Today in History

Jan 29,1935: The Red Army crosses the Chishui River four times

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-01-29 15:43

Jan 29, 1935: The Red Army crosses the Chishui River four times

On Jan 19, 1935, the Red Army left Zunyi and moved northward. According to the changing enemy situation, Mao Zedong employed a highly flexible warfare approach. On Jan 29, the Red Army crossed over the Chishui River into southern Sichuan by way of Tucheng field. The Red Army then swept eastward on Feb18 to Feb 21, crossing the Chishui River at Taiping du and Erlang Beach. On the morning of Feb 28, the Red Army re-entered Zunyi, and annihilated two divisions and eight groups, marking the first major victory since the Long March. From March 16 to March 17, the Red Army crossed Chishui River the third time at Maotai and its surrounding areas, entering Sichuan again. Later, from March 21 to March 22, the Red Army crossed the Chishui River the fourth time, meeting the enemy at Taiping du and Erlang Beach. The army then crossed the Wujiang River, to meet the enemy in Yunnan. The Red Army moved northwestward and crossed the Jinsha River in early May to overpower hundreds of thousands of enemy troops for a decisive victory in a strategic shift.

Jan 29, 1963: Zhou Enlai speaks in Shanghai about science and technology

On Jan29, 1963, Zhou Enlai made a speech at the work conference of science and technology in Shanghai. There, he pointed out the key to achieve the modernization of agriculture, industry, national defense, science and technology, and to build China into a strong socialist country, was to embrace the modernization of science and technology.

Jan 29, 1979: Deng Xiaoping visited the United States

From Jan 29 to Feb 5, 1979, Deng Xiaoping was invited to an official visit to the United States. This  was the first visit to the United States by a Chinese leader since the founding of New China. On Jan 30, Deng Xiaoping made a speech in Washington, DC, that affirmed that the resolving the Taiwan reunification question was an internal affair for China and to no longer use the words "liberation of Taiwan". With Taiwan's return to the motherland, China will respect the reality and current system there, he said in his speech.

Jan 29, 1980: The CPC Central Committee establishes the Central Party History Committee and its working bodies

The notice establishing the Central party History Committee and its working bodies appointed committee members: Hua Guofeng, Ye Jianying, Deng Xiaoping, Li Xiannian, Chen Yun, Nie Rongzhen, Deng Yingchao and Hu Yaobang. They are responsible for checking and editing programs on Party history, validating decisions on major issues in history, and finalizing the manuscript for a history book. The committee also was empowered to establish the Party History Research Center under the leadership of the Party History Editing Committee to be directly responsible for historical information collections, research and compilations. Hu Qiaomu was appointed director of the Party History Research Office.