WORLD CP China and CP Canada Renewing ties after 24 years The following are excerpts from a report delivered in Toronta May 26 by Communist Party General Secretary William Kashtan following his return from the People’s Re- public of China where he led a three-person delegation in April. The full text of his report is available from the CPC central office, 24 Cecil Street, Toronto, Ont. MST IN2. This is my second trip to China. The first one was with Leslie Morris in 1963. We were sent by our Party to China then because there had developed some rather sharp differences in the inter- national communist movement. This time our delegation had a diffe- rent task. Through correspondence and by other ways there had been an agree- ment by our two parties that perhaps it is time we should normalize relations be- tween our two parties. The delegation was composed of Maurice Rush, leader of the Party in B.C., Marianne Roy from Montreal, and myself. Our instructions were to explore the possibilities of renewing relations between our two parties. * * * We had some very interesting discus- sions. But before dealing with this, I would like to give you some impressions of a lighter kind. We visited Shanghai, Beijing, Shang- su, a beautiful summer resort. We also went to where Dr. Norman Bethune’s hospital is situated. There we were presented with a portrait of Dr. Bethune by a Chinese artist who asked us to bring it home to Canada as an expression of their good will. ‘ In Shanghai we saw many new apart- ments, hotels; huge masses of people. There are 12 million people in Shanghai — almost half of Canada’s population! There are enormous traffic jams and eight million bicycles. By comparison, Beijing has ‘‘only”’ 10 million people . . . and five million bicycles. Our Chinese hosts told us of the prob- lems of a growing population. The figure today is 1,060,000,000. By the year 2005, there will be 1.5 billion people in China. _The problems are obvious: food, cloth- ing, housing, transport, pollution, some of which they are now trying to solve with efforts to restrict population growth to one child per family. Now to the political side of our trip to renew relations between our two parties. I was asked as the head of our delegation to open up the question. I started off by saying that since 1963 we have had no relations with the Communist Party of China. Relations were not broken off ina formal sense, but were not activated. I said we favor renewing relations, but on what basis? There are still differences existing between our two parties on a number of important questions. For example, China speaks of “‘two super- powers”, which tends not to differen- tiate between a superpower such as U.S. imperialism is, and one such as the Soviet Union, which is a socialist coun- try. We say that the aims of imperialism and the aims of socialism are not identi- cal, they are opposite. I pointed out there are also differences with respect to some regional develop- ments, Kampuchea, for example. Our Party supported Vietnam throughout its difficulties and its vic- tories. We support the efforts of the Kampuchean people to achieve their aims. We support the efforts of Afghanis- 8 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, JUNE 17, 1987 tan to carry through its policy of national reconciliation. We told our hosts we see the world in terms of an international class struggle. And the question is: which side should one be on in this international class struggle? Should one be neutral? Pas- sive? Indifferent? Or should we unite our efforts with that of the working class of all countries around common objectives? At the same time we recognize there are points of agreement. On the question of the inevitability of world war, there-is now a different conclusion on the part of the Communist Party of China: world war is not inevitable. This opens up real possibilities on a world scale. This is seen in the rather significant statements made: that China will never be the first to use nuclear weapons; that China is reducing its armed forces by one million; that China is reducing its military expenditures; that China calls for the elimination of chemical and bacteriolog- ical weapons and a number of other simi- lar measures. China also opposes Star Wars and the militarization of space. = The following day the Chinese com- rade spoke and introduced his points in three parts: the domestic situation, rela- tions between the Communist Party of China and other parties, and foreign policy. He told us that from 1949 to 1956 they had to carry through the democratic tasks of the revolution. They were not yet faced with undertaking socialist tasks, but democratic tasks — elim- ination of feudalism, distribution of land, changes in the cities, eliminating illitera- cy, etc. The second stage took place in 1956 when the Communist Party held its 8th Congress which set down the policies for the building of a socialist system. This included developing and deepening rela- tions with the Soviet Union. But then some changes took place in China: the Party under Mao Tse Tung _began to move in a different direction * from what was laid down at the 8th Con- gress. The Party shifted its policies and serious mistakes were made. By 2005, China will have 1.5 billion people with problems of food, housing, transport, clothing to solve... On foreign policy, China is opposed to any alliance with any big countries. There are no strategic relations between China and any other country, which means they stand by themselves, with- out the necessity of solidarity and coop- eration — although at the same time they have made some re-adjustments, as I mentioned earlier. : * * * So, you see there are changes in some directions on the part of the Communist Party of China and the government of China, at the same time as there still are areas around which we cannot agree. To restate: Their view on the two superpowers is different to our Party’s view. We say it isn’t a question of “‘two camps,”’ but of two systems and the role they play in the world. On a bilateral instead of a multilateral and a collective approach to issues, for example, China will not attend an impor- tant Asian conference to take place this July in Mongolia. Our Party is sending a fraternal delegation of three to the con- ference whose theme will be to discuss steps to strengthen the fight for peace in Asia and the Pacific rim. And there are our differences on such issues as Kam- puchea, Afghanistan and Vietnam. While saying this, we start on the basis Renewal of relations between our two parties opens anew chapter in the struggle for common The first mistake was the idea of the Great Leap Forward. And, as he explained, it was done to try to acceler- ate the pace of socialist development and _ move forward to a communist stage of society. It required time and experience for them to say in 1978 that they had made — serious mistakes. And after that they began to change their direction based upon building China into a socialist coun- try with Chinese characteristics accord- ing to Chinese reality. That’s the funda- mental basis upon which they have been working since 1978. * * * On Party relations they told us they base themselves on four principles: On Marxism, on independence, on complete equality between parties and no inter- ference in the internal affairs of parties. that China is a socialist country. It’s nota capitalist country, it’s not an imperialist country. It continues to have its own views on questions, and only time and cooperation perhaps may bring about a situation in which differences may be overcome and acommon approach taken on the fundamental issues of our time. We returned home to recommend to our Party the renewal of relations with the Communist Party of China. Our re- cent Central Committee endorsed this and we will shortly undertake measures in that direction, which may include other delegations at a later stage. Our Chinese hosts constantly stressed that what is past is past. Let us look to the future. Our delegation agreed with this approach and sees the renewal of rela- tions between our two parties as opening anew chapter in the struggle for common aims. Some figures to fascinate WASHINGTON (PDW) — According to the Harper’s Index of Harper’s magazine, the fine for burning a cross without a permit in Charlotte, NC, is $50. The bail for the Chilean soldier who last year burned to death a young man for attending an anti-Pinochet ral- ly, was $23. ~ From the same source, in 1970 the average U.S. homeowner spent 17 per cent of their annual income for their mortgage. In 1986 they paid 24 per cent. Harper’s Index also reports that U.S.-~ Shriners earned $17.5-million from their 175 char- ity circuses in 1986. However, only $182,000 found its way to charity. USSR urges cuts in nuclear tests GENEVA — The Soviet Union proposed a treaty to lower the maximum strength of nuclear testing from the present 150 kilo- tons to one kiloton. Speaking at the opening of the 40-nation Con- ference on Disarmament, the USSR said its proposal is made necessary because of the U.S. re- fusal to discuss a total test ban. The Soviet proposal also urges strict, on-site verification proce- dures and limits ontthe number of explosions allowed. It says the USSR and U.S. should lead the way with other nuclear powers to follow. ‘Disarm the Seas’ NEW YORK (PDW) — A 12- unit ‘‘Peace Navy’’ was the focal point of a May 30 demonstration against the construction of a nu- clear navy port here. The Peace Navy assembled off Manhattan’s Battery Park where it was greeted by about 2,000 people. The protest coincided with international events on four oceans in a Disarm the Seas weekend with the New York rally sponsored by a coalition of 80 area groups and the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, an environ- mental group. Greeting the Peace Navy.