Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger died on November 29, 2023, local time, at home in Connecticut at the age of 100, Kissinger Associates, Inc said in a statement.
As Secretary of State under presidents Nixon and Ford, Dr. Kissinger “played central roles in the opening to China, negotiating the end of the Yom Kippur War in the Middle East, and helping to bring America’s role in the Vietnam War to a close,” said the statement.
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. (Photo/Xinhua)
“Henry Kissinger’s long life was one well-lived. When thinking about how history will judge him, I recall the first Premier of the People’s Republic of China Zhou Enlai’s famous quote about the French Revolution two centuries after that event: It's too early to say,” said Harvey Dzodin, former legal adviser in the Carter administration and former director and vice president of the ABC Television in New York, in an interview with GDToday on November 30, 2023.
“In my view, however, Kissinger will be forever remembered for advising President Richard Nixon to cut relations with Taiwan,” Dzodin added.
U.S. special envoy Henry Kissinger meets with then-Chinese premier Zhou Enlai (right) in Beijing in July 1971. (Photo/Xinhua)
Kissinger made his first trip to Beijing in 1971, laying the groundwork for Nixon’s ice-breaking China visit and the eventual normalization of relations between the two long-estranged countries. He had since made 100 more visits, most recently in July, where he met the Chinese president in Villa No. 5 of Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, the same place Zhou Enlai and Kissinger had a meeting to start the normalization process.
Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng extended his condolence to Kissinger’s wife Nancy and her family in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying, “It is a tremendous loss for both our countries and the world. The history will remember what the centenarian had contributed to China-U.S. relations, and he will always remain alive in the hearts of the Chinese people as a most valued old friend.”
In an interview with GDToday, Scotty Cox, an American actor who played Henry Kissinger in the TV drama “Diplomatic Situation”, said: “I was saddened to learn about the passing of whom many would consider one of the greatest American diplomats in the U.S. history. Henry Kissinger played a significant role in shaping U.S.-China relations. His efforts laid the foundation for the complex and multifaceted relationship that exists between the two countries today.”
“It was a great privilege and also a challenge to portray Dr. Kissinger on screen, such a noteworthy and beloved figure that has been revered by so many for more than half a century,” he noted.
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