Taking Photos of Deng Xiaoping“Working in the Office”

In the summer of 1984, I was assigned a task by Xinhua News Agency to take some“work photos”of Deng Xiaoping in Beidaihe. Aunt Zhuo Lin, Deng's wife, was cheerful about it and asked her children to help me carry the equipment to Deng's office. To everyone's surprise, Deng turned down my request by saying,“I never work in the office! What work photos?” For a while, everyone was stunned. While Aunt Zhuo Lin quickly saved us from embarrassment, I began to understand why Uncle Deng raised his objections. He was saying NO to formalism. It was usually in his living room where he dealt with the paperwork, not in the office. To save me from further embarrassment, Uncle Deng fulfilled my request for a photo, adding,“This is a one-time deal.”

邓小平在北京中南海紫光阁接受美国哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS）《60分钟》电视新闻访谈节目主持人迈克·华莱士的专访。

Deng Xiaoping took an interview with CBS's “60 Minutes” correspondent Mike Wallace in the Ziguang Pavilion of Zhongnanhai.