On November 25, Beijing time, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and President Xi Jinping met with Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party and President of the Republic of Cuba, who was visiting China.
Although they are both countries in the socialist camp, most Chinese people's understanding of Cuba stays at the symbolic level, such as Che Guevara, classic cars, cigars, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Jay Chou's mojito.
In 2018, Fang Ning, the former director of the Institute of Political Science of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, led a delegation to visit Cuba. "Hong Kong 01" interviewed Fang Ning, bringing his first-hand observation and thinking about Cuba.
This is the fourth part of the interview.
Interview with Fang Ning. 1｜Cuban’s top leader will soon visit China and explore the two worlds on the beautiful island. Interview with Fang Ning. 2｜What has changed in Cuba’s big “update”?
Interview with Fang Ning San｜Cuba needs its own "Deng Xiaoping"
01: With Cuba's further innovation and opening up, will Cuba encounter a situation similar to the color revolution in the future?
Fang Ning:
It is very possible to deduce Cuba from the experience of Eastern Europe.
But judging from Cuba's history and national conditions, this possibility is possible but not great.
01: Why?
Fang Ning:
Because a very interesting phenomenon in Cuba is the dual attitude of Cubans towards Americans.
And this may seem incomprehensible to outsiders, but it is normal in Cuba.
Cubans have a strong sense of national pride and patriotism, and have a strong centripetal force for the Cuban Communist Party.
Although many Cuban elites send their children abroad to study, have American relatives, and live a middle-class life.
But this does not mean that these "red-pilots" are not patriotic, do not love the Cuban Communist Party, and do not worship Castro and Che Guevara.
A woman photographs Che Guevara's graffiti on the street in Havana, Cuba, April 9, 2015.
(Xinhua News Agency)
People cannot be regarded as simple economic animals.
Man has life, and life is limited.
An entire generation in Cuba has survived under U.S. sanctions.
If the Cubans wanted to overthrow the Communist Party, they would have overthrown it long ago.
It can even be said that, to a certain extent, the Cubans themselves chose to accept the sanctions and punishments of the United States.
What sustains the Cubans?
It is the romantic Latin character of the Cubans who is not afraid of power, and the character of the Cubans who are not afraid of sacrifice or hardship for the dignity of the nation.
Back then, Cuba followed the Soviet Union in the world revolution, allowing Soviet missiles to come to Cuba.
But then the Soviet Union retreated. It is said that Castro scolded Khrushchev for this, thinking that Khrushchev had betrayed the Cubans.
The relationship between the United States and Cuba has two sides that seem to be in conflict. On the one hand, the entire Cuban nation is full of yearning for freedom. Freedom was the most famous slogan during the Cuban War of Independence; on the other hand, Cuba is actually very dependent on the United States today.
This relationship is like a cocktail called "Cuba Freedom", one of whose ingredients is American Coke.
It is said that when alcohol was banned in the United States, there was a ratio for the alcohol content of beverages.
An American military officer came to Cuba. He went to the bar and mixed Coca-Cola with rum. The taste after mixing was very similar to a drink called "Cuba Liberty" that freedom fighters loved to drink when Cuba became independent. This is the famous drink. The history of the cocktail "Cuba Libre".
The spirit of the Cubans is freedom, revolution, and independence.
As long as the Cuban Communist Party holds the banner of freedom, revolution and independence, the Cuban people will always follow it.
Therefore, in the future, Cuba will continue to adhere to the leadership of the Cuban Communist Party politically.
Another important reason why the leadership of the Cuban Communist Party will not be lost is that the Cuban people attribute Cuba's economic difficulties.
Unlike the Eastern Europeans back then, many Eastern Europeans believed that they were the oppressors of the Communist Party, and the Soviets also believed that the Soviet system and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union were the main reasons for the stagnation of Soviet society. Therefore, the freedom pursued in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union hoped to change society. To live a good life is to become yearning for the West.
Today, Cubans don't think the Communist Party oppresses them, but the Americans oppress them.
So Cubans can do business with Americans without abandoning the Communist Party that gave them dignity and independence.
In 2016, Obama visited Cuba, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to visit Cuba in 88 years.
Lauer and Obama watched a baseball game together during the trip, which became an international story.
(Getty Images)
Ten years ago, I asked a Cuban woman who was the leader of the Cuban Women's Federation. She mentioned this seemingly contradictory situation in Cuba, but she didn't think it was a contradiction. I didn't quite understand it at the time.
After returning from Cuba, I seem to understand this phenomenon.
The Cubans want to cooperate and do business with the Americans, but they are not willing to trade Cuba's rights and interests.
This is also the reason for the stalemate in the relationship between Cuba and the United States.
What the US government means is that the Cubans will give you your proud heart and wealth.
But the Cubans disagree, they cannot agree to surrender their proud hearts.
In Cuban forums and when communicating with scholars, they often talk about "revolution", which confuses us a little.
We don't quite understand that today's Cuba always talks about revolution, but what does revolution mean?
!
I slowly figured out the revolution that the Cubans love to talk about. In fact, the meaning of revolution is not to bow to the United States.
The new leader, Diaz-Canel, has been dubbed the "son of the revolution".
01: This seemingly conflicting duality is really interesting.
Although in the eyes of the outside world, the Cuban Communist Party is a one-party dictatorship, and Cuba’s current predicament is inseparable from the Cuban Communist Party, the general public is satisfied.
Fang Ning:
I think most Cubans still support the Cuban Communist Party.
The Batista regime before the Cuban Communist Party was supported by the Americans, and it was very cruel internally, catching dissidents was killing them.
However, the Communist Party of Cuba and Castro did not do that. At most, they let you go to the United States.
If Cuba did not obey after independence, the Americans came to block it.
The Cubans do not think that they were sanctioned because Cuba has implemented public ownership and socialism, but because Cubans have achieved independence and do not listen to the words of the Americans.
And this is indeed true to a large extent.
Cubans are staunch yearners of independence and freedom. No matter what life they live, even if it is difficult, they must make their own decisions.
Cuban intellectuals are highly unanimous when it comes to this matter.
On July 26, 2021, a man in the United States participated in a demonstration near the White House in Washington in solidarity with Cuban anti-government demonstrators.
(AP)
Of course, those who have been co-produced in Cuba are not satisfied, such as the exiled Bacardi family (Bacardi), and some private business owners and farmers.
Cubans are covered by a well-established social security system, and although it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain, simple basic life can still be guaranteed.
Therefore, it can be said that Cubans are generally satisfied after the Communist Party came to power.
They are free by nature, and as long as they have rum, cigars, independence, and "revolution," they are quite content.
Cuba has never been poor in history, which is different from China.
If the United States does not sanction Cuba, Cubans will live very well.
01: If Cuba's reform is viewed as a whole including the reforms of socialist countries such as China and Vietnam, what are its universality and particularity?
Fang Ning:
Generally speaking, the general trend is from a planned economy to a market economy. Cuba has also proved that the planned economy cannot continue, although the planned economy was good at the beginning.
Deng Xiaoping made a famous comment on the planned economy. He said: "The planned economy can be short but long. It can't be done by a small number of people."
Now that Cuba has less and less supply for urban residents, reform must be put on the agenda.
The particularity of Cuba's reform lies in the fact that Cuba's economy is in difficulty. Although there are factors of the planned economy, the main problem lies in the United States.
As long as it opens up to the outside world, the Cuban economy will naturally improve. To put it simply, as long as American tourists come to Cuba, Cuba will be fine.
Another particularity is that its economic opening to the outside world and political independence will coexist for a long time, and it will not become a state of the United States and lose its independence because of its opening up.
Generally speaking, the improvement of US-Cuba relations is a major trend.
01: What is the biggest obstacle to US-Cuba relations at present?
Fang Ning:
I think it is, the United States hopes that the Communist Party will give up the Cuban regime and listen to the United States.
But this is something the Cuban people firmly disagree with.
Obama restored US-Cuba relations back then because he had clearly seen that the Communist Party no longer threatened him, and Cuba would not ally with anti-Western forces, let alone export revolution.
01: What about Cuba's human rights, information and speech blockade?
It seems that the United States also likes to talk about these things.
Fang Ning:
These are not a problem.
As for speech and information, Cuba can't prevent the information from the United States from passing into Cuba, after all, it is too close.
There are also many foreign tourists, and it is impossible to block information.
Cuban President Canel (left) visited Moscow on November 22 and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
(AP)
01: It is said that Cuban medical treatment is very good, is this true?
Fang Ning:
This is a rumor that needs to be clarified.
To put it simply, first of all, what is the meaning of this so-called "good"?
Cuba's economy is very backward, there is no basic industry, and the people's living standards are also low, with a per capita income of less than US$1,000.
So this good meaning means that Cubans can still enjoy basic medical security under economic hardship and severe sanctions by the United States.
It should be said that Cuba can do this well.
Why can Cuba do it?
The key lies in its three-level medical system - family doctors, community hospitals and specialized hospitals.
Cubans have a family doctor for every 100 households. If there is no emergency, they usually go to the family doctor.
Only with the consent and approval of the family doctor is it allowed to go to the community hospital for medical treatment, such as surgery.
When the community hospital is still unable to treat it, it is allowed to go to a professional hospital.
Therefore, Cuba solves a large number of medical problems at the level of family doctors.
In comparison, China treats minor diseases with big doctors, while Cuba treats most diseases with small doctors.
In addition, Cuban medical care focuses on prevention.
Family doctors are like police officers. They go on rounds and are familiar with the area and residents. They check their bodies regularly, so they can detect hidden dangers before they are sick.
This is the medical culture with Cuban characteristics.
Of course, like the supply system in Cuba, the medical system is facing difficulties and needs reform.
Cuba spends a lot of money on medical care every year, which is also one of the reasons for Cuba's economic difficulties.
In addition to medical care, the Cuban government is under enormous pressure on education, food supplies and transportation.
These four blocks represent the largest expenditures of the Cuban government.
It is undeniable that Cuban medical care is distinctive in certain areas.
For example, in the field of vaccines, the Cuban vaccine against diabetes infection is very effective in wound healing of sick patients.
There is also a vaccine for lung disease.
In addition, Cuba has extracted an anticancer drug from scorpion venom.
But on the whole, Cuba's medical and health level is not high.
The reasons are simple. First, Cuba is poor. Second, in terms of medical technology itself, modern medical care is based on biological and genetic technology.
Large international pharmaceutical groups spend tens of billions of dollars on research every year, which is about the same as the GDP of Cuba.
So how can Cuba's medical and health standards be very good?
!
Cuba's health care and social security system is not what the legend says.
Interview with Fang Ning. 1｜Cuban’s top leader will soon visit China and explore the two worlds on the beautiful island. Interview with Fang Ning. 2｜What has changed in Cuba’s big “update”?
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