Vol. 73/No. 13      April 6, 2009

Edited by Mary-Alice Waters, the book was published by Pathfinder Press in English and Spanish in 2005. It is based on interviews with Armando Choy, Gustavo Chui, and Moisés Sío Wong. Each became a general in Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces. As teenage rebels they threw themselves into the clandestine struggle and 1956-58 revolutionary war in Cuba that brought down the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista and opened the door to the socialist revolution in Latin America. In the book the three generals describe the historic place of Chinese immigration to Cuba and more than five decades of revolutionary action and internationalism, from Cuba to Angola, to Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

The Beijing book presentation took place at the offices of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC). Granma reported that the new edition "is the product of collaboration between the CPAFFC, the Chinese International Culture Art Center, and the Cuban embassy in Beijing." It was translated to Chinese by Wang Lusha and Wang Ping and published by the Intellectual Property Publishing House in Beijing.

At the launching, according to Granma, "Li Xiaolin, vice-president of the Association, noted that Cuba was one of the first countries entered by Chinese immigrants in the 19th century, and that many joined the struggle against colonial oppression, as their descendants did later against the dictatorship."

Commenting on Li's talk, Xinhua reported, "In October 1931 Cuba put up a plaque in the capital, Havana, to commemorate the contributions made by Cubans of Chinese origin to Cuba's independence. Inscribed on it is the phrase, 'There was not a single Chinese-Cuban deserter; there was not a single Chinese-Cuban traitor.'"

In his remarks, Carlos Miguel Pereira, the Cuban ambassador to China, noted these were the words of Gen. Gonzalo de Quesada, a leader of Cuba's war for independence from Spain and secretary of the Cuban Revolutionary Party led by José Martí, reported Granma.

The paper added that "Zhang Mingzhi, president of the Chinese International Culture Art Center, said his institution was proud to have participated in this project."
 
 
Related articles:
Book on Chinese-Cuban generals presented in Cuba
Students from China keen to learn about Chinese in Cuba’s revolutionary history  
 
 
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