‘Straw men’ and ‘trial by innuendo’ The fact that the central com- mittee of the Communist Party of China advocates views which contradict both the spirit and the letter of the Moscow Dec- laration, adopted in 1957, and the 81-party Statement, adopted in 1960, has been well known for some time. The Chinese comrades have worked energetically to publicize in all countries their assertions that ‘*certain parties’’ are pursu- ing an opportunist line and that *‘certain persons’’ are modern revisionists. They do not address their campaign solely to other Communist and Workers parties, they do everything in their power to circulate their materials among all sections of the popu- lation in all countries, in all the more widely used languages of mankind. Adoption of the Moscow Decla-_ ration in 1957 appeared at the time to register firm unity of all the Communist and Workers par- ties, particularly ofthe 12 parties of the socialist countries which formulated and signed it. It is worthy of note that the Chinese delegation to that conference was headed by Mao Tse-tung who played an active role in the con- ference. But despite their declarations of agreement, the Chinese lead- ers published, during the sum- mer of 1960, a violent polemic against several of the principal theses of the Moscow Declara- tion, singling out for particularly virulent castigation the key thes- is that “war is no longer fatalis- tically inevitable’. Their attack was reprinted in two booklets titled, ‘‘Long Live Leninism and **Under the Banner of Leninism’’, These were distributed in all countries in all the most widely used languages. The main ideas advanced in , those two booklets and the dog- matic use of arbitrarily selected quotations were so contrary to the letter and the spirit of the Moscow Declaration and to the dialectical methodology of Marx- ism-Leninism that it was difficult to believe they represented the considered opinions of the lead- _ ers of the great Communist Party of China. Wide distribution in Canada of the two booklets was, objectively, a direct attack on the program of the Communist Party of Can= ada. It was an attack particularly on the thesis that we had adopt- ed officially in February, 1952 that, given a favorable relation of political forces and provided that the masses of the working class and its democratic allies are united in militant popular de- mocratic action, the transition .rom capitalism to socialism may be achieved in Canada without a JOHN NAVIS active members of its national Remembered at meetings Mass meetings in Winnipeg, Hamilton and Toronto re- cently honored the memory of two founders and long time leaders of the progressive movement in the Ukrianian com- munity in Canada—John Navis and Matthew Popovich, Both played an active part in the socialist movement in this country as far back as the first decade of this century. Both also helped to found the Communist Party and were Popovich in 1943, Navis in 1954. MATTHEW POPOVICH leadership until their deaths— Labor nominates in "Peg Alderman Joseph Zuken and School Trustee Andrew Bileski have been unanimously nomina- ted by the Labor Election Com- mittee for re-election in Ward 3 in the October 23 civic elec- tions in Winnipeg. Don Currie has been chosen as aldermanic candidate for Ward 2. In his remarks to the nomina- ting meeting, Zuken pointed out that this year marks 30 years of almost continuous Communist ROOFING | & Sig ies METAL REPAIRS. Reasonable Gutters and Downpipes Duroid, Tar and Gravel NICK BITZ BR 77-6722 ( aw a ee ae ww SDP representation on Winnipeg's ci- vic bodies. (It was in 1933 Jacob Penner was first elected to city council and Bileski to the school board). Z The election campaign endors- ed by the meeting included: * Exemption of the first $2,- - 000 of assessment on non-re- venue bearing homes from taxa- tion; * No further increase in the mill rate on homes, with needed additional revenue to come from industrial and commercial pro- perty; ; * Cancellation of tax exemp- tions on railway properties. PRIOR GARAGE & SERVICE 219 Prior St, MU 3-2926 COMPLETE AUTO SERVICE & REPAIRS Auto Body Work LEE, Proprietor . civil war. The 20th Congress ofthe Com- munist Party of the Soviet Union and the Moscow Conference had both endorsed the same concep- tion, yet it was suddenly subject- ed to an open attack from the Chinese Party. Precisely because our Canad- ian party had consistently paid very high tribute to the Com- ‘munist Party of China, it was necessary to reject the theses put forward in the two booklets and expose the falsity of their argu- mentation. Because of this the ‘national executive committee of the Communist Party of Canada disassociated itself and the Can- adian paity from the erroneous ideas which were the main con- tent of the two booklets by an article written by the then general secretary, Tim Buck, published in Marxist Review. The Chinese delegation to the 81-party Conference tried hard to win acceptance of the ideas which. had been advocated in the two booklets but the conference re- jected them firmly. A number of editorial changes were made in formulations, however, in the course of the several intensive sessions during which the entire conference, ‘‘in committee ofthe whole’’, worked over the docu- ment paragraph by paragraph. At the conclusion of the edit- ing sessions the Chinese dele- gates announced that they con- sidered the statement to be cor- rect and would sign it along with the other delegations. Again it appeared that adoption of the document registered agreement. But, very soon afterwards, the Communist Party of China re- sumed its world-wide campaign. Now, however, its propaganda be- came _ increasingly negative. While the ideas which they had tried, unsuccessfully, to have embodied in the 81-Party State- ment continued to be at thecentre of their propaganda, they were less conspicuous and have be- come less and less so as their campaign developed. Their articles and editorials, even of- ficial party statements, are dom- inated by their technique of at- tributing to ‘‘certain parties’’ aims and policies that no Com- ‘munist party supports and then denouncing such’ aims and pol- cies and by implication ‘‘cer- tain parties,’’ as being non- TIM BUCK writes on 'The Errors of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China’ (FIRST OF A SERIES) Marxist and‘ refuting’’ them with militant Marxist propaganda. Without directly naming their victim, they add surmise upon surmise and ‘‘if’’ upon ‘‘if’’ to build up a ‘‘straw man’’ of false theories, opportunistic policies or worse, which they attribute to, ‘certain parties’’ and ‘‘certain persons.”’ The technique of ‘‘trial by in- nuendo’’ dominates the most re- cent and to date most elaborate document distributed by the cen- tral committee of the Chinese Party—its June 14 ‘‘letter’’ to the Communist Party of the So- viet Union (PT, July 26). This document is not adefence of the 81-Party Statement; it is not even a discussion of that statement. It is a platform of op- position based on the pretense that action is necessary now to save the world Communist move- ment from the consequences of the political sins being commit- ted by ‘‘certain parties’’ and **certain persons’’. While the document is address- ed the the Communist Party of *the Soviet Union, the Chinese leaders publicized it simultan- JENNIE’S CAFE NOW OPEN 335 Main St. for Good, Home-Cooked Meals ~ eously with its delivery, includ- | ing broadcasts of the text in Rus- sian. Its contents, the tone, and the fact that it was given world- wide circulation before the bi- lateral discussions between the CPSU and the CPC started, show quite clearly that it was intend- ed not to help bring about agree- ment between the two parties but to sharpen the terms of exist- ing differences and open up others. Unfortunately for the world Communist movement, the Chi- nese leaders do not state clear- ly what their objective is, either in this or any other of their several documents. This one, 25 all of them, is dominated by im- plied negative criticism of other — - parties and ‘‘certain persons.” Because they launch their accu- sations in all too general termS, most of them are, in effect, appli- cable to every party which gives unequivocal support to the 81- Party Statement. Such broadcasting of ques- tions, insinuations and accusa- tions, in terms which refer indis- criminately to virtually every party in the world, is not a search for truth and understanding, it is an attempt to provoke dissi- dence by sowing suspicion and confusion. It is worded to evoke emotional reactions from mili- tant workers who, for various reasons, are not in a position to recognize the artificiality of the © straw men that the Chinese lead-— ers ‘‘knock over’’, and are im- — pressed by militantly worded re- petition of Marxist-Leninist con- cepts, not recognizing that, with the majority of these repetitions, the Chinese leaders are bang-— ing on an open door. Such a method in inter-party discussion is contrary tothe spi- rit and the proud tradition of See BUCK, pg. 7 HEAR MICKEY BEAGLE Report on World Congress of Women HELD IN MOSCOW Suh., Oct. 13, 2 p.m. Dreamland Hall Church St., New Westminster Coloured Slides will be shown — All Welcome \ Classified Advertising COMING EVENTS OCTOBER 26 ANNUAL HALLOWEEN BALL — North Burnaby Social Committee. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26 — LOCHDALE HALL (Sperling and Hastings).* For lots of fun and surprises KEEP THIS DATE OPEN. DCT I? THANKSGIVING DINNER and Social Evening. SATURDAY, OCT, 12 at 2295 East 39th Ave. (Nanaimo and 39th Ave) Full course TUR- KEY SUPPER with pumpkin pie served from 6:30 to 8pm. Old-fashioned sing-song and games. Admission $1.00. Auspices South Vancouver Club, All welcome. OCT, 12 — OPENING SEASON BANQUET & DANCE-—SAT. OCT. 12th at 6:30 PM at the AUUC HALL—805 E. Pender Street. GUESTS — PETER KRAWCHUK and WM. HAR- ASYM of Toronto. Admission $1.50. Students $1.25. Every- one Welcome. FOR RENT FOR RENT—BEDROOM for girl er woman. For details phone TR. 6-3080. oe Deadline DEADLINE FOR COMING EVENTS COLUMN -— All copy must be in the Pacific Tribune office no later than Monday. 12 noon. BUSINESS PERSONALS WEST END RADIO—Special- izing in TV Repairs. Latest precision equipment ised. (Formerly OK Radio: Ser. vice). Now at 1721 Robson St. MU 3-2618. SASAMAT SHOES & REPAIRS 4463 West 10th Ave. Phone CA 4-1017 ESCRIPTION EYEGLASS- ES — $14.95. All Opticai Prescriptions filled. Stand- ard bi-focals —— $5.95 Ada- ditionai. SEAL OPTICAL, 102 Ford Bldg., 193 EAST: HASTINGS ST., MU 3- 8819. IS YOUR CAR, HOUSE or BUSI- NESS INSURANCE DUE? Call Ben Swankey to get the best’ possible policy for your money. 433-8323. October 11, 1963—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page | BUSINESS PERSONALS _ ay) TRANSFER — 1424 Conv mercial Drive. Call Nick— AL 3-0727. ; ae tEGENT TAILORS LTD, — Cus- tom ‘Tailors and Ready-to-Wear — 324 W. Hastings St. . MU 1-8456 or 4441 F. Hastings - CY 8-2030. See Henry Rankin for personal service. ne HALLS FOR RENT _ CLINTON HALL, 2605 © Pender. Available for bat quets, meetings, wedding’ etc. Phone AL 3-9964. © eee RUSSIAN PEOPLES’ HOME —Availabie for meetings banquets and weddings al, _ reasonable rates. 600 Cam)" ~ bell Ave. MU 4-9939. ~ PENDER Auditorium (Marine Workers4 339 West Pender Phone. MU 1-948% arge and Small Halls . for. Rentals.