同意! 同意! 中国! 中国! ——广场上的人民外交
60多年前，古巴人民在菲德尔·卡斯特罗的领导下，通过艰苦卓绝的斗争终于推翻了当时古巴的反动独裁统治，取得了革命的胜利。相似的经历让这份胜利的喜悦感染了中国人民，大家都为之欢欣鼓舞，并以各种方式声援支持古巴人民的正义斗争。在两国人民一片热烈友好的氛围中，1959年7月古巴革命领导人之一劳尔·卡斯特罗提出，希望中国能够派出重要的干部去领导新华社驻古巴分社，把分社作为非正式的中国官方代表机构，待时机成熟后再寻求建立外交关系。中方对此非常重视，派出时任上海市政府秘书长曾涛出任新华社驻哈瓦那分社社长。
Six decades ago, the Cuban people, under the leadership of Fidel Castro and with heroic struggles, overthrew the reactionary dictatorship and won the victory of the revolution. The Chinese people, having had similar experiences, shared the joy and expressed solidary and support to the Cuban people in various ways. Amid the amity between the two peoples, Raúl Castro, one of the leaders of the Cuban revolution, suggested in July 1959 for China to send important cadres to lead the branch of the Xinhua News Agency in Cuba. He hoped that the branch would serve as an unofficial office representing the Chinese government so that the two countries could establish diplomatic relations when conditions were ripe. His proposal was deeply valued by the Chinese side, which sent Zeng Tao, then Secretary-General of the Shanghai municipal government, to head the branch of the Xinhua News Agency in Havana.
革命胜利后的古巴并不太平，她面临着来自外部国家，尤其是“近邻”美国的巨大压力。1960年8月28日，在美国操纵下，第七次美洲国家外长会议通过了一项攻击古巴革命、干涉古巴内政的《圣约瑟宣言》，激起古巴人民的极大愤慨。
Though the revolution was a success, Cuba was yet to enjoy full tranquility. It faced huge external pressure, particularly from its "close neighbor," the United States. On 28 August 1960, at the Seventh Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of American States, the United States manipulated the adoption of the Declaration of San Jose, which attacked the Cuban revolution and interfered in Cuba's internal affairs. This aroused strong indignation among the Cuban people.
1960年9月2日，哈瓦那举行百万人参加的古巴人民全国大会，卡斯特罗在会上发表讲话，表达了古巴人民誓死捍卫民族独立和国家主权、坚持本国革命事业的坚强决心，驳斥《圣约瑟宣言》对苏联和中国的诬蔑，同时感谢中国等国对古巴的无私援助。
On 2 September 1960, the National General Assembly of the People was convened in Havana, participated by more than a million Cuban people. Fidel Castro delivered a speech, in which he expressed the Cuban people's determination to risk their lives for national independence and sovereignty and carry on the cause of revolution. He refuted the defamation in the Declaration of San Jose against the former Soviet Union and China, and expressed appreciation for the selfless assistance from China and other countries to Cuba.
卡斯特罗振臂高呼，宣布中古建交
Fidel Castro raising his arm and announcing the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Cuba
卡斯特罗高声询问与会者：“古巴革命政府愿提请古巴人民考虑，是否同意同中华人民共和国建立外交关系？”会场上百万人举起双手，大声回答：“同意！同意！”。这时卡斯特罗宣布：“中国代表已经在这里了！”他走到坐在前排的新华社驻哈瓦那分社社长曾涛身边，拉着他的手高高举起，大声宣布：“从现在起，断绝同蒋介石傀儡政权的‘外交关系’。”广场上顿时掌声雷动，同声呼喊：“中国！中国！”大会通过了著名的《哈瓦那宣言》。9月8日，中方指派曾涛为中国政府代表，与古巴政府商谈两国建交问题，很快达成协议。1960年9月28日，双方同时发表经两国政府批准的建交公报。古巴成为第一个与新中国建交的拉美和加勒比国家。
In a resounding voice, Fidel Castro said to the assembly that the Revolutionary Government of Cuba would like to ask the Cuban people to consider if they would agree to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. About a million participants raised their hands, shouting "Yes! Yes!" Fidel Castro told them that the Chinese representative was already among them. He went to the front row, where Zeng Tao, chief of the branch of the Xinhua News Agency in Havana, was seated. He held high Zeng Tao's hand and declared that from that moment on, Cuba had severed its "diplomatic relations" with Chiang Kai-shek's puppet regime. Thunderous applause burst in the square, and people were chanting "China! China!" The Assembly adopted the well-known Havana Declaration of 1960. On 8 September 1960, China designated Zeng Tao as the representative of the Chinese government to consult with the Cuban government on establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries. The two sides soon reached an agreement. On September 28, the joint communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic ties was ratified by both governments, making Cuba the first Latin American and Caribbean country to enter into diplomatic relations with New China.
从1949年10月1日诞生起，新中国一直积极寻求同拉美国家建立外交关系。但由于美国的阻挠，官方建交渠道始终不畅。在这一背景下，周总理提出“开展人民外交”的基本方针，发展民间友好关系，这些努力终于在哈瓦那广场百万人的见证下开花结果。中古建交就如星星之火，在这片富饶热情的土地上燃成燎原之势，开启了中国同拉美和加勒比地区关系的新纪元。经过二十年耕耘，智利、秘鲁、墨西哥、阿根廷先后与中国建交，中拉关系迎来了建交高潮。
Since its founding on 1 October 1949, the People's Republic of China has sought to establish diplomatic relations with Latin American and Caribbean countries. It was due to the obstruction by the United States that the official channel for establishing diplomatic ties did not always operate smoothly. Against such backdrop, Premier Zhou Enlai proposed the basic guideline of conducting diplomacy at people-to-people level. Witnessed by a million people, such efforts finally paid off in the Revolution Square in Havana. The establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Cuba was like a little spark that would start a prairie fire on this land of passion, opening up new vistas for the friendship between China and the Latin American and Caribbean region. Through 20 years of efforts, Chile, Peru, Mexico and Argentina established diplomatic relations with China, bringing a new wave of establishing diplomatic ties with China in this region.