Hongkong Standard - Road to Tzuhu
The Hong Kong Standard (4/15/79) published this article by Ernesto Pereira: "On any festive or commemorative occasion, Taipei residents - young and old - eagerly take to the road to make a pilgrimage to scenic suburban Tzuhu where the remains of the late president Chiang Kai-shek lie entombed in a marble mausoleum.
"This was borne out recently when Taiwan observed Youth Day with rallies held throughout the country honouring the '72 martyrs at Yellow Flower Hill' in 1911. Their sacrifices had paved the way for the final success of the Wuchang revolution which overthrew the Manchu Empire and established the Republic of China under Dr. Sun Yat-sen's leadership.
"This epic event and details linked with it are steeped in China's history. The memorable day has since 1943 been observed as Youth Day, a national holiday in Taiwan. In a Youth Day message, President Chiang Ching-kuo encouraged youths 'during the times of the nation's difficulties to demonstrate their patriotism and fighting spirit to show the world that Chinese youths cannot be insulted... and to follow the footsteps of the national martyrs, to sacrifice and to dedicate towards national goals.'
"Youth Day in Taipei brought out crowds by the thousands with one common thought in mind: To go to Tzuhu. Thousands from neighboring cities and towns also joined them. They all boarded public transport, taxis and coaches or drove in cars and motorcycles to a designated central point of disembarkation in Tzuhu from where they formed queues for the walk to the mausoleum.
"Chattering along the way, the crowds, once within sight of the mausoleum, suddenly became silent. The orderly queues awaited their turn to enter the courtyard to pay their respects three traditional bows - to the Generalissimo.
"It is evident that Tzuhu has become a national shrine to the people of Taiwan and that the Gimo's spirit is very much alive to those converging there to honor him. Several youths gathered there on Youth Day wept and openly said they had come to Tzuhu to get a spiritual uplift and 'to have a sense of identity with the past, present and future.' They felt a need to come to Tzuhu to pay their respects to the president.
"It is quiet and peaceful in Tzuhu which has a 'West Lake' splendor. Swans glide in the lake, looking like ballerinas choreographed to perform a dance to complete the picturesque scenario.
"Time stands still in Tzuhu, away from the hustle and bustle of life in Taipei where the government is presently building a Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Center in the Hangchow South Road area. The center will be the largest of its kind in Taipei and will be ready within two years.
"The Gimo has already been accorded further posthumous recognition with Taipei's new and sprawling airport named after him.
"Tourism is on the upswing in Taiwan, with planeloads of visitors arriving daily. This has touched off a hotel boom. Several new hotels, including the Sesame Hotel, have recently opened. More hotels will be opening by the end of the year. Hotel Brother is among them.
"Taipei, like any booming city, is packed with shops, cafes and restaurants. Business also is thriving. Bargains are available at stores. Practically every main road and side road are dotted with cafes and restaurants and a variety of Chinese and Western food is available. This tangible evidence of Taipei's prosperity and economic growth reflects the rise in living standards of the people throughout the rest of the country. A recent report said Taiwan had jumped from 25th to 16th position among world exporting countries last year. The report said Taiwan's exports were valued at HK$63,525 billion (US$12,705 billion) just behind South Korea's HK$63,580 billion (US$12,716 billion).
"Taipei has much to offer the visitor. There are many tourist attractions inside the city and on the outskirts. An efficient railway service takes one any where in Taiwan. Yangmingshan Park, north of Taipei, with its beautiful trees, is well worth a visit. The National Palace Museum is also a must, even if one has visited it before, because the exhibits are regularly changed. So many masterpieces are on view - and many of the paintings are by unknown Chinese artists that it is easy to spend a whole day in the museum and still not feel satisfied.
"The Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall opens the door to China's revolutionary past and stepping inside the hall is a treat to anyone wanting to know more of those turbulent days in China's history and the vital role played by Dr. Sun in the revolution." (Partial text)
Washington Post - Mainland exodus
The Washington Post (3/22/79) published this article by Jay Mathews from Hong Kong: "In the past few weeks, (Red) China has witnessed a population exodus unprecedented since the famine year of 1962, the apparent result of economic dissatisfaction and reduced border patrols because of the war against Vietnam.
"Authorities in Hong Kong, the destination of almost all (mainland) Chinese leaving the country, say at least 56,000 people have crossed the border legally or illegally since the beginning of the year, compared to about 100,000 for all of 1978.
"Peking, whose relaxed travel rules have helped stimulate the exodus, has apparently done little so far to stem the flow. The Chinese (Communist) press in recent months has acknowledged frankly the country's problems of overpopulation and under employment.
"Travelers report that (mainland) Chinese coming into increasing contact with relatively wealthy foreigners and seeking more reports on Western life in the official press are outspokenly critical of their own living standard... (Mainland) Chinese who now have a chance to leave legally because of relatives abroad 'all say they want to get out as quickly as possible, ' said one recent traveler who visited several such families.
"The (mainland) Chinese emigrants have deluged the U.S. immigration office here with 3,000 certified visa applications in February alone, compared to a rate of only about 30 a month a year ago. The brunt of the influx, however, is being absorbed by Hong Kong’s overloaded housing and welfare services. Hong Kong officials now anticipate at least 300,000 new residents in this city of 4.5 million this year if the outflow from (mainland) China continues.
"Officials say a particularly significant jump in the number of illegal immigrants since the beginning of the year appears to be due in part to (Red) China's invasion of Vietnam. They suggest that the war has drawn away some Chinese (Communist) troops previously used to patrol the portions of Guangdong (Kwangtung) province near Hong Kong.
"'Before people might be sneaking over in groups of five or six, but now they can come in groups of 30 or 40,' one observer said.
"According to a Hong Kong spokesman, 27,598 people with legal exit permits crossed the border this year through Sunday. In that same period, Hong Kong border police captured 7,061 (mainland) Chinese attempting to cross the border illegally and turned them over to Chinese (Communist) border guards. The government estimates that at least four illegal emigrants cross the border undetected for every one that is caught, making a total of at least 28,000 successful illegal emigrants so far this year.
"At this rate, the number of people sneaking out of (mainland) China this year will exceed the estimated total for all last year, about 32,000, by no later than the end of this month.
"In 1978, about 71,000 people with legal exit permits crossed the border, while 8,192 illegal emigrants were caught and turned back to Chinese (Communist) border officials.
"According to Hong Kong records, since the Communists came to power in (mainland) China, the only time the flood of emigrants exceeded this year's occurred in May 1962, when about 50,000 (mainland) Chinese crossed the border illegally in 23 days. The Great Leap Forward experiments of the late 1950s had collapsed in economic ruin, and bad weather had ruined crops, creating a famine.
"'They were just walking over the fences in droves, ' said one Briton who witnessed the 1962 influx, which reached a peak on May 23, 1962. On that day, 5,000 people crossed the border.
"During the 1962 deluge, the British authorities for a while arrested the illegal emigrants and turned them back to (mainland) China, something they had not done up to then. Hong Kong revived this 'repatriation' policy again in 1974, after some 24,000 illegal emigrants joined what was then a record 55,000 legal emigrants crossing the border.
"Many overseas Chinese seeking to bring families out of (mainland) China live in Hong Kong. Those who live in other parts of the world, except for the United States and Canada, have found it difficult to persuade their home countries' immigration authorities to accept their relatives, and so many have remained here.
"The illegal emigrants reaching here are in many cases young, single men, who help fill Hong Kong’s factories with cheap labor. Many are high school graduates sent to rural jobs in (Red) China because of a lack of office positions and college places." (Partial text)
Conservative Digest - No human rights
The Conservative Digest (April/79) published this article by Senator Jesse Helms: "Communist China has the worst human rights record in history, one that surpasses even the graphic descriptions of witnesses to the Cambodian tragedy. Chinese Communist officials estimate that between 5 and 10 percent of the Chinese people suffer 'the dictatorship of the proletariat' in forced labor camps. With a population of 900 million, 5 to 10 percent in forced labor camps is a number equivalent to one-quarter to one-half of the population of the United States.
"Those who are not in the forced labor camps live continually in the fear that they, too, might fall under surveillance or 'dictatorship.' Legal protections are virtually nonexistent; men and women are incarcerated by party directive (the Gang of Four being the most notorious examples). Personal mobility is restricted not only by the poverty and failure of the Chinese (Communist) economic system under Communism, but also by one of the most restrictive systems of rationing basic daily necessities in the world.
"Indeed, the very rights which we hold to be fundamental to the nature of man are rigorously suppressed, including the following:
"The rights of family. The Chinese sense of family, based upon the Confucian ideal of respect for one's ancestors, runs very deep. The party has worked very hard to break down this tradition. The 'liberation' of women, most of whom do manual work in the fields, has placed great stress on the family unit. Parents have no control over the education of their children. Millions of so-called 'educated' youth have been sent from urban centers to remote villages for permanent settlement. Restrictions on marriageable ages, forced separation of married couples to job assignments hundreds of miles apart, and public pressures on individual women for abortion and contraception further erode marital rights and privacy.
"The rights of religion. Millions of (mainland) Chinese were adherents of the Buddhist, Taoist, Moslem and Christian faiths before 1949, and millions more were active followers of the ethical precepts of Confucius. The thousands of temples have been closed; many have been destroyed.
A mere handful of religious buildings is kept open for the inspection of foreigners, but no (mainland) Chinese citizen would dare to enter. Attendance at religious rites would result in job loss, discrimination, surveillance, decrease in rations, and perhaps even a trip to the labor camps.
"The rights of labor. No (mainland) Chinese may join an independent trade union, much less enter upon a strike. Wages in (Red) China have been raised only twice in 20 years. A worker has no right to select his job or his assignment.
"The rights of property. Needless to say, the right to hold private property has completely disappeared, even for peasants who may have owned only two or three acres. Forced collectivization was imposed on all agriculture. Property rights are the foundation of human liberties, and they are nonexistent in Communist China.
"The rights of political expression. There is only one party in (Red) China. There is not even an organized network of dissenters, such as in the Soviet Union. The recent brief flowering of big-character posters, under the careful guidance of Party officials, shows that free political expression on the mainland is nonexistent.
"The rights of economic self-determination. Anyone who advocates personal or private enterprise, no matter how insignificant, is considered a 'capitalist roader.' No individual may attempt to establish his own economic self-sufficiency outside of the collective plan.
"The rights of due process. Legal rights simply do not exist in (Red) China, and the recent call for the establishment of legal procedures only points up the fact that for 20 years citizens have been at the mercy of party directives, as interpreted by local officials. There is not even a criminal code, much less a code for political offenders." (Partial text)
Baltimore Sun - Emerging xenophobia
The Baltimore Sun (4/8/79) published this article by Michael Parks from Hong Kong: "Although (Red) China has opened itself increasingly to the world in its modernization drive over the last year, new elements of its historic xenophobia suddenly are emerging.
"Fearing that unrestricted openness might leave (Red) China politically, economically and socially vulnerable, the leadership is attempting to reassert a vigorous nationalism as an antidote and to limit the spread of foreign influence within the country.
"Backed by a strong propaganda campaign, the effort is linked closely both to the recent restrictions placed on the political activists in the 'democratic movement' and to the major revision of the economic development plans, which are being scaled down to realistic goals.
"Reacting to the 'West is best' mania that seemed to be sweeping Peking, Shanghai and other cities, the Chinese (Communist) leaders are reminding the country that Western-style democracy is inferior to communism, that human rights is a 'bourgeois slogan' and that capitalism is characterized by decadence, not progress.
"(Mainland) Chinese youth has been warned against adopting 'distracting' Western fashions in clothing and hairstyles, and the current unrest in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan and several other cities is blamed on 'a few who have become apostles of bourgeois lifestyles and values.'
"(Mainland) Chinese also have been cautioned several times in the last month about their contacts with foreigners. Youths attending dances at Peking's International Club have been detained recently by police, and some have been sent to rural areas for reeducation.'
"Diplomats and correspondents watching the arrest of political activists at 'democracy wall' last week were jostled and told by plainclothes security officers to stay out of Chinese (Communist) politics, and western exchange teachers at Peking University were admonished last week to stick to their classroom subjects in talks with students and colleagues.
"Although Chinese (Communist) officials here and in Peking have sought to reassure westerners that the current campaign is not a change in policy but another effort to maintain balance in the modernization drive, some diplomats and analysts see it as further evidence of divisions within the top leadership over (Red) China's current course.
"'However it is explained, this campaign is closing doors that were just opened a few months ago,' one West European diplomat said in the Chinese (Communist) capital. 'Not only has it been a sign of serious opposition to modernization in the past but it is now closely linked to the crack down on political activists and to the economic retrenchment. That all adds up to a major shift in policy.'
"Such assessments, representing the serious second-thoughts a number of analysts are now having, could restrict (Red) China's cooperation with the west more than Peking intended in trying to limit foreign influence." (Partial text)
Herald Tribune - Economic problems
The Herald Tribune of Paris (March 3l-April 1/79) published this article by Malcolm W. Browne: "Malnutrition, overpopulation and poverty may be more serious problems for (Red) China than Western visitors have been led to believe in recent years, according to an analysis by Dr. Nicholas Eberstadt of Harvard University's Center for Population Studies.
"Mr. Eberstadt presents his conclusions in three articles being published by The New York Review of Books.
"Noting that (mainland) China is larger than Europe and has regional differences as great as those of Europe, Mr. Eberstadt said that 'even the cleverest and most intuitive analysts could not be expected to report back on living conditions and poverty in Europe after a three-week vacation in Switzerland; this, however, is more or less what we ask of our China hands.
"Visitors probably have been allowed to see only those aspects of (mainland) Chinese society that the authorities felt would enhance their image, Mr. Eberstadt said, noting that (Red) China led the world in the importing of grain and was among the poorest of countries.
"In an interview, Mr. Eberstadt acknowledged that some of his conclusions were based on very fragmentary data. Chinese (Communist) authorities do not disclose population, health or nutritional statistics, and reliable economic information is practically unavailable.
"Mr. Eberstadt has not visited (mainland) China, and he believes that officially escorted visits may not reveal much. 'It's a question of picking out that information which is least lousy,' he said. 'The Chinese (Communists) themselves probably don't know very accurately how big their population is.'
"Mr. Eberstadt said that, in the absence of comprehensive in formation from Peking, he had based some of his deductions on estimates presented in new studies by John Aird of the U.S. Census Bureau and Leo Orleans of the Library of Congress.
"Mr. Eberstadt's main conclusions about (Red) China are based on an estimate that the life expectancy there is between 60 and 64 years. He said that the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimated that, in capitalist countries where life expectancy was also in the low 60s, about 16 percent of the population lived on a semi-starvation diet of 1,550 calories a day or less.
"Mr. Eberstadt said that this did not necessarily imply that 150 million to 170 million (mainland) Chinese were close to starving. But he said that Peking certainly could not be comfortable about the nutrition of its people, who must live much closer to the danger of famine than was widely supposed.
"According to estimates in Washington, (Red) China's huge family-planning program has fallen well short of its goals. (Mainland) China's population, recently put at 1 billion by deputy Premier Deng Xiaoping (Teng Hsiao ping), is growing at a rate of 2 percent a year. Grain production, however, has increased by only about 3 percent.
"In addition, (Red) China's goal of increasing grain production from 285 million tons a year to 400 million tons by 1985 is 'completely unrealistic,' a U.S. government expert said. Even India, he said, which is frequently beset by famine, is achieving relatively better grain and crop yields than (Red) China."
(Partial Text)
Christian Sc. Monitor - Spreading pollution
The Christian Science Monitor (4/10/79) published this article by Harry B. Ellis: "In the heart of this southern (mainland) Chinese city stands an artfully shaped pond, stone walking paths, and bridges arching across the water.
"One strolls along these cause ways, admiring the strangely eroded mountain crags ringing Guilin (Kweilin), rising 'like blue jade hairpins' above the town, according to the poet Han Yu.
"Only one flaw intrudes on this classic Chinese scene: Hundreds of small fish float belly up in the blackened waters of the pond, killed by pollution.
"Over the last 20 years many factories have sprung up in Guilin, manufacturing everything from chemical fertilizers to tires to machinery – all job-creating plants but fueled primarily by coal.
"In the stoves of their small homes, too, (mainland) Chinese burn soft coal cakes to ward off the cold, venting the smoke through stovepipes running out the windows.
"On a long journey down through (mainland) China watching snow fall over the Great Wall in the north and then peasants plant spring rice in paddies of the south - we visited a number of major cities.
"Everywhere the story was the same: (mainland) China, though relatively early in the industrialization process, already is deep into pollution of air and inland waterways.
"Our first day in Guilin, where there had been no rain for some time, the air was an 'assailing grit,' as my wife put it. Then came rain, cleansing the air some-what, though it turned to black sludge the places on crowded streets where (mainland) Chinese mix powdered coal with mud to make their heating cakes.
"In Shanghai, (mainland) Chinese fishermen complain that already industrial pollution is harming fishing grounds.
"Peking, built on a flat plain in (mainland) China's north, has problems of its own, forcing thousands of Peking cyclists to wear gauze masks to protect nose and throat.
"For years Peking's systematic 'clean up' campaigns reduced the amount of green vegetation in the city, with many residents plucking up every blade of grass that dared show its head.
"This spring Peking's leadership hopes to plant half a million trees in the capital and its suburbs and to sow grass where soil now turns to dust and blows away.
"While reforestation is essential, it does not strike centrally at the problem of industrial pollution, stemming from the wide spread burning of coal and the discharge of wastes into streams, canals, and rivers.
"Chinese (Communist) leaders speak frankly with Western businessmen about the dangers of pollution and of their desire to halt its spreading stain across their cities.
"But pollution control is expensive, adding - as the US has discovered - to the cost of making products, without increasing output.
"Whether (Red) China, which in any event will go deeply into debt to finance its ambitious industrialization goals, will spend the extra cash to equip new plants with antipollution controls remains to be seen." (Partial text)