When the Bee Gees were the anthem of Chinese reform

Deng was popular because he symbolized open-mindedness and pragmatism, as opposed to the Maoist radicalism and isolationism of the past. Foreign students in Beijing took Deng's political ascendancy as a signal, at last, for throwing away restrictions and relating with China and the Chinese people in a new and normal way.

For weeks, my dormitory on the campus of the Beijing Language Institute pulsated with dance parties, as if Boney M and the Bee Gees were the anthem of reform.

The restrictive system of curfews and gate registration – that effectively barred Chinese guests or Chinese girl friends during late hours – broke down. I once asked the old gatekeeper why he was no longer doing the job of screening and registering guests.

"It's supposed to be open-door now," he said. "I'm not sure, I'm confused."

[ ... ]

I began working for NBC News under Beijing Bureau Chief Sandy Gilmour soon after the bureau opened in late 1982. One memorable story we did was that of Charlie Two Shoes, which illustrates how China dealt with Western media in the early years of the open-door policy.

In 1946, U.S. Marines stationed in China during World War II adopted an 11-year-old boy and nicknamed him "Charlie Two Shoes" because that was easier to pronounce than his real name Tsui Chi Hsii. Charlie lived and learned English from his Marine buddies until 1949, when the Communist revolution forced the Americans out of China.
 
Charlie Two Shoes suffered imprisonment and humiliation as a suspected U.S. spy, but he clung on to his hopes. And true enough, by 1983, Charlie reestablished contact with his buddies, who in turn devised a plan to invite him to America.

Finding Charlie and obtaining media access was a challenge, as his village and vast areas of Shandong province remained off-limits to foreigners, even after four years of the open-door policy.

We negotiated repeatedly with the local government, and eventually we found common ground, convincing them that the story would benefit the newly re-established relations between the United States and China.

But there were compromises. We agreed not to venture into Charlie's village, but that rather the local government would transport him to Tsingdao, where Sandy could interview him for an exclusive report. We covered Charlie's departure for America, where he was joined years later by his family. The lesson of his story became an important guide for future news gathering in China.

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