_ formers who spy

_ ty throughout the

Western world.

After the most dramatic sea-
son in its history, with a full
list of symphonic, popular, stu-
dents’ and children’s concerts,
several performances of major
choral works and a Symposium
{| of Contemporary Canadian Mu-
sic, the Vancouver Symphony
Society suddenly decides on an
4 excuse that would not deceive

duce the number of concerts by
two-thirds, and revert to the

tors.

ed by the members of the or-

HE present ‘position of

the Vancouver Symphony
Society in relation to its con-
ductor, its choir, the orchest-
ral players and the musical
public provides a vivid and
concentrated example of the
kind of thing that is happen-

ing with increasing regulari-
“whole

an unweaned trap-drummer, to
fire its permanent director, re-

practice of hiring guest conduc-

An excellent statement releas-

chestra sums “up the case thus:

“The Society has taken on
the responsibility of maintaining
a Vancouver symphony orches-
tra. If they do not continue to
maintain it on a continuously
improving permanent basis, it
will be an admission by those
leading business people that they
cannot handle the job and will
reflect on business in general
signifying that another depres-
sion is at hand.” :

As a description of the pro-
cess of cultural decay that is
eating at the heart of the profit
system this could Hut be bet-
tered.

The “leading business Gece
“cannot handle the job.” They
have other, more urgent con-
cerns. The full-time preoccupa-
tion with the task of saving their
skins even if they have to risk
their shirts on a third world war,
leaves them little interest in the

artistic toys they played with in —

more leistred times.
oe .
There is a touch of dialectic

humor in the circumstance, as

it affects the musical life of
Vancouver, that our Symphony
Board loosens its febrile grip
and exposes its complete inep-
titude at a time when the public
demand for the best in sym-
phonic music has reached the
highest point in the city’s history.
And, of course, like the mon-
key in the fable with its fist
stuck fast in the gourd, grasping
the sugar that it cannot consume
yet dare not release, “those lead-
ing business people” steadfastly
refuse to allow others to handle
the job they stand confessed of
falling down on.

The historical background of
the present tragi-comedy is quite
simple. In the last three years
Vancouver has, musically speak-
ing, passed out of its period of
self-conScious adolesence and
‘come of age. During the war
years, conscious of its contri-
bution to the defeat of the Axis
powers, it developed from a
township into a city, with the,
inevitable result that the people

have come to demand a richer
metropolitan life.

In the realm of general culture
there is no more tangible symbol
of a city’s manhood than the
possession of a permanent sym-
phony orchestra, It commands
the attention and respect of
other major musical ,centers, it
lifts the orchestral players out

of the casual labor class, and it .

removes from our highest cul-
tural organ the stigma of being
a mere decoration in the lives
‘of the well-to-do and gives it a
broad popular basis of pride and
support.

Editorial comment and “numer-

ous letters to the press have de--

manded with hardly a dissen-
tient ‘voice that our orchestra
be maintained on “a continuous-

é ly improving permanent. basis.”
Since making its initial phony ©

excuse the Board has remained
silent, partly no doubt because
it has nothing to say, but mainly
out of complete disdain for pub-
lic opinion. And our Community

What's behind the Symphony dispute? -

Arts Council to which, on the
basis of previous claims, we have
a right to look for leadership,
remains as dumb as the Board.
Perhaps this is not a coincidence.

A time will come when it will

be inconceivable that a city
or a province shal! look upon the
preservation of its cultural life

as of less consequence than gar-—

bage disposal or adequate drain-
age. That time is not yet.
Meanwhile, and in the prevail-
ing situation, it is for the public
to demand that the present Sym-
phony Board resign, that its
members go back to selling fer-
tilizer or second-class transpor-
tation or whatever they are real-

ly interested in, and that a new
‘Board be elected pledged to

carry our orchestra forward
from the point reached last Ap-
ril. Such a Board will have no
difficulty in persuading the peo-
ple to help wipe out its com-
paratively insignificant financial
deficit.

Chiang holds Taiwan |

under reign of terror

pensar. reigns today on

Taiwan, ‘better known to

the world as Formosa, last
stronghold of Chiang Kai-
shek’s rump Kuomintang re-
gime.. Taipeh and other is-
land cities are crowded with
wealthy refugees from the
mainland, with Kuomintang
officials and the industrialists
and merchants who grew
rich on their favors. There

“are troops everywhere, rem-

nants of Chiang’s defeated
armies, but they represent
only the open aspect of Ku-
omintang oppression. The
real terror is hidden behind
the activities of thousands of
secret police agents and in-
upon the
population, for Chiang fears
the people of Taiwan as
much as he fears the People’s
Liberation army now prepar-
ing its attack on his last,
refuge.

The 6,500,000 Taiwanese have R
every reason to hate the Kuomin-

_ tang. In the five years since the —

island was restored to China at

the conclusion of the Second

World War after 50 years of Jan-
anese rule—Taiwan was ceded to
Japan by the treaty of Shimonr
oseki in 1895—they have found

that victory over Japan meant

little more to them than a change
in oppressors. In 1895, by China’s

_ defeat in the,Sino-Japanese War,

a Nhadeon the corrupt Man-
u for Japanese rule. In 1945,
they exchanged the hated Jap-
anese for the corrupt Kuomintang

ie Tule, 4

re soon as the reubinitane '
took over, it banned all démo-—
cratic organizations in Taiwan and
treated the islanders. as’a con-
quered people. All important gov-
ernment posts and fat jobs were
reserved for carpetbaggers from

the mainland. ne
The Kuomintang ruthlessly
Plundered the Taiwan people

through heavy taxes and extor-
tionate levies and squeezed out
native small business by setting
up an extensive network of gov-
ernment-operated monopolies. One
year after the Kuomintang took
over the general price index in
Taiwan rose two hundred-fold,

- Widespread popular discontent
culminated in many strikes and

_demonstrations by students ‘and |
working people. Governor Chen
amd answered with the blood bath.

of February 28, 1947. Innocent
Taiwanese were murdered in cold
blood for protesting against il-
legal arrests and corrupt govern-_

- ment practices.

e' A =

The plight of the Taiwanese
has become worse in_ recent
months. Huddled on the island
are, 20 provincial “governors” in
exile, 40 “cabinet ministers” and
several hundred so-called “legis-
lators” and “national assembly”

delegates. These and thousands of —

Kuomintang Officials are living

“on the blood, sweat: and tears of

the Taiwanese people.

Kuomintang agents have been
planted in all cities and in the,
countryside, swooping on, anybody
they suspect. Notorious butcher
Chen Cheng, former governor and
the present premier of the Kuo-
mintang regime, has openly de- °
clared that he would rather! “im-
prison a hundred innocent people
than let a anne ope get

away.”

For instance, uominieng -sol- —
diers; tipped off about hidden fire-
arms, went down to a village and |
dug up'af farm for four days. They
destroyed the crops and found
nothing, When the peasants pro-

_ tested, the soldiers replied with

machinegun fire, killing or wound, |
ing pres 200 villagers.

Following. discovery of an =
leged Communist plot, 5,000 per-

sons were — ‘arrested and as a re-

sult of such mass roundups, jails
in Taiwan are crowded to over-
flowing. A revealing and signifi-
cant fact is that the vast majority
of the inmates at the concentra- |

tion camp at Tu i Cheng, on

the outskirts of Taipeh, are dis-
sident Kuomintang officials.

Additional concentration camps.

are being rushed: on another islet,
Huo Shao Tao (literally “fire-burnt

islet”), off the east coast of Tai-.

‘wan, where the Japanese imper-
ialists used to intern political pris-
oners and where no ordinary peo-
ple were allowed to land. This
place now is a veritable hell on
earth. To the people of Taiwan,
the very name is synonymous with
horror and cruelty. ‘

Today in Taiwan anybody
changing his domicile must re-

port to the local police within six

hours. For those who want to
leave the island for other ports,
an’exit permit must Be ‘obtained at
the price of “at least two hundred
silver or ighegiek ¥ :

prantante those seized “a the

police obtain their freedom by

paying a certain amount of money.
People in Taiwan call this ran-
som money
tax.” \.

The cost of daily necessities has
Soared out of the reach of the
common people. Thousands ¢
teen-age boys, thrown out of
school because of poverty, have

been compelled to join’ the Kuo-

mintang, known as the “New Ar-

my.” Equippzd with U.S. weapons

and trained by U.S, military in-
structors and advisers, these un-
fortunate lads are employed by
Chiang Kai-shek to prop b the
ace regime. :

The Kuomintang is making des-
perate efforts to gain outside sup-
port for survival, trading the is-

- land for U.S. aid. Over 60 per-
cent of Taiwan's sugar refining
industry now is in the hands of ©

American interests, according to

‘New Times of June 1, 1949. And

it is interes ting to note that Tai-
wan'’s annwAl output of sugar
reached one million tons in 1941,

PENMAN © ty

,

“catch and release —

UE EE |

alike,

for peace and
peopic.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JUNE 16, 1950—PAGE 5

What ‘apartheid’ saibané

HESE pictures provide a vivid glimpse
Pam eigen

Atlin: Kes Weer a ee of South

criment ¢ Salgial ce ee
and the oppression and exploitation of the African
people which is responsible for them. And to stifie
colored and white people
the Malan regime is now trying to
through fascist-type legislation to ban the
fon ae, barty and all other organizations which fight
Capel, Nahin: fer: alt South: Atriean:;

all protest, from Negro,

The fascist “apartheid”
" Malan’s Nationalist gov-

push
Com-

ie

‘im

PMU Me tn tt ee

Lh ee MC ee eT