‘SPECULATION INSANE’ China today is not as Alsop sees it By BERT WHYTE PT Correspondent OSEPH Alsop, the American columnist ‘‘expert’”? on all things in heaven and on earth, stops off for a few days each year in Hong Kong to get the “truth” about conditions in China. After talks with Kuomintang agents, U.S. consular officials and other ‘“‘unbiased’”’ sources he writes a series of prognostica- tions about China’s economic and political situation, invariably reaching conclusions which con- firm hs made-in-USA precon- ceived prejudices. To get the flavor of Alsop’s prose one must quote at least a couple of paragraphs. Writing in “The China Quarterly’? some months back he opined that the Chinese people suffer from “creeping starvation’? and that the country “has been caught in a remorselessly descending spiral.” Speculating that Mao-Tse-tung’s “ambition to transform China into a military-industrial giant would be far easier to attain if the present population could only be reduced by one third,” Alsop continued: “But suppose Mao chose to take this easy way out of his di- lemma. Suppose the order went out to march one third of the Chinese people to the public slaughter-houses, and then com- post them for the fertilizer the Chinese {ief$is need so badly. After issuing such an_ order, could Mao count on the loyalty of his army, however well fec, and rely upon the obedience cf his secret police, however much cossetted?”’ INSANE From this insane speculation Alsop proceeded to arrive at his world-shaking predictions: “The system may break down: and if the army rallies to the people, the system will break down. Beyond this point, we can- not fruitfully look. If there is an explosion in China, the Rus- sians may or may not intervene. “Chiang Kai-shek may or may not successfully inject himself, with or more probably without American tacit support. Survivors of the existing system may or may not succeed in capturing the leadership. The new leaders of China may or may not call themselves Communists, All, in truth, is uncertain except one thing. China’s descending spiral cannot continue unendingly .. .” _ Well, I have news for Joseph Alsop. It does not come from the mouths of Kuomintang agents or American diplomats, but from. first-hand observation inside China over a three-year period. The news is simply _ this: .China’s economy is on the up- grade; Alsop’s ‘‘descending spi- ral” is a figment of an imagina- tion affected by the virus of anti-Communism. EXILES TRAIN IN US. The Columbia Broadcasing Sys- tem in the U.S. last week showed TV pictures of Cuban exiles training for guerrilla warfare at “No Name Key,” in Florida. Some of these pictures were also shown on Canadian TV news reports. _ According to the announcer, re- porters had no trouble finding the During the period of the Great Leap mistakes were made, of course. Added to these mistakes were three years of unprecedent- ed natural calamities, which affected the economy of China adversely. But for the last year or more the economy has been on the upswing, and in 1963 this up- swing is gaining momentum. RECOVERY Take a look at China today and what do we see? A picture - of growing recovery from the .three bad years and a prospec: of prosperity ahead. All signs point to a good grain crop this year, plus a sizeable increase in livestock. In the South, rice planting is off to ‘a flying start; in the north, an adequate amount ‘of rain or snow in most provinces this winter has given the farmers confidence as they prepare to sow their spring crops. Even in those parts of Hopei and Shanshi and Inner Mon- golia which suffered from a long dry spell, a light snowfall in February alleviated the serious situation to some extent. Industry’s ‘‘aid to agriculture’ drive is in full swing. China’s major steel centres are supply- ing more steel products for the technical transformation of farm- ing — -special rolled steel for tractors, steel plates for hign pressure containers used in mak- ing chemical fertilizer equip- ment, small flat bars for tractor accesories, T-steel and big round bars for combine harvesters, and so on. Peking factories are mass-pro- ducing a new type of deep-well pump capable of drawing water from 70 feet underground, deli- vering four times as much as other deep-well pumps. TECHNOLOGY In February a national con- ference on agricultural science and technology was held in Pe- king. Scientists were called on _to tackle questions on which farm output hinges — water con- ~3ervation, fertilizers, system of ‘arming, electrification, animal qusbandry, afforestation, etc. In Shanghai, 700 representa- tives of rural people’s communes in six East China provinces held The “Free World” pe et ers forward to leav- ing school and being unem- ployed ” April 11, 1963-PACIFIC _TRIBUNE—Page 8 a two-week conference to ex- thange experiences and plan for 1 new upsurge in agriculture this year. As with agriculture, so with light industry. The upturn evi- dent in 1962, is expected to con- tinue at an accelerated pace this year. Premier Chou En-lai, address- ing a conference on science and technology in Shanghai, dwelt jon the importance of moderniz- ing China’s science and techno- logy for her socialist construction. “This is the key to ‘building up our country into a_ strong socialist state with a modern agriculture, industry, national de- fense, science and_ technology,” he said. : Shanghai, China’s leading light industrial base, is shipping ever greater quantities of machines and equipment to other cities. The New China News reports: “Shanghai factories speéializ- ing in the manufacture of light industrial machinery are produc- ing equipment for the alcohol, confectionery and watch-making industries of Wuhan, Nanking and other cities. year, machines for leather products, . shoe making, glassware and plastic products were sent to over 20 provinces and autonomous regions includ- ing Liaoning, Szechwan and In- ner Mongolia.’ canned food, MORE PRODUCTS How does all this affect the life of China’s 700 million peo- ple? The answer is tnat more consumer goods are everywhere. Here are some ex- amples noted in Peking: ® In February the meat ration for city residents. was increased from two ounces to ten ounces per person per month. © Milk, formerly only purchas- able for children, is now on free sale. Milk powder is also avail- able. -@ Butter is on free sale for the first time in several years. ® Industrial coupons are no longer required to buy tinned meat. © There is an amply supply of fresh and salted fish. China’s biggest winter ocean fishing ground off the Chekiang coast had an excellent catch in the past three months, double that of the previous season. ® Vegetables and citrus fruits are on sale everywhere at cheap prices. @ Stores display a greater variety and quantity of light consumer goods such as cigaret- tes, plastic goods, synthetic de- tergents and bicycles. @ More restaurants and food stalls are operating than at any time in the past three years. LONG WAY : China has still a long way to go to catch up to the advanced countries. Some necessities, such as cotton, cooking oil and soap, remain in short supply. Heavy industry continues in the doldrums, waiting for agri- culture to get back on its feet. But the general upswing in the economy is sq evident to any observer inside China that Jo- seph Alsop’s theory of ‘‘a remor- selessly descending spiral’’ ap- pears not only absurd but the ravings of a lunatic. Agency . Earlier t his~ The iron and steel industry in China is being developed as a vital part of the country’s plans for industrialization Photo above shows iron and steel smelting at the Kumming Iron and Steel Company in Yunan. As with industry, so with agriculture, China is planning for a new upsurge this year. Scientists are tackling electrification, animal hubandry and afforestation. Photo above shows farm- ers at the Shashi People’s Commune in Kwangtun sunning ‘their new grain on the thrashing ground. appearing. U.S. labor scene: with a standing ovation of the 250 delegates to the 70th anniversary conven- tion of the International Unione of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers in Den- ver, Colorado, called for Skate R. Hoffa, greeted Washington from all over the U.S. to demonstrate against pending anti-labor bills, Hoffa was one of the fea- tured speakers before the union of 70,000 hard-rock ‘miners and smelter work- “ers : The International Broth- erhood of Teamsters has a mutual assistance pact with Mine Mill and has helped the organization with con- siderable finances for de- fense against Taft-Hartley, non - Communist charges. “We are living in a pol- lice state,” said Hoffa as he described his own union’s harassment by department of justice surveillance of himself and other leaders. “I know from _ personal experience the cost in time, money, health and human spirit your union has paid for many court victories you have won against the false charges of conspira- FIGHT AGAINST ANTI- LABOR BILLS URGED ~ ‘labor and car carayans to _ - government. affidavit — \ cy,” said Hoffa. Describing the drastic McClellan, Goldwater and Dirksen bills now pending, Hoffa called on the Mine Mill and unions expelled by the CIO for being Left, to join the IBT in a move, to rally a big march on Washington with union members marching “‘six to a ‘Car? He said if nothing is done to combat the new anti- labor bills, labor in Am- erica may soon face what the French workers faced and were forced to strike against arbitrary contro! of their livelihoods by the. With the union still fac- ing Taft - Hartley conspir- acy charges for seven of its officers and members, the convention in a resolution expressed warm apprecia- tion to Norman Thomas, Patrick E. Gorman, sec. - treas. of the Butchers Frank Rosenblum, _ see. - treas. of the Clothing Wor- kers and other labor leuad- ers for their support of the Mine Mill defense commit- tee. To date leaders of unions with five million members have declared support of the Mine Mill cause.