Nicolae Ceaușescu was the dictatorial president of Romania. In December 1989, amid mass protests, he was overthrown and executed on Christmas Day. Romania thereafter ended communist tyranny and entered a democratic society. Ceaușescu had been a good friend of Mao. More than forty years after Mao’s death, whenever he thought of Ceaușescu and his wife being executed together so tragically, he felt sorrow. He wished to visit his old friend to express sympathy and condolences.

When Mao met Ceaușescu, he spoke directly.

Mao: “You and your wife died so tragically, executed together. You were my good friend. I have long felt sorrow over your fate but had nowhere to express it. Today I have come especially to offer my condolences.”

Ceaușescu: “In December 1989, the situation spiraled out of control within ten days—completely beyond my expectations. In mid-December, protests broke out in a western city. I quickly suppressed them; several thousand died, and the unrest subsided. On December 18, full of confidence, I departed as planned for a state visit to Iran. Three days later I returned to find the situation deteriorating badly—the army had defected and was attacking the security forces.”

Mao: “When the army splits, that is a grave matter. What did you do?”

Ceaușescu: “On the 21st, I decided to hold a rally of one hundred thousand people to reverse the tide and call on the people to support the suppression of unrest. While I was delivering a speech from the Central Committee building, someone suddenly shouted in the square: ‘Down with Ceaușescu!’ ‘Down with the murderer!’ The scene became uncontrollable. The armed police ordered the crowd to disperse. The defense minister ordered: ‘Do not open fire.’ But the mayor conveyed my instruction: ‘You may fire—first a warning; if they do not disperse, shoot at their legs.’ Under pressure, the defense minister committed suicide, shocking the nation.”

Mao: “The situation was already out of control, yet you still dared to hold a mass rally? A grave mistake. Whenever I convened a party congress, I made sure I had complete confidence in victory. Without certainty, I would postpone it—just as the gap between the Eighth and Ninth Congress lasted more than a decade. If I did not convene a meeting, no one could topple me. But to convene one and be overthrown—I would never allow that.”

Ceaușescu: “On the 22nd, the troops supporting me defected and withdrew from the city center. The police could not stop the demonstrators from storming the Central Committee building. The crowd threw my portraits out of the windows. Seeing danger, I summoned a helicopter to escape. But the helicopter was already tracked by military radar and could be shot down at any moment. I had to land in the countryside and flee by car, but I was eventually captured by the army.”

Mao: “So you fell into rebel hands. How did they deal with you?”

Ceaușescu: “Before Christmas, they formed a seven-man tribunal to try me. They announced five charges; the first accused me of killing sixty thousand people. I was sentenced to death, with the right to appeal.”

Mao: “Did you appeal?”

Ceaușescu: “I was defiant. I said I did not recognize their court, so I would not appeal. Today I see I miscalculated. Had I appealed, they might not have executed me that very day.”

Mao: “And that was the end?”

Ceaușescu: “I spoke firmly, gesturing constantly. Three armed soldiers seized us, bound our hands behind our backs with rope, and restrained us. These scenes were broadcast on television—seen across Romania and Europe. Even today, they can still be viewed online.”

Mao: “What happened next? Were you immediately taken out and shot?”

Ceaușescu: “Yes. They struck while the iron was hot. On Christmas Day, they escorted us outside, to an open patch of ground beside a military barracks latrine, and executed us on the spot. Three soldiers opened fire with submachine guns. I do not know how many bullets struck our bodies.”

Mao: “Your deaths were truly tragic. Among communist leaders, yours was perhaps the most tragic end.”

Ceaușescu: “After my death, in the 1990s, some in China still praised me, calling it ‘heroic martyrdom.’ In the 2000s, it became ‘calm martyrdom.’ By the 2010s, it turned into neutral descriptions—no more praise. Only today do you still express sympathy.”

Mao: “From your fate, I see that the will of the people is like water. The lesson I draw is this: concentrating power in the hands of a few is a disaster. The helmsman must be careful not to be thrown overboard.”

Ceaușescu: “My lesson is that I should never have fostered a personality cult. Before 1970, I was not so unpopular. In 1971, after visiting China and North Korea, seeing you and Kim Il-sung cultivate personality cults with such grandeur, I admired and envied it. Upon returning home, I imitated you extensively, portraying myself as Romania’s great father. My wife surpassed even Jiang Qing, becoming the ‘Mother of the Nation.’ Welcoming crowds waited for hours for me. When I visited a factory, production stopped three days in advance to prepare slogans and decorations. I built forty palaces nationwide, several yachts. My wife had a large room full of fur coats and hundreds of pairs of shoes. I appointed twenty-seven relatives to high office.”

Mao: “Your personality cult resembled mine in many ways. It began with Stalin. After his death, Khrushchev criticized him, and personality cults fell into decline. After my Great Leap Forward failed, I too lost stature, but Lin Biao revived me with lavish praise. I rose again, even higher, becoming the Red Sun. After bringing down Liu Shaoqi, I grew even more unrestrained. When you visited China in 1971, it was at its peak. I set a bad example for you. You followed me, and it harmed your later life, leading to a tragic end. I am truly sorry.”

Mao then asked: “What other lessons did you learn?”

Ceaușescu: “I imitated your Great Leap Forward-style exaggeration—overreporting achievements, expanding appearances, building grand projects on borrowed money, incurring ten billion dollars in foreign debt. I forced rural urbanization, relocating peasants into centralized housing. I also adopted your belief that ‘more people mean more strength,’ encouraging births, mandating at least four children, prohibiting divorce, and enforcing policies coercively. This created deep resentment.”

Mao: “I most appreciated your independence from the Soviet Union, which is why I befriended you. In the European communist bloc, I had only two friends: Hoxha and you. Hoxha quarreled with me after taking my aid, claiming to be more Marxist-Leninist and orthodox than I was, aspiring to lead world revolution. I ignored him. He died relatively well, but after 1991, even his remains were relocated. Though you died tragically, we were comrades in adversity, brothers to the end. That is why I still remember you.”

Ceaușescu: “Your fortune was far better. You died with honor, and even today some still praise you. Though Deng Xiaoping overturned your policies and ended class struggle, he still upheld you with the ‘Four Cardinal Principles.’ I, however, vanished entirely. The new government even abolished the death penalty after executing me. The meaning was obvious: I was the disaster star; once I died, there would be no more death penalty.”

Mao said insincerely: “Your fate serves as a warning to me. My successors still conceal my crimes, because China is far more closed than Europe. The internet is behind firewalls, with many online police, so for now they can still cover for me. But concealment can never be eternal.”

Feeling that Ceaușescu had spoken candidly and that both had expressed repentance, Mao judged the conversation complete. They shook hands in farewell, dissolved into blue smoke, and departed in different directions.

NEXT: 19. Chiang Kai-shek (1887–1975)