Chapter Twenty-Six: Returning Home

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  On the morning of May 21, 1979, representatives from the International Red Cross and UN observer Mr. Mihailo Mihajlovic arrived at the C POW camp in Lang Son, Vietnam. In the previous days, China had unilaterally released a batch of Vietnamese prisoners of war as part of a post-war agreement. An agreement on the exchange of prisoners of war between China and Vietnam, brokered by the International Red Cross and the UN, was to be implemented starting today. The two warring parties would exchange a total of 1,864 captured personnel, including 1,636 Vietnamese military personnel and 238 Chinese soldiers, in five batches over the next month. This also included the remains of one Chinese prisoner of war.

  According to the agreement, for whatever reason, both sides of the belligerent parties do not retain any armed personnel of the other party and guarantee to give the captured personnel prisoner-of-war treatment. The exchange of prisoners of war between the two sides will be completed under the supervision of the International Red Cross and UN observers at 0 kilometers. After the completion of the prisoner-of-war exchange, the activities of the armed personnel of both parties in the territory of the other party after being captured will no longer enjoy prisoner-of-war treatment, but will be dealt with according to international conventions as espionage or attempting to subvert national sovereignty. That is to say, one month later, after the completion of the prisoner-of-war exchange, whether in China or Vietnam, once the armed personnel of the other party are discovered, these people will no longer enjoy prisoner-of-war treatment. They will be dealt with by the laws of each country as criminal offenders.

  Maj. Gen. Mineichi Kōsaka, as the United Nations observer in charge of supervising the exchange of prisoners of war between the belligerent nations, has a lot to do today. First, he must determine the treatment accorded by both sides to their prisoners of war.

  The Chinese side had already observed the situation in the prisoner-of-war camp. The living conditions of the captured Vietnamese armed personnel were very good, and there was not even a wall around the prison camp. Every day, the prisoners would gather to eat and sleep by the sound of a bugle call. A few guards who were on duty were clearly unable to fully fulfill their supervisory role. However, all the Vietnamese prisoners knew that the vast population base and distant location made it impossible for them to escape. Moreover, the food and sanitation conditions in the prison camp far exceeded those in Vietnam, not to mention that the Chinese side had long since stated that as soon as the war was over, they would release all of them. In comparison, the risk of escaping was too great. Minik Pomer believed that any Vietnamese prisoner with a brain would not consider escaping. Therefore, he did not worry about the situation of Vietnamese prisoners on the Chinese side.

  In comparison, the conditions of Chinese POWs in Vietnam were much worse. The conditions in Vietnam itself were very poor, let alone for Chinese POWs who were enemies. Not only was the sanitary condition difficult to maintain, but even the basic food supply situation was also very challenging. Mikoyan knew these problems clearly, but the situations between the two countries were fundamentally different, and it was obviously very difficult to make the same demands. The current situation is that we should complete the task of exchanging POWs as soon as possible, so that these POWs can return home early, which is the most effective way for them.

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  One morning, Bao Yulin was still dazed. It wasn't until they arrived at the Youyi Pass that he finally came to his senses. Bao Yulin didn't think he owed Wu Hongying anything, and even now, he was still a bit confused about what had happened last night, sometimes thinking it was just an illusion. However, he still hoped to see Wu Hongying again. Unfortunately, Bao Yulin didn't know that Wu Hongying had been demoted to a regular soldier, and such an important international occasion wasn't something a soldier of her rank could participate in.

  As the first person on the list provided by the Vietnamese side, Bao Yu-lin underwent many checks. These included photographs, fingerprints, physical characteristics, and most importantly, weight, which was evidence of the treatment of prisoners of war by the Vietnamese side. Miknik Pomeroy knew this was a bit far-fetched, but it was part of his job.

  Both China and Vietnam exchanged "name lists", after checking one by one, the accounts were settled. This exchange activity was declared over.

  The first batch of Chinese prisoners of war exchanged were mostly weak and sick, considered a burden by the Vietnamese side. The moment they stepped onto their own soil, these Chinese soldiers who had been detained in Vietnam for several months erupted in excitement. Everyone was excited, cheering, and shouting loudly with tears in their eyes. Many people, due to long-term malnutrition, fainted as soon as they stepped onto their homeland's soil while shouting slogans, and some even tore off the prisoner uniforms issued by the Vietnamese. They yearned to wear the People's Liberation Army uniform again. More people recounted the brutality of the Vietnamese government and the POW camp under the guidance of journalists who came for interviews, expressing their joy at returning home.

  Bao Yulin had also thought of many words to express his love for the motherland and its people, to express his loyalty to the motherland and its people. But at that moment, two soldiers came up and supported him.

  Just as Bao Yulin was about to say that he was fine and didn't need anyone's help, two Chinese military personnel who appeared to be cadres gave a low command: "Bao Yulin, from now on, without permission, you are not allowed to speak, not allowed to raise your head, this is an order! You must cooperate with us, we will quickly send you to the ambulance, do you understand?"

  Conditioned reflexively, Bao Yulin thought to answer "yes" uprightly, but he found that the two cadres' hands were very heavy and didn't know how they were pinched, so he couldn't exert any strength. A soldier's self-awareness made him silently nod his head. Nobody knew that after boarding the ambulance, Bao Yulin's hands were handcuffed. Facing this, Bao Yulin could only smile bitterly, knowing why all this was happening.

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  In Nanning, Guangxi, an original air force barracks was emptied out, and all Chinese POWs returning from Vietnam, including Bao Yulin, were concentrated here. No one could be certain whether the Vietnamese would use biochemical weapons on the returned POWs. Another key point was that political screening had to be carried out on all captured personnel to distinguish between those who had surrendered or defected to the enemy and those who were loyal. This can be understood as an insurance measure, as the country needed to understand what these former POWs had done in Vietnam. No one dared guarantee safety.

  For so long, Bao Yulin has been thinking about the arrival of this day in his mind, and he has thought of all kinds of possibilities. In Bao Yulin's view, the most important thing is to be free from guilt. Bao Yulin asked himself, being captured was not what he wanted, and at that time, he had no choice. As for the series of events that occurred after being captured, the fundamental thing was the so-called "anti-war declaration". As long as it was proven that the anti-war declaration was false, then the differentiation situation of the enemy in the prisoner-of-war camp would be easy to understand. Especially his contribution to the collective escape event in Hanoi Prisoner-of-War Camp was unquestionable.

  Bao Yulin was unaware of the situation with others, he had been isolated and detained. The political department soon found out that the so-called "anti-war declaration" was just a small trick played by the Vietnamese for international public opinion, and after comprehensive consideration, it was believed that Bao Yulin did not do anything improper in the prisoner-of-war camp, especially in the matter of the mass escape of all prisoners of war from the Hanoi prison camp. Although Bao Yulin had some simple-minded problems, from an overall perspective, what he did at the time seemed to have a somewhat selfless flavor. Of course, it was not inappropriate to define him as a revolutionary hero.

  After several months, a large number of witness testimonies were collected, and the key ones were still Zhang Xihang and Lu Kai's discovery of the fecal ditch tunnel in the Hanoi prisoner-of-war camp. After comprehensive consideration, the military investigation personnel found that at least Bao Yulin had done nothing wrong since entering the Hanoi prisoner-of-war camp. Now the key question is why the field hospital was attacked, except for Bao Yulin being captured, only Lin Xiaojing was left hiding under the operating table in a daze? Did the enemy pay such a great price just to catch one person? Bao Yulin escaped from the Hanoi prisoner-of-war camp and spent nearly ten days on the run. His whereabouts during this time cannot be proven, even if he said that he had been hiding and walking north to avoid capture by the enemy. But so many people ran back, how did he get caught by the enemy after walking for so many days?

  Bao Yulin was unaware that at this time, there were two things that were very unfavorable to him. Firstly, when the military personnel asked Lin Xiaoqing, who had been transferred to work in a local inspection institute due to injury, about the incident where she heard Vietnamese people sneaking into the hospital and looking for Bao Yulin, Lin Xiaoqing flatly denied it. In fact, Lin Xiaoqing didn't have any prejudice against Bao Yulin, and she had also heard the Vietnamese conversation at that time. However, as a girl who grew up in a greenhouse-like environment (most female soldiers were children of cadres), due to the huge shock, she was momentarily confused and selectively forgot this bloody incident, which was most crucial for Bao Yulin. Lin Xiaoqing didn't know how important this incident was for Bao Yulin.

  Secondly, because of his relationship with Wu Hongying, Bao Yulin did not reveal the origin of the Vietnamese military uniform he wore when he escaped from the Hanoi prisoner-of-war camp. This gave people who interrogated him a feeling that he was dishonest. Later, it became clear to everyone that Bao Yulin had indeed entered the prisoner-of-war camp wearing a Vietnamese military uniform.

  Bao Yulin was very confused, why the people from the political department kept asking him about what happened after he escaped from the prisoner of war camp, until one day, the person in charge of the interrogation asked him about his military uniform, and then he understood that the problem lay here.

  Bao Yulin then spoke out about the situation at that time, of course, he said that he was hiding in Ruan Yuanjia's room. However, this led to another question. At the time Bao Yulin entered the prisoner-of-war camp, everyone saw that there were no military ranks on his uniform! Generally speaking, no one would wear a military officer uniform without military ranks. At this point, Bao Yulin couldn't explain clearly. He didn't know how to explain why Wu Hongying helped him tear off his military ranks. He had to make up a story saying that he was worried that the rank on his uniform did not match his identity, so he tore it off himself.

  Unfortunately, these issues are no longer relevant. The Political Department's investigation into Bao Yulin has already concluded that his capture was accidental, and the "anti-war declaration" he issued in Vietnam was fabricated by the Vietnamese government for political purposes. Even during his time in the POW camp in Hanoi, he made some contributions to his comrades' escape, either directly or indirectly. However, there were many suspicious points about his situation after escaping from the POW camp in Hanoi, which could not be confirmed at the time. Therefore, the military authorities made the following judgment: In view of the fact that Comrade Bao Yulin suffered extreme physical and mental harm during his captivity in Vietnam, he is no longer suitable for continued service in the army. It has been decided that this comrade will honorably leave active duty and return to his hometown, where local government will be responsible for arranging his employment.

  In this way, with a single discharge certificate, in November 1979, Bao Yulin's short one-year life in the army came to an end. He had no chance of being awarded for his meritorious service. His file was returned to the small town, where he waited for the local government to arrange his work.

  Unlike others, Bao Yulin was directly returned to his hometown from the political review of captured personnel. His hometown, Bao Yuanchen's father Bao Guoqiang had become the secretary of the town party branch.

  It turns out that Bao Guoqing's luck is really good, he was originally just the director of the commune revolutionary committee, and the central government's cleaning up of "three kinds of people" gave him an opportunity, suddenly becoming the town party branch secretary from a commune revolutionary committee director. His good days have arrived.

  Bao Yulin had no opinion on this arrangement within the organization. In his view, regardless of the reason, being a prisoner of war was already a very shameful thing. Moreover, most of his familiar comrades-in-arms had sacrificed themselves in Vietnam, and he was already much luckier than his fellow soldiers to be able to return home alive. He did not know that his file had recorded his experience of being captured in Vietnam, especially with an investigation conclusion from the Political Department of the troops: There were many suspicious points about Comrade Bao's situation during his captivity in Vietnam, but under current circumstances, it was impossible to obtain evidence. It was suggested that the unit using him should be cautious and avoid causing unnecessary losses to the country.

  In his pocket was the travel expenses and demobilization fee issued by the army, Bao Yulin boarded the train to his hometown, he went home.

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