（編者按，最近中國的間諜在西方十分活躍，作者的這篇舊文，描述了兩位義大利間諜在二戰前後在中國活動的情形。他們分別所獲得的離奇又不公平的待遇反映了那個時代的大背景。原文為英文，附在下方。）
最近我讀了兩本書，《鴉片茶》和《應該刺殺毛澤東的人》。這兩本書講述了兩位歐洲人在四十年代，中國抗日戰爭和國民黨與共產黨內戰期間，潛入中國從事間諜活動的故事。
真正的間諜比安卡·譚獲得了特赦，得以返回故鄉義大利，開啟了她人生中幸福的後半段。而蒙冤的間諜安東尼奧·里瓦則被判死刑，並在審判後立即被處死。正義與否，幸運與不幸──一切都如風一般飄逝。
比安卡·譚（1918-1994）——自傳《鴉片茶》（1985年首次在義大利出版，後來被翻譯成英文、法文和日文）的作者——是美第奇家族的千金。她十八歲那年愛上了當地軍校的一名中國交換生譚展超。他們結婚後，比安卡隨丈夫去了中國。丈夫在前線作戰期間，她生下了四個孩子。
戰爭期間，譚展超負傷，愛上了一位護士。他拋下妻子比安卡和孩子們，另組家庭。為了養活四個年幼的孩子，美麗的比安卡必須從事各種工作，包括為克莉絲汀迪奧當模特兒。她在上海社交圈如魚得水，與許多富有的商界菁英、外交官、政治人物等交往甚密。比安卡利用自己廣泛的人脈為日軍蒐集情報，並獲得了豐厚的報酬。
戰爭結束後，日本戰敗，蔣介石政府逮捕了這位美豔的間諜，並判她死刑。
此時，與她疏遠的丈夫譚展超突然出現，救了她。他常去監獄探望她，比安卡再次懷孕。最終，蔣介石赦免了這位女士，允許她帶著孩子返回義大利，而譚展超則帶著家人移居台灣，並於1960年因癌症去世。
1947年，29歲的比安卡帶著孩子回到義大利，開啟了她傳奇人生的第二篇章。憑藉著在上海與法國設計師克里斯汀·迪奧合作的模特兒生涯，她成為了巴黎的著名模特兒和公眾寵兒。
1993年，在海灣戰爭期間，一家義大利雜誌聘請比安卡擔任記者。她前往科威特，從前線發回報導。
1991年，在她去世前三年，一位來自美國的陌生人拜訪了她。這位陌生人是她已故前夫和後來與他成婚的護士的女兒。她透過《鴉片茶》一書認識了比安卡。這是一次令人興奮的經歷：譚家的下一代——譚展超再婚之後的四個孩子和比安卡的五個孩子——終於團聚並和解。這一喜事標誌著災難性的20世紀的結束——一個充滿痛苦、分裂、悲傷和戰爭帶來的苦難的世紀。它證明了愛和人與人之間的連結永遠存在。
然而，比安卡的同胞安東尼奧·里瓦（1896-1951）就沒有那麼幸運了。
里瓦在錯誤的時間出現在錯誤的地點，並為此付出了生命的代價。他被選中，作為獻給新成立的中華人民共和國的祭品。第一次世界大戰期間，里瓦曾是義大利空軍的英勇飛行員。他憑藉七次空戰勝利，榮獲軍事英勇銀質勳章和薩伏依騎士勳章——這是義大利空軍的最高榮譽。
關於里瓦的生平及死因，許多細節至今仍是個謎。我們不知道他是如何成為間諜的，也不知道為什麼中國共產黨政權決定指控他和其他五名外國人，密謀在1950年10月1日天安門廣場的慶祝活動上，刺殺毛澤東和其他中華人民共和國的締造者。該事件的官方記錄至今尚未向公眾公開——而且可能永遠不會公開。
義大利記者兼漢學家芭芭拉·阿利吉耶羅Barbara Alighiero在中國花費多年時間收集珍貴資料，分析這起冤枉案。經過多年的研究和採訪，阿利吉耶羅於2010年出版了《想要殺死毛澤東的人》（L’uomo che doveva uccidere Mao）一書。該書為讀者提供了一個更可靠的版本，使我們能夠了解七位受害者的背景以及戰後時期的政治環境。
里瓦離開義大利空軍後，在天津創辦了「亞洲進出口公司」。他利用這家公司從事武器貿易。在20世紀三、四十年代，他透過訓練飛行員、建造機場、從義大利購買飛機等方式協助國民黨，不僅用於對抗日本侵略者，也用於鎮壓「共產黨」。
年輕的共產黨成立於1921年，當時規模很小，力量也很弱，蔣介石希望在它成為真正的威脅之前將其剷除。身為飛行員和商人，里瓦深諳如何滿足蔣介石的需求，畢竟，他也不喜歡共產黨。里瓦娶了一位美國女子，育有四個孩子。他熱愛書籍和藝術，收藏古董和書法作品。他身邊許多外國人和歐洲人在戰後都不願離開中國，他們想留在中國，享受外國人的特權生活。
日本知識分子山口隆一熱愛中國文化，他酷愛讀書，在法國人維奇的書店裡快樂地工作。山口隆一和維奇都是里瓦的朋友和鄰居，義大利神父塔西西奧·馬蒂納、奎裡諾·維克托·露西·格利以及德國工程師沃爾特·根特納也與他們是朋友。美國駐華外交官兼武官大衛·迪恩·巴雷特David Dean Barrett,上校也是他們的共同好友。巴雷特在中國經驗豐富，二戰期間曾擔任約瑟夫·史迪威將軍在中國、緬甸和印度戰區的助手。內戰爆發，共產黨掌權後，巴雷特選擇前往香港。這個決定救了他的命，或至少讓他免於牢獄之災。
1950年9月，安東尼奧·里瓦、山口隆一和其他四名外國人以及中國人馬新慶被捕。當局在一次房屋抄查中發現了一門舊迫擊砲，並指控該團夥密謀在天安門放置大砲，企圖刺殺毛澤東等人。這門古董迫擊砲早已無法使用──里瓦是從北京郊區的垃圾堆裡撿來的。
七名被告中，只有里瓦和山口被判死刑。其餘被告均被判無期徒刑或長期監禁。
這是中國政府首次在中國境內處決外國公民。儘管這一消息震驚了國際社會，但當時大多數國家正忙於應對戰爭的後遺症，無力為少數無辜者伸張正義。
正如法國漢學家讓–呂克·多梅納赫在阿利吉耶羅著作的序言中所寫：
「紅色政權初期極其恐怖。它關門打狗，清洗和殺戮肆意進行，不留任何痕跡……她（阿利吉耶羅）講述了一個真實的故事：中國新成立的共產政權捏造事實，來指控幾個外國人，這完全是一場虛構的陰謀。”
中國共產黨透過戰爭和暴力奪取了政權。他們盲目地信奉恐怖和血腥。正如中國諺語所說，「殺雞儆猴」。共產黨想透過這些不公正的審判來警告其臣民和外界：我們是主人，我們是統治者，我們可以為所欲為，任何人不得干涉。
然而，這場荒謬而殘酷的審判卻存在著一個障礙：毛澤東政權不敢試探美國。美國人戴維·巴雷特深度參與了這場「陰謀」。然而，只有他一個人逍遙法外。二十年後，周恩來總理邀請巴雷特訪問中國，並就此事含糊其辭地道歉。這些道歉可以被理解為對一場捏造的政治陰謀的承認。
Two Forgotten Spies: Bianca Tam and Antonio Riva
Recently I came across to two books, Opium Tea and L’uomo che doveva uccidere Mao (The Man Who Should Kill Mao). Both volumes are about two Europeans who acted as spies in China in the forties during the Sino-Japanese War and the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communists.
The real spy, Bianca Tam, received amnesty and could go back to her home country of Italy and enjoy the fulfilling second part of her life. Meanwhile, the falsely accused spy, Antonio Riva, was sentenced to death and executed right after the trial. Justice or injustice, fortune or misfortune—all are gone with the wind.
Bianca Tam (1918-1994)—the author of the autobiography Opium Tea (first published in Italy in 1985, later translated into English, French and Japanese)—was a daughter of the noble Medici family. She was eighteen when she fell in love with a Chinese foreign exchange student at the local military academy, Tam Zhanchao. They married, and Bianca followed her husband to China. While her husband was fighting at the front, she gave birth to four children.
In the middle of the war, Tam Zhanchao was wounded and fell in love with a nurse. He left Bianca and the kids to build a new family. In order to support her four little children, the beautiful Bianca Tam worked all kinds of jobs, including modeling for Christian Dior. She became a social butterfly in Shanghai, moving around an international circle of rich, influential business men, diplomats, politicians, etc. Bianca used her expansive social network to collect information for the Japanese and was handsomely paid.
When the war ended with Japan’s defeat, Chiang Kai-shek’s government arrested the attractive spy and sentenced her to death.
At this moment, her estranged husband Tam reappeared to rescue her. He visited her in jail frequently and Bianca became pregnant once again. Finally Generalissimo Chiang granted amnesty to the woman and she was allowed to return to Italy with her the children, while Tam moved to Taiwan with his family where he died of cancer in 1960.
In 1947, at the age of 29, Tam returned to Italy with her children for the second part of her legendary life. Thanks to her modeling career in Shanghai with the French designer Christian Dior, she became a famous model and public darling of Paris.
In 1993, during the Gulf War, an Italian magazine hired Tam as a reporter. She traveled to Kuwait and filed stories from the warfront.
In 1991, three years before her death, a stranger visited her from the United States. It was the daughter of her deceased ex-husband and the nurse. She had discovered Bianca through the publication of Opium Tea. It was an exciting affair: The next generation of the Tam family—four children on Tam’s side and five on Bianca’s—finally reunited and reconciled. This happy event marked the end of the disastrous 20th century—a century full of pain, divisiveness, sorrow and agony born from war. Demonstrating love and human bonds always survive.
Yet, Bianca’s countryman, Antonio Riva (1896-1951), was not so lucky.
Riva was in the wrong place at the wrong time and paid for this with his life. He was picked out as a sacrificial offering to the newly founded People’s Republic of China. During World War I, Riva served bravely as a pilot in the Italian Air Force. For his seven aerial victories, he was awarded the Silver Medal for Military Valor and the Knight’s Cross of the Military Order of Savoy—high honors in the Italian Air Force.
Many details about Riva’s life and death remain a mystery. We do not know how he became a spy or why the Communist regime decided to accuse him—along with five other foreigners—of conspiring to assassinate Mao Zedong and the other founding fathers of the People’s Republic at the celebration festival at Tiananmen Gate on October 1, 1950. Official records of the event have not yet been released to the public—and may never be.
The Italian journalist and sinologist Barbara Alighiero spent many years in China collecting valuable materials and analyzing this case of injustice. After years of research and interviews Alighiero published the book, L’uomo che doveva uccidere Mao (The Man Who Should Kill Mao), in 2010. The book provides the reader with a more reliable version of the story so that we can understand the background of all seven victims as well as the political circumstances during those post-war years:
After he left the Italian Air Force, Riva established “The Asiatic Import and Export Co.” in Tianjin. He leveraged his company to trade weapons. In the thirties and forties, He assisted the Kuomintang Party (KMT) by training pilots, building airports and buying airplanes from Italy, not only to fight against the Japanese but also to suppress the “Communists.”
The young Communist Party was founded a decade ago in 1921 and was so small and weak, Chiang Kai-shek wanted to eliminate it before it became a real threat. Riva as a pilot and business man understood how to satisfy Chiang’s need, after all, he did not like the communists either. Riva married an American woman and they had four children. He loved books and arts and collected antiques and calligraphy. Many foreigners and other Europeans around him did not want to leave China after the war was over. They wanted to stay in the country and enjoy life as privileged foreigners.
Ruichi Yamaguchi, a Japanese intellectual, loved Chinese culture, and as a bookworm he worked happily at the bookstore of the Frenchman Vetch. Both Yamaguchi and Vetch were friends and neighbors of Riva, as well as the Italian priest Tarcisio Martina, Quirino Victor Lucy Gerli, and the German engineer Walter Genthner. The American diplomat and military attaché at the American embassy, Colonel David Dean Barrett, was also their mutual friend. Barret was an old hand in China who was the assistant of general Joseph Stilwell during his mission in the Chinese, Burmese, and Indian Theaters of World War II. When the civil war broke out and the communists came to power, Barrett chose to leave for Hong Kong. This decision saved his life, or at the very least, saved him from imprisonment.
In September 1950, Antonio Riva, Yamaguchi and the other four foreigners plus Ma Xinqing, a Chinese native , were arrested. When they found an old mortar in a house raid, the authorities alleged that the group conspired to plant a cannon at Tiananmen gate to kill Mao Zedong and others. This antique mortar was nonfunctional– Riva had collected it from a junk pile at the outskirts of Beijing.
Of the seven defendants, only Riva and Yamaguchi received death penalty. The others received life sentences or lengthy prison sentences.
It was the first time that the Chinese government had executed foreign citizens in China. And while the news shocked the international community, most other countries were struggling with their own postwar problems and lacked the strength advocate for a handful of innocent people.
As the French sinologist Jean Luc Domenach wrote in preface of Alighiero’s book:
“The beginning time of the Red regime was extremely horrible. It closed the door and beat the dogs, purges and killings went on without leaving any trace…She [Alighiero] has told a true story, with false fabricated facts to accuse several foreigners, it was an imaginary plot.”
The Chinese Communist Party had taken power through war and violence. They believed blindly in terror and blood. As the Chinese proverb goes, “Kill the chicken to scare the monkeys.” The Party wanted to warn its subjects and the outside world through these unjust trials: We are the masters, we are the rulers, we can do whatever we want, no one shall intervene.
Yet, there was an obstacle in this absurd and ferocious trial: Mao’s regime did not dare test America. The American David Barrett, was deeply involved with the “conspiracy.” Yet he alone remained free and untouched. Twenty years later, Premier Minister Chou En-lai invited Barrett to visit China and apologized vaguely for the case. These apologies can be understood as a confession to what was nothing but a fabricated political plot.
Source: http://www.sampsoniaway.org/fearless-ink/2017/02/17/two-forgotten-spies-bianca-tam-and-antonio-riva/
