"Tonight I am reaching out to every single South African, black and white, from the very depths of my being. A white man, full of prejudice and hate, came to our country and committed a deed so foul that our whole nation now teeters on the brink of disaster. A white woman, of Afrikaner origin, risked her life so that we may know, and bring to justice, this assassin. The cold-blooded murder of Chris Hani has sent shock waves throughout the country and the world ... Now is the time for all South Africans to stand together against those who, from any quarter, wish to destroy what Chris Hani gave his life for - the freedom of all of us."

Those words, precious words, gave South Africa time. Just over a year later, South Africa elected an ANC government.

Some months after the TV address, I had the honor of meeting Mandela, briefly. Irish journalist Maggie O'Kane was giving a speech at Witwatersrand University. One of the bravest and most insightful journalists of her generation, her reports from Sarajevo captured the torment of the former Yugoslavia as it disintegrated. Now she was addressing an audience at Johannesburg's top university, a bastion of Afrikaner education. The comparisons were obvious. South Africa too seemed close to breaking up.

After she spoke, Mandela, who had just turned 75, got up to speak, praised her work and highlighted the challenges facing his country. Then in a moment of spontaneity, the audience sang Happy Birthday. Afterward, he mingled, chatting, laughing, giving hope. People patiently queued to shake his hand, to be in his graceful presence. His security detail were nervous, eyeing everyone, ready to intervene at the slightest hint of trouble. We shook hands. I tried to say how much I admired him, to thank him. But my words came gushing out. I made little sense. As the crowd pressed ever closer, his minders were growing visibly edgy. He was still shaking hands as his guards ushered the man who kept chaos at bay into the Johannesburg night.

The author is a senior copy editor of China Daily.

(China Daily 12/17/2013 page8)