40% of China’s budget is spent on the military

Experts on China are beginning to ponder over the question: what do the Chinese people actually think about developments at home and abroad? How do they react to these developments, especially in light of the recent 11th Congress of the Communist Party of China?

Reports from different’ pro- vinces show that, despite support the ‘‘gang of four”’ is still receiv- ing from certain circles, the popu- lation generally has welcomed the removal of this group from the leadership. Most people rightly regard it as part of the forces which exerted an extremely nega- tive influence on the life of the country.

That Ch’iang, Wang, Chang and Yao have been removed is good, but did this poisonous weed have only four roots? and is there only one poisonous plant? ... a genuine man of wisdom searches out all poisonous plants and des- troys them. ..’’ —many Chinese are now saying. ‘‘The most im- portant thing is that herons should

walk in the rich fields and the earth should not tremor; that of- ficials should know what they must do today and tomorrow; that pupils’ voices from school build-

ings should be heard and that or-,

dinary men can peacefully work, well-fed and clothed,’’ wrote the authors of a large wall poster in Canton which had wide repercus- sions throughout China.

Clearly having the last Con- gress of the CPC in mind, the poster notes: ‘‘Many thousands of words have been said in Pek- ing, and many thousands of characters have been written, but will the Chinese begin to live bet- terz=

The positive reaction of broad sections of the Chinese people to the removal of the four has not blunted their resentment against the overall state of affairs in the country or alleviated their deep doubts about the development of events in the future.

Indeed, the documents of the 11th Congress of the CPC contain no clear-cut program of social and

New film to honor Victor Jara

‘*El Cantor’’, (the Singer) a film |

honoring the memory of Chilean folk singer Victor Jara murdered by the junta is currently being shot by DEFA, the national film studio of the German Democratic Republic. American singer Dean Reed is the film’s author and di- rector and also acts the main part. Dean Reed lives in the GDR.

The film describes the last three ~ weeks in the life of Victor Jara, ‘*his tireless work for the Popular Unity Government, the love for his wife and children, his joy in living and his death at the hand of the fascists’’, Dean Reed said in an interview.

The script is based on inter-

views with Victor Jara’s widow, Joan Turner-Jara, and on talks with close associates of Jara now living in Bulgaria; the Soviet Union and Cuba, some of whom were detained together with Vic- tor Jara in Santiago stadium when it was turned into a concentration camp.

Reed who knew Victor Jara personally and several times ap- peared with him, intends to make a film branding the inhumanity of imperialism and fascism. For the shooting he had at his disposal a team of excellent actors from the GDR and Bulgaria. It will be screened at the World Youth Fes- tival in Havana next summer.

Victor and Joan Jara with their daughters Manuela and Amanda

shortly before his murder.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—SEPTEMBER 16, 1977—Page 6

The 11th Congress continued the thesis that “war is inevitable” and with it the sicily eral Sad of military forces. Photo below: an earlier street scene during the cultural revolution.

economic development, except a general declaration that “‘toward the end of this century China must become an economically mighty state.”’

Even though Peking pro- paganda has described the docu- ments adopted by the Congress as **epoch-making’’ and as ‘‘exert- ing an enormous influence on the destiny of each person in China,” they again contain no concrete indicators of economic growth or figures which would confirm the new leadership is seriously plan- ning, even to some extent, to raise living standards.

Phrases at the Congress that the people of China must live ina ‘frontline situation’’, ‘“‘not fear difficulties, not demand better working conditions and work as much time as may be needed, ig- noring remuneration’’ has shown that the policy of artificially keep- ing down even the minimum growth of the living standards while intensifying SU QUEL continues.

The new leadership of China, as is clear from the documents of the Congress, has no intention of discarding the slogans which were advanced when Mao was still alive and which were then supported by the gang of four — ‘tighten the bekt’’, eat less, work more.”

In addition, the 11th Congress confirmed the avowed line of con- tinuing the accelerated militariza- tion of the country, under which the development of the economy is geared to the chief objective of building up the military potential. Today China is spending over 40% of its national budget for military purposes.

To justify these expenditures the thesis is repeated that ‘‘fac- tors of war have been growing in the world”’ and ‘‘sooner or later, a new world war is inevitable.”’ The lie that ‘‘the main threat to the country emanates from the north — from the Soviet Union,”’ is still used to intimidate the popu- lation. It is stated that the Com- munist Party of China will wage a struggle against the Soviet Union over ‘‘a prolonged historical period’.

Materials indicate the Chinese leadership’s further teaming up with the right wing of inter- national imperialism particularly in stronger contacts with the reac- tionary forces, including fascist groups acting abroad. In-a bid to attain their strategic purposes,

Peking is doing its utmost to weaken those whom it believes to be its two principal antagonists, the Soviet Union and the United States, by setting them one against the other.

Mao stated in his day that “the elimination of imperialism should be started with the United States’’. He wanted Moscow to deliver a nuclear blow at Washington and promised that, if there was retaliation, Peking would compensate for the losses of manpower. China will send along millions of people, 40 or 50 million,’’ he said.

It goes without saying that his attempts to provoke the Kremlin

and plunge the world into a nuc- ,

lear holocaust, which would en- gulf millions of people and leave China the biggest factor in the international arena, fell through. The Soviet Union continues to follow its foreign policy of peace and cooperation with all nations.

It was this firrg Soviet stance that forced Mao to change his tac- tics. He then tried to ‘‘turn the spearhead to the north’’ and come to terms ‘with the USA on the

basis of naked anti-Sovietism, at the same time dreaming of push- ing the latter to confrontation with | the Soviet Union and even to an | armed conflict with it.

China’s leaders are actively | preparing for such a turn of events. They decided to further |

step up the militarization of the | ‘country and) believe that China |

will build a strong enough army to | establish control ‘‘first over neighboring Asian countries and then over other states.’’ The slo- | gan of developing ‘‘not only a | powerful ground army, but also a powerful air force and navy” | shows that the Chinese general staff plans to turn the army, now capable of conducting defensive operations, into a force which could take the offensive on land and on the high seas.

Peking has started-a large-scale and rather unseemly game. The Chinese leaders would like to outwit all and sundry, including their own people. But in prac- tice, the interests of the Chi- nese people and the cause of peace and the security of nations willin- | evitably triumph. — (APN). |