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Deng Xiaoping was particularly fond of the Olympic Games, which represent the highest level of sports. While studying and working in France in the 1920s, Deng Xiaoping watched the Olympic Games for the first time and became fascinated with them. After serving as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, Deng Xiaoping was very busy at work, but he still took time out of his busy schedule to watch some exciting sports games. In the new era of reform and opening up, Deng Xiaoping was the first central leader to propose holding the Olympic Games in China.

Swimming is one of Deng Xiaoping's favorite sports

To watch the Olympics

Deng Xiaoping used his own living expenses to buy football tickets

According to the records of "Overview of Party History", in 1924, the 8th Olympic Games was held in Paris, France. In order to watch the Olympic football matches, Deng Xiaoping did not hesitate to use his precious living expenses to buy tickets. At that time, Deng Xiaoping still needed to work in a factory to subsidize his life, and his conditions were extremely difficult.

A photo of Deng Xiaoping while working and studying in France in 1921.

Deng Xiaoping later recalled: "A ticket for a game cost at least 5 francs, which was my daily meal money at the time. Moreover, I sat in the highest seat when watching the game, so I couldn't even see the ball clearly." But it is obvious that even though he couldn't even see the ball clearly, Deng Xiaoping still felt deeply the charm of football. According to the records in "An Overview of Party History", even decades later, Deng Xiaoping still clearly remembered that the final champion of that Olympics was the Uruguay team, which shows how deep the impression was.

For China to return to the International Olympic Committee

Deng Xiaoping did a lot of work

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, sports have made great progress. Deng Xiaoping, like other older generation revolutionaries, hoped that Chinese athletes could show their skills in international competitions, especially the Olympic Games. However, under the conditions at that time, my country had to go through many complicated struggles to participate in the Olympic Games.

In July 1924, delegates attending the Fifth Congress of the Chinese Communist Youth League in Europe took a group photo in Paris, France. It is said that Deng Xiaoping's love for football began when he lived in France. Deng Xiaoping is the third from the right in the back row. Zhou Enlai is the sixth from the right in the front row.

Chinese sports organizations established ties with the International Olympic Committee as early as 1922. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the reorganized Chinese sports organizations should have continued to enjoy the right to represent China in international sports organizations. However, under the influence of the international anti-China forces' policy of hostility towards the new China, a few people in international sports organizations tried their best to obstruct Chinese sports organizations from exercising their legitimate rights, and the Chinese Olympic Committee was forced to announce the suspension of its relationship with the International Olympic Committee in 1958. Since then, my country has made a lot of efforts to return to the Olympic Committee, but due to various international and domestic situations, these efforts have not been successful.

Deng Xiaoping did a lot of work to restore China's legitimate seat in the International Olympic Committee. In January 1974, Wang Meng, then director of the State Sports Commission, reported to Deng Xiaoping on sports work and did not mention the restoration of China's legitimate seat in the International Olympic Committee. After the report, Deng Xiaoping pointed out that great efforts should be made to restore my country's status in the International Olympic Committee and other international single-sport federations.

In 1973, Deng Xiaoping met with the Beijing team at the Xiannongtan Stadium.

In March 1974, Deng Xiaoping met with Congolese Gonga, Secretary General of the Supreme Sports Council of Africa, and said that it was unfair to exclude a big country like China from international sports organizations, including the International Olympic Committee. We are both third world countries. When China joined the United Nations, we received support from African friends. We hope that China can also get the same help when it restores its legal status in international sports organizations.

After the reform and opening up, China's international status continued to improve, and the level of sports has also been further improved. The conditions for returning to the International Olympic Committee have matured, and the only obstacle is the Taiwan issue. At that time, Taiwan was still a recognized member of the International Olympic Committee. If both the mainland and Taiwan became members of the International Olympic Committee, it would inevitably create a "two China" situation; if Taiwan was excluded, Taiwanese athletes would lose the opportunity to participate in the competition, which would also be unfair to Taiwanese athletes. If this issue is not resolved, the negotiations to return to the International Olympic Committee will not be able to proceed.

On the evening of July 30, 1977, Deng Xiaoping went to the Beijing Workers' Stadium to attend the closing ceremony of the Beijing International Football Friendly Invitational Tournament.

In early 1979, Deng Xiaoping proposed the concept of "one country, two systems". Based on Deng Xiaoping's concept, the State Sports Commission emancipated its mind and boldly proposed a new concept to solve the legal seat problem. The previous proposal was to expel Taiwan from international sports organizations, but according to this new concept, under the premise of "one China", a special treatment method was adopted to allow Taiwan, as a region of China, to continue to stay in international sports organizations after changing its name, flag and emblem.

There were two completely different views on this new idea in the State Sports Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant departments and the central leadership. At this critical moment, Deng Xiaoping overcame all objections and personally approved the new plan of the State Sports Commission. After that, other problems arose during the negotiation with the International Olympic Committee. Deng Xiaoping personally approved and formulated a series of policies, paving the way for my country to finally enter the International Olympic Committee.

In October 1979, the International Olympic Committee Executive Committee held a meeting in Nagoya, Japan, to study and finally pass the plan proposed by China, which was then called the "Nagoya Resolution" or "Olympic Model". It decided that the name of the Olympic Committee of the People's Republic of China would be the "Chinese Olympic Committee" and use the national flag and anthem of the People's Republic of China; the name of the Olympic Committee in Taipei would be the "Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee" and it would not be allowed to use the song, flag and emblem it currently uses. The new song, flag and emblem must be approved by the International Olympic Committee Executive Committee. On November 26 of the same year, the International Olympic Committee officially adopted it. This means that after 21 years of struggle, the issue of the legitimate rights of New China in the International Olympic Committee has finally been resolved.

In 1961, Deng Xiaoping, He Long, Chen Yi, Li Fuchun and others watched a football match at the Workers' Stadium in Beijing.

In April 1982, Deng Xiaoping foresightedly proposed that "sports are an important aspect of spiritual civilization construction" and an important way to comprehensively improve the quality of the Chinese nation. During the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, Deng Xiaoping pointed out in a conversation with several central leaders: "Whether sports are well developed or not has a huge impact. It is a manifestation of a country's economy and civilization. It inspires so many people and attracts so many spectators and listeners. We must develop sports."

After China returned to the International Olympic Committee, Deng Xiaoping was very concerned about the performance of Chinese athletes in the Olympics. When Chinese athlete Xu Haifeng won China's first gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Deng Xiaoping was very excited. In 1990, Beijing successfully hosted the Asian Games. Deng Xiaoping was very concerned about this event and wore a hat with the Chinese flag and the Olympic five-ring logo on his head.

In 1985, Deng Xiaoping was warmly welcomed by the crowd at the Beijing Xiannongtan Stadium. "Start learning football from an early age" became his most famous football quote.

Deng Xiaoping's staff recalled: "When watching the Olympic Games and Asian Games, Xiaoping liked to give scores to athletes. He gave our athletes high scores." There was a time when the Chinese table tennis team was declining, and Deng Xiaoping was very anxious. He jokingly complained to his family: "The reason why Chinese table tennis can't win is because you don't watch." The women's volleyball team won honor for the country, and Deng Xiaoping cared about them very much. On October 19, 1981, Deng Xiaoping specifically asked his secretary to call Li Menghua, then director of the State Sports Commission, to ask whether the problem of poor food and insufficient food for the Chinese volleyball team had been solved.

Deng Xiaoping was the first to propose

To hold the Olympic Games in China

During the construction of the Beijing Workers' Stadium in the 1950s, Zhou Enlai pointed out in a progress report that we should also build a world-class stadium to host the Olympic Games in the future. He Long, then director of the State Sports Commission, also repeatedly told relevant personnel: "One day, China must host the Olympic Games. Maybe by then, we old guys will not be around. I hope you can do a good job of this."

In the new era of reform and opening up, Deng Xiaoping was the first among the central leaders to propose holding the Olympic Games in China. On February 26, 1979, when meeting with Du Benmengci, president of Japan's Kyodo News Agency, Deng Xiaoping elaborated on the idea of ​​China hosting the Olympic Games within 10 years. He said: "The Olympic Games are held every four years, in 1984 and 1988. It may not be possible in 1984, but by 1988, perhaps we can afford to host the Olympic Games in China. The conditions for hosting the Olympic Games in 1984 were a little difficult, but the conditions were ripe in 1988."

After that, Deng Xiaoping mentioned the idea of ​​China hosting the Olympic Games when he met with the leaders of North Korea, Cambodia and boxing champion Ali. However, due to various restrictions, the conditions for China to host the Olympic Games in the 1980s were not yet ripe.

On April 1, 1989, Comrade Deng Xiaoping planted trees in the Asian Games Village.

The Olympic Games is a symbol of the economic and cultural development level of the host country. Without a certain economic strength and cultural level, it is impossible to successfully bid for the Olympic Games. In order to prepare for the bid for the Olympic Games, with the support of Deng Xiaoping, China successfully bid for the 1990 Asian Games. Deng Xiaoping paid special attention to the Asian Games. In April 1989, he personally went to the Asian Games construction site to participate in voluntary tree planting and inspected the Asian Games project. After asking relevant leaders about the fundraising of the Asian Games, Deng Xiaoping asked Zhang Baifa, the general commander of the Asian Games project, with concern: "How is our construction compared to Seoul?"

In May 1990, Deng Xiaoping personally wrote the name of the National Olympic Sports Center. On July 3 of the same year, Deng Xiaoping visited the newly completed National Olympic Sports Center. Wu Shaozu, then director of the State Sports Commission, reported to Deng Xiaoping on the preparations for the Asian Games.

Deng Xiaoping thought further. He did not talk about the Asian Games, but asked another question with concern: "Has China made up its mind to host the Olympic Games? Why doesn't China dare to do this? If we build such sports facilities but don't host the Olympic Games, it would be a waste of half of them." Deng Xiaoping asked with concern: "After hosting the Asian Games, we also want to host the Olympic Games. Have you made up your mind?"

In July 1990, Deng Xiaoping, accompanied by Wu Shaozu, Zhang Baifa and others, inspected the Asian Games venues and first proposed the bid for the Olympic Games.

Later, Jiang Zemin and other central leaders heard the spirit of Deng Xiaoping's speech and agreed with Deng Xiaoping's opinion. At the end of 1990, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council agreed that Beijing should bid for the 2000 Olympic Games. Wu Shaozu later recalled: "I know that Comrade Xiaoping said as early as the 1970s that China should host the Olympic Games. But before the Asian Games were completed, some comrades still had doubts about whether to bid for the Olympic Games. Comrade Xiaoping's involvement facilitated the decision to bid for the Olympic Games. It was later proved that the bid for the Olympic Games was deeply supported by the people of the country, and the enthusiasm of the masses was very high, although there were setbacks on the road to the bid."

On the afternoon of February 26, 1991, the Chinese Olympic Committee held a plenary meeting in the Guangdong Hall of the Great Hall of the People to discuss and approve Beijing's application to host the 2000 Olympic Games. On February 28, the State Council approved the report of the Beijing Olympic Bid Committee. On March 18, the Beijing Olympic Bid Committee was established. In December 1991, at the International Olympic Committee headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Beijing Vice Mayor Zhang Baifa, on behalf of the Beijing Olympic Bid Committee, submitted Beijing's application to host the 2000 Olympic Games to International Olympic Committee President Samaranch.

Deng Xiaoping climbed Mount Huangshan

On September 23, 1993, Beijing missed the 2000 Olympic Games by two votes. On October 1, Deng Xiaoping told Wu Shaozu, director of the State Sports Commission, about China's failed bid to host the 2000 Olympic Games: "It doesn't matter if the bid fails, we should learn from the experience." He warned Wu Shaozu: "No promises from the West can be trusted. This principle will be followed for many years. Don't believe in promises easily. Only promises count if you get them. Don't believe if you don't get them."

On October 31, 1993, Deng Xiaoping, accompanied by Beijing Vice Mayor Zhang Baifa, took a car to inspect Beijing. During the conversation, Deng Xiaoping asked about the bid for the Olympic Games. In the car, Deng Xiaoping mentioned the Olympic Games to Zhang Baifa. Zhang Baifa briefly introduced the final voting situation.

Deng Xiaoping in Beidaihe in 1991.

When talking about the fact that some Western countries were the main cause of opposition, Deng Xiaoping said: "This is expected. The key is to do our own thing well." The accompanying doctor told Zhang Baifa: "On the day of the vote, the old man wanted to watch the live broadcast on TV. We persuaded him to sleep. But when he woke up in the morning, the first thing he asked was the result of the vote. We answered that it was unsuccessful. He said, 'It's expected. There is nothing great about it. The key is to do our own thing well!'"

Five years later, in November 1998, Beijing announced its bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games with the approval of the Central Committee. On July 13, 2001, the 112th International Olympic Committee General Assembly announced that Beijing had won the right to host the 29th 2008 Olympic Games. At this time, Deng Xiaoping had passed away for four years. What can comfort the spirits of Deng Xiaoping and other older generation revolutionaries is that their wishes have finally come true.

Editors: Pan Qian, Yang Min (internship)