1. society
2. work
3. unemployment

Vol. 28, No. 45
JING
REVIEW
November 11, 1985
A C H I N E S E W E E K L Y OF
N E W S AND V I E W S
How to Assess China's Population Policy
SPOTHCHT
New Things
in the
Sichuan
Countryside
Here, more than 3 0 young farmers in W e i y u a n
County, Sichuan Province, w h o put t o g e t h e r a
brass b a n d last y e a r , a r e p e r f o r m i n g for the
peasants.
ma
Pingwu farmers Yan Shengxing and W e i Yuming,
crossing a river w i t h p r o j e c t o r s o n their backs, a r e
heading for o m o u n t a i n village, w h e r e they will
entertain the residents with a film.
H a v i n g m a s t e r e d clock,
watch a n d T V repair,
Zhang Xingde of Shifang
County
warmheartedly
serves the fa rme r s.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
Vol. 28, No. 45
November
1 1 , 1985
CONTENTS
NOTES F R O M THE EDITORS
China Promotes
Policy
4
Innovative
Jobs
LEHERS
5
EVENTS 8. TRENDS
6 - 1 0
Zhao
i n Bogota:
O l d Friend
Comes Home
Nuclear
Industry
Advonces
in
China
Chinese
Brains Reveal
Masterwork
Mao's O l d Friend C o m m e m o r a t e d
11-14
INTERNATIONAL
Tanzania: Nyerere
for the Y o u n g
Makes W a y
Reaction
Middle
East:
Peace
Stalled b y t h e West
Process
Viet N a m ; Economy
pite Reforms
Suffers
15
Population Workers Refute Slanders
18
Economic Situation South of S a h a r a
20
USA-Labor Day & Labor Movement
23
Hopefuls
Teenage
Olympic
Muscles
Flex
2(5
F R O M T H E C H I N E S E PRESS
28-29
B U S I N E S S & TRADE
30-31
CULTURE
«
SCIENCE
32
33-34
BOOKS
COVER:
Zhang
fHongmei
"Wushu'i^ performance
Photo
giving
a
with o sword.
b y H u o JIanying
Published evsry AAonday by
BEIJING REVIEVS/
24 Bdiwanzhuang Road, Beijing
The People's Republic of Chino
Needs
To clear up misunderstanding about China's
population policy, Professor Wu Cangping of the China People's University explained why China makes family planning its
basic state policy. He pointed out that this decision was based
on the reality of China's economy and population, and on a
deep understanding of the objective laws governing human
progress (p. 15).
Zhao's L. A m e r i c a Visit
Oft t o Good
Start
Through the talks between the Chinese premier and the
Colombian president in Bogota last month, they discovered identical views on a wide range of world issues. Behind their
friendship were eight points China has in common with Latin
America expounded by Zhao. This 16-day visit to the continent is still in progress (p. 6).
China
Introduces Innovative Employment
S u b - S a h a r a n A f r i c a Tries
Des-
Familir Planning Meets Social Progress
Social
System
Due to steady economic development, China found jobs for
more than 46 million people from 1979 to 1984. Despite the
progress, the country still has a long way to go before achieving
full employment. China remains, however, confident of its
ability to fulfil this task by developing its tertiary industries and
its small towns (p. 4).
Brazil: Economic B o o m Gained a t
a Price
The Netherlands: Mixed
to Cruise Treaty
F a m i l y P l a n n i n g M e e t s China's
to. Beat
Drought
Years of severe drought, plus faulty development strategies,
have brought the economies of Sub-Saharan African countries
to the brink of collapse. Now these countries are taking steps
to turn the tide, but their efforts depend on a number of domestic and international factors for success (p. 20).
A Chinese
P o r t r a i t of t h e A m e r i c a n
Mosaic
After a 40-year absence, Chinese writer and former student
of the Missouri School of Journalism, Wang Tsomin, returned
to the United States to gather material for a literary first —
America as seen by a Chinese. Wang condensed her
year's worth of impression of America's sunny and seamy sides
into her book, "American Kaleidoscope — A Chinese View," a
review of which appears in this issue alongside a chapter from
the book (p. 33).
Distributed by C h i n a l i H e r i i o t i o n e l l o o k
T r a d i n s C o r p o r a t i o n (GUOJI SHUOIAN),
P.O. Box 399, Bel|ing, China
Subscription prices (1 year):
AustrttHa
A.S2Z00
New Zealand... NZ.$3a.OO
Canada
Can. $21.00
USA USSZUO
UK
£t2.00
NOTES FROM THE EDITORS
China Promotes Innovative Jobs Policy
by X I N L I N
(Social Editor)
Several years a g o , a large n u m ber o f C h i n e s e y o u n g
people
were awaiting jobs. T h e problem
plagued t h e youths, their parents
and
t h e government.
Today,
h o w e v e r , as a result o f a n intensive effort b y t h e g o v e r n m e n t t o
reduce u n e m p l o y m e n t , m a n y o f
them have jobs. F r o m 1979 t o
1984, 4 6 m i l l i o n o f C h i n a ' s formerly out-of-work people found
jobs, decreasing
t h e country's
u n e m p l o y m e n t rate f r o m 6 percent
i n 1 9 7 9 t o i t s 1 9 8 4 l e v e l o f 1.9
percent.
While unemployment has long
been t r o u b l i n g m a n y countries i n
the w o r l d , C h i n a h a s m a d e e n couraging progress i n this field.
T h e e m p l o y m e n t o f these vast
numbers o f people has n o t o n l y
improved their individual lives,
but h a s helped p r o m o t e political
stability a n d u n i t y o f t h e country
as a w h o l e .
O f t h e 4 6 m i l l i o n people given
•jobs d u r i n g t h a t p e r i o d , m o s t
w e r e college graduates,
demobilized soldiers a n d y o u n g people a w a i t i n g j o b assignments. O f
the 3 1 m i l l i o n n e w l y e m p l o y e d
f r o m t h e latter g r o u p , 15 m i l l i o n
were educated y o u t h recently returned from the countryside where
they h a d been sent d u r i n g the " c u l t u r a l r e v o l u t i o n . " T h e rest w e r e
mainly
urban
middle-school
graduates w h o became n e w m e m bers o f t h e w o r k f o r c e .
tional economy, w h i c h from 1979
to 1984 g r e w a t a n average a n n u a l
rate o f 11 percent.
I n some developed
countries
workers
i n tertiary
industries
account f o r 6 0 percent t o 7 0 percent o f total e m p l o y m e n t . China's
tertiary industry, though underdeveloped, has made significant pro-
Although China still has a
long way to go before
reaching full employment,
it is capable and confident
of solving the problem by
developing tertiary
industries and small
towns.
gress i n t h e last f e w years.
Tertiary industrial workers made u p
33.4 percent o f t h e total e m p l o y m e n t i n 1984, as o p p o s e d t o 23.7
percent i n 1978.
I n t h e last f e w years, C h i n a h a s
begun t o discard i t s long-time
practice o f t h e state f i n d i n g jobs
for a l l i t s eligible urban w o r k e r s .
Instead, i t introduced a threepronged policy o f j o b finding.
T h e first o p t i o n i n t h e n e w p l a n
is t h a t t h e g o v e r n m e n t f i n d s p o s i tions f o r t h e u n e m p l o y e d based o n
r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s f r o m area l a b o u r
bureaus.
Second,
unemployed
people c a n n o w o p t t o j o i n together i n small groups t o start u p
their o w n businesses. T h i r d , people c a n operate o n a n i n d i v i d u a l
basis, s u c h as s e l l i n g vegetables,
r e p a i r i n g bicycles, e t c .
China's great achievement i n
such a short period c a n b e attributed t o t h e increase i n w o r k o p portunities spurred b y t h e steady
T h e change has been a n imporand sustained progress o f t h e n a - tant o n e f o r C h i n a ' s e m p l o y m e n t
4
system. T h e introduction o f t h e
policy has overcome the shortcomings o f the government's m o n o p o l y
of e m p l o y m e n t service a n d h a s
encouraged initiative o n the part
of t h e.masses. China's employm e n t system is different f r o m t h e
capitalist
free
labour
market
e m p l o y m e n t system.
T h e multi-faceted employment
policy has been implemented i n
concert w i t h the structural r e f o r m
of t h e e c o n o m y . A t present, there
are three kinds o f economies i n
China, t h e state-owned economy,
w h i c h occupies t h e d o m i n a n t position i n China's economy; t h e
socialist collective economy; a n d
the individual economy, w h i c h
supplements t h e socialist e c o n o m y .
T h e collective a n d individual
economies have developed rapidly
i n t h e last f e w years, a n d h a v e
thereby absorbed a large n u m b e r
of w o r k e r s . I n 1984 t h e w o r k e r s
employed
b y t h e collectively
o w n e d enterprises accounted f o r
50 percent o fthe total n e w employment, compared w i t h 4 3 percent
in 1980. T h a t o f t h e privately
o w n e d enterprises made u p 11
percent i n 1984, compared w i t h 6
percent i n 1980. B y t h e e n d o f
lune 1985. there were 4.09 million people w o r k i n g i n private
sector, 2 7 t i m e s m o r e than i n
1978.
T h e people's attitude t o w a r d s
e m p l o y m e n t h a s also
changed
correspondingly. I n t h e l o n g past,
y o u n g people preferred t o w o r k i n
state-owned o r collectively o w n e d
enterprises over t h e private ones.
N o w , h o w e v e r , they feel equally
as l u c k y t o w o r k i n a n y o f t h r e e
kinds o f enterprises.
It is estimated that 6 m i l l i o n n e w
Beijing
Review.
No. 45
LETTERS
Speech Spurs Hopes for
China
urban workers will become members of the workforce each
year during the Seventh Five-Year
Plan period (1986-90). By 1990,
among the 400-mi'llion-strong workforce in the countryside, 100
million will be unemployed.
Another 10 million workers will
be displaced by technology as more
and more labour-intensive industries are technologically revamped. These factors indicate
China's road to full employment
may still be a long one.
China's urban residents are
often inconvenienced by the lack
of ready goods such as apparel,
food and of certain services, such
as hair cutting. Improvements
in this area would demand a large
workforce. Enterprises could establish new production lines or
open service centres for their surplus workers, while surplus rural
workforce could be employed to
develop forestry, livestock breeding, sideline production, fishery,
industry and transportation service
in the countryside. The numerous
small rural towns, which are being
developed into political, economic
and cultural centres, are also
areas that could accommodate
large numbers of workers. Whichever course it should take, China
is confident of its ability to
eventually tackle the problem of
unemployment.
After reading Chen Yun's speech
in vol. 28, No. 39, I want to congratulate you for publishing it. To
me, this speech gave hope for a
more complete success of China's
modernization programme precisely
because it points out the possible
pitfalls of that programme.
The speech reflects the wish that
I have always held that China
values her own past experiences:
paying attention to grain production, reviewing experiences before
making a new step, and intensifying political education.
Chen Yun also calls attention to
China's negative experiences, warning against the "cultural revolutionary" practices of the media,
false reporting, setting unrealistically high standards in industrial output, and against the
relaxation of Party discipline.
This speech increased my hope
in the continued success of the Chinese revolution, not only because
of its content, but also because of
the fact that there is such open discussion within the Party. To us
outsiders, this means a high level
of mutual trust among Party members and points to the existence of
a democratic element so necessary
for lasting success. Such open discussions accompanying the current
policies will guarantee greater and
more lasting success.
Theresa Chu
Toronto, Canada
Business of Interest
Beijing Review reports on
opening to the world, business and
trade, the reforms of the economic
structure and the reforms of wages
and prices, as well as such related
November 11, 1985
articles, have interested me the
most. The Chinese leaders have
had the courage to expose problems and to make a clear-cut
policy. We can understand China's developing direction and her
actions from these reports.
"Notes From the Editors" is also
informative. The article in issue
No. 30, "Controlling Industrial
Development," which countradicted world's various suppositions
about the Chinese economy and
pointed out the problems of the
reforms, was particularly interesting. After reading this article,
the world should feel more able to
trust China.
Masuo Arashida
Asaka, Japan
Comments on Peng Zhen's
Article
The article that particularly interested me was Peng Zhen's "China Pledges to Maintain World
Peace" in issue No. 36. From this
article I recalled how important a
solid leadership and attention to
successors can be, and also that a
great leader must have intelligence
and ability.
One thing should be underlined
in this article. Peng Zhen mentioned the Auschwitz death camp,
and paid his respects to people
who have died because of their
race, beliefs or other characteristics. I also welcomed his respect for the Soviet Union, which
suffered the most painful ordeal in
the war.
I hope every country learns
from China. That they think not
only of themselves, but also of the
contributions of other countries.
G. Weiershaus
Biedenkopf, FRG
5
EVENTS AND TRENDS
Zhao in Bogota: Old Friend Comes Home
With its scenic grandeur obscured by a seemingly endless drizzle,
mountain-rimmed Bogota is enough
to discourage visitors at this
time of this year. Yet on
October 28, the Colombian
capital received the first Chinese
premier ever to set foot in Latin
America with warm enthusiasm
that dried up the rain.
"It happens to be your rainy season, yes, but I feel comfortable all
the same," said Premier Zhao Ziyang, who flew there after attending the United Nations' 40th anniversary celebrations in New
York. Bogota was the first stop
on a 16-day tour that also will take
him to Brazil, Argentina and
Venezuela.
Zhao's three-day visit went off
so well that President Belisario
Betancur Cuartas described the
meeting between him and Zhao as
"love at first sight" and titled his
speech at a banquet in Zhao's
honour: "An Old Friend Comes
Home."
"Despite the vast difference in
ideology," Betancur said in his
speech, "during our dialogue we
have found no big differences but
many common, sometimes similar,
points."
The new-found friendship between the two leaders prompted
Colombia's Minister of Fordgn
Relations Augusto Ramirez Ocampo to muse aloud. "I still wonder
why people should say the
Spaniards were the first to discover
New America, when actually it
was the Chinese who got here
first," he said. An equally humorous Zhao replied, "This is because
the Chinese came here to make a
living rather than to seek gold.
They were not as ambitious."
6
In the same friendly tone, the
Chinese premier listed eight points
he believes China shares with
Latin American countries.
— They have all suffered at the
hands of foreign oppressors and
their people had to wage prolonged
struggle for their independence.
— They all belong to the third
world and face the common task of
developing their national economy
and raising their living standards.
— They have large tracts of
territory endowed with rich resources.
— They need an international
environment of durable peace to
eradicate their underdevelopment.
— They cherish their hard-won
independence and pursue an independent and non-aligned foreign
policy.
— They respect the right to the
self-determination of other countries, oppose outside interference,
and stand for solving international
disputes through peaceful negotiations without resorting to force.
— They work hard to ease the
tense international situation and
make active efforts to safeguard
world peace.
— And they have suffered from
the old unfair international economic order, and they now stand
for promoting the; North-South
dialogue, the South-South cooperation, and the establishment of
a new international economic
order.
"These points in common constitute a solid foundation on which
China and Latin American countries can develop their friendship
and relations of co-operation,"
Zhao said.
He said he believed that with
these common points, his country
could co-operate with those Latin
American'and Caribbean countries
that have no diplomatic ties with
China.
"If you have difficulties in establishing diplomatic relations with
China, we can start with economic
relations and trade," he told some
Latin American diplomats during
an October 29 meeting at Bogota's
San Carlos Palace. Such co-operation could be made to endure,
he added, if it was based on peace
and friendship, mutual support,
equality and mutual benefit.
The debt question was another
much talked-about topic among
hosts and guests. Speaking at an
October 30 press conference Zhao
maintained the debt question was
no longer a single economic problem, but a prominent international political issue. He urged
creditor nations to approach the
issue from a long-term point of
view. "Otherwise," he warned,
"this problem will bring about an
inconceivable disaster to the world
economy as a whole."
China appreciated the principles
adopted at the Latin American
Debt Conference held at Cartagena, Colombia earlier this
year, the premier said. These
principles called for a settlement of the debt problem by cutting tariffs, improving the debtor
countries' capacity of repayment,
opening the creditor countries' domestic markets and conducting
negotiations between the borrowing and lending nations.
"We do not think that the developing countries should be asked
to pay their debts at the expense
of their economic growth and the
Beijing Review, No, 45
living standards of their people,"
he said. "Such a practice not only
causes economic recession in the
developing nations but also hurts
the developed countries themselves."
Zhao also urged third world
countries to unite and to exert pressure on the developed and creditor
nations responsible for the
inequitable international economic
order, in order to improve relations and find solutions to the debt
problem.
The common political viewpoints and enhanced friendship
enabled China and Colombia to get
down to the business of boosting
bilateral economic co-operation.
During the premier's three-day
visit, the two countries signed two
agreements and three documents
on economic co-operation. Accordingly the central banks
of the two countries will
each provide US$5 million to
boost Sino-Colombian trade. The
Chinese government will give 400
household electric sewing machines
and 20 tailoring machines to a
Colombian institute for handicapped people; help Colombia with the
techniques for raising freshwater
shrimp; and accept three Colombian doctors to come to China for
one year of training in acupuncture.
"The signing of these documents
has created more favourable conditions for the development of
friendly ties and relations of cooperation between our two countries," Zhao said, who left Bogota
on October 30 for Brazil to start
the second leg of his Latin American trip.
Nuclear Industry
Advances in China
After 30 years of research and
development, China has established
a fairly sophisticated nuclear
science system, an official of the
November 11, 1985
Designed and constructed in China, southwest Chine's first high-flux
nuclear reactor in full operation.
Ministry of Nuclear Industry announced in Beijing on October 31.
China has mastered the technology to produce atom bombs,
hydrogen bombs and reactors for
nuclear-powered submarines, and
its military forces are now
equipped with nuclear weapons.
"The development has helped
break the nuclear monopoly of the
superpowers, strengthened the
country's national defence and
will contribute to world peace,"
said Zhou Ping, vice-minister of
the nuclear industry.
He said China had undertaken
many different operations, from exploration, mining and refining of
uranium deposits, recycling fuel
and manufacturing nuclear weapons, to using nuclear energy and
techniques in civil industries.
These advances, the official continued, had vastly promoted new
technology in nuclear medicine
and agriculture, and nuclear
tracer and irradiation processing.
These techniques have ^iven birth
to many new products.
The official said 10 nuclear
reactors, nine of which were built
in China, had been constructed to
serve the needs of the country's
science and national defence.
At a symposium attended by
Chinese and Swiss nuclear experts
last week, Zhou Ping said that the
Chinese government planned to
build several nuclear power stations in the more developed regions
with larger populations. At present, he said, there were two nuclear power stations under construction in China. The Dayawan
Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong has two generating
units each with a designed
capacity of 900,000 kw. The
other one, the Qinshan Nuclear
Power Plant in Zhejiang Province,
southeast China, will provide
300,000 kw of electricity per hour
when it goes into operation in
1989.
Zhou said China had fairly
abundant deposits of uranium and
a complete nuclear fuel reprocessing system, as well as an industrial
system for manufacturing the
special equipment and materials
used in the nuclear power industry.
There are now about 4,000
scientists workirvg in nuclear reactor research and designing in
China. They have been able to
make breakthroughs in some extremely advanced technical areas,
the vice-minister said.
"We are willing to co-operate
with other countries in building
nuclear power plants and promot7
News in Brief
Installation
work
began
October 25 o n China's longest 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 - v o l t d i r c e t c u r rent
transmission
line,
stretching
1,080 k m film
the G e z h o u b a
Hydropower
Station
o n the middle
reaches o f t h e Changjiang
(Yangtze) River, t othe country's largest i n d u s t r i a l city.
Shanghai.
T h e line isexpected t o be commissioned
for use i n 1988.
The Agricultural Bank of
C h i n a recently issued bonds
t o t a l l i n g 1.5 m i l l i o n y u a n , i n
an e f f o r t t o raise f u n d s f o r
rural enterprises
t o boost
the production o f c o m m o d i ties t h a t c u r r e n t l y a r e i n
short supply. T h e bonds, the
first o f i t s k i n d issued t o
r u r a l enterprises, w i l l last f o r
a t e r m o f o n e year at a n ann u a l interest r a t e o f 9 percent.
*
*
*
As o f January
1 .1 9 8 5 .
C h i n a w i l l begin t o replace
the current
market^'system
for
weights a n d measures
w i t h the metric system. T h e
Ministry of Commerce
will
issue f o o d a n d c o o k i n g - o i l
ration coupons using kilogrammes a n d grammes as
weight units.
*
*
ing t h e peaceful u s e o f
energy," Z h o u said.
nuclear
patients.
O u t o f a b o u t 1,000 p a tients w h o received t h e cure f r o m
1972 t o 1983, o n l y t w o died. B y
contrast, a patient bitten b y a
deadly cobra has only a 5 0 percent
chance o f survival if treated w i t h
an o r d i n a r y antidote.
Chinese Brains
Reveal Masterwork
A n effective snakebite treatment
and a computerized radar device
for r a i l w a y w e r e a m o n g a n eclectic
collection o f 345 i n v e n t i o n s o n display at China's first national exhibition o f inventions w h i c h ended
in B e i j i n g last m o n t h .
Many of
the inventions a r e n o w being
widely used i n science a n d i n
dustry.
T h eshow epitomized a
nation determined to catch up w i t h
state-of-the-art science a n d technology a r o u n d the w o r l d today.
Inexpensive a n d easy t o get a n d
store,
t h e trypsin is effective
against a w i d e variety o f v e n o m o u s
snakes and so far the patients have
experienced n o serious side-effects.
If prepared i n portable injection
packs, i t a l l o w s p r o m p t a n d effective first-aid i n the field.
-
Xiong's invention w a s ignored
w h e n it first came o u t i n 1 9 7 2 ,
however, as China w a s i n t h e
midst o f itscatastrophic "cultural
r e v o l u t i o n . " I t was not until 1978,
two
years after t h e decade-long
Xiong Yuliang, a Yunnan I n trauma had ended, that trypsin was
stitute o f Z o o l o g y researcher, is
put t oclinical use. I n 1984 X i o n g
unquestionably a forerunner i n
awarded
a national
gold
this e n d e a v o u r . T h e secret o f t h e w a s
medal
f o r his invention; he
snakebite cure h e i n v e n t e d lies i n
eventually achieved w o r l d
fame
trypsin, a protease w h i c h is p o w e r w
h
e
n
a
n
e
s
s
a
y
o
n
t
h
e
t
r
y
p
s
i
n
t
reatful enough t o destroy all the toxic
m
e
n
t
w
r
i
t
t
e
n
b
y
X
i
o
n
g
a
n
d
his
components o f snake v e n o m . I f
f
o
u
r
a
s
s
i
s
t
a
n
t
s
w
a
s
p
u
b
l
i
s
h
e
d
i
n
injected subcutaneously near t h e
science and medical magazines i n
bite, i tensures a m o r e t h a n 9 0 permore than 2 0 countries.
cent s u r v i v a l rate f o r snakebitten
This is an automatic instrument that synchronizes musical accompaniment
with the steps of a dancer. Designed by Beijing Engineer Liu Zhongdu
( f i r s t l e f t ) and his brother, the device is also useful for gymnastics.
*
The number of China's
m i l i t a r y area c o m m a n d s h a s
been c u t f r o m t h e original
11 t o s e v e n a f t e r a r e s h u f f l e
of senior m i l i t a r y officers.
T h e average age o f t h e n e w
commanding
officers has
been l o w e r e d b y eight years.
The majority of them are i n
their 40s a n d 50s. M o r e
than 5 0 percent o f t h e m r e ceived
college
education.
Beijing
Review.
So.
45
New Heights to be Scaled Along Great Wall
A new section of the Great Wall, the symbol of China and the only man-made structure thot can
be seen from the moon, has recently been repaired and opened to tourists. The new tourist spot,
Mutianyu, lies just above the already well-known spot, Badaling. This port of the Great Wall is in
the northern port of Huairou County of Beijing, and is a two-hour bus ride from the city proper. The
numbers on the photo show the relative situation of the two tourist spots to Beijing proper. 1, Beijing proper; 2, Mutianyu; 3, Badaling.
T h e road t o success w a s n o t a s
long for G u o Xiangxi, a researcher
at t h e C h i n a R a i l w a y S c i e n c e R e search Institute. I n 1982, he devised a n e w car-retarder
that h a s
helped raise the level o f efficiency
at m a j o r r a i l w a y y a r d s i n C h i n a
by 10 percent. T h r o u g h a computerized radar system, the device can
m o n i t o r and c o n t r o l the speed and
direction o f the r a i l w a y cars w h e n
they enter a n ddepart t h e marshalling yards.
Building a n e w
marshalling yard using Guo's inv e n t i o n cuts the cost b y m o r e t h a n
200 million yuan. T h e n e w device
has earned G u o ' s i n s t i t u t e m o r e
than 2 millron yuan from
both
sales a n d service w o r k .
I n 1983
the car-retarder
w o n a national
medal, a n d a 2,000-yuan
grand
prize w e n t t o its i n v e n t o r s .
"The
m o n e y isnot i m p o r t a n t , " said G u o ,
a 1962 graduate f r o m t h e presN o v e m b e r I I , 1985
tigeous
Jiaotong
University i n
Xian.
" W h a t is important, a n d
makes m e very happy, is that m y
b r a i n c h i l d has b e e n f o u n d s o useful i ns o m a n y places."
Since C h i n a introduced a science
a w a r d system i n 1978, s o m e
1,000
inventions
have
w o n national
prizes, i n c l u d i n g 3 2that have yielded e c o n o m i c r e t u r n s o f m o r e t h a n
too million yuan. Chinese officials
estimate that the country has earned 2 6 b i l l i o n y u a n t h r o u g h these
prize-winning inventions.
Such highly productive
brainw o r k has s t i r r e d u p n a t i o n a l zest
for invention. I nfact, p r o m o t i n g
science and technology has b e c o m e
one o f t h e basic principles f o r
drafting the nation's Seventh FiveYear Plan.
Yet, behind all this is a sobering
fact: Developed
nations
achieve
60 percent o f their G N P g r o w t h
by
incorporating
scientific a n d
technical
results
i n production,
rather t h a n b y increases i n investment; i n China t h e figure is a
m e a g r e 2 0 percent. T h e w i d e gap
is s h o c k i n g , b u t a t least i t p o i n t s
out this is where China's potential
lies.
Today, Chinese inventors c a n
sell the products o f their w o r k l i k e
c o m m o d i t i e s , a step o n l y recently
taken b ythe State C o u n c i l , h o p i n g
to unleash the creative w i s d o m o f
the Chinese people, w h o have contributed brilliantly t ow o r l d civilization
from
time
immemorial.
This new encouragement is a far
cry f r o m the recent past, w h e n a
m a n w h o had earned his country
great w e a l t h w a s often under-paid
and in cramped living and working
conditions.
9
A new patent law protects Chinese inventors even further. Since
it came into effect last April, the
State Patent Administration has received nearly 10,000 applications
and the State Science and Technology Commission has forwarded
applications for foreign patents on
33 new technological and scientific
findings, and has approved 59
items for export.
others. I can count on the association for support in my work."
Mao's Old Friend
Commemorated
A commemorative meeting to
mark the first anniversary of the
Inventors Association. The new- death of Professor Li Chenpien,
found national zeal for creativity a well-known Chinese-American
prompted some 100 noted scien- was held on October 20.
tists, inventors and influential
patrons of science to publish a
Professor Li, who was born in
letter calling for the establishment China, was a famous virologist and
of an organization that would back bacteriologist, as well as one of
their efforts. From this was born the founding members of the US
the China Inventors' Association, National Association of Chineseinaugurated on October 16 in Bei- Americans, and the first president
jing's Great Hall of the People.
of the Washington D.C. chapter of
the association.
According to association chairman Wu Heng, the main task of
Li's daughter, Li Jiari, came all
the organization is to channel the from the United States with
knowledge and creativity of its more than 30 American scholmembers into inventive en- ars for the occasion in Changsha,
deavours, to popularize scientific the capital of Hunan Province.
results, and to promote exchanges Zhang Wenjin and Cai Zemin, forwith their counterparts in other mer ambassadors to the United
countries.
States, sent messages in honour of
Li.
Wu announced that the association would set up a foundation to
In his message, Zhang recalled
assist inventors, particularly the the friendship between Li and the
young, whose financial difficulties late Chairman Mao Zedong. Li
are hindering their creative work. once studied at Xiangya Medical
College in Changsha, where
"It is my belief that the associa- he became acquainted with Mao,
tion will be instrumental in turn- an active member of the student
ing all creative thinking, however movements. In 1922, Li went to
transient, into reality and in trans- the United States for further
ferring all inventions into produc- studies and achieved distinction in
virology and bacteriology. As a
tive forces," Wu said.
man of high prestige and great inFor accomplished inventors, to fluence, he contributed greatly to
become a member of the associa- the founding of Sino-US diplotion is not merely a personal matic relations, and to the exhonour. "I'm happy about be- change of unofficial medical and
coming a member," said Xiong, the technological contacts between the
father of the snakebite therapy. two countries.
"But I treasure all the more the
opportunities the association will CORRECTION: In our last issue, p. 9.
give me to gain access to informa- line 6 of our photo report, the figure
"2,378.6 billion tan" should read "237.86
tion and to swap experiences with million
km."
10
China & the World ^
Deng Backs European Cooperation
Although Eastern and
Western Europe belong to
two separate blocs, they are
not willing to get tied up in
the "war strain," said Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping,
in a meeting with visiting
"ft'cst German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genschcr
on October 29. In reply,
Genscher -aid he was impressed by Dengs opinion
on the important-e nf F.uropean unity and development,
and that those who squabble
over such matters were mere
dwarves by comparison.
World Bank Loans to China
The World Bank will
grant China loans totalling
US$3 billion in the next five
years to finance 30 construction projects, according to
Vice-Minister of Finance
Tian Yinong. Forty percent
of these loans will be interest free. The new allotment will boost total World
Bank loans to USS6 bHlion.
Peng Meets Swedish Ddegation
Peng Zhen, Chairman of
the Standing Committee of
the National People's Congress, said competition fof
overseas markets among
the developed countries was
intense, but if they all
pursued a policy of technology transfer and aid to
the third world, the third
world itself would grow into
a lucrative new market.
Peng made the statement
when he niet with a delegation from the Swedish parliament, led by its speaker,
Ingemund Bengtsson. in Beijing on October 31.
Beijing Review,
So. 45
INTERNATIONAL
Tanzania
Nyerere Makes W a y for the Young
By resigning from his presidency, at 63 Julius Nyerere
has put an end to life-long presidential tenure, and
strengthened the role of the party.
in the c o u n t r y a t the t i m e , h e continued h i stenure f o ranother five
years. Last year h e r e a f f i r m e d h i s
request t o resign, and pointed out
LI Hassan M w i n y i , nominated
t
he real m e a n i n g o f h i s decision
by o u t g o i n g T a n z a n i a n Preswas t o make a public statement
ident l u l i u s N y e r e r e as h i s sucabout t h e abolition o f life-long
cessor, w o n a landslide victory w i t h
tenure. O nhis initiative, the C o n 92 percent o f t h e votes cast b y
m o r e t h a n 5 m i l H o n v o t e r s o n O c - s t i t u t i o n , r e v i s e d last y e a r , c l e a r l y
stipulates that a president's t e r m
tober 27. O nN o v e m b e r 5 the n e w
cannot be m o r e than 10 years.
president
w a s sworn
in and
President
Nyerere
ended
his
Nyerere h a dbeen studying t h e
24-year presidential t e r m , a l t h o u g h
long road f r o m leadership t o t h e
he w i l l r e m a i n c h a i r m a n o f t h e
peaceful
transfer o f p o w e r , esruling
Tanzanian
Revolutionary
pecially since his transfer w o u l d b e
Party until 1987.
a trial a n d a n attempt t o seta n
example.
N y e r e r e is i n good health a n d
by MA SHIKUN and
BAO SHISHAO
A
ing o f h i s party. T o d a y t h e T a n zanian Revolutionary Party has
nearly 3 million members.
After
his resignation, Nyerere continues
to b e t h e P a r t y ' s c h a i r m a n . T h u s
the Party w h i c h w a sbuilt o n a
reliable
foundation among the
masses will be stronger than before under t h e guidance o f Nyerere.
Nyerere pledged that t h e n e w
president w o u l d b e given a l l t h e
power vested i n h i m b y t h e Constitution.
A s chairman
of the
Party, Nyerere has the responsibility t o g u a r a n t e e t h a t t h e p r e s i d e n t
is w o r t h y o f t h e t i t l e , a n d h e c a l l s
on the members o f the Tanzanian
Revolutionary Party t o support
the n e w president i n h i s position
of power.
The
Tanzanian
people
have
called Nyerere, their leader f o r the
last t w o a n d a half
decades,
" m w a l i m , " w h i c h means "teacher.'"
is f u l l o f v i g o u r a t 6 3 . U n d e r
Nyerere himself cherishes the m e m As
a statesman
with
great
his leadership the political a n d ecoo
ries o f his days as a teacher, and
w i s d o m about his country, Nyerere
nomic situations have been stable
Even
understood t h e importance o f t h e loves this siinple name.
in
Tanzania.
H e enjoys
wide
though h e h a s resigned f r o m t h e
political p a r t y i n w i n n i n g state i n popularity and prestige i n his counpresidency, the people o f T a n z a n i a
dependence and i nbuilding u p the
try a n d t h r o u g h o u t t h e A f r i c a n
will n o t forget h i s noble characeconomy.
I n January 1961, six
continent.
Even
so,
Nyerere
teristics: loyalty t o the m o t h e r l a n d ,
weeks after T a n z a n i a w o n indedecided t o resign as president, a
f
aithfulness i n his duties, closeness
pendence, Nyerere resigned as head
circumspect decision that w a s o f of t h eg o v e r n m e n t t o engage h i m to the people a n d a s i m p l e w a y o f
great significance.
life.
self i n the b u i l d i n g a n d s t r e n g t h e n His decision t o abolish life-long
presidential tenure w a s a n idea
Brazil
that h a d been brewing f o r quite
some time i n Tanzania.
H e said
society w a s constantly d e v e l o p i n g
and n e w situations a n d tasks r e q u i r e d n e w l e a d e r s t o t a k e o n t h e An open-door policy pursued by Brazil since the 1960s
most important jobs o f the country.
has delivered the country a strong economy, yet has causAnd
the life-long tenure o f t h e
ed some major problems as well.
supreme leader o f the g o v e r n m e n t
could n o t meet the contemporary
sion-plagued
1970s, m a k i n g t h e
by DUAN ZHIQI
needs o f t h e people, h e said. Be_
South American country a rising
fore t h e presidential elections i n
economic power i n the world.
1980 h e stated h e h a d n o i n t e n t i o n
R A Z I L ' S economy took o f f i n
of becoming a presidential
canthe late 1960s a n d c o n t i n u e d
T h e success, o r " m i r a c l e , " as
didate, but because o f the situation
to g r o w d u r i n g m o s t o f t h e recessome people have described i t , is
Economic Boom Gained at a Price
B
November
II.
1985
II
attributed to an open policy that
has drawn massive foreign capita]
and advanced technology to Brazil
and has prompted an all-out effort
to boost the country's foreign trade.
Funding began to flood into
Brazil in the late 1960s, with
direct foreign investment soaring
from USSl.6 billion in 1966 to
US$22.3 billion in 1983. Simultaneously, advanced foreign technology began to enter the country.
In 1968, Brazil earned an energetic gross national product growth
rate of 11 percent, in contrast to
the pre-boom years when the country's gross national product rose by
only 4 percent or 5 percent annually. The rate was sustained at
7 percent from 1974 to 1980, quite
remarkable when considering this
was during a period when an economic slump fell on the world and
granted the developed countries the
poor rate of 3 percent.
Domestic industries are prospering in the overall national economic growth. In the past decade,
a number of sizeable industrial
projects went into operation'. Crude
steel output in 1984 totalled 18.5
million tons, and Brazil's car-building capability reached 1.5 million
units a year. Furthermore, the petrochemical, arms, aircraft, shipbuilding and electronic industries
are expanding. Industrial output
in Brazil today makes up 34
percent of the country's total
production.
Brazil also has put itself behind
efforts to develop foreign export
and gain more international
markets. The country's total turnover for exports and imports in
1981 was 18 times that of 1964.
However, there is a gloomy side
to the country's inspiring economy.
Mistakes and misplanning have
caused some serious problems. In
the 20 years from 1963 to 1983,
foreign loans that Brazil managed
to obtain increased 33 times. As a
result of over-borrowing, Brazil
12
now has a debt of US$100.2 billion
to shoulder, accounting for nearly
one-third of the Latin American
total. Repayment of the enormous
principal and interest has robbed
the country of 85 percent of its
1983 export earnings. The repayment schedule has beset the country with a capital shortage, closure
of factories and inflation.
On top of that, in its impatience
The
for economic success, Brazil has
undertaken too many projects,
projects whose costs are beyond
its capacity. The Itaipu nuclear power station and petrochemical projects have cost
US$70 billion, more than the country could afford between 1974 and
1983. And the shortage of funds
and lack of short-term returns have
forced Brazil to ask for even more
credit.
Netherlands
Mixed Reaction to Cruise Treaty
The Dutch government recently approved the deployment
of American cruise missiles in the Netherlands. This move
may delight its NATO allies, but has angered the Soviets
and Dutch opposition parties.
by XIN PING
The October 31 approval on the
deployment of 48 American cruise
missiles in the Netherlands, along
with the Dutch government's seal
on a Dutch-American draft accord
on the terms of deployment and
use of the missiles, came after a
heated six-year nationwide debate
on the matter.
According to a North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO) decision in December 1979, the
United States would deploy its
medium-range Pershing and cruise
missiles in its five European allied
countries — Britain, West Germany, Italy, Belgium and the
Netherlands — to counter the
Soviet Union's deployment of the
West European-targeted SS-20 missiles. American missiles already
have been deployed in all designated countries but the Netherlands.
Under the fierce fire of the opposition Labour Party and the
peace movement in the country,
the Dutch government decided in
June 1984 to delay the deployment
of the cruise missiles. But it pledged to its NATO allies that it would
accept deployment if by Nov. 1,
1985, the number of Soviet SS-20
missiles in the Soviet European and
Asian zones had exceeded the June
1984 level (378), and if the two
superpowers had failed to reach an
agreement on nuclear arms reduction.
As the number of Soviet SS-20
missiles approached 441, the Dutch
government prepared to go ahead
with its decision, and public debate
intensified.
A nationwide anti-cruise missile
petition campaign was begun this
September."With the growing peace
movement, which culminated at a
mass rally at the Hague on October
27, a petition resulted with 3.7
million signatures. It was delivered
to Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers
and the speakers of both houses
of the parliament.
During the on-going parliamentary session on the 1986 state
budget. Labour and other opposition parties submitted one moBeijing Review.
No. 45
t i o n after another against the missile d e p l o y m e n t .
able, no matter h o w s o r r o w f u l this
m a y be."
T h e y first asked the g o v e r n m e n t
to postpone i t s N o v e m b e r 1 decision until after the Soviet-US s u m mit i n Geneva this month. Some
said t h e proposal o n arms reduction put f o r w a r d b y Soviet leader
M i k h a i l Gorbachev i n Paris w a s
" r e m a r k a b l e " and that there w o u l d
be a " b r e a k t h r o u g h " a t the s u m m i t
meeting.
He said a further postponement
of t h e decision " w o u l d n o t o n l y
b l u r the n o w clear D u t c h p o s i t i o n ,
but i t w o u l d also m e a n f o r G o r bachev that h e w o u l d bag the first
results o f h i s talks w i t h A m e r i c a
even before t h e Geneva meeting
w a s staged."
sile issue a n d has p l e d g e d t o scrap
the D u t c h - A m e r i c a n treaty i f i t
w i n s i n t h e f o r t h c o m i n g general
election.
T h e members of the peace m o v e m e n t have also declared that they
do n o t see the g o v e r n m e n t ' s decision as the "last chapter" i n t h e i r
campaign, and that they w i l l continue t o w o r k o n post-deployment,
anti-nuclear "strategies."
The D u t c h government's decision
has surely angered t h e K r e m l i n ,
I n W a s h i n g t o n ; as expected, the
T h e y also d e m a n d e d that t h e w h i c h , o n l y hours before the D u t c h D u t c h decision w a s hailed i m deployment decision be approved decision w a s announced, again de- mediately after i t was announced.
by a two-thirds m a j o r i t y i n t h e clared that t h e n u m b e r o f SS-20 State D e p a r t m e n t spokesman Pete
parliament, accompanied
b y a missiles deployed o n Soviet terri- M a r t i n e z said, " T h e D u t c h have
written guarantee f r o m the United tory w a s fewer than 4 4 1 .
demonstrated their continued adStates that the missiles w o u l d n o t
But i t h a s so f a r been greeted herence t o t h e f u n d a m e n t a l p r i n be l a u n c h e d w i t h o u t D u t c h a p w i t h r e l i e f b y its N A T O allies a n d ciples u n d e r l y i n g t h e a l l i a n c e . "
proval.
the D u t c h believe the decision conObservers i n t h e Hague believe
T h e m o t i o n s , h o w e v e r , w e r e a l l f i r m s t h e i r u n i t y in face o f a S o v i e t
the D u t c h g o v e r n m e n t ' s decision
defeated.
Instead, parliament ap- nuclear threat.
will very likely spark months o f
p r o v e d o n O c t o b e r 2 5 t h e d r a f t aci n the past f e w days, the opposi- unrest i n the N e t h e r l a n d s and m a y
cord between the D u t c h a n d U S
t i o n L a b o u r Party h a s threatened even affect i t s general elections
governments.
to call f o r a r e f e r e n d u m o n the m i s - n e x t M a y .
T h e S o v i e t U n i o n , eager t o see
the U S missile deployment i n t h e
Netherlands squelched, said i n M i d d l e E a s t
September that t h e number o f
Soviet SS-20 missiles i n its " E u r o pean z o n e " stood at 234, l o w e r
t h a n last June's l e v e l . I t also p r o The adverse current against the Palestinians that has
posed a p r i m e - m i n i s t e r - l e v e l discuss i o n b e t w e e n t h e H a g u e a n d existed in the Middle East peace process from the very
M o s c o w o n t h e c o n d i t i o n t h a t t h e beginning is bearing down even harder on the PLO.
D u t c h government postponed its
the P L O . L a t e r , o n O c t o b e r 1 4 ,
final deployment decision.
by ZHAO ZHONG
after the J o r d a n - P a l e s t i n i a n delegation arrived i n L o n d o n , Sir GeofH o w e v e r , L u b b e r s a n d his cenF T E R h a v i n g agreed t o meet
frey H o w e , B r i t i s h f o r e i g n secretral-right coalition government rePalestinian representatives, the
tary, cancelled his session w i t h the
jected the Soviet i n v i t a t i o n and i t s
U n i t e d States last A u g u s t contradelegation just o n e h o u r before
testament
t o missile
numbers,
dicted itself b y refusing t o meet
w h i c h Lubbers said w e r e unbelievthe
scheduled
meeting
time.
representatives from t h e Palestine
able because the rockets had s i m p l y
Although the British government
Liberation Organization (PLO). I t
been m o v e d to A s i a , and that their
gave various excuses, observers
maintained t h e P L O ' s public and
threat
to
NATO
remained
believe that Britain yielded t o
definitive recognition o f Israel
unchanged.
pressure f r o m t h e U n i t e d States
was a precondition that must b e
and Israel.
E a r l i e r , i n speeches to the parlia- m e t before t h e U S w o u l d p a r l e y
Jordan-Palestinian
The U n i t e d States, a l w a y s i n
m e n t . Lubbers said, "Since t h e w i t h a j o i n t
d
e
l
e
g
a
t
i
o
n
.
t
h
e
supporting role f o r Israel,
Soviet U n i o n is apparently u n w i l l c
o
n
t
i
n
ued its harassment
against
ing t o restrict t h e n u m b e r o f deO n O c t o b a r 1, Israeli w a r p l a n e s the P L O , w h i c h i t tagged a "terp l o y e d SS-20 missiles i n a n acceptrorist" organization, b y sending
a b l e r e s p o n s e t o t h e D u t c h sugges- r a z e d t h e h e a d q u a r t e r s o f t h e P L O
t i o n o f June 1984, o u r decision t o in T u n i s i n a n attempt t o v i o l e n t l y out w a r p l a n e s t o intercept t h e
Egyptian airliner that carried t h e
deploy the cruise missiles is inevit- w i p e o u t t h e leading mainstay o f
Peace Process Stalled by the West
A
November
11,
1985
13
Palestinian hijackers o f t h e Itali a n c r u i s e s h i p , Achille
Lauro.
It c l a i m e d i t w o u l d l e a d t o t h e a r rest o f M o h a m e d A b b a s , t h e leader o f a P L O f a c t i o n , t h e Palestine L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t , w h o is said
to h a v e m a s t e r m i n d e d t h e h i j a c k ing.
Meanwhile, t h eReagan administration p u t pressure o n the U n i t e d
Nations
General Assembly
session, f o r c i n g the U N t o t u r n a w a y
PLO
leader Yasser A r a f a t f r o m
the c o m m e m o r a t i v e a c t i v i t i e s o n
its 4 0 t h a n n i v e r s a r y .
Viet
Nam
Economy Suffers Despite Reforms
The Vietnamese dong is devalued by a large margin
this year, but the root cause of the economic trouble is
untouched.
by HUANG YONG
Viet N a m h a saccumulated
billion i nforeign debt.
A
Prior to the currency changeover,
H a n o i had replaced w o r k e r s ' subsidized rations w i t h cash salaries
in a neffort t o appease the people
and stabilize the domestic markets.
L T H O U G H Viet N a m has introduced major monetary reforms, the economic situation i n
the
country remains
depressed,
The U n i t e d States also attemptcharacterized b y h i g h prices a n d
ed t o divide t h e j o i n t action o f
shortages o f daily necessities.
Jordan and the P L O .
O n October 2 1 , Israeli P r i m e M i n i s t e r ShiOn
September
14, Hanoi a n mon
Peres brought o u t a n e w
nounced the circulation o f a n e w
seven-point proposal f o r settling the
currency t o take the place o f the
M i d e a s t issue, c l a i m i n g i t w o u l d
dong. One new dong is equivalent
unconditionally
negotiate
with
to 1 0 o f t h e o l d dongs.
Jordan and other A r a b countries
except t h e Palestinians, t osay
Following
the announcement,
nothing o fthe P L O .
most stores, schools a n d factories
closed d o w n f o r the day a n d a r m e d
T h i s a l l leads t oo n e k e y p o i n t :
police p a t r o l l e d the deserted streets.
Israel a n d the U n i t e d States will
Vietnamese authorities also
not a l l o w the P L O t o exist as the T h e
s
h
u
t
d
o w n the H a n o i international
only legitimate representative o f
a
i
r
p
o
r
t
and suspended all c o m m u n i the P a l e s t i n i a n s , t h e r e f o r e i g n o r c
a
t
i
o
n
w
i t h the outside world.
ing a n y n a t i o n a l rights deserved
by the Palestinian
people.
But this o n l y strengthens t h e
will o f t h ePalestinians.
Recovering their right t o be recognized
as a n a t i o n i s a p a s s i o n o f t h e P a lestinians that cannot b e suppressed. T o peacefully settle the M i d east issue i s the f u n d a m e n t a l i n terest o f the 140 m i l l i o n A r a b s .
The
Palestinians and t h e P L O
both c o n f r o n t great pressure, even
from within t h e Arab countries
and the i n t e r i o r o f the P L O . B u t
as l o n g a s a P a l e s t i n i a n h o m e l a n d
is n o t r e c o v e r e d , a n d u n t i l t h e y
are able to live a n d w o r k i n peace
and t oprosper o n their o w n l a n d ,
the P a l e s t i n i a n issue w i l l n o t b e
resolved.
T h e attempt
t o remove Palestine f r o m the m a p b y
the U n i t e d States a n d I s r a e l " w i l l
only stir u p m o r e resistance f r o m
the P a l e s t i n i a n s .
14
W h y all the security measures?
And w h y w e r e the H a n o i authorities so n e r v o u s w h e n they introduced a n e w currency, a practice
that is fairly c o m m o n i n other
countries?
According to experts in Indochinese affairs, such measures w e r e
taken t odeal w i t h possible unrest
a m o n g a people w h o are already
leading a difficult life.
Since its occupation o f K a m puchea seven years ago. Viet N a m
has m a d e little progress i n i n
dustrial a n dagricultural production. Production in some industrial
sectors, especially i n the coal i n dustry, h a s dropped drastically.
W h i l e its deficit has been increasing year after year, V i e t N a m ' s i n flation rate has gone u p b e t w e e n 7 0
percent a n d 8 0percent. Since 1983
US$6
This is the third time Viet N a m
has changed its currency since 1978
in a b i d to get r i d o f its e c o n o m i c
stagnation. B u t i t has p r o v e d i n effective, as the standard o f living
is d r o p p i n g w h i l e p r i c e s c o n t i n u e
to c l i m b .
T h e V i e t n a m e s e state
bank admitted i t was difficult for
the
administration t o withdraw
large a m o u n t s o f c u r r e n c y f r o m circ u l a t i o n . A s a result, it has h a d t o
print m o r e m o n e y to deal w i t h the
situation, setting o f f a vicious
cycle.
Opinions
vary
among
Vietnamese officials a n d e c o n o m i c experts as t o the root cause o f t h e
ailing economy.
Some p u t t h e
blame o n the bureaucracy, others
ascribe i tto the m i s m a n a g e m e n t o f
state-run enterprises. Still others
claim the p r o b l e m stems f r o m lack
of
co-ordination
between t h e
various branches o f the government.
It seems n o b o d y w a n t s t o face
the
real cause: t h e invasion o f
K a m p u c h e a , w h i c h has s w a l l o w e d
up m o r e t h a n half o fthe country's
-a n n u a l b u d g e t i n t h e past s e v e n
years.
Meanwhile, aid f r o m and
trade w i t h Western and third world
countries have declined dramatically. Just a s it has b e c o m e isolated
in the i n t e r n a t i o n a l political arena,
V i e t N a m n o w faces alienation
f r o m t h e world's marketplace as
well.
Beijing
Review.
No. 45
Family Planning Meets Social Progress
Is China's one-child-per-family policy imposed on an unwilling people? Or, is it a
programme that meets the needs of the state, the family and the individual?
main solution t o t h e problems o f
feeding t h e people a n d dealing
with
unemployment,
education
Before the founding o f N e w
and h o u s i n g is t o step u p producN recent years, there have been
China i n '949, the population was
tion a n d , simultaneously,
make
a handful o f Americans w h o
540 m i l l i o n . T h e e c o n o m y w a s exfamily
planning
a basic
state
know
little
about
China and
tremely backward a n d t h e people
policy. This
decision
did not
have
attacked
China's
family
lived i n dire poverty. E v e n then,
planning policy, c l a i m i n g i t as
c o m e f r o m a n y i n d i v i d u a l ' s subChinese
revolutionaries
already
coerced, a n d saying that China's
jective desire, b u t w a s based o n
had rejected a n d criticized v i e w s
a t t e m p t t o s o l v e its p o p u l a t i o n a n d
the reality o f China's
economy
that attributed China's
problems
economic problems through family
a n d its size o f p o p u l a t i o n a n d o n a
to i t s large p o p u l a t i o n .
planning will come t o n o avail.
deep u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e objective l a w s g o v e r n i n g h u m a n develOn theeve o f thefounding o f
the
People's
Republic,
Dean opment.
This w a s a
decision
Acheson, then U S secretary o f
based o n science, a n dt h e applicaChina's Views on
state, analysed t h e i m p e t u s b e h i n d
tion h a s s o f a r p r o v e d successful.
Population
China's revolution. H e attributed
B i r t h c o n t r o l is a m e t h o d that
it t o C h i n a ' s o v e r p o p u l a t i o n a n d
W i t h regard t o t h e relation bethe lack o f enough
food f o r
promotes continuous progress i n
t w e e n p o p u l a t i o n a n d socio-ecoso m a n y p e o p l e t o eat.
M a o Zecontemporary
society. W i t h t h e
nomic development, China holds
dong,
i n h i s article
entitled
current
natural birth rate a n d
that t h e economy is t h e decisive
The
Bankruptcy
of the
Idealist
average life expectancy, t h e w o r l d
factor. A c c o r d i n g t o t h e historical
Conception
of History,
refuted
population could increase several
materialist p o i n t o f v i e w , t h e size
Acheson's theory a n d said that
times w i t h i n t h e next
century,
and speed o f g r o w t h o f a popularevolution plus production could
which w o u l d be unacceptable to
tion a r e n o t t h e m a i n forces that
solve t h e problem o f feeding t h e
m o d e r n society. T h e r e f o r e , i t w a s
determine social development.
It
population.
inevitable f o r humans
themselves
is t h e c o n s t a n t d e v e l o p m e n t o f
to restrict their o w n g r o w t h rate.
social productive forces a n d t h e
C u r r e n t l y , i n almost all t h e develreadjustment o f t h e corresponding
oped countries, b i r t h c o n t r o l is
Basis
for
Practising
relations o f production that conpractised b y each individual famiFamily
Planning
stitute the m a i n force. T h e size, the
ly. W h e t h e r a c o u n t r y openly a n speed o f g r o w t h , a n d t h e quality
nounces f a m i l y p l a n n i n g as its
I
n
t
h
e
p
e
r
i
o
d
a
f
t
e
r
t
h
e
f
o
u
n
d
i
n
g
of a p o p u l a t i o n w i l l either propel
policy, however, is a question reo
f
t
h
e
P
e
o
p
l
e
'
s
R
e
p
u
b
l
i
c
o
f
C
h
i
n
a
,
or retard t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e
lating t o its o w n sovereignty.
t
h
e
c
o
u
n
t
r
y
'
s
p
o
p
u
l
a
t
i
o
n
s
w
e
l
l
e
d
social e c o n o m y . G i v e n this, t h e
G i v e n t h e fact that China's popuq
u
i
c
k
l
y
,
d
e
s
p
i
t
e
o
u
t
s
i
d
e
c
r
i
t
i
c
i
s
m
,
Chinese government always h a s
lation h a salready topped 1 billion
and today China's population has
opposed t h e v i e w that a country's
a n d that its p o p u l a t i o n density h a s
doubled to more than 1 billion. I n
poverty a n dslow development are
tripled that o f t h e w o r l d average
1979 C h i n a instated a one-childprimarily d u e t o i t s large a n d
and quadrupled that o f t h e United
per-family
policy
among
the
growing population. For the same
S
tates, t h e Chinese
government
majority H a n population.
reason, C h i n a never believed a l l
h
a
d
n
o
c
h
o
i
c
e
b
u
t
t
o
m
ake family
the
problems
could
b e easily
After r e v i e w i n g the positive and
p l a n n i n g i t s state policy. T h i s is
negative experiences
i n dealing
the o n l y w a yi t c a n m o r e effecwith
the population,
China's
tively organize a n d mobilize its
The author is a professor of the Chileaders have discovered that t h e
na People's University.
by WU CANGPING
solved once the population g r o w t h
was brought under control.
I
November
11, 1985
15
Because p o p u l a t i o n g r o w t h h a s
third o f the world's average (onethird o f the cultivated land, one- cyclical differences, i t is natural
f o u r t h o f t h e p a s t u r e l a n d . o n e - f o r a c o u n t r y t o set d i f f e r e n t p o p n i n t h o f the forests and o n e - f o u r t h u l a t i o n X policies
f o r different
of
t h e freshwater
surface).
historical periods. T h e policy,
China's average per-capita
cul- " o n e couple, one c h i l d , " w a s raistivated l a n d a n d forests is o n l y ed as a special policy f o r a c e r t a i n
one-eighth and one-tenth o f that period i n China.
of the U n i t e d States. W i t h C h i n a ' s
F a m i l y planning is also a n o b current productive
forces a n d
Special Policy for a
jective need o f China's m o d e r n i z a scientific and technical levels, i f
Particular Period
tion drive. It is inconceivable that,
its p o p u l a t i o n g r o w s t o o fast, a n
as C h i n a h e a d s f o r m o d e r n i z a t i o n
Beginning i n 1962, a "baby
increased pressure w i l l definitely
in a l l fields, i t s population r e be p l a c e d o n its e n v i r o n m e n t a n d b o o m " s w e p t t h r o u g h C h i n a , w i t h
mains a t a h i g h b i r t h rate a n d
n a t u r a l r e s o u r c e s , a n d t h e l o wm o r e t h a n 2 0 m i l l i o n b a b i e s b o r n
poor level o f health.
Reproducper-capita level o f resources w i l l a year. T h i s rate continued f o r
tion m u s t also be modernized —
hinder the i m p r o v e m e n t o f living m o r e than a dozen years. A n d durto achieve a l o w b i r t h rate, a l o w
s t a n d a r d s . F a m i l y p l a n n i n g s h o u l d i n g t h a t p e r i o d , t h e r e w e r e a decm o r t a l i t y rate, a l o w o r zero nahelp t o reduce t h e factors that ade i n w h i c h m o r e t h a n 2 5
tural g r o w t h rate a n d higher
directly o r indirectly threaten the m i l l i o n babies were b o r n each
quality o f physical a n d mental
balance o f environment
(these year. T h i s generation w i l l j o i n
health. T h e purpose of our populafactors include t h e excessive r e - the ranks o f the child-bearing-age
tion policy is t o c o n t r o l populaclamation
o f wasteland, t h e p o p u l a t i o n this year t o the end o f
tion a n d ensure t h e births o f
overuse o f grassland and f a r m l a n d , the century. According to the 1982
healthy children.
o n e - c r o p y i e l d s a n d f a i l i n g t o let n a t i o n a l c e n s u s , t h e n u m b e r o f
F u r t h e r m o r e , f r o m a l o n g - t e r m o r g a n i c m a t e r i a l s r e t u r n t o t h e p e o p l e b e t w e e n the ages o f 5 a n d
point o f v i e w , practising b i r t h fields). I t also w i l l help create
19 t o t a l s 3 6 8 m i l l i o n . E v e n i f a l l
control is conducive t o balancing conditions f o r a balanced e n v i r o n - the people o f this generation have
China's ecological
e n v i r o n m e n t . m e n t a l c i r c u l a t i o n . I n essence, l i k e o n l y a n average o f 2 . 2 c h i l d r e n
Although China
abounds w i t h f a r m l a n d a n d vegetation protecper couple, they still w o u l d give
n a t u r a l resources, i t s per-capita t i o n , w a t e r and soil conservation
birth t o another 368 million baaverage o f n a t u r a l resources is a n d a f f o r e s t a t i o n , b i r t h c o n t r o l
bies before the e n d of this century.
has a n i m p o r t a n t bearing o n t h e
l o w e r t h a n the w o r l d ' s level. F o r
f u n d a m e n t a l interests o f the com- C o n f r o n t e d w i t h this e n o r m o u s
instance, the a m o u n t o f land f o r
child-bearing potential China h a s
each person i n C h i n a is o n l y one- i n g generations.
every reason t o require that this
generation lower its birth rate.
Furthermore
t h e one-child-perChino has always given priority t o birth control education. Xiao
Kang
c
o
u
p
l
e
p
o
l
i
c
y
d
oes n o t necessarily
(second f r o m left), d e p u t y h e a d of t h e L a n z h o u city family p l a n n i n g c o m m i t t e e ,
explaining the significance of family planning to a group of women.
mean that every couple, w i t h o u t
exception, can have just one child.
For example, couples w h o bear
physically disabled children, o r
divorced couples and w i d o w s are
allowed t o have another child i f
their n e w spouses have n o children.
people t o consciously
practise
family planning and participate i n
population control, thereby i m proving the quality o f the entire
population. Even though, China
still believes the g r o w t h o f p r o d u c t i o n is the best w a y t o i m p r o v e
living standards.
Mistakes of the Attackers
China's birth control is carried
out i n a country w i t h 1 billion
people — one-fourth o fthe world's
total population — and 520 million o f that p o p u l a t i o n are a t the
child-bearing
age.
Therefore,
negligence i s inevitable, as a r e
mistakes i n certain places over
Beijing
Review,
No. 45
short periods o f time. B y a i r i n g
these s h o r t c o m i n g s a n d m i s t a k e s
through o u r media, the governm e n t is letting people k n o w that
t h e s e cases a r e a g a i n s t C h i n a ' s
p o p u l a t i o n policies. I t is g r o u n d less t o m a k e c o n c l u s i o n s t h a t
China's b i r t h control is coerced
and opposed b y t h e masses. Facts
have proved that birth control
meets t h e objective needs o f o u r
country's social development a n d
reflects t h e desires o f t h e m a j o r i t y
of people.
China's current child-bearingage p o p u l a t i o n t o t a l s 5 2 0 m i l l i o n ,
t w i c e as m u c h as t h e e n t i r e p o p u lation o f t h e U n i t e d States. T h e
n u m b e r o f people between t h e
ages o f 2 0 a n d 3 4 — t h e m o s t
active child-bearing age group —
is 2 4 0 m i l l i o n , a b o u t e q u a l t o t o day's U S p o p u l a t i o n . C a n anyone
imagine that w e could, just b y
coercion, b r i n g d o w n t h e average
n u m b e r o f children f o r each couple f r o m five t o a b i t m o r e t h a n
t w o i n o n l y 10 years? N o such a
force could compel hundreds o f
millions o f people t o d o something
they are u n w i l l i n g t o do. Unbiased
p e o p l e c a n see t h a t C h i n a ' s f a m i l y
planning policy w o u l d n o t w o r k
w i t h o u t t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g , support and co-operation o f t h e broad
masses o f child-bearing-age p e o pie.
F u r t h e r m o r e , those o f t h e c h i l d bearing age m a k e u p t h e generation b e h i n d China's m a i n force o f
production. I f family planning
was enforced against their w i l l ,
their enthusiasm f o r w o r k a n d
production w o u l d be greatly dampened. B u t facts s h o w t h a t t h e
years i n w h i c h C h i n a ' s f a m i l y
p l a n n i n g a c h i e v e d m a r k e d successes w e r e t h e s a m e as t h o s e d u r i n g
which China's economy developed
most rapidly, enthusiasm f o r production was unprecedentedly high,
and living standards were markedly i m p r o v e d . T h u s , t h e m a j o r i t y o f
people, i n c l u d i n g t h e b r o a d masses o f p e a s a n t s , h a v e r e a l i z e d t h a t
the interests o f t h e state, f a m i l y
November
11, 1985
and individuals are identical i n
terms o f family planning, a n d they
have consciously linked it t o t h e
g r o w t h o f production a n d better
living standards.
Economic
development
and
social c h a n g e t h r o u g h o u t t h e past
30 years have created social conditions that have helped people t o
r e v i e w t h e i r ideas o n h a v i n g b i g
families. Such factors
include
the
plunging infant mortality
rate,
the universalization o f
of people i n v o l v e d i n family planning w o r k and the number o f
o r g a n i z a t i o n s set u p f o r t h e purpose a r e beyond t h e awareness o f
m a n y people at h o m e a n d abroad.
T o w o r k more efficiently, China
has set u p m a n y i n f o r m a t i o n centres t h a t o f f e r free advice a n d
publications. D e m o g r a p h i c departments have been established i n
many institutes o f higher learning;
family
planning
management
colleges
have
been
founded;
p o p u l a t i o n e d u c a t i o n classes h a v e
While practising family planning, efforts also have been made to help cure
infertility. Li Yuehua (second from left), a textile worker in Fujian Province,
is one of many being cured.
education a n d the development o f
production a n d industry mechanization. T h e general i m p r o v e m e n t
in living standards along w i t h the
development o f t h enuclear family,
the heightening o f w o m e n ' s social
status a n d t h e i r e m p l o y m e n t , t h e
lesser i n f l u e n c e o f f e u d a l i d e a s a n d
the people's increasing desire t o
learn m o r e n e w things have also
had significant impact o n changing family planning views. T h e
state's free s u p p l y o f contraceptives, too, has encouraged a drop
in t h e birth rate.
T h e successes o f C h i n a ' s f a m i l y
p l a n n i n g w o r k i n t h e past decade
is i n g r e a t p a r t d u e t o t h e i n c r e a s e
in educational w o r k . T h e n u m b e r
been taught i n some secondary
schools; m o r e t h a n 3 0 specialized
demographic
research
institutes
have been set u p i n some universities a n d colleges a n d at the A c a d e m y o f S o c i a l Sciences;
five
magazines o n demography are
published; a n d demographic a n d
f a m i l y p l a n n i n g associations have
been founded i n a l l t h e provinces
and municipalities.
The
unprecedented
efforts
China has made to publicize famil y p l a n n i n g i n d i c a t e C h i n a ' s success i n f a m i l y p l a n n i n g i s n o t a c cidental a n d that
China has
always given priority t o the educat i o n a n d health o f its people w h e n
considering birth control.
•
17
Population Workers Refute Slanders
At the end of September, the US Agency for International Development (AID), basing itself on the slander by a few people against
China's population policy, announced its decision to withhold US$10
million of its 1986 pledged contribution of US$46 million to the United
Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA). Many family planners have voiced their protest by refuting the slanderous charge. The
following are two contributions to "Beijing Review." — Ed.
Family Planning: Fair and Reasonable
by CUI PEIHUA
I am a rural population worker.
Through my 13 years'work I have
come to realize that family planning is highly necessary for a country as populous as China. Also
in these 13 years I have seen how
welcome family planning is in my
village. Recently I learnt that a
handful of people in the United
States were accusing the Chinese
government of imposing birth control on Chinese people and that the
policy was facing strong resistance
from the masses. In my opinioi)
their accusations are absurd.
I would like to take this opportunity to say something about my
village.
Located by the Yellow Sea,
Nanche is a small village in the
eastern part of Shandong Province.
With 256 families it has 887 people who share only 24 hectares of
arable land — or one hectare for
every 37 people. If the population
were allowed to grow naturally
unchecked, how would it be possible for so little land to feed so
many? How could the standard of
living ever improve when the econ-
omy was not developed? Confronted with such a reality, the villagers
have been willing to co-operate
with the government's population
policy.
In 13 years, proceeding from the
interests of the villagers, population workers have emphasized not
only slowing population growth,
but also improve the physical and
intellectual qiiality of the population. I am happy to see that,
through our hard work, the rapid
growth of population in our village
has been kept under control, and
economic development has been
accelerated. The average per-capita income of the village, for example, increased from 140 yuan in
1979 to 1,068 yuan in 1984, while
in that same period the population
only increased 2.4 percent. Because
of the economic development, the
village's 21 senior citizens, who
either had no children to support
them or who could no longer work,
received annual pensions of up to
660 yuan last year.
The villagers have benefited
from the population programme
since it began in 1972, and recently
no women in the village have been
willing to have more than two
children. As a result of child-bearing women's use of various contraThe author is a population ceptive
methods, the village's anworker in Nanche Village, Rongcheng
nual ratio between deliveries and
County, Shandong Province.
18
abortions was 1:0.18 in 1984 and is
expected to be reduced to 1:0.12 in
1985. This year we have persuaded some one-child families with
specific difficulties — such as those
who have only one but handicapped child or both parents come
from one-child family — to have
another Child.
For those women who find it
difficult to conceive, we have
done our best to help them
get
pregnant. Wang
Shuli,
for example, a woman in her
30s, could not bear children. After
I learnt this, I went all over looking for a physician to help her conceive. At last Wang became pregnant, and she now has a lovely
child.
Some women whose contraceptive methods failed have asked for
abortions. 1 always accompany
these women to the hospital. After
their operations, 1 help them with
their housework and other chores.
Wang )ianhong, for example, had
an abortion, I helped her recuperate by doing chores around the
house. At the time her husband,
who works for a fish company,
was at sea fishing. When he learnt
of my care, he was very pleased.
"You did a better job than 1 could
have done in taking care of my
wife," he said.
Another couple could not agree
on whether to have a second child.
The wife said she did not want
another. Her husband, however,
did want another. Through my
persuasion, the wife decided to respect her husband's will. Now
both are delighted with their second child.
I am always trying to improve
my work, which my fellow villagers support. Once I ran a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius, and
was bedridden for three days. VilBeijing Review, No. 45
lagers called o n m e e v e r y d a y . O n e
morning more than 2 0 o f them
c a m e t o see m e . M y three r o o m s ,
it s e e m e d , w e r e o v e r f l o w i n g w i t h
visitors.
T h e i r sincerity touched
m e so deeply that tears w e l l e d i n
m y eyes.
H e r e 1 w a n t t o a s k those w h o
distort a n d attack China's population policy only o n e question. I f
China's population policy w a s i m plemented b y force, could
such
sincere e m o t i o n s exist b e t w e e n m y
fellow villagers a n d m e ?
Family Planners Work With the People
by TAN YULING
I
o n t h e o p e n i n g day, W a n g m a d e a
special trip t o invite m e t o dinner
w i t h h e r f a m i l y as a n i n d i c a t i o n
of h e r gratitude t om e .
trauterine device, so she came t o
me f o radvice. I told h e r 1 w o u l d
recommend a ligation.
But, because s h e w a s afraid o f t h e idea
of surgery, s h e refused. I told h e r
of other contraceptive
methods.
N o n e o f these suited h e r either,
however. Finally, after discussing
the o p e r a t i o n w i t h w o m e n w h o
had h a d a tubal ligation, this
w o m a n chose that course. H o w ever, because she w a sstill w o r r i e d
about surgery. I took h e r t o visit a
physician w h oexplained t h e procedure t o h e r . A f t e r their discussion, she consented happily t o t h e
operation.
S T A R T E D doing family planning
w o r k i n 1979. Since
Birth control work i n the rural
my
first
day i n the job I
areas i n v o l v e s contact w i t h t h e peohave
served
t h e people
acple. T o d o m y j o b w e l l , I must
I h a v e g e n u i n e concern f o r these
cording t o the requirements o f
w o m e n , a n d they reciprocate b y
our Party a n d government. I n t h e serve t h e people faithfully a n d
w o r k w i t h their interests i n m i n d .
showing m e their friendship. W h e n
last s i x years I h a v e m o r e t h a n
I have always worked according to
I w a s pregnant, villagers sent m e
once visited a l l t h e 1,600 childthis line o f thought.
Once 1orstrawberries.
After I gave birth,
bearing w o m e n i n o u r township.
ganized a general check-up f o r t h e they came t o see m e a n d brought
D u r i n g these visits I never felt a n y
elderly w h o lived alone, f o r 3 6 0 along w i t h t h e m millet, black sugar
hostility f r o m a n y o f t h e m . T h e y
young w o m e n and 2 8 0 children
a n d eggs. W e a l l g e t a l o n g w e l l
have been most w i l l i n g t o chat
f r o m single-child families i n t h e
together.
I
sincerely
welcome
w i t h me, tell m e their thoughts a n d
t o w n s h i p . I have also helped w o m visits t o our t o w n s h i p b y foreigners
ask m e t o d o things i n their favour.
en w h o after several years o f marw h o genuinely want to understand
O n e o f these w o m e n w a s W a n g
riage r e m a i n childless f i n d treatfamily planning i n China.
I also
Y u l i a n w h o lives i n X i n k a i Village
ment. I n addition, I have meticuw o u l d like t o receive those w h o
w i t h h e r four children. W a n g said
lously introduced m e t h o d s o f conthink cadres like m e a r e " u n w e l she w a n t e d t o h a v e a t u b a l liga- traception t o t h e m .
O n e woman
c o m e " people.
They m a y come
tion because she w a s suffering
from Ailin Village, f o r example,
and see f o r themselves h o w w r o n g
from
complications
from
child
found she w a snot suited t o a n inthcv a r e .
birth and wanted n omore children.
She asked m e t o accompany h e r t o
the hospital o n t h ed a y she w a s t o
Tan Yuling ( f i r s t f r o m r i g f i t ) , outhor of the article, explaining
have the operation.
I persuaded
family planning to a young couple.
her, h o w e v e r , t o postpone t h e surgery a n d t o treat h e r p r o b l e m s
first w i t h medicine.
S h e agreed.
In t h ef o l l o w i n g days, I f o u n d doctors f o r h e r a n d helped h e r w i t h
her household chores.
A n d , because h e rf a m i l y w a s poor, I asked
the t o w n s h i p government t o p a y
for h e r medicine. N o t long after,
W a n g w a s feeling better a n d later
opted t o have t h eoperation. W h e n
she w a s h o s p i t a l i z e d , I w e n t t o see
her frequently.
Several
months
after h e r operation, h e r husband
opened a blacksmith's shop, a n d
T h e a u t h o r is a n assistant i n t h e
family planning office i n Chengqiang
Township, Hunjiang City, jilin Province.
November
I L 1985
19
Economic Situation South of Sahara
The Sub-Saharan African countries experienced their hardest time in the first five
years of the 1980s, for a multitude of reasons. If they continue their present efforts
by readjusting their economic policies a n d upholding the principle of collective
self-reliance, the economic development in the latter half of the decade is expected
to improve.
by WANG HEXING
A
L T H O U G H
the developing
countries as a wliole began t o
t a k e a t u r n f o r t h e e c o n o m i c better i n 1984, t h e s i t u a t i o n s o u t h o f
the Sahara* r e m a i n e d grim. A b o v e
all, l o n g years o f d r o u g h t have
further
aggravated
t h e region's
precarious economic situation.
Economic Growth Declines. A c cording to the United Nations
Conference o n Trade and Development ( U N C T A D ) , Africa south o f
the Sahara managed a n average
e c o n o m i c g r o w t h rate o f 2 . 8 percent f r o m
1975-80. T h e figure
dropped t o 0.4 percent i n 1981,
a n d n e g a t i v e rates o f -0.5 p e r c e n t
a n d -0.7 percent w e r e r e c o r d e d i n
1982 a n d 1983. A l t h o u g h t h e rate
of 2.2 percent estimated f o r 1984
is t h e h i g h e s t s i n c e t h e b e g i n n i n g
of t h e decade, i t w a s still l o w e r
than t h e g r o w t h i n t h e region's
population,
which
swelled by
about 3 percent a year.
countries — have
pushed
unemlive
p l o y m e n t t o highs o f 4 0 percent
with
around the region.
than
f the
Worst
Drought.
T h e current
ft h e
A f r i c a n d r o u g h t affects a n area
stretching across t h e c o n t i n e n t
from the Arabian Sea to Cape
Shortage of Development Funds.
Verde
a n d Senegal
along the
I n t h e early 1980s, t h e developed
Atlantic
coast,
and from the
countries faced a serious economic
Sahara d o w n to South
Africa.
recession.
International
demand
for p r i m a r y products fell, a n d t h e E v e n Z a m b i a , Botswana, Lesotho
and Swaziland, which are located
prices o f agricultural a n d m i n e r a l
in tropical areas a n d n o r m a l l y
products
dropped.
T h e export
have more rainfall, were stricken.
volume o f the countries south o f
T h e drought affected a total o f 3 4
the Sahara shrank f r o m
US$35
African countries, over 4 4 percent
billion i n 1982 t o US$31.9 billion
of t h e continent. Itsestimated 1 5 0
in 1984. W i t h decreasing export
million victims account f o r about
income a n d w o r s e n i n g trade conone-third o f Africa's total populaditions, the region w a s plagued
tion. Ethiopia, Chad, Mali, Niger,
w i t h consecutive years o f deficits
Mauritania and Mozambique are
— US$16.3
billion
i n 1982,
a m o n g the hardest hit.
I n eight
US$14.9
billion
i n 1983 a n d
countries i n the Sahel region, the
US$13.1 billion i n 1984.
catastrophe has continued f o r 15
For Africa south o f the Sahara,
years.
the debt p r o b l e m is different f r o m
Acute Grain Shortage. A c c o r d i n g
that o f the other developing counto t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s F o o d a n d
tries. A l t h o u g h t h e region's debt
Agriculture Organization (FAO),
(not i n c l u d i n g N i g e r i a ) is n o t
Africa's total grain output i n 1984
especially high, reaching U S $ 5 b
w a s 4 6 m i l l i o n t o n s , less t h a n t h e
billion i n 1982, i t represents a
54 million tons reaped i n 1 9 7 2 ,
great percentage o f t h e debtor
the year o f worst drought.
countries' G D P s . T h e figure exceeds 5 0 percent i n s o m e 2 0 c o u n tries, a n d r u n s as h i g h as 147.1
* T h i s refers to all the African
percent
a n d 103.5 percent i n
countries except for Egypt, Libya,
Mauritania a n d Togo. T h e probAlgeria, Tunisia and Morocco.
lem
is f u r t h e r aggravated
by
** T h e 25 countries are Benin, Botst h e f a c t t h a t f e w c o u n t r i e s i n t h e wana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape
Verde,
Central African
Republic,
region have t h eability t o repay.
60 percent o f a l l Africans
below
t h e poverty line,
average
incomes
o f less
US$135. A n d themajority o
continent's poor live south o
Sahara.
T h e per-capita gross
domestic
product
( G D P ) south
o f the
Sahara has also decreased a n nually.
Average
per-capita i n c o m e h a s d r o p p e d b y a b o u t 11
percent i n t h elast three years. A c cording t o U n i t e d N a t i o n s standards, 2 5 o f t h e 36' least d e v e l o p e d
Asian, African a n d Latin American countries are located south o f
the
Sahara**.
T h e per-capifa
G D P o f these 2 5 A f r i c a n counA dearth o f development funds
tries w a s o n l y U S $ 3 0 0 i n 1 9 8 2 , a n d industries that operate f a r
f a r b e l o w t h e U S | 1,003 o f t h e
below capacity — the
utilization
developing countries. A t present,
rate is only 2 5 percent i n some
20
C h a d , Cameroon, Djibouti, Equatorial
Guinea,
Ethiopia,
the
Gambia,
Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Niger, R w a n d a , Sierra
Leone, Somalia, the Sudan. Togo,
Uganda, and Tanzania.
Beijing
Review,
No. 45
Algeria
Morocco
1. Senega
2. G a m b i a
3. Guineo-Bissou
4. Burkino-Faso
5. Guinea
6. Sierra Leone
7. Liberia
8. Ivory Coast
9. G h a n a
1 0. Togo
1 1. Benin
12. Equaforial Guinea
13. G a b o n
14. Sao Tome and Principe
1 5. Djibouti
1 6.
1 7.
1 8.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
Tunisia
Seychelles
Namibia ,
(South West Africa)
o c c u p i e d by South
Uganda
Rwanda
Burundi
Malawi
Zimbabwe
Botswana
Swaziland
Lesotho
erosion a n d damaged vegetation.
This, coupled
with
backward
f a r m i n g methods a n d shortages o f
fertilizer, has steadily shortened
the a m o u n t o f time i n w h i c h
farmers c a n l e t their land l i e fallow, posing a n increasingly grave
p r o b l e m o f decreasing fertility o f
f a r m l a n d . Tsetse f l y infestation
has set u p i n s u p e r a b l e obstacles t o
the e x p l o i t a t i o n o f vast areas
w h e r e t h e soil is fertile a n d rainfall is abundant, a n d hampered
the
development
o f livestock
breeding. Rinderpest, under control f o r m a n y years, recurred i n
W e s t Africa i n 1982 a n d t h e first
half o f 1983, later spreading t o
Central a n d East Africa. T h i s
cattle plague added t o Africa's
e c o n o m i c difficulties. T h e deteriorating ecology a n d declining
grain production were t h e immediate causes o f t h e A f r i c a n f a m i n e .
Afri
R e d u c e d Aid and Falling Exports.
T h e A f r i c a n countries have adopted v a r i o u s d e v e l o p m e n t strategies
and w o r k e d hard t o industrialize
since w i n n i n g independence. Certain
achievements
have
been
made, b u t t h e evil consequences
I n 1 9 8 4 , 15 A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s area. Because o f p r e d a t o r y logging o f c o l o n i a l r u l e r e m a i n , a n d ,
were plagued b y acute
grain operations, t h e destruction o f under t h e current inequitable i n shortages; b y early this year t h e forests t o r e c l a i m f a r m l a n d , t h e t e r n a t i o n a l e c o n o m i c order, m o s t
n u m b e r increased t o 2 1 , a n d 1 0 rain forests a r e s h r i n k i n g steadily, countries still r e l y o n their singlem o r e countries w e r e threatened. w i t h 6 m i l l i o n hectares t u r n i n g p r o d u c t economies. T h e countries
i n t o desert every year. L a r g e areas south o f t h e S a h a r a generally e x Thirty
million
people
needed
urgent help, one-third o f w h o m of forest have been t r a n s f o r m e d port o n l y o n e o r t w o a g r i c u l t u r a l
semi-arid grassland,
thus
w e r e forced t o leave their h o m e s into
or mineral products, a n d import
to search f o r food a n d potable changing c l i m a t i c conditions over
expensive
manufactured
goods.
a large area.
water.
F a r m produce a n d mineral exports
T h e s o u t h w a r d expansion o f t h e account for 9 5 percent o f their total
S a h a r a Desert poses a serious e x p o r t v a l u e . I n t h e e a r l y 1980s,
Root of the Problem
ecological p r o b l e m . F o r t h e past because o f t h e e c o n o m i c recession
I n t h e first h a l f o f t h e 1980s, 50 years, t h e desert h a s been e x - i n t h e W e s t , t h e developed counthe c o u n t r i e s s o u t h o f t h e S a h a r a p a n d i n g b y 6-7 k i l o m e t r e s a year. tries g e n e r a l l y a d o p t e d a u s t e r i t y
have been i n their w o r s t economic A b o u t 4 1 0 m i l l i o n hectares o f
policies a n d strengthened
trade
decline since independence. T h e arable l a n d h a v e been e n g u l f e d b y
protectionism, thus weakening i n causes a r e c o m p l e x , a n d i n v o l v e the s p r e a d i n g sands. T h e desert
ternational trade. T h e resulting
both the international environhas
taken
over 7 5 0 m i l l i o n sharp drop i n the demand f o r r a w
m e n t a n d faulty domestic policies. hectares i n t h e Sahel region, t h e
materials and p l u m m e t i n g prices o f
Damaged
Ecology.
Although
scene o f t h e c o n t i n e n t ' s m o s t p r i m a r y p r o d u c t s h i t t h e A f r i c a n
t r o p i c a l r a i n forests c o v e r 16 percatastrophic droughts.
countries hardest.
I n 1982, earncent o f t h e A f r i c a n c o n t i n e n t , t h e
i
n
g
s
f
r
o
m
t
h
e
e
x
p
o
r
t
o fagricultural
deserts a n d s e m i - a r i d areas acIndiscriminate land reclamation
p
r
o
d
u
c
t
s
c
o
u
l
d
b
u
y
o n l y h a l f as
count f o r 4 0 percent o f i t s total and tree felling have caused soil
November
11. 1985
South Africa
21
much manufactured goods and oil
as four years ago.
Meanwhile, due to their economic crises, the developed countries sharply reduced their aid
and loans to the African countries.
For example, the International
Development Association, which
specializes in providing preferential aid to low-income countries,
was hit by lower donations from
the developed world. In 1982, its
lending dropped by 30 percent
compared with 1980. Thus, the
African countries have been forced to borrow at increasingly harsh
rates. Annual rates went up from
4.4 percent in 1977 to 10.1 percent in 1981. The interest on
loans issued by commercial banks
rose from 6.7 percent to 14.2 percent during the same period.
the development of grain production. Many farmers therefore left
the land to become workers or
merchants, and the tide of immigration swarmed the region's
cities. With overpopulation came
rising unemployment which further aggravated already-strained
food supplies.
High Population Growth. Excessive population growth is an important factor, if not the fundamental reason, for the scarcity of
grain in Africa. The continent's
average annual population growth
rate is the highest in the world,
almost double the international
average. From 1980-85, population growth south of the Sahara
ran at 2.7 percent in West Africa,
2.3 percent in Central Africa. 3
percent in East Africa and 2.9
percent in southern Africa. Since
winning their independence, the
African countries have made some
progress in agricultural output
but grain production deteriorated. During the 1950s Africa
achieved self-sufficiency in grain.
By 1973, however, its rate of selfsufficiency had declined to 90 percent. The figure at present is
estimated at only 81 percent.
Civil Wars and Refugees. A
century ago colonialism carved
up the African continent, leaving
Faulty Domestic Policies. Among
the many economic and social development strategies adopted by the
African countries, none has paid
adequate attention to agricultural
development, especially grain production. In some nations, agriculture accounts for only 10 percent
of the total investment in all
sectors. Many have based their
economies on cash crop exports,
leading to stagnating grain production and low per-hectare yields.
Other countries, although they
emphasize the development of
agriculture and grain production,
have been unable to realize their
goals due to a lack of funds and Just
technology.
Inappropriate policies also find
expression in the prices of farm
products. The swelling prices of
industrial goods on the international market, along with inflation, have pushed up the cost of
agricultural production. Purchase
prices for agricultural products,
however, have not gone up
correspondingly. These policies
greatly dampened farmers' enthusiasm and, above all, hampered
22
oH t h e Press
China Today [il]
Women
in
Transition
144 pp
ancient tribes divided by national
boundaries or throwing antagonistic tribes together in one country.
With this came instability, the
political bane of Africa. The
uneven distribution of power and
wealth and foreign interference
have led to endless disputes;
coups have been frequent, and
civil wars widespread. Since the
beginning of the 1950s, Africa has
witnessed more than 50 successful
coups and over 100 attempted
takeovers. In the past five years,
coups have occurred in 12 countries south of the Sahara. Civil
wars have continued for more
than 20 years in Chad and Ethiopia, while those in Angola,
Mozambique, the Sudan and
Somalia are also still in progress.
Defence expenses now triple African countries' investment in
agriculture. Because of border
conflicts, national contradictions,
military coups, racial discrimination and natural calamities, Africa
has more refugees than any other
continent in the world. In 1980,
the number topped 5 million, 50
percent of the world's total. The
refugees are distributed through
more than 20 African countries.
In recent years, the drought has
further swelled their numbers.
(To be continued.)
• Safeguarding Wonrjen's
Rights
• Working Wives and Their
Lives
• How Does China Deal
With Divorce?
• Chinese Women Active in
World Arena
Published by BEIJING REVIEW
24 Boiwanzhuang Road
Beijing, China
Distributed by China International
Book Trading Corporotion
(GUOJI SHUDIAN).
P,0. Box 399, Beijing, China
Beijing Review, No. 45
USA
— Labor Day & Labor Movement
A Chinese woman journalist, Wang Tsomin. visits New York City
on labor day and learns some interesting things about the American
labor movement. This is a chapter from her newly published book "The
American Kaleidoscope — Society. Landscape and People." (See review
on p., 33.)
m a j o r A m e r i c a n left organizations
if y o u change " f o u r " t o " t h r e e "
and " f i v e " t o " f o u r . " T h e threeway division means the mutual
estrangement
o f the o l d U S
C o m m u n i s t P a r t y w h i c h is p r o Soviet, t h e Progressive
Labor
ed portraits a n d photographs o f
by W a n g T s o m i n
P
a
r
t
y
w
h
i
c
h
r
e
g
a
r
d
s
n
o
o
n
e but
M a r x , Lenin a n d other revolui
t
s
o
w
n
m
e
m
b
e
r
s
a
s
g
e
n
u
inely
t i o n a r y teachers are p i n n e d t o t h e
H E first M o n d a y o f S e p t e m b e r d r a p e r i e s , w i t h price tags.
W h i l e revolutionary a n d socialist, a n d
is L a b o r D a y i n t h e U S , I a m a t t e n t i v e l y l e a f i n g t h r o u g h
the
Revolutionary
Communist
falling o n September 5 i n 1982, some volumes, t h e stall keeper Party, w h i c h used t o be p r o w h i l e I a m i n N e w Y o r k C i t y . O n leans f o r w a r d and asks: " A r e y o u Chinese.
T h ethree-way division
that d a y 1 find W e s t 4 2 n d Street, f r o m t h e People's R e p u b l i c o f
became a i o u r - w a y rift w h e n t h e
w h e r e 1 live, t u r n e d i n t o something C h i n a ? " I n o d . H e asks further, R e v o l u t i o n a r y C o m m u n i s t Party
like a c o u n t r y fair. M i l l i n g crowds " W h y aren't y o u selling M a o ' s split after the o v e r t h r o w o f t h e
of holiday-makers pick their way quotations any m o r e ? " H e follows G a n g o f Four i n China.
Those
t h r o u g h a n endless r o w o f street this u p w i t h m o r e questions a b o u t f o r t h e o v e r t h r o w q u i t a n d f o r m e d
stalls. F o o d venders sell, i n addi- C h i n a ' s f o r e i g n policy, p a r t i c u l a r l y a n e w o r g a n i z a t i o n w h i l e those
t i o n t o t h e o r d i n a r y r u n o f h o t S i n o - A m e r i c a n r e l a t i o n s , i n a w a y against r e m a i n e d . T h i s is a v e r y
dogs a n d soft d r i n k s , specialities t h a t
c a n hardly conceal h i s broad generalization, m y friend
l i k e b r o i l e d beef. B i g c h u n k s o f d i s a p p r o v a l .
stressed, a n d t h e w h o l e situation
meat sizzle o n i r o n racks o v e r
is v e r y c o m p l e x .
charcoal fires, t u r n i n g b r o w n ,
N o doubt h e is a leftist. T h e
oozing fat a n dsmelling good.
encounter reminds m e o f a comT h e book-seller sounds like o n e
T
M a n y others sell a n a r r a y o f
ordinary clothing including blue
jeans a n d rubber-soled
canvas
shoes, s o m e s i m i l a r t o C h i n e s e
tennis shoes a n d others
with
tilted tips a n d fancy patterns o f
white, red and blue bands. T h e r e
are also stalls selling miscellaneous
things, even curios o r imitation
artwork.
T h e scene r e m i n d s m e
vividly o f t h e bazaars thriving at
Beijing's
Longfu
Temple and
Shanghai's T o w n God's T e m p l e
half a century ago.
I t is doubly
s t r a n g e t o see a l l t h e s e n e a r m o d e r n
Times Square a n d t h e plush
Rockefeller Center.
ment made by a Chinese-American
friend o n the American
Left.
There is a saying in China: "fourw a y d i v i s i o n and five-way disinteg r a t i o n " t o describe grave d i s u n i t y .
M y friend said s o r r o w f u l l y that
the phrase c a n literally apply t o
May
w h o h a s r e m a i n e d , because h e apparently esteems t h e "little r e d
b o o k , " a h a l l m a r k o f the " c u l t u r a l
r e v o l u t i o n " w h i c h supporters o f
the G a n g o f F o u r still h a n k e r
after. T h e b o o k h a s fallen o u t of
use i n C h i n a . W e h a v e discarded
Day origins: Explosion at Haymorket meeting (1886) in Chicago
A n u m b e r o f stalls sell b o o k s .
O n e o f t h e m specializes i n " r e v o l u tionary literature." I find there
English
translations
o f many
w o r k s b y M a r x , Engels, L e n i n and
M a o Zedong, including the wellk n o w n " l i t t l e r e d b o o k , " Quotations From Chairman Mao. P r i n t November 11. 1-985
23
it because, q u o t i n g M a o o u t o f d r u m s ,
blow
trumpets,
play
context, i t has proved t o b e a n music, sing behind microphones,
instrument o f dogmatism.
play rock a n d roll, o r twist a n d
grimace
like
circus
clowns.
Nonetheless I feel grateful t o the Spectators often j o i n i n the spree,
book-seller for his interest i n C h i n a rock-n-rolling " l i k e m a d " t o m y
a n d I d o n ' t b l a m e h i m a t a l l f o r C h i n e s e eyes.
his i g n o r a n c e o f t h e r e a l f a c t s o f
J w a l k on to Fifth Avenue. This
life i n a f a r a w a y country. N o . 1
don't blame h i m . Instead, I have thoroughfare running through the
m i s g i v i n g a b o u t h i s s a f e t y f o r h i s m i d d l e o f M a n h a t t a n i s t h e eastI t is t h e
radical views. I have i n m y h a n d west dividing line.
of Wangfujing i n
a tabloid bought a f e w minutes equivalent
earlier f o r 25 cents w h i c h c o n t a i n s Beijing a n d N a n k i n g R o a d i n
a report on h o w thugs have smash- Shanghai, and at 4 2 n d Street it's a
more
ed a store s e l l i n g r e v o l u t i o n a r y c o m m e r c i a l centre m u c h
books.
Hooligans a n d their be- garish than its Chinese counterparts.
T h e L a b o r D a y p a r a d e A glimpse at the present: Interviewhind-the-scenes bosses d o n ' t care
ing administrators of a public
w h i c h faction y o u belong t o i f y o u proceeds o n Fifth A v e n u e f r o m
housing project at Los Angeles
26th t o 5 2 n d Street.
Newspapers
are against the E s t a b l i s h m e n t .
have
predicted
a turnout o f
[the 2 4 t h U S President] sudI t h i n k o f citing m y personal 500,000 marchers
a n d 100,000
denly announced that t h e first
experiences i n the " c u l t u r a l revolu- spectators. T h e r e w i l l be " h o b o s "
M o n d a y i n September w o u l d be
t i o n " b y w a y o f e x p l a n a t i o n t o the selling apples along t h e line o f
Labour Day i nAmerica, and he
book-seller. B u t a bustling market m a r c h (reminders o f t h e u n e m signed a bill t o m a k e this a n a is c e r t a i n l y n o p l a c e f o r a s e r i o u s p l o y e d w o r k e r s w h o t r i e d t o m a k e
tional holiday. Peter M c Q u i r e
political discussion.
1 c a n o n l y a living that w a y d u r i n g t h e
[a t r a d e u n i o n l e a d e r ] a n d o t h e r
smile t o h i m a n dw a l k o n t o t h e Great Depression), for t h e theme
trade u n i o n s had been lobbying
next stall.
this year
is " u n e m p l o y m e n t . "
for this b i l l since 1882, a n d
T h e r e w i l l be m o r e t h a n 150 bands
There a w o m a n , clad i n a bright
n o w , perhaps as a w a y o f c a l m and 125 floats i n t h e parade.
red shirtwaist a n d b e a m i n g w i t h
ing t h e A m e r i c a n labour movesmiles, comes u p a n d gives m e a
ment's
enthusiasm
for M a y
Unseemly
Origins
leaflet. " V o t e f o r m e , please," she
Day, Cleveland gave i n t o t h e
s a y s a n d h u r r i e s a w a y . T h e leafSeptember date. B e g i n n i n g i n
H a v i n g watched t h e fanfare, 1
let, s l i g h t l y l a r g e r t h a n a p o s t c a r d ,
the 1950s, t h e A m e r i c a n B a r
cannot help asking a n American
shows her picture w i t h t h e w o r d s
Association sought t o have M a y
friend, a veteran trade unionist,
" F R A N S C L A F A N l f o rAttorney
Day referred t o as " L a w D a y "
how the U S Labor D a y originated
General."
O n t h e o p p o s i t e side
i
n t h e U n i t e d States.
and w h y i t has evolved into this
are her b i o g r a p h i c a l notes a n d the
sort o f merry-go-around.
For us
k i n d o f catch-phrases w e i n C h i n a
Today only Canada a n d the
Chinese a n d most people o f t h e
w o u l d see o n l y i n c o m m e r c i a l
U n i t e d States u s e t h e Septemw o r l d , M a y 1 is labor day, a miliadvertisements.
For
instance,
ber date, w h i l e t h e rest o f t h e
tant d a y o f working-class soli"New
Y o r k State needs F r a n
w o r l d uses M a y D a y as t h e
darity. A n d i t is w i d e l y k n o w n
Sclafani" and " F r a n Sclafani w i l l
workers'
day. T h e French
that M a y D a y ' s o r i g i n goes back
be a n A t t o r n e y G e n e r a l t h a t N e w
Canadians have rebelled against
to t h e A m e r i c a n w o r k e r s ' deYorkers can be proud of — for
the S e p t e m b e r d a y i n t h e last
monstration
f o r a n eight-hour
she w i l l t r u l y s e r v e A L L O F T H E
few years a n d h a v e b e g u n t o use
w o r k d a y i n Chicago i n 1886 a n d
P E O P L E . " 1 guess all p o l i t i c i a n s
M a y D a y . I n recent years i t h a s
the general strike staged i n o t h e r
running f o r public office i n t h e
become
increasingly
evident
parts o f t h e country.
c o m i n g N o v e m b e r m i d - t e r m electhat t h e September date is n o t
tion are o u t today electioneering
a purely union workers' day,
The friend, w h o h a s f o r years
in the crowds.
b u t also a h o l i d a y f o r businessw o r k e d i n meat-packing unions,
men,
bankers,
lawyers, a n d
g i v e s m e a b o o k c a l l e d Haymarket
I move through four crowded
stockbrokers.
Revisited*. Y o u w i l l f i n d t h e
b l o c k s a n d g e t t o E i g h t h A v e n u e , a n s w e r t h e r e , h e says.
Here are
w h i c h l o o k s e v e n m o r e festive. a f e w passages:
' H a y m a r k e t Revisited
by W i l l i a m
T h e r e a r e m a k e s h i f t stages o n
Adeiman, Published by Illinois L a platform trucks w h e r e people beat
I n 1 8 9 4 . G r o v e r C l e v e l a n d bour History Society, Chicago, 1976.
24
Beijing Review. No. 45
The following sequence of
events will further clarify the
question:
— May 1, 1886: "Eight-Hour
Day Movement" began as workers
in Chicago marched up Michigan
Avenue while 340,000 laid down
their tools across the country.
— May 4: "Haymarket Massacre" occurred in Chicago when
police^Jttacked workers. Four died
and d ^ e n s were wounded.
— 1889: A delegate of the
American Federation of Labor to
the International Labor Congress
in Paris asked that May Day be
adopted as an International Labor
Day. Workers would march on
this date for the eight-hour day,
for democracy and the right of
workers to organize. This day
would also be a memorial to the
"Martyrs of Chicago."
— 1892: At an international
socialist conference in Geneva, a
delegate from the American
Knights of Labor made a similar
resolution and it was adopted.
Founded in 1869, the Knights of
Labor was a fast-growing and
powerful union at the time, drawing no color lines.
— 1894: President Cleveland
made the first Monday of September Labor Day and a national
holiday.
The whys and wherefores are
clearer in retrospect. We have a
saying in China — tou Hang huan
zhu, "stealing away with the
beam and pillar to topple the
house." It might well be used as
the heading of the story. If May
Day, which American workers had
shed their blood to establish, is
eventually proclaimed "Law Day,"
as the American Bar Association
wishes, the ingeniously-devised
metamorphosis will be complete.
And three cheers for the Establishment!
American labour has had a
glorious and militant tradition.
But unionists I have met admit
November 11, 1985
that the movement is getting
weaker. Why? I sought enlightenment from Professor Philip
Foner, a progressive historian I
met in China and again in Maine.
He made the following points:
Present
Labor
Movement
First, many giant American corporations are transnationals with
subsidiaries in Europe and Third
World countries. They transfer
capital to places where labor is
cheap, to reduce costs. A sizeable
proportion of what they produce
overseas is then shipped back to
the American market. In the
process they have closed many
plants in the country and deprived
a lot of workers of their jobs.
Second, traditional industrial
areas in the northeastern and midwestern states are losing their
dominance to the southern and
western states (often called the
Sun Belt). Unions are stronger in
the old industrial bases but weak
or non-existent in the south.
Third, the heavily unionized
steel and auto industries are in
serious trouble. An important
reason is the stiff competition
from Japan and Federal Germany
where equipment has been updated in the postwar years. America
is technologically capable of
restructuring the industries, but
many profit-minded capitalists
resist that.
Fourth, the use of robots is increasing in the mills. They work
24 hours a day, do not organize
and never strike. And robotics is
fast reaching out into new fields.
Fifth, the numbers of workers
in strongly unionized basic industries— steel, auto and rubber
for instance — are decreasing
while the much less unionized
service industries have been
expanding fast. Union membership in retail trades — shops,
supermarkets,
fast-food
industries, etc. — constitutes only
7 percent of the total workforce
compared with 45 percent of the
total in steel, auto and other basic
industries. Increasing employment by service industries coupled
with decline of basic industries
means a falling percentage of
union members in the overall work
force.
Sixth, more and more illegal
immigrants are entering the labor
market. They are paid far less
than the $3.25-per-hour minimum
wage prescribed by the US government and will accept the heaviest
and dirtiest jobs. Union membership is out of the question for
these people who are always wary
of deportation.
Seventh, employers have new
means to sabotage unionization. In
the past, they hired thugs and hooligans to prevent workers from
organizing by brute force. Now a
new business called "management
consultancy" has appeared and is
booming. College-educated "specialists" and "psychologists" make
intensive studies to devise unionbusting tactics.
Back in my hotel after watching
the celebrations, which are ironically gay against the background
of a recession-mired economy and
10-percent unemployment, I read
in the day's New York Times a
lengthy analysis entitled "Frustrated and \Mary Labor Marks Its
Day." The article says: "Their
[the union leaders'] anxieties are
fed by the proliferation in recent
years of management consultants
specializing in sophisticated methods to persuade workers there is
nothing a union can do for them
that the boss is not doing better.
These services have revived, on
this centennial of Labour Day, an
age-old anxiety in the minds of
many top unionists about whether
the bulk of the nation's businessmen are reconciled to the existence
of unions and want them to survive at all." The article also
(Continued on p. 34.)
25
Teenage Olympic Hopefuls Flex Muscles
by LIU BIN
(Our Correspondent)
T
HE
First
National
junior
Games, held i n Zhengzhou.
capital o f central China's H e n a n
Province, from October 6 t o 18.
showed off a gathering o f promising teenage stars w h o c o u l d b e come tomorrow's O l y m p i c gold
medal winners.
Z h o n g Shitong, c h a i r m a n o f the
All-China Athletic Federation a n d
the C h i n a O l y m p i c C o m m i t t e e ,
r e m a r k e d a t the games that C h i n a
hoped t o be a m a j o r sports p o w e r
by t h e year 2000.
S o the four
Olympic Games i n the remaining
15 y e a r s
should
offer
today's
teenagers good incentive t o assert
themselves.
A Myriad of Talent
T h e games saw intense competition i n a l l 17 events including
football,
basketball,
volleyball,
track and field, fencing and g y m nastics.
Weight-lifting,
wrestling
and j u d o were also performed, as
well as cycling, shooting, archery,
s w i m m i n g , diving, r o w i n g , canoeing, and yachting.
I n t h e t r a c k a n d f i e l d e v e n t , 18year-old ( i nLing, a female high
jumper from Liaoning Province,
cleared 1.82m w i t h a p o w e r f u l approach a n da strong take-off f o r
a p r e l i m i n a r y heat. H e r t e a m m a t e
Cao Z h o n g p i n g cleared 1.85m i n
M a y . b u tfailed t o live u p t o expectations because she w a s defaulted f o r a r m t w i s t s .
Nevertheless,
she h a d a l r e a d y p r o v e d h e r s e l f t o
be p r o m i s i n g , a girl t o w a t c h i n
the next f e w years.
In t h e men's high j u m p event.
Beijing's high j u m p e r N iT a o . 15year-old s o n o f N i Z h i q i n . t h e
world high jumping champion i n
the 1970s, w o n m u c h acclaim f r o m
the audience and judges.
H e had
26
p r e v i o u s l y cleared 2 . 1 0 m i n September, b u tfailed t o meet h i s record this tinie.
Nevertheless, he
is b e l i e v e d l o h a v e g r e a t p o t e n t i a l .
Hebei
Province's
19-year-old
Y a n g Y a n q i n showed her specialty
in co-ordinated m o v e m e n t s a n d
bounce i n shot-putting. She had already broken t h e world's record
at t h e 1 9 8 2 W o r l d M i d d l e S c h o o l
Students Games w i t h a throw o f
17.35m. T h i s time shebroke h e r
o w n record b y distancing another
0.15m, raising her score t o 17.50m.
w i t h nine taller than 2 m — a real
boost i n p l a y i n g against i n t e r n a tional teams. M a n y o f t h e young
dribblers possess t h e speed a n d
dexterity needed t o take t h e m t o
the top.
W e i g h t lifters also carried' t h e i r
o w n this time around.
Guangdong's 18-year-old H e Zhiibqiang
in t h e48kg g r o u p defeated Z e n g
Guoqiang, t h e champion at t h e
2 3 r d O l y m p i c G a m e s , w i t h a threelift
totalling
235kg.
Guangxi's
Huang
Xiliang
chalked
up the national y o u t h record i n the
China's gymnastic team is acfirst m a t c h o f t h e 5 0 k g g r o u p .
c l a i m e d t o b e a m o n g t h ebest i n
T h o u g h failing t o reach the w o r l d
the w o r l d , especially t h e rnen's.
record, h e tied w i t h this year's
and m a n y w o r l d gymnastic experts
third-ranked world weight-lifting
have kept
a watchful eyeo n
c h a m p i o n i n the three-lift total.I n
China's reserve of gymnasts. A t the
the 60kg group, Shandong's W e i
Zhengzhou games, gymnasts made
Qingshan
lifted
125kg
in a
up the youngest group o f athletes,
snatch
a n d Guangdong's
H e
w i t h t h e o l d e s t b e i n g o n l y 16 y e a r s
Xinghui
cleared
260kg
in
old, w h i l e t h e youngest w a s 10.
three-lift
total. These
young
They are extremely well accompweight lifters have had t o mature
lished i n basic skills and physical
to fill the v o i d left b y C h e n W e i agility. S o m e could even p e r f o r m
qiang, w h o retired after w i n n i n g
what internationally are believed
last
year's
Olympic
champion.
to be t h emost intricate and diffiLiaoning's weight lifter. Y a n g B o .
cult movements, such as double
chalked u p t h e national
100kglayouts, backward somersaults and
class
record
by pumping
up
b a c k w a r d flips w i t h three turns
157.5kg.
before h i t t i n g the floor.
C h i n a ' s f o o t b a l l t e a m h a d suffered major setbacks at several
preliminaries
at
the world's
m a j o r games i n recent years. B u t
the Zhengzhou's competitions rekindled hope for a good swift kick
at t h e w o r l d soccer f i e l d i n t h e
f u t u r e . T h e m o r e t h a n 100 soccer
players averaged 18 years o l d and
1.77m tall, m u c h taller than their
adult counterparts, a n d about 3 0
players were taller than 1.80m.
China's basketball players showed u p b y t h escores a t the Z h e n g z h o u games. I n the 1 6 teams that
participated i n t h e contests, 4 2
girls were taller than 1.80m a n d
t w o even taller than 2 m .
Sixtyfour boys were taller than 1.90m,
A t the s h o o t i n g range, )in Y i n g ,
a 15-year-old shooting girl f r o m
Shanghai, scored 589 points w i t h i n
60 rounds i n pistol shooting, blasting a w a y the w o r l d juvenile record
by 3 points. Champions i n other
shooting events mostly equalled the
records o f t h e t o p s i x O l y m p i c
shooters.
Training Superstars
M o r e than 8 0percent o f the athletes a t t h e recent g a m e s
were
coached
at spare-time
athletic
training schools.
China's first
ing school was
day there a r e
throughout the
such athletic trainset u p i n 1955. T o 2,968 such schools
country, with more
Beijing
Review.
No. 4 5
Beijing volleyboll team smasher, Yoo Hong (the girl jumping to attack on the left), is the tallest at 1.89m.
The People's Liberation Army team (in black) averages 18.9 years old a n d 1.95m toll.
than 230,000 students
15,000 coaches.
trained b y
Guangdong's team carried away
40 gold medals at the Zhengzhou
games.
T h e chairman o f the Provincial Physical Culture a n d Sports
Commission
said
an important
reason f o r t h e success w a s t h e e x istence o f a p r o v i n c i a l t r a i n i n g
n e t w o r k f o r teenagers t o t u r n t o
in their spare time. Physical training at regular a n d part-time sports
schools has a p y r a m i d - l i k e training
system that turns o u to n e group o f
talented teenagers after another.
T o enable children t o develop
morally, intellectually and physically, educational officials have decided that students
c a n attend
athletic schools o n l y after they
have finished their primary a n d
j u n i o r m i d d l e school courses. S t u dents w h o attend these part-time
sports schools have seven t o eight
hours o f coaching each week.
M a n y o f these schools have developed their o w n styles.
Dalian
is k n o w n f o r i t s f o o t b a l l t r a i n i n g ;
Sichuan
f o r its table
tennis:
Guangdong f o r its weight-lifting,
swimming a n ddiving; Guangxi f o r
November
1 1 , 1985
its g y m n a s t i c s a n d F u j i a n f o ri t s
track a n d field sports.
Scientific Training
In t h e past, traditional t r a i n i n g
techniques were applied b y m a n y
coaches. H o w e v e r , m a n y o f their
y o u n g proteges' sports lives w e r e
shortened because they were pushed t o o h a r d at a y o u n g age. M o r e
recently coaches have begun t o
realize that
successful
atheletic
training requires scientific
techniques.
T h e Shanghai Physical Culture
Research Institute has accumulated
v a l u a b l e i n f o r m a t i o n o n t h e scientific selection o f potential superstars. I t s d e p u t y director, Z e n g
F a n h u i , said that i n t h e past w h e n
they selected track a n d field athletes t h e y o n l y c o n s i d e r e d
their
scores a n d basic skills. A s a result,
m a n y athletes progressed
at t h e
b e g i n n i n g , but w e n t just as q u i c k l y
d o w n h i l l . N o w they select p o t e n tial
stars
with
good
physical
builds, stable n e r v o u s system a n d
strong bone structures. T h e result
proves satisfactory.
N i Z h i q i n is one coach w h o used
these scientific* techniques o n h i s
o w n son, N i T a o . W h e n h e discovered h i s 5-year-old s o n w a s interested i n h i g h j u m p , h e t o o k h i m
to t h e playground t o f a m i l i a r i z e
h i m w i t h all track a n dfield events.
H e coached h i s s o n i n t h e basic
track a n d field skills f o r eight
years a n d h i s s o n r a p i d l y progressed i n running, broad j u m p i n g a n d
high j u m p i n g . H e never
pushed
his s o n so hard that he became
physically exhausted, a n d taught
his s o n sports psychology t o outw i t h i s o p p o n e n t s a n d n e v e r lose
complete concentration. H i s guidance p r o v e d f r u i t f u l . N i T a o cleared 1.70m i n 1983, 1.90m i n 1 9 8 4
and 2.05m i n the high j u m p atthe
Zhengzhou games' preliminaries i n
lune.
Three months
later, he
cleared 2.10m, overshadowing t h e
world high jump champion, Z h u
fianhua, w h e n he w a sat t h e same
age.
C h i n a set u p i t s first physical
culture research institute i n 1958.
It n o w h a s 2 7 such organizations
staffed w i t h m o r e t h a n 5 0 0 scientists. I n t h e past t h r e e d e c a d e s , t h e y
have achieved good results i n m o r e
than 1 0 0 research projects, paving
the w a y f o r tomorrow's
sports
greats.
•
27
FROM THE CHINESE PRESS
Fighting for Consumer
from "LIAOWANG"
(Outlook Weekly)
I
N
1981, a Guangzhou w o m a n
bought a "Five R a m s " brand
wristwatch from the Guangzhou
Foreign Trade Central Market.
T w o m o n t h s later that w a t c h stopped w o r k i n g . W h e n s h e t r i e d t o
return t h e w a t c h t o t h e dealer,
she w a s t o l d t h e b r o k e n w a t c h w a s
the responsibility o f t h e G u a n g zhou
Light Industrial
Products
Import a n d Export Corporation.
However, w h e n she presented h e r
watch to Guangzhou Light, the
woman
w a s told
the broken
w a t c h w a sn o t their p r o b l e m , b u t
that o f t h e G u a n g z h o u W r i s t w a t c h
Plant.
For three a n d a half years, these
three units told t h efrustrated consumer that h e r defective purchase
w a s s o m e o n e else's p r o b l e m . A f ter these years, s h e w a s ready t o
give u p trying t o get either h e r
money back o r a n e wwatch. I n
September 1 9 8 4 ,h o w e v e r , as a
last d i t c h effort, t h e w o m a n w e n t
to t h e n e w l y - e s t a b l i s h e d G u a n g zhou Consumers' Commission a n d
pleaded h e r case.
A f e w weeks
later, s h e h a d a n e w w a t c h .
The China Consumer C o m m i s sion, w i t h
branches
i n major
cities t h r o u g h o u t t h e c o u n t r y , w a s
set u p i n 1 9 8 4 a s a v e h i c l e f o r p r o moting a n d protecting
consumer
rights. L i Y a n s h o u , director o f t h e
association, said i n helping consumers, t h e association is also
helping manufacturers.
Rights
mers t o the potential hazards o f
b u y i n g p a r t i c u l a r soft d r i n k s .
plaints w a s a n important part o f
the association's
task. After
a
complaint is lodged, h e said, t h e
association will investigate t h e a l legations a n d ,based o n its find-ings, t h e a s s o c i a t i o n w i l l t h e n o f fer c r i t i c i s m a n d a d v i c e t o t h e d e partments
concerned.
The association w i l l also undertake projects aimed at e l i m i n a t i n g
sub-standard products from t h e
market before consumers have a
chance o f getting at them.
I n
1985, f o r e x a m p l e , t h e a s s o c i a t i o n
assisted t h e g o v e r n m e n t i n checking t h e q u a l i t y o fcold d r i n k s . T h e
results o f t h ee x a m i n a t i o n s h o w e d
that t h efungus content i n some o f
the beverages, particularly t h e softpackaged
drinks,
exceeded t h e
state's standard limits. Based o n t h e
findings, s o m e managers" licenses
were revoked, a n d plants were ordered closed until they brought
their products u p t o standard. T h e
association then publicized their
conclusions, alerting t h e consu-
Problems
on China*s
from "ZHONGGUO
XINGZHENG GUANLI"
(China's
Administration)
Director L i said p r o v i d i n g consumers with information o n n e w
fcommodities
and o n purchasing
these n e wproducts is another o f
the association's tasks.
With the
changes i n t h e consuming structure, a n d w i t h t h evast p r o d u c t i o n
of m o r e a n d m o r e goods, m a n y
c o n s u m e r s h a v e b e e n a t a loss a s
to h o w t o g o a b o u t selecting q u a l ity goods.
T h e association, therefore, t o o k i t u p o n itself t o teach
some o f t h eskills needed t o m a k e
intelligent consumer
choices.
L i said h e feels s t r o n g l y t h a t
consumer rights should b e protected b y l a w , w h i c h as y e t they a r e
not i n C h i n a . A t t h e T h i r d Plenary Session o f t h eS i x t h N a t i o n a l
People's Congress i n Beijing last
spring, delegates t o t h e congress
proposed o n protecting consumer
rights b y legal means.
L isaid h e
a n d h i sassociates a r e n o w a t w o r k
assisting t h e various departments
in d r a w i n g u p l a w s a n d regulations that will further cement consumer rights i n China.
Administration
the country's economic reforms.
If t h e situation continued, T i a n
said, China's economic
developm e n t w o u l d b e adversely affected.
V
I C E - P R E M I E R Tian [iyun recently said r e f o r m o f China's
civil service system w a s "necessary
and urgent."
T i a n said t h efive d r a w b a c k s o f
China's
administrative
system
were: redundant organizations, ambiguous
departmental
responsibility,
overstaffing, inefficiency,
In a conversation w i t h represenand lack o f strict regulations f o r
t a t i v e s f r o m 16 c o u n t r i e s w h o w e r e
"Producers, traders a n d consuevaluating performance, promotion
in Beijing attending t h e U . N . I n mers all have c o m m o n interests —
and retirement.
good products," L i said.
" I t is t e r n a t i o n a l S e m i n a r o n R e f o r m o f
The vice-premier said t h e Chithe j o b o f t h e association t o e n - C i v i l Service Systems, T i a n said
n
e
s
e government
w a s studying
the reform o f China's administrasure a standard o f q u a l i t y . " L i
w
a
y
s
t
o
t
a
c
k
l
e
t
h
e
s
e
problems.
t
i
v
e
s
y
s
t
e
m
w
a
s
n
o
t
k
e
e
p
i
n
g
w
i
t
h
said e v a l u a t i n g c o n s u m e r
com28
B e i j i n g Review,
No. 45
Shooting "kungfu" film.
Cartoon by Jin Jianchu
(Reprinted from "Cartoon" monthly)
kn Esperanto
Enthusiast
from "NONGMIN RIBAO"
(Peosonts' Daily)
he was 18 years old. Li
W HEN
Quanzhen, a 58-year-old
farmer and barber in Nianzhang
village of Pixian County, jiangsu
Province, met a non-native who encouraged him to study Esperanto.
With the instruction of his new
friend, in addition to learning
Esperanto's alphabet, Li learnt how
Esperanto aimed at unifying the
worlds languages and promoting
society's progress. Unfortunately,
Li's friend left three days later,
bringing his study to a premature
and abrupt halt.
One day in late 1976, however,
Li Quanzhen came across an article in People's Daily that men-tioned popularity of Esperanto in some
West European countries. This
article was written by Ye
lunjian, a secretary for the Chinese Writers' Association and a
permanent member of the AllChina Esperanto Association.
The report prompted Li to
November 11. 1985
write Ye for further instruction in
the international language. Ye responded quickly and sent along
some reference materials on
Esperanto to help Li with his
studies. Later as he became more
and more an Esperanto enthusiast,
Li sold his watch and bicycle to
pay for two journeys to Beijing to
talk with Ye.
Li devoted eight years to studying Esperanto text books and
copying nearly 80,000 words in
notes.
In August 1980, the Xinhua
Esperanto Correspondence School,
which was sponsored by the
All-China Esperanto Association,
began recruiting students nationwide. Li was among their chosen
students.
Soon afterwards, Li started two
Esperanto class in his hometown
and instructed more than 130
students, many of whom now
speak and write the language. Two
of his former students have been
admitted to college for further
Esperanto study.
In the past few years, Li Quanzhen has popularized Esperanto in
more than 10 provinces and cities
at his own expense. His income
from cutting hair and selling pigs
has all gone to studying and promoting Esperanto. Neither he nor
his family has regretted his passion for the language.
"I just want to devote myself to
Esperanto and to do something
beneficial for China and its people," Li said. "The sacrifice is
nothing, compared to my conviction."
29
B U S I N E S S AND TRADE
launching Satellite Service
After
exploratory
satellite
l a u n c h e d o n O c t o b e r 2 1 w a s successfully recovered f i v e days later,
Li X u e , Minister o f Astronautics,
a n n o u n c e d C h i n a plans t o sell t h e
service o f its t w o types o f satellite
launches,
"Long March-2" a n d
"Long March-3."
Minister
L i said t h e " L o n g
March-2," w h i c h launched the n o w
recovered satellite, is a large t w o stage l i q u i d rocket d e v e l o p e d i n the
1970s a n d c a n project a t w o - t o n
satellite i n t o near-earth o r b i t . T h e
October 21 l a u n c h i n g by the " L o n g
M a r c h - 2 " w a s t h e s e v e n t h successive t i m e w h e n a " L o n g M a r c h - 2 "
sent a satellite i n t o precise o r b i t .
T h e " L o n g March-3" rocket h a s
in t h e past successfully
launched
China's experimental telecommunications satellite i n t o geostationary
orbit.
China's
two launching
stations
— i n Jiuquan, Gansu Province, for
l a u n c h i n g satellites i n t o near-earth
orbit, a n d i n Xichang,
Sichuan
Province, f o r geostationary orbit
satellites — can also p r o v i d e early
stage
support
service
forthe
satellites,
C h i n a also h a s established
a
measuring and controlling network
in X i a n , including telemeter control
vessels,
which
provides
satellite-launching and support and
o r b i t c o n t r o l services.
M i n i s t e r L i said C h i n a w i l l p r o vide
preferential treatment f o r
foreign launch customers and will
be responsible f o r t r a i n i n g t h e
client's technical personnel. T h e
People's
Insurance C o m p a n y o f
C h i n a , h e said, w i l l also p r o v i d e
insurance f o r launch
customers.
If the l a u n c h fails, L isaid, the i n surance company w i l l
compensate
for losses a c c o r d i n g t o the stipulations o f t h e contract.
One
of
China's
satellite-bearing
rockets on the launching pad.
Chinese Ventures
Set Up Abroad
While
extensively
absorbing
foreign capital, C h i n a is also i n t e n s i f y i n g its efforts t o set u p successful businesses abroad. T o date,
with a ninvestment o f US$239 million, China has opened 144 joint
ventures o r solely Chinese-owned
businesses i n 3 4 countries a n d r e gions.
I n addition, Chinese o f ficials are also discussing 300 m o r e
joint projects w i t h foreign f i r m s .
I*
of F o r e s t r y set u p a p l y w o o d m i l l
in Brazil. T h a t mill, w i t h a n annual
production
capacity
of
10,000
cubic
metres,
is
proceeding
smoothly, and i n t h efirst half o f
1985,
the ministry shipped t o
China more than 500,000 cubic
metres o f logs p r o d u c e d b y the enterprises set u p i n Brazil a n d t h e
U n i t e d States.
In addition, the w o r k o f m i n i n g
iron, copper, d i a m o n d and gold i n
co-operation with Australia a n d
Canada is being stepped up. Some
of these projects a r e expected t o
yield results next year.
A m o n g China's other overseas
investments are 19 international
engineering corporations, set u p
with foreign firms for construction
projects.
I n t h epast f e w years,
China h a s contracted
to build
overseas projects valued a t several
hundred million U S dollars.
C h i n a also h a s established a
n u m b e r of Chinese restaurants w i t h
partners and alone, i n more than
ten countries.
A b o u t 9 0 percent o f the Chinese
joint ventures abroad have reported
sound economic returns a n d are
playing a vital role i n importing
advanced
technologies
to China
and promoting its export.
During t h e Seventh
Five-Year
Plan period (1986-90), the focus o f
China's joint ventures abroad will
be o n t h e development
o f resources, t h e i m p o r t o f advanced
technologies a n de q u i p m e n t , a n d
the p r o m o t i o n o f goods and labour
service.
Foreign Firms
Expand in China
Focusing
o n developing resources that C h i n a lacks, i n t h e
past f e w years C h i n a h a s set u p
13 e n t e r p r i s e s i n v o l v i n g f o r e s t r y ,
Attracted b y China's billion-perfishery a n d m i n i n g industry. I n
son market, 6 7 foreign enterprises
October 1984, the Chinese M i n i s t r y
and firms f r o m 14 countries a n d
Beijing
R e v i e w , N o . 45
News in Brief
• Representatives of the Huating Hotel, wholly owned by the
Shanghai Municipal Tourism
Bureau, and to be managed by the
Sheraton Corp., on October 16
signed an agreement on the operation of the hotel, the second of its
kind to be operated by the same
corp. in China. It is expected that
the hotel will open its doors in
April 1986. Sheraton took over the
management of its first hotel in
China — the 1,007-room Great
Wall Sheraton Hotel-Beijing — in
March this year.
Members of tlie United Overseas Bank Group during the opening ceremony
of the group's Beijing office, which was held last May.
regions have set up permanent
offices in China since the beginning
of this year
Of these newly established offices, 20 are from Japan, 17 are
from Hongkong and Macao, 27
are from Europe and the United
States, two are from Singapore and
one is from Brazil.
The following are the main features of these representative offices:
— Those from Europe and
America are on the increase. Nine
of the offices are American, four
are British, three are from the
Federal Republic of Germany, two
from Switzerland and one each
from France, Denmark, Austria
and Belgium.
— More large Japanese firms,
and especially some noted automobile companies have opened offices in China.
— The business scope of the
newly established permanent representative offices is broader than
November 11, 1985
those offices set up earlier in China.
These enterprises now cover textile
and light industries, cereals, edible
oils and foodstuffs, machinery,
energy, transportation, shipbuilding, aeronautics, petroleum, coal
mines, telecommunications, nonferrous metals, precision instruments and other advanced technological fields.
With the further absorption of
foreign capital and introduction of
new technologies, more and more
firms from overseas and Hongkong and Macao have set up factories and joint ventures in various
provinces, municipalities and
autonomous regions in the country.
From 1980 to the first half of
this year, with the approval of the
Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade, 607 permanent
representative offices from 20 countries and regions were set up in
15 Chinese cities. Of these, 73
percent are stationed in Beijing; 15
percent in Shanghai and 12 percent
in other Chinese cities.
The Sheraton Corp. has 480
hotels operating in 56 countries
and regions around the world with
33 in the Pacific region. Seven
others including the 1,000-room
Huating Sheraton are under construction in Asia. The Huating
Sheraton Hotel-Shanghai, to be
built with an investment of US$70
million, will house six restaurants
and 21 banquet halls.
• The Friendship Stadium, a
China-aided project built for Senegal, opened last September after
a construction period of two years
and eight months.
Covering an area of 50,468
square metres, the stadium is
equipped with plastic tracks, colour
TV equipment and electronic
score-boards and timers, making it
the largest and most advanced
sports facility in West Africa.
• On October 8 in Beijing, the
China International Trust and Investment Corporation signed an
agreement to buy 10 percent of the
shares in an aluminium smelting
plant in Portland, Australia. The
final decision on investment will
be made after a group from the
Chinese department concerned
conducts an on-the-spot study and
economic analysis of the project.
31
CULTURE AND SCIENCF
Wildlife Protection Urged in Tibet
are t h e w i l d yak, t h e A s i a n w i l d
donkey, t h e s n o w leopard a n d t h e
black-necked crane.
T h e black-necked crane, the most
recently discovered o f t h e world's
15 t y p e s o f c r a n e s , i s o f t e n r e f e r r e d
to as t h e " p a n d a b i r d , " because o f
its r a r i t y a n d p o t e n t i a l e x t i n c t i o n .
T h e eggs o f t h e b l a c k - n e c k e d c r a n e
taste l i k e c h i c k e n eggs, a n d area
residents often eat t h e m , accounti n g f o r t h e sharp decrease o f t h e
c r a n e s t o a b o u t 1,000.
T h e survey showed most o f the
o t h e r rare a n i m a l s , w i t h the exception o f the A s i a n w i l d donkey, are
also o n t h e decrease. T h e d o n k e y
is d o i n g b e t t e r t h a n t h e o t h e r s b e cause T i b e t a n s d o n o t eat its meat.
A c c o r d i n g t o the scientists, w i l d life protection w i l l p r o m o t e T i betan economic development by
boosting
Tibet's
export a n d
tourism i n the long run. Without
control, h o w e v e r , t h e centuries-old
sanctuary could disappear rapidly,
they said.
An Jifeng (right), a woman of the Korean nationality, has raised five booy
tigers for the People's Park In YanjI, Jilin Province.
Zoologists
recently
recomm e n d e d that m o r e nature reserves
be s e t u p i n n o r t h e r n T i b e t t o p r o tect t h e e n d a n g e r e d a n i m a l s t h a t
inhabit t h e area.
Funded by the Chinese A c a d e m y
of Sciences, a
10-member-team
from the Shaanxi Zoology Institute
toured t h e n o r t h e r n T i b e t a n plateau f r o m M a y t o July t o conduct
the area's first c o m p r e h e n s i v e zoological survey.
32
Standing at more than 4,500
metres a b o v e sea level, the n o r t h e r n
Tibetan plateau covers 600,000
square kilometres, o r about half
of T i b e t ' s total area. I t h a s been
a natural wildlife sanctuary f o r
centuries because o f its r e m o t e
location.
T h e team intends t o produce a
film about their survey i n order t o
publicize the importance o f wildlife protection. Tibet has already
d e s i g n a t e d f i v e a r e a s as n a t u r e r e serves a n d is p l a n n i n g t o i n v i t e
zoologists f r o m other parts o f
C h i n a t o conduct more surveys a n d
a comprehensive wildlife census.
A c c o r d i n g t o t h e scientists, 12
a n i m a l a n d b i r d species i n d i g e n o u s
t o n o r t h e r n T i b e t a r e l i s t e d as e n dangered.
A m o n g these a n i m a l s
Beijing
Review.
N o .4 5
BOOKS
USA Through Chinese Eyes
American Kaleidoscope:
Landscape and People '
Society,
Written by Wang Tsomin
i n 1979, at a gathering o f C h i nese economists a n d t h e i r hosts
f r o m five t o p A m e r i c a n universities, the idea w a s p u t f o r t h t h a t a n
interesting book about t h e U n i t e d
States m i g h t b e w r i t t e n b y a C h i nese w r i t e r , f o r a C h i n e s e audience.
T h e proposal came at a time
when China and the U S were
seeking t o understand each other
after their 30-year estrangement.
a lively, semi-popular account o f
life i n t h e U S as seen b y t h e
w r i t e r . " S o that the r e s u l t i n g b o o k
should not b e biased i n any w a y ,
he added, " N a t u r a l l y he/she w i l l
be free t o w r i t e w h a t e v e r seems
appropriate."
p e o p l e a b o u t w h a t s o m e b o d y else
is s a y i n g a b o u t t h e m , a n E n g l i s h
translation o f the v o l u m e is being
prepared under a slightly different
t i t l e American Kaleidoscope — A
Chinese View.
W a n g Tsomin w a s uniquely
qualified f o r h e r task.
She had
It was W a n g T s o m i n w h o was studied a t t h e University o f Misawarded
t h e responsibility, t h e souri's prestigious School o f lourw o r k a n d sometimes t h e pleasure n a l i s m i n t h e 1940s, and m a r r i e d
of traveling f o r a w h o l e year her Chinese classmate D u a n Liant h r o u g h the U n i t e d States, a n d pro- cheng there. She w a s not o n l y able
ducing a book about i t . She met to v i e w t h e contrasts
between
all k i n d s o f people, i n q u i r i n g i n t o A m e r i c a n life a n d Chinese
life
their personal lives, seeing h o w then, b u t t o observe t h e changes
A l l participants agreed that such
a project w a s w o r t h w h i l e , a n d t h e y w o r k a n d live, a n d l i v i n g o v e r the last f o r t y years — a p e r i o d
them, and incidentally
Prof. Richard D . Robinson, of the a m o n g
i n w h i c h she h a d l i v e d t h r o u g h i m s
e
r
v
e
d
a
s
a very i n f o r m a l ambas- mense change i n C h i n a itself. T h u s
Massachusetts Institute o f Technology, w a s entrusted
b y M . I . T . s a d o r o f f r i e n d s h i p . T h e n she h a d h e r b o o k h a s a f o u r - d i m e n s i o n a l
to sift t h r o u g h all these experiences q u a l i t y , rediscovering t w o cultures
President Paul E . G r a y t o b e i n
charge. E i g h t e e n m o n t h s o f pre- a n d i n t e r p r e t f o r h e r C h i n e s e
in t w o major periods o f their
paration and fund raising followed; audience w h a t often seemed a very history.
finally, Prof. Robinson w a s able strange w a y o f life. T h e b o o k that
W a n g recalls that d u r i n g t h e
t o w r i t e M a H o n g , w h o l a t e r b e - c a m e o u t o f t h o s e t r a v e l s , Amerit
u
r
moil o f the "cultural revolucan
Kaleidoscope:
Society,
Landscame president o f t h e Chinese
t i o n " i n C h i n a , " m a n y basic facts
A c a d e m y o f S o c i a l S c i e n c e s , t o s a y cape and People, h a s j u s t b e e n
of life w e r e ignored i n the midst of
that a Chinese w r i t e r could b e published b y t h e C h i n a Social
rhetoric a n d
chosen and sent. H e described the Sciences P u b l i s h i n g H o u s e , Bei- s u p e r - r e v o l u t i o n a r y
t
h
e
p
e
o
p
l
e
w
e
r
e
m
a
d
e t o believe
j
i
n
g
,
f
o
r
C
h
i
n
e
s
e
r
e
a
d
e
r
s
.
T
h
e
n
,
bepurpose: " W h a t w e envision is not
t
h
a
t
t
h
e
r
e
w
a
s
n
o
t
h
i
n
g
good whatc
a
u
s
e
o
f
t
h
e
n
a
t
u
r
a
l
c
u
r
i
o
s
i
t
y
o
f
a dull scholarly analysis, but rather
soever i n W e s t e r n capitalist society."
Envor o( friendship: Learning to dance the Tlingii way at party given by
Indians of Alasko
B u t t h e n t h e a x i o m shi shi qiu
shi ( s e e k i n g t r u t h f r o m f a c t s ) w a s
r e v i v e d , a n d she w a s able to r e p o r t
on America " w i t h o u t tarnishing or
v a r n i s h i n g . " A s s h e says i n h e r
preface, " I t was also m y c o n v i c t i o n
that o n l y i n this w a y could t h e
book promote genuine understanding a n d friendship between t h e
Chinese and A m e r i c a n people."
W a n g ' s purpose i n h e r travels
and writing, however, are even
m o r e objective than i t w o u l d seem
f r o m this s t a t e m e n t . F r i e n d l y she
is i n d e e d , b u f s h e i s n o t a f r a i d t o
criticize A m e r i c a n society, even t o
November U, 1985
33
'Chinese bushel' seem in order here
and there t o m a k e m y comments
m o r e easily
comprehensible."
knows more
than t h e average
A m e r i c a n . A n d she f i n d s the w a r m
hospitality f o rw h i c h t h e Deep
S o u t h is noted, attends a tradiin h e r year i n America, w h i c h tional N e w England t o w n meeting,
was completed
i n 1983, Wang
at w h i c h a nuclear freeze resoluT s o m i n saw more o f the land than
tion is debated, and makes
some
most Americans ever see, f r o m
observations
o n abortion a n d
the West Coast t o N e w Y o r k City, school
prayer — and
t h e ultrafrom Alaska t o Florida, from t h e
conservative " N e w Right."
S u n Belt t o t h eC o r n Belt. S h e
W a n g examines t h e American
visited h i g h schools, prisons, libraD r e a m , especially i n conjunction
ries, senior centres, D i s n e y w o r l d .
w i t h her visit to pay homage a t the
H a r l e m and H o u s t o n . She talked
grave o f M a r t i n Luther K i n g Jr.,
w i t h t h eelderly, children, young
w h i c h leads t oher research o n the
adults and, like herself, t h e m i d history of black people i n America.
dle-aged.
She m e t social w o r k e r s ,
T h e Chicago m a y o r a l race between
educators, taxi drivers,
farmers,
Democrat Harold Washington and
domestic w o r k e r s , scientists, houseAmericon hospitality: Wong as house
Republican
Bernard Epton
hapwives,
laborers,
Chinese-Ameriguest of farmer Roger Wheeler of
pened t o b e taking place a t t h e
cans, blacks; spent t i m e w i t h t h e
Iowa
time o f h e rvisit there. T h r o u g h
wealthy,
t h e middle-class a n d
her A m e r i c a n friends. I tmakes for
m e t i c u l o u s i n v e s t i g a t i o n a n d c o n - ^jc
the p o o r a n d i l l ; g o t into discussome lively conversations
i n t h e sions w i t h Republicans,
versations w i t h mariy kinds o f ^
Democrats
book, and such a reporter uncovers
people, W a n g reports accurately
^
a n d socialists — a n d f o u n d herself
more different points o f v i e w than having t oexplain again and again
and fully o n all the implications o f
i
one w h o merely admired everything
such a nelection.
^
to p o l i t i c a l l y r o m a n t i c
Americans
she l o o k e d u p o n . " N e i t h e r t h e
that China's
so-called
"cultural
s u n n y side n o r t h e seamy
side r e v o l u t i o n " w a s u t t e r chaos, b u t
T h e w o r l d i s s h r i n k i n g , W a n g -1"
alone is t h e true C h i n a , " writes
T s o m i n observes as s h e travels
^
that socialism isnot dead and does
W a n g , " a n d this isequally true o f
halfway a r o u n d the globe in a matnot mean poverty, i tsimply means
America."
ter o f hours a n d recalls the days
^
"let's get d o w n t ow o r k t o m o d e r o
f
h
e
r
o
c
e
a
n
v
o
y
a
g
e
i
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t
h
e
1
9
4
0
s
.
,\
n
i
z
e
t
h
e
c
o
u
n
t
r
y
a
n
d
e
a
r
n
a
d
e
c
e
n
t
T h e E n g l i s h e d i t i o n o f AmeriQuick
transportation a n d c o m livelihood" for all. But her book is
can Kaleidoscope,
skillfully transb
y
n
o
m
e
a
n
s
a
p
l
a
t
f
o
r
m
f
o
r
h
e
r
m
u
n
i
c
a
t
i
on have made t h eearth
^
lated b y D u a n Liancheng, brings
o w n political views. I tisa reason"a global village," w i t h " C h i n a
W a n g Tsomin's observations
into
ed e x a m i n a t i o n o fthose o f others.
and A m e r i c a t h e biggest 'house^
the comfortable A m e r i c a n i d i o m . I t
holds' " i n the village. I ti surgent
also contains s o m e m i n o r a d d i t i o n s
t
h
a
t
w
e
o
f
b
o
t
h
h
o
u
s
e
h
o
l
d
s
b
e
c
o
m
e
^
to the C h i n e s e v e r s i o n , m a d e w i t h
Americans
learn a l o t about
a c q u a i n t e d w i t h e a c h o t h e r . W a n g xs.
the a i m o fexplaining certain C h i themselves i n Wang's sharp m i r r o r
T s o m i n has contributed greatly t o ^
nese t h i n g s to w h i c h she refers. A s
of their land and people.
Where
that acquaintance and the friend^
the a u t h o r says, " I o f t e n 'measure
it i s r e l e v a n t , s h e presents a cons
h
i
p
t
h
a
t
c
a
n
n
o
t
h
e
l
p
b
u
t
f
o
l
l
o
w
.
^
American corn w i t h a
Chinese
cise report o n A m e r i c a n h i s t o r y ,
bushel' and a f e w w o r d s about the
old and recent, about w h i c h s h e
— b y Frances Chastain
-
I
A.
I
,
^
USA - Labor Day & Labor Movement
(Continued
from p. 25.1^
reveals
that unionized
workers
now m a k e u p only 2 0 percent o f
the labor force.
1 remember that
the percentage i n 1947 w a s 3 5 . A
sharp drop o f 15 percent i n 3 5
34
years is indeed a serious
to A m e r i c a n labor.
challenge
W i l l the A m e r i c a n labor
ment continue t o decline?
fessor Foner
a n d many
Americans
believe
it
W h e r e v e r there isoppression, there
*
is resistance, as w e o f t e n s a y i n
|
China.
I fand w h e n a n economic
crisis gets o u t o f h a n d
ers f i n d i t impossible
moveProother
won't.
there
will
*
and workt ocarry
be a blow-up.
on,
Labor
^
Day then will probably not b ethe
^
kind
7
o f gala
fair blessed
Business.
byBig
•
Beijing
Review,
No. 45
^
Sketches by Li Baolin
Li Baolin, an artist born in 1 9 3 6 in S i p i n g ,
Jilin Province, is now serving in the n a v y . The
following
works
were
selected
from
Li's
sketchbook.
Mending a Fishing Net.
A Young Farmer.
A Night School Teacher.
P i c t u r e Storybooks
for
Children
In t h e l a s t 3 0 y e a r s t h e F o r e i g n L a n g u a g e s P r e s s , B e i j i n g , C h i n a , h a s
published a v a r i e t y of books for children a n d t e e n a g e r s . The selection includes a
n u m b e r o f s e r i e s , i n c l u d i n g The Monkey Series, a d a p t e d f r o m t h e C h i n e s e
c l a s s i c Journey to the West; Chinese Folk Tales; Chinese Fairy Tales;
Preschool Book Series a b o u t t h e l i f e o f C h i n e s e c h i l d r e n ; a n d Science Stories
for Beginners, a g u i d e t o t h e n a t u r a l s c i e n c e s f o r t h e y o u n g . A l l o f t h e b o o k s ,
vividly written and illustrated, h a v e been well-received by readers a t h o m e and
a b r o a d a n d a r e p u b l i s h e d in English, F r e n c h , S p a n i s h , G e r m a n , J a p a n e s e , A r a b i c ,
Thai, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali and Sinhalese.
P u b l i s h e d b y FOREIGN
LANGUAGES PRESS,
D i s t r i b u t e d b y CHINA
2 4 B a i w a n z h u a n g Road, Beijing, China
INTERNATIONAL BOOK TRADING CORP
(GUOJI SHUDIAN), P . O . B o x 3 9 9 , B e i j i n g , C h i n a