegates not permitted to reply? If one person is allowed to speak and another is not allowed to reply on the spot, can that be called democracy?' She spoke of how some delegates at the congress, who stressed the need for militant struggle against all forms of oppression in order to win peace, were attacked by other delegates, who said they were irresponsible and unrealistic. (1)(2) She said that as soon as the Chinese delegate had finished speaking, a delegate of the German Democratic Republic got up and attacked the Chinese delegate on the question of peaceful coexistence. The next day the same thing happened again. A Bulgarian delegate, followed by a Mexican delegate, attacked the Chinese. Mrs Aisha Ali Sultan said: 'In all my life I have never taken part in a meeting as extremely undemocratic as this WIDF congress in Moscow! I never imagined that so-called progressive people could be so base. They used all kinds of tricks to achieve their own ends.' She said: 'I handed in my speech text on the 23rd. Someone looked at my text and somehow found it unsuitable, and so they tried to prevent me from speaking, saying I could not speak because I was sitting on the platform. Another Zanzibar delegate could be asked to speak. They were expecting a delegate of our opposition party to come to the meeting, but until then she had not arrived. 'But she arrived on the night of the 25th. No one told me, and I did not find out until noon the next day. When I learned of her arrival I went to talk with her, and after discussion she agreed that we should make a joint speech. She had not prepared a speech text; she agreed with my text except for one passage, which we deleted. The congress organisers used this as a pretext to hold back my text and not let me speak. I was furious and could not accept their excuse that the whole text had to be translated again. After quarrelling with the congress organisers, they allowed me to speak on the evening of the 28th, when half the hall had already emptied.' Mrs Aisha Ali Sultan also exposed this matter: 'On the 27th we began work in the sub-committees; our sub-committee for drafting the general document was to meet at nine in the morning, but we had to wait for Mrs Gordon [Mrs Gordon], who did not arrive until a few minutes after ten. As soon as she came she named the countries that could serve as chair, without even seeing whether we agreed, and left quickly, on the pretext that she was unwell. We protested loudly, but to no avail. Her state of health allowed her to give us orders but did not allow her to stay a few minutes to listen to what we had to say. When another chair spoke, we told her we wanted democracy, not dictatorship. A fierce struggle occurred between those who wanted to give us orders and us who wanted democracy. They wanted to direct us with untenable pretexts, such as respecting the elderly (meaning Mrs Gordon) and not wasting time. When they found things difficult, they tried to exclude most of us.' She said that was how it was: we delegates who were excluded never saw the draft document, we did not discuss it, and all we knew was that we heard it read out at the closing session. 'The word "democracy" really has a meaning quite different from what we know.' Mrs Aisha Ali Sultan said that such self-deception at the congress is very dangerous. The whole world knows that imperialism headed by the United States is our common enemy. She stressed: 'We want peace, but we want peace with dignity. We know that imperialism headed by the United States will not disarm of its own accord. We should be brave and resolute; we should always encourage and support those who struggle against colonialism, feudalism and imperialism. We must unite our forces and deal a heavy blow to all parasites; only in this way can we obtain real and lasting peace.' The speeches of the women delegates of various countries at the rally received an extremely warm welcome. People kept paying high tribute, with long applause, to these friends from various countries who resolutely oppose imperialism and colonialism and resolutely uphold truth and justice. Vice-Chairwoman Deng Yingchao finally, on behalf of the rally, again thanked the friends from various countries, for the precious friendship they had brought and for their great encouragement and support to the Chinese people and women. Yang Yunyu, head of the Chinese women's delegation to the World Congress of Women, deputy heads Guo Jian and Wu Quanheng and all members of the delegation attended today's rally. Also attending were Liu Yaxiong, Zhang Qinqiu, Luo Shuzhang, Hu Ziying, Qian Zhengying and Xia Zhixu, women Vice-Ministers of the ministries of the State Council, and heads of units such as Chu Tunan, Zhang Tiesheng, Ding Xilin, Hu Yuzhi, Wu Han, Ma Chungu, Wang Zhaohua, Yang Hansheng, Zhang Youyu, Yan Wenjing, Wang Yunsheng and Liu Kaiqu of the Chinese People's Association for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, the China-Africa People's Friendship Association, the China-Latin America Friendship Association, the China-Indonesia Friendship Association, the China-Nepal Friendship Association, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the All-China Youth Federation, the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Writers' Association, the Artists' Association, the All-China Journalists' Association, the Political Science and Law Association and the National Committee for the Protection of Children, as well as leaders of the ACWF and the Beijing Women's Federation. After the grand rally ended, artists of the capital gave the distinguished guests of various countries an excellent programme of song and dance. People from all walks of life in the capital held a grand rally in the Great Hall of the People to welcome the women delegates from Asia, Africa and Latin America who came to visit our country after the World Congress of Women. The picture shows the rally hall. Photo by this paper's reporter Lü Xiangyou