Chapter 58 Stopping the construction of the Beijing subway to aid North Korea 1966

Journalist: “Why did you halt the construction of Beijing’s subway and provide assistance to North Korea’s subway instead?”

Mao: “It was because I wanted to become an international communist leader. In 1966, when Kim Il-sung visited China, he toured the secret construction site of Beijing’s subway and asked for my help in building a subway in Pyongyang. However, at that time, China lacked the capacity to simultaneously construct two subway lines. So, I approved the suspension of the Beijing subway project and prioritized the gratuitous assistance in building the Pyongyang subway. Construction began in 1968, and it was opened to the public in 1973. The second line of the Pyongyang subway was also opened in 1975. On the other hand, Beijing’s subway didn’t open until after my death, in 1981.

The Pyongyang subway project was large and modeled after Moscow’s subway. It had the world’s deepest station, reaching a depth of 200 meters, with an average depth of 100 meters. It took three minutes to descend on the electric escalators from the surface. The stations were adorned with marble and bronze reliefs, and they were kept secretive. They removed some Chinese markings on the equipment, claiming that it was entirely built through self-reliance by North Korea, but in reality, I had given it to them as a gift.

Very few people within or outside the party knew about this matter, and it was never publicly reported. I avoided letting the masses know about it to prevent backlash, as they would criticize me for prioritizing external affairs over internal matters and squandering the hard-earned money of the people, which would be detrimental to me.

In order to become an international communist leader, I provided assistance to Kim Il-sung and Enver Hoxha, regardless of how much blood and sweat of the people it cost. From 1954 to 1978, we spent over 10 billion yuan in aid to Albania. I was brutal and caused starvation among our own people internally, but generous externally. All of this was done to solidify my position as a leader. When military force didn’t work externally, I relied on throwing money around generously.”