5-Errors hurt, but do not halt China's progres

INCE I returned to Canada
after nearly four years in
China, several people have

asked me: “Why didn’t you
write about the Mao personality
cult, and give your views on
the Chinese leaders’ interna-
tional position, in the articles
you wrote while there?”

My answer is that the Cana-
dian Tribune did not send me
to China to engage in polemics;
my task was to describe the
situation in industry and agri-
culture, to send factual ac-
counts of important events
(meetings, celebrations, etc.)
and to cable the essence of
political statements made by
Chinese leaders. In addition, I
visited other socialist countries
—North Vietnam, North Korea
and Mongolia — and wrote ar-
ticles on developments in these
countries.

My dispatches were never
censored; to step out of my role
as a foreign correspondent and
engage in polemics, however,
would have resulted in expul-
sion from China. All foreign
correspondents in Peking, from
the Soviet Union, Rumania, Bul-
garia, Czechoslovakia, GDR,
Hungary, Poland, Britain, Italy,
France, Austria, etc., as well as
the news agency men from
Reuters and France Presse—fol-
lowed’ this rule. The only cor-
respondent forced to leave the
country during the period I
was there was Fred Nossal of
the Globe and Mail, for obscure
reasons which have never been
explained.

On their part, the Chinese -

behaved correctly. On only one
occasion was a definite attempt
made to influence my political
views. After the Communist
Party of Canada issued its let-
ter disagreeing with the Chinese
position on war and peace,
peaceful coexistence and other
matters, I was invited to the
home of one of Renmin Ribao’s
editors and asked if I had
“problems” that needed “clari-
fication.” I assured my host that
I had no problems, that I agreed

The beautiful Peihai Bridge in Peking is shown in the for
of this picture, while Coal Hill rises on the left and a f atieey De

Forbidden City can be see

non the right. Peking is now China’s

second largest city with a population of about six million.

with the position of my own
party, that I did not discuss
politics with my Chinese
friends, did not attempt to
change their political line and
did not expect them to try and
change mine. We left the matter
there, and no further approach
was made to raise polemical
issues with me.

There were many positive
happenings worth reporting on
the industrial and agricultural
fronts. Failure of the Big Leap
in industry had imbalanced the
economy, -and drought and
floods in 1960 added to the
country’s troubles. Times were
grim, indeed — so grim that in
Peking every leaf was picked
from every tree and processed
into vitamin pills. Malnutrition
was. widespread and resulted in
sickness and absenteeism: its
effects also included cases of
girls and women who did not
menstruate for months; oedema
was prevalent. Public skating
rinks were closed; all physical
culture periods in school were
cancelled.

The opposite side of the coin

was this: in any such period in
the past millions of Chinese
would have starved to death
but under the leadership of the
Communist Party of China, food
was tightly rationed and divided
as evenly as possible, with the
result that mass Starvation was
avoided. This was a notable
achievement and I wrote about
it at length. My stories were
factual, and some were reprint-

6 - Nationalism: main dangé

yas a series of
questions on China in the

Canadian Tribune on Jan.
20 this year, I shocked some
readers by citing the growth of
Han nationalism as a source of
many problems plaguing China.

“Han nationalism (the Hans
make up 94 percent of China’s
700 million people) is not a new
thing,” I wrote. “The arrogant
language used by China in cur-

rent polemics is not something »

ed in the Chinese press.

I wrote about slum clearance
Campaigns in Shanghai and
other large. cities; about clean-
up drives and the model city
of Fushan, near Canton; of re-
Settling the “boat people” from
the Pearl River on land; about
the emancipation of women
(still only partial, but a big
step forward from the past);
about the children, all learning
to read and write for the first
time in Chinese history.

These and other positive as-
pects of life in China were
worth reporting in detail — for
they demonstrated the superior-
ity of the socialist system over
Capitalism — even though I felt
many mistakes were being com-
mitted by the Chinese leaders.

In previous articles in the
Canadian Tribune J have de-
scribed in some detail the
mistakes made in agriculture
and industry during the Great
Leap, and the steps taken to
correct them. I will not repeat
myself here. Suffice it to say
that when I left China some
eight months ago signs were
multiplying that the country,
having survived three years of
natural calamities and leader-
ship mistakes in planning, and
gone through a period of con-
solidation and adjustment, was
Preparing for another advance

1964, at a plenary meeting of
the _central committee, Com-
munist Party of the Soviet
Union, in which he said:

In analyzing the present po-
sition of the Chinese leadership
One cannot fail to see that they
also stem from the increasing-
ly more Open nationalistic,
&reat-power aspirations that are
particularly evident in the fore-

ign policy of the CPC leaders.

ony
(a step by step advance) : =

industrial front.

Agriculture has been altho ah)
shape since 1963, mili 7
China is still importing cal
of tons of wheat from iss
Australia’ and other ge j
But in China today thy
food situation is g00%
standards. tt

The Chinese ilusion i ‘
Great Leap of 1958 h? from #)
ly transformed them nf
poor and backward ©°
a great and rich on
of hard work, 100 a4 1 slo
piness!”” was a popu’ of
foundered on the TOC™ yng
ity in the bad years ©
1961.

From over-confide
possibility of achiey ™
ism in one leap,
leadership today has nd
the other extreme,
under the illusion tha
will take generations
Mao’s “thinking” ma fi
duced the non-scie?
Marxist ~ thee
after coming ay wil
question of “who Mes
tween socialism ane
will not be decided ae
“one to several centy

ical 9g
This is not dialer ali]
rialism but dialect! 8;

=

ars 0

nce in mi

thi 2

petty-bourgeois 4 veal
ing”, divorced from

ust §

stand China today ™ a
i history; ae

and aims of Mao C1052 i
lel those : ie
emperors of the Pa™™.. of of

sen ‘
never grasp the ©°° rnp! a.

current polemic
uotations; 45 ended
eee the Chines€ sia
masters at erectitE on OO
and then knocking ith

: ina ©?
For centuries Chie

e (ON

of many “one

i
vag If “the
arising out of socialism, but ig .‘!St0Ty knows of many cases te pee the rest of oe
a hangover from the nation’s fe" vociferous ‘revolutionar- 0M 4 parians- nt!

ast toe 2 isnt Went hand i ith “foreign: bart". rain v
p Hee nt hand in hand with igonalien which is 2 A,

“ the most blatant nationali is erat’ in Won

Although efforts were mande nationalism. day, and the vener™ in ad ak
i ; ’ “ suede 4 od, ©, g
faster ttn uy years sac ane that nationalism as an ine ut is vi ; Ww 2
against the ancient we Say and mbt ih HEEeREE® plains ae to Marxist cit " Sins
RaHon, chauvinism, in recent Of the Chinese leaders, that it is That is why tor Leni tessorg
years it has grown rapidly ang becoming the mainspring of study~of Mat to the iy var
caused serious situations to their actions. This manifested limited basically oes
ar ” by . “ 148)
ee ig leas, whieh See the Of ee
reason some readers "ap, as obviously In pursuing alae | ews
were shocked and disturbed was peed as an attempt to ON Clee ore (negemony Deere: ai | dee of
that the international debate ,, ‘2K all the socialist countries f bordering COUP” in *in@ "ust >,
to that time had expressed uP ‘at one go’ and occupy a do- Of DOFaeh ES orders." of ‘
self around differences s ae minating position in the world eee Jeadersh yer of Been,
sae te the role of the worid Pa eeveremn, world ‘revolution®”? are diet 1 stra

lalist sy Rye a 5 a o
eR OE recta on the possibil- Later these tendencies be- the Chinese i f nd pig tte
ful coexist ing War, On peace- came more and more pronounc- ing the es ¥ ement * cop” Sanda»
ares stence of states, and ed. This found expression in Communist ie e of P Its this

: Such actions of the Chinese dering NG ayerywhere ;

In answering as I did, ] was ®&°Yernment as the artificial fan- movements aap me Ih aq,
trying a0 put my finger on the ning of nationalistic passions For this reaso™ a " works eve in’
pane Ss of China's attitude pened frontier issues, the be- : 2 Communist ant the 7 Y Selii,
‘0 these key questions. My ex. havior of the CPC leaders dur- ing of C gsaty I ari its app
periences in China had con. 18 the Caribbean crisis -and parties is nece ve, 10 det en Vey :
need me that nationalism, and ine stand of the Chinese gov- too distant full one 1 91 g@ Miho.

e eorally cult built up nment in the nuclear problem. what must be twee! ie Page «
aroun ao Tse-tung, gave the “Th ity be pr op (

: ss Peal x ese and othe sal - then the unily nist G Wing

Although all feudal practises have not yet been eliminated in aes to that riddle, the complete Fences cae Marxist: ore vr in eM

China, great strides have been taken in the emancipation of women. In April, the Soviet Union re. tween what the Chinese leaders struggling for nde thous

Photo shows a girl trolley-bus driver in Peking, Ken Shih-yung, who leased the text of a report made S2Y and what they do.” nationa : Worth

has wen the title of outstanding worker for three consecutive years. by M. A. Susloy on F se Chae Bk : yy
ua eb. 14, Anyone who wants to under- and socialis™- pog? 1 And

CIFIC a | Meanie

August 14, 1964—PA f "tog,