Ji Chaozhu, who often interpreted for Deng as well as for Zhou, recalled that while Deng rarely displayed any emotion, “when Deng began by saying, ‘our premier,’ his voice broke. Everyone was sobbing.”13 Deng's life had been closely intertwined with Zhou's for half a century, and both of them had suffered under Mao whom they had served with dedication for many decades. This would be Deng's last public appearance until the spring of 1977.
