China’s parliament makes
few government changes

PEKING — China’s Prime Min-
ister, Chou En-lai, last week
announced a new Chinese govern-

Ment which though slightly larger:

than the old one showed few
Changes,

The official announcement said
both the government list and the
National Defence Council —
Supreme organization for all de-
fence matters—were approved by
China’s parliament, the National
People’s Congress.

'*“Hymanite”, Paris.

| “We are increasing our aid...”

Most notable change was the
removal of the former Chinese
commander-in-chief in the
Korean war, Marshal Peng Teh-
huai (64), who was Defence Min-
ister from 1954 until 1959,

The marshal lost the posts of
Vice-Premier and first-ranking
vice-chairman of the defence

council, In the defence council, ,

which is headed by the chairman
of the- Republic, Liu Shao-chi,
Marshall Peng’s place is taken
by Gen. Lo Jui-ching, a Vice-
Premier and Chief of the Army
General Staff,

The list of 45 government min-
isters and chairman of State
commissions approved contained
only minor changes. One was the
replacement of Li Teh-chuan,
the woman who has led China’s
health drive for 15 years, by
Chien Hsin-chung as Minister of
Public Health, No reason was
given,

A summary of a resolution
adopted by the congress at its
closing meeting said China had
“accomplished the task of re-
adjusting the national economy”
after the difficulties of recent
years,

U.S. Communists greet
Cuba’s sixth anniversary

Greetings to the people of Cuba
on the sixth anniversary of their
independence were sent by Gus
Hall on behalf. of the Communist
Party of the U,S,A, to Fidel
Castro,

The greeting said:

“Cuba’s achievement in Janu-
ary, 1959, was a victory for the
People of Cuba in the first place, .
and at the same time a victory
for all oppressed people in the
Struggle against imperialism and
Colonial enslavement. ...

“The same forces of brutal
U.S, imperialism who seek to en-
Slave Cuba also violate the rights
and freedoms of our American
People, of the Negro people, of
the labor movement, as well as
of us who are Communists, This
was demonstrated repeatedly in
the recent elections by the cam-
Paign conducted by the fascist

and ultra-Right Goldwater |

forces

“Therefore, the victory of the
People against Goldwaterism was
Crucial, This now provides fur-
ther grounds for a people’s cam-
Paign to halt U.S, acts of aggres-
Sion against Cuba and to conduct
a Campaign for normal relations,
That is in the interest of the
American people, ...

“We express our deepest ad-
Miration and respect for you as
you enter the new year, this
Seventh year of the growth of
the new Cuba on the road to
Socialism, During these past six
years you have made history and
achieved greatness, ...

“You have contributed magnifi-
cently to the freedom and dignity
of the people, You have demon-

strated the validity of the libera-
tion principles of creative Marx-
ism-Leninism and the urgency of
international working class soli-
darity. You have paved the way
for greater victories ahead. . a

Speaking in Havana Premier
“Fidel Castro announced that by
popular wishes of the people 1965
would be known as the Year of
Agriculture,

PREMIER CASTRO

Admitting that the country
faced economic problems due to
the American blockade, he intim-
ated that sugar production would’
show a substantial increase when
figures are released and would
prove a tremendous slap in the
mouth to our enemies,”

Premier Castro said the mili-
tary parade had been cut from 1}
hours to 30 minutes “because
parades are very expensive,”
Shown for the first time were
Soviet-made land-to-land miss-
iles and swift new reconnaiss-
ance jet planes.

«We are the only socialist
country in this hemisphere and
for that reason we need to be
armed,” said Castro,

San Francisco reveals
two sides of U.S. life

A reguglar contributor to the PT
recently visited San Francisco on a
holiday. In the foilowing account he
contrasts the two sides of life in this
colorful American city.

By CANADIAN OBSERVER

Winter in San Francisco is some-
thing like our normal. winter in
Vancouver, but warmer, The
temperature ranges from 50 to 60
degrees and there is rain—and
sometimes a bit of fog from the
ocean,

In so many ways, San Fran-
cisco demonstrates the contra-
diction between two social forces,
On the one hand there is the in-
creasing decadence of an over-~
ripe, capitalist society, This
force is mainly concerned with
material values and status sym-
bols, spawning hypocrisy and
moral corruption. On the other
hand there is the force that speaks
for peace, civil rights anda more
just society, :

In San Francisco, and more
there than in any other U,S, city
on the Pacific, there is a rising
demand for a radical break with
McCarthyism and a new assess-
ment of American life,

If you spend your vacation in

‘San Francisco, you will get the

impression that thisis a thriving,
prosperous city, There are many
cars on the streets and freeways,
The stores are well-stocked and
well-patronized, With 3,500 rest-
aurants and a wide range of en-
tertainment places, parks, cul-
tural centres and athletic
facilities, it gan be a happy place
for a tourist with a few dollars
in his pocket,

The choice of entertainment
and recreation is wide, There is
an excellent opera house and
there are many movies, night
clubs and legitimate theatres, If
your taste runs to the ballet,
symphony, folk singing, art gal-
leries or museums, you'll find
much more to please you than in
Vancouver, If you like tropical
flowers, you can visit the cen-
tury-old conservatory in Golden
Gate Park, a park aboutthesame
size as our Stanley Park,

* * O*

Walk down Market Street (the
main stem) at 7:00 a,m, and the
taverns are open, They advertise
Irish coffee at 60 cents a shot:
coffee and Irish whiskey, San
Francisco seems to have more
liquor outlets than any compar-
able city in the U,S,A, or Canada,
All types of liquor, American and
imported, are sold in grocery
stores, drug stores, discount
stores, delicatessen shops and
package liquor stores, in every
part of the city, In addition, liquor
is sold in taverns, restaurants
and night clubs, Every super-
market (and there are many in
San Francisco) has alarge liquor
display,

A movie house front and en-
trance way were plastered with
nude females, The advertise-
ments informed the public that
this was a really artistic movie,
made in France and dealing with
“historical” themes, They also
stated that it featured a lesbian
scene, Another movie house fea-
tured two Soviet films in color,

I picked up a newspaper and
learned that one theatre was
featuring six stripteasers peeling
at one time, Another was adver-

tising a “bustorama,” a display
of strippers with phenomenal
mammaries, A restaurant invites
you to watch a painter sketching
a nude female, while you eat.

Turning off Market Street, I
went up the hill on Powell, a
street famous for the cablecars,
Union Square and the expensive
shops, hotels and restaurants on
or close to it,

One restaurant advertised that
it featured girls with topless
bathing suits swimming in a fish
bowl. Another showed pictures
of its waitresses in short skirts
and revealing mesh tops. Brows-
ing through the shelves of a book-
store near Union Square, I found
two magazines written for male
homosexuals, (Among the hun-
dreds of taverns in the city, a
number are openly operated for
and by such homosexuals.)

* * *

But all this decadence and
filth is only the scum that comes
to the top. Clear away the scum
and the American people are re-
vealed as basically sound, There
have been many years of condi-
tioning, with an intensive barrage
of McCarthyism, cold war propa-
ganda and the illusions of post-
war prosperity, Because ofthese
factors, the average San Fran-
ciscan seems to be less informed

politically than the average Van-

couverite,

But the trade union movement
is strong and influential, The
Negro civil rights movement is
well organized and quite active,
During the holiday season the
San Francisco press reported
that a militant slate had won con-
trol of the local branch of the
‘National Association for the Ad-
vancement of Colored People,

At the University of Calitor-
nia, in Berkley, the large student
body, with the support of the
faculty, has been carrying on a
militant and courageous fight for
free speech on campus,Some 800
students were arrested on
charges arising out of a sit-in
demonstration, At the root of the
dispute is the attempt of big
business, operating through the
regents,

for off-campus activities in con-
nection with militant civil rights
organizations,

This struggle is a significant
blow against the cold warriors
who have dominated U,S, aca-
demic life for too long, It is win-
ning wide support from labor,
sections of the Democratic Party
and the general public,

On Saturday, December 19,
some 1,500persons, most of them
young, demonstrated in Union

to prevent student’
groups from organizing support:
and soliciting funds on campus

Square, callig for an end to the
“dirty war” in Viet Nam, Joan
Baez, currently the biggest U.S,
name in folk singing, performed
for the demonstrators, She sang
an anti-war song by Bob Dylan,
who, she said, “writes most good
songs of protest,” She also sang
“You never ask questions when
God is on your side,”

State Assemblyman John Bur-
ton (Democrat) called upon all
groups to mobilize and “reach
people in churches and political
parties, Republicans and Demo-
crats, all those who want to live
in peace,” He appealed for united
action of all the peace organiza-
tions to effectively express the
desire of most Americans to end
the war in Viet Nam, Many inthe
audience wore buttons of the
Berkley Free Speech Movement,

A prominent labor journalist
told me that the Negro civil rights
movement in the U,S,A, has lifted
the lid on American society, It
has inspired tens of thousands of
white people, particularly stu-
dents, to join the fight of the Negro
people and placed them in sharp
conflict with the power structure,
around the issues of free speech
and in respect to American
foreign policy,

The student who volunteers to
serve in Mississippi can hardly
be expected to accept without

. questioning -the continuation of

Washington’s policy in VietNam,
This journalist also stated that
the civil rights movement has
brought the beginnings of a quali-
tative change in the trade union
movement,

Even a casual reading of the
San Francisco newspapers shows
that it would be superficial to
sketch American political life in
stark, black and white, with no
in-between shadings, While two
Hearst papers (morning and
afternoon) call for a tougher
policy in Viet Nam, another daily

_is running articles calling for a

search for an honorable with-
drawal. It also suggests recog-
nition of China in order to pro=
mote more trade for the port of
San Francisco, Responsible busi-
ness interests, backed by sec-
tions of organized labor, have
set up a committee to promote
such recognition and trade,

So if you want to spend a week
or two in one of the most inter-
esting cities in the U,S,A,, go to
San Francisco, I’m certain you
will enjoy your visit to this breezy
western city, You’re sure to enjoy
a fresh wind from the Pacific,
and a fresh political wind,

The Ass'n of United Ukrainian Canadians
invites you to attend

A FAREWELL SUPPER & DANCE

in honor of ¢

FRANK and ANNE CHECKO
SATURDAY, JANUARY 16 at 6:30 p.m.

Dancing at 9 p.m.
UKRAINIAN CANADIAN CENTRE
805 East Pender St.
Admission $2.00 for Supper & Dance

January 15, 1965—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 11