That Mao kiss: will it be like the old times for China as Marcos Jnr takes helm in Manila?
- Famous photo of Chairman Mao kissing Imelda Marcos’ hand still marks high point of bilateral relations
- Amid claims of ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jnr’s victory being a win for China, observer warns against overstating family ties
To many Chinese, probably one of the best known photos of Chairman Mao Zedong is one where the ailing leader kisses the hand of the first lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos.
As the president’s special envoy, Imelda Marcos was tasked with making preparations for her husband’s June 1975 state visit.
The kiss caused a sensation in China. Marcos later also recalled it as one of her proudest moments, as Mao rarely agreed to meet any foreign dignitaries in his later years.
“He took my hand and kissed it … And that was the beginning of the end of the Cold War. Because the Philippines was America junior … do you see how serious that was?” she told Agence France-Presse in 2009.
She is also reported to have been fondly remembered by Mao and his wife Jiang Qing for gifting them a case of mangoes, the Philippine national fruit that was rarely seen in China back then.
