The Los Angeles Times published this article by Robert S. Elegant: "The Chinese (Communists) had to invent a term for the 'generation gap' be cause the concept simply did not exist in their society. With practical adaptability, they called it 'dye-go' (literally, 'generation moat') - and they've been making up for lost time since the Communists took power in 1949.
"Just as seamless unity between the generations was the basis of the old Chinese society, the basis of the new (Red) Chinese society that came into existence in 1949 is the struggle between the generations.
"The Communists, quite deliberately, stimulated disputes between the generations in order to modernize the country and consolidate their own power. The family system and veneration of the old by the young (the cardinal Confucian virtue: 'filial piety') was the mortar that bound together the old society the Communists has to destroy in order to build their new society.
"The most commonly used Chinese word for a country, 'gwaw-jeeya' (literally, 'nation family'), demonstrates that the unified family was not merely the basic element of the nation, but its model.
"But the Communists may have succeeded too well. A truly ferocious generation gap now exists in the People's Republic - and it is growing wider every day.
"The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-69), which failed, was unquestionably the most violent organized battle between generations in human history. Today, (Red) Chinese youth is volubly dissatisfied and frequently resorts to force to express its dissatisfaction.
"One of the chief purposes of the new 'moderate' government which took office last January is to narrow the generation gap in order to curtail endemic violence and stimulate economic growth. The task is immense.
"At present, self-conscious (Red) Chinese youth can be roughly divided into two main groups both exceedingly unhappy.
"In the larger group are the 'materialists,' young men and women primarily interested in living what the West would call a normal existence. Their personal goals are a normal family life cushioned by normal material con forts.
"In (Red) China, material aspirations are still quite limited by ignorance of the ostentatious consumer civilization the West has created, as well as by recognition of the impossibility of obtaining so many things. (Red) Chinese youth wants not motorcycles nor autos, but bicycles; not television sets nor stereo hi-fi setups, but radios and, perhaps, record players; not gourmet feasts, but meat two or three times a week.
"The materialists are dissatisfied because most of their aspirations - as the official press and senior officials candidly acknowledge - are still very far from realization. They would, further, rejoice in surcease from constant indoctrination in Marxism-Leninism - a virtually impossible hope.
"In the second, somewhat smaller group are the 'idealists,' though they would scornfully reject the appellation for complex ideological reasons that need not concern us here. That group combines with the normal idealism of youth dedication to the vision of a perfect, new society formulated by Mao Tse-tung and the Communists. It also feels passionately that youth should run the country.
"The idealists are even more dissatisfied than the materialists. They know that the glorious dream of Chairman Mao has been discarded by (Red) China's present rulers in favor of gradual expansion of the country's economic base. They know that the old will continue to rule China. 'dye-go,' a concept only 26 years old, grows." (Full text)
Reading Eagle - Change of view
The Eagle of Reading, Pennsylvania, published this article by Irene C. Kuhn: "There is a thread of irony running through the stories told when they return home by British visitors to the People's Republic of China. With almost indecent haste, after the Communists took over the main land in 1949, the British Government recognized the Red regime of Mao Tse-tung. Today's visitors there, 26 years later, are frequently so outspoken in their comments on what they've seen and experienced during their guided tours, that one can almost sense individual regret for earlier government policy.
"Paradoxically, the Americans who are invited to take the brief tours, or manage to get visas on their own but must then adapt to the circumscribed, fixed itinerary, are almost, without exception, ecstatic in their knee-jerk response to the rehearsed and directed people, and the sights in the cities approved for foreign viewing.
"One American and two British exceptions to the 'isn't-it marvelous' school of (Red) China viewers are Lady Lindsay, the Chinese wife of Sir Michael Linds ay, a prominent British scholar on Chinese affairs, and Peregrine Worsthorne, correspondent for the London Sunday Telegraph. They are the latest British voices dissenting from the uncritical chorus. Mrs. Homer Hudson, of Bonita, California, wife of an American engineer, is the other.
"Lady Lindsay, whose Chinese name is Li Hsian-li, together with her husband, was a one-time apologist for the Chinese Communists. She has visited the main land three times (1949, 1954, 1973) in the past twenty-six years.
Since she is Chinese and speaks and understands the language and her people, her views carry weight. Lady Lindsay scornfully reversed a Communist slogan from illusion to reality. 'The Chinese Communists have been denouncing Confucius as "the master of slaves" but I think the Chinese Communist regime is the largest master of slaves in history,' she said. 'Their slogan 'to serve the people," should, in fact, be changed into.. "the people serve the party."
"Peregrine Worsthorne was particularly incensed by the Chinese Communist regime's exploitation of children, as was Mrs. Hudson, the American observer. Worsthorne told of a visit to the Shanghai Children's Palace, a school for talented children, on the show-the-visitors list. The school enrolls acrobats, ping pong players, musicians. Worsthorne told of a child taking him by the hand and leading him around the various classrooms, tripping along 'stroking my hand with make believe affection, her eyes shining with simulated admiration. This is horrible, like being taken into a children's brothel, except that their charms are being exploited politically rather than sexually.' The robot-like, rehearsed behavior of the children here was noticed and commented upon by an earlier visitor, Elmer W. Lower, -Vice President for Corporate Affairs of the American Broadcasting Co. He asked his l2-year-old hand holder what she wanted to be when she grew up. She told him 'a worker.' 'What kind of worker?' Mr. Lower asked further. 'Any kind the state wants,' she concluded firmly, just as she'd been coached.
"Worsthorne also told of an other visit to the countryside, some miles from Nanking where, he said, he saw the railway vehicle repair plant militia on parade, waiting to demonstrate their rifle and machinegun shooting skills for the foreigners, the militiamen, women and children, 'even infants under 10, the last with their cheeks heavily rouged as if about to take part in kindergarten theatricals. They look like little dolls. But a Chinese Communist army officer called them to attention and they trotted out to the firing range, carrying rifles and bayonets as large as themselves.'
"Mrs. Hudson, the American, had the best opportunity to judge for herself what life is like in Red China. She spent six months there while her husband superintended construction of two earth stations for satellite communications.
"In an article entitled 'My Own View of (Red) China' in the San Diego (Calif.) Tribune, she, too, observed that children on the mainland are 'shamefully exploited to impress the foreign visitor;' and that 'defeat of the U.S. aggressor is one of the most repetitious themes in the "Little Red Book" - their Bible.'
"Mrs. Hudson dismissed the bit the (Red) Chinese 'guides' feed to their visitors, that there are no beggars or thieves in Red China. 'From whom is there to beg or steal? ' she asks.
"Perhaps in due course, with more sharp-eyed observers reporting like these three we shall learn the real truth about Red China which Mrs. Hudson summarizes in this telling paragraph: 'Personal privacy was taken away along with personal wealth and nothing has been given back to anyone.' It's a matter of no work, no eat, she said. 'Communism isn't share the-wealth, it's communal living. Eat, sleep, work, and exercise in groups. No private homes or cars or baths. Few personal possessions, not even a wedding ring. No grave when you die .. .'
"President Ford, please note, before you commit yourself to an unnecessary and undesirable trip to Red China. We don't need another Peking spectacular a la Nixon." (Full text)
Atlas World Press -Trading headache
The Atlas World Press Review published this report adapted from the Paris weekly Journal du Dimanche written by Jean-Michel Petraru: "Trading with the (Red) Chinese is a headache for business men. And neither the recent visit of Vice Prime Minister Teng Hsiao-ping to France nor the French president's future trip to Peking will smooth out the difficulties. The pace of business indeed is not following the path of diplomacy, as was shown by the furrowed brows of French entrepreneurs who recently returned from the Canton fair with few, if any, signed contracts.
"In fact (Red) China is not Peru, and selling one's products there is nearly as complicated as analyzing the ideas of Confucius. French manufacturers, who in the early Sixties thought they would find a gold mine in this huge developing country, quickly learned that 'you don't sell to the (Red) Chinese, they buy.' Following the first rebuffs, French experts after recovering from their irrational infatuation have codified the basic principles for success with (Red) China.
"We now know that it is use less for a manufacturer to go to (Red) China on his own. He would be courting failure, even assuming he were able to obtain an entrance visa. If you are interested in the Chinese market it is better to stay in France and go to one of the import-export companies that have had offices in Peking, Canton, and Tien Tsin for over a century.
"If you are given encouragement the first imperative is to flood the corporation with documents and technical descriptive brochures. Chinese (Communist) foreign trade is in the hands of eight purchasing offices, called corporations, which handle the various economic sectors. "One day you may be surprised by a visit from a technical mission come to study your equipment: or better yet a ticket for Peking. You have been invited by the corporation! The big adventure is starting.
"At the Peking airport a public relations representative, accompanied by an interpreter, greets you, a smile on his lips. Shoushi, Shoushi, ('rest yourself'), people will constantly tell you. Don't start a business discussion straight off; that would hurt the feelings of your hosts; also don't complain about a pain you might have: your hosts will then think of nothing but making you feel better.
"Finally, fresh and alert, you will attack the negotiations around a work table. It is not unusual for these discussions to last several weeks.
"You may feel unable to contain your impatience. This happened to an American manufacturer, who suddenly started to yell insults at a handful of amused (Red) Chinese. To avert such a disaster a specialist from the French foreign trade center offers this priceless counsel: 'In case the stay in (Red) China is prolonged, it may be desirable to have the salesmen relieved by others.'
"When you are really distraught, when you are ready to pack your bags and leave with empty hands, you will get a phone call setting up another appointment. Then the last phase, the discussion of prices, will begin. In any commercial transaction this is critical. But with the Chinese Communists there are no surprises from now on. You know they are going to ask for a discount: 10, 15, sometimes 30 per cent. This cut has become such a ritual that some manufacturers include it in their price." (Partial text)