Vol. 26, No. 10

Chino's Proposol

On Kompucheon

I ssue

Chongjiong -AMojor lnlond

NovigotionArtery

Women's Role

ln the

Countryside

March 7, 1983

A CHINESE WEEKLY OF

NEWS AND VIEWS

25th Anniversory

On the occasion of the 2bthanniversary of Beiiing Reoiewplease accept my congratulationsand best wishes for the future ofyour magazine.

I have been a reader of. BeijingRetsiero for 10 years. As a mem-ber of the Denmark-China Friend-ship Association I have been toChina twice. Regular informationfrom China is much needed tokeep up with new developments..

Over the Iast couple of years thecontent has been improved andthe informative level of thearticles raised. I do hope thatyou'll continue publishing indeptharticles about domestic and in-ternational affairs.

Erik SimonsenOdense, Denmark

Reoders' Opinions

I like Beijing Reoieu's newcover, especially the typeface oI

the title. I once criticized theChinese seal on the cover of yourlast year's issues and now I amdelighted to see that you have re-acted to my suggestion. I wouldlike to say that your respect forthe readers' opinions is reallypraiseworthy.

Of course, the contents are mostimportant. As a reader of 10years, I agree with you that theweaknesses of the magazine arebeing overcome and it is nowmore understandable and infor-mative. I hope this will cotitinue.

Gerhard H. PilzerKoln, FRG

Personne! Monogement

We overseas Chinese here aredelighted that the Chinese Gov-ernment is calling on the peopleto work for the four moderniza-tions. But the question of the lackof professional personnel is worri-some. All countries in the worldare chasing each other in scienceand technology, which is develop-ing rapidly. Those who do notcatch up will be left out. Modern-ization needs a lot oI professionalpersonnel, whose training takes

more than two decades. That iswhy talented and hard-workingpeople are precious. We allthought it was unfortunate that,according to Renmin Ribao, theMinistry of Metallurgical Industryunderutilizes its scientific workers.

Why does this ministry waste somany technical personnel? Themain reasons are as follows: Eirst,the managers' wages are fixed, sothe way they deal with their workdoes not affect their own income.Second, the system of personnelmanagement is poor. In China,administration is decided by in-dividual persons instead of beingcontrolled by rules and regulations.Therefore, contradictions and dif-terences between people of theupper and lou'el levels exist. Thisshows that the personnel manage-ment is not suitable to an advanc-ed society.

Japanese enterprises do it dif-ferently. First, they assign pro-fessional personnel to importantpositions with heavy work loadsand clear tasks; second, there isa checking-up system. Those whohave not done a Eo.od job and areoften absent give up their posi-tions and their wages and bonuseswill be reduced accordingly. Thisis acceptable to all and there isno need for the leading people totalk to them, saving the time formore work. Such a system pro-duces few arguments between em-ployees and the management. Itis the system that promotes pgo-ple's initiative and enthusiasm.Sq I would like to suggest thatChina adopt an effective systemto administer personnel andcheck up on wolk.

Pan Baoji, President of the Shi-zuoka Overseas Chinese Society

Shizuoka, Japan

In recent gears, China hasstarted telorms in oariouslielils including the personnelsystein, managernent anil utili-zation ol professional person-nel. lnitial results hatseulread,g been obtained in sorne'respects. The Chinese Partgand, Gooernrnent pav much at-tention to absorbing tcjreignerperience usetul to China'isocialist modernization. Youmay hatse read in our rnag'azine reports in this fielil.We shall carrg more.-Ed.

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BEIIINGREVIEW

Published every Mondoy byBEIJING REVIEV

24 Eoiwonzhuong Rood, EcijingThe People's Republic ol Chino

Vol. 26, No. t0 Morch 7, t983

CONTENTSTEITERS

TO OUR READERS 4

GREEIINGS TO'BEIJING R,EVIEW' 5BRINGING OUR MAGAZINE

TO YOU 6-7

EVENTS C IRENDS 8-11Enterprises ore liberoted from

'big pot'Another offshore well strikes

oilTionjin woter project neors

completionFood hygiene low to toke

effectStrengthen rurol technicol workGovernment oids the rurol

PoorINIERNATIONAL 12.14

Polestine: Fruitful notionolcouncil session

Viet Nom: Another troop with-drowol hoox

Jopon: Nokosone ocknow-ledges history

United Stotes: Reogon tokesgrove step bockword

ARTICTES It DOCUMENTSForeign Ministry stotement

(Morch 1, 1983)Relotionship between econom-

ic ond politicol indepen-dence

Rurol women ond the neweconomic policies

SPECIAI. FEATUREThe mighty Chongjiong River

A vitol woter thoroughforeChongjiong - o br'r-ef intro-

ductionComprehensive plons for the

river's future

CULTURE & SCIENCE

BOOl(sARI PAGE

25

20

29-30

31

Dislributd h ftino Publkotions

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HIGHIIGHTS OF THE WEEK

China's Position on the Kampuchean ,ssue

While revealing the true intention behind Viet Nam'slatest "offer" on conditional troop withdrawals from Kam-puchea, a Foreign Ministry statement details China's pro-posal for the solution of the Kampuchean question (p. l5).

Major Slep in Economic Relorm

The new tax structure for state industrial and com-mercial enterprises improves their management, benefitsthe enterprises and their workers and boosts their con-tributions to state revenues (p. 8).

Palestine N ational Council Congress

Showing strong national unity, the 16th session of thePalestine National Council rejects Reagan's plan as it failsto meet basic Palestinian demands (p. 12).

Grave US Step Backward

Reagan's statement on US arms sales to Taiwan tothe weekly Human Euents shows a grave step backward inthe US position on Sino-US relations (p. 14).

Women's Role in the Countryside

With the adoption of the responsibility system, ruralwomen are taking up sideline occupations and makingmore money. This has enhanced their interest in takin!advantage of public services to learn new skills (p. 18).

Economics and Politics

Third world countries strive for economic independenceafter they win political independence (p. 16).

The Mighty Changiiang RiretSpecial feature on Chi-

na's plan to transform theworld's third longest riverinto an important inlandnavigation artery (p. 2l).

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Along theWoodcut

ChangjianSlby Zheng,

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To 0arr Eteaders

l^$lNa, a land of ancient ci- the dark past, have won hun-\,t vilization and youthful vi- dreds of gold medals in inter-tality, is attracting the attentionof increasing numbers of peoplearound the world.

The Chinese people won theirIiberation in 1949. Since then,they have worked with a deter-mination to turn the world'smost populous nation into onefree from exploitation of manby man where all labouringpeople live in happiness, thepeople's wisdom is given fullplay and the natural resourcesare fully tapped.

Our progress has certainlynot been smooth sailing andthere are many difficulties andproblems to be tackled. Ourpioneering efforts in all fieldsof endeavour sometimes do notyield the desired results. Butsuch efforts are by no meansfutile: Tremendous, profoundchanges have taken placethroughout our vast territories,both urban and rura].

Old China left us poverty andbackwardness. Yet, starting onthis basis, we have establishedsocialist public ownership of theprincipal means of productionand an independent, relativelycomprehensive industrial sys-tem. We hdve basically solvedthe problem of feeding our1,000 million population, thusputting an end to starvation,the scourge of China's byggnedays.

In the last three decades ourcitizens' average life expectancyhas nearly doubled. The Chi-nese people, who were scornedas "sickmen of East Asia" in

national sports competitions.

Gone for good are the dayswhen imperialists could imposeunequal treaties upon us withthe sheer force of gunboats.Today, upholding its own idealsand principles, socialist Chinafollows an independent foreignpolicy and will never be subser-vient to any big power. To-gether with third world eoun-tries and all other peace-loving,justice-upholding nations, it isfighting against hegemonismand for world peace.

This explains why more and' more people in the world takea keen interest in what is hap-pening in our country.

Bei;jing Revieu is preciselydesigned to meet the needs ofthose who seek more knowledgeof China's develbpments in thepolitical, . social, economic andcultural fields, its efforts andprogress in the socialist modern-ization drive as well as itsviewpoints on major worldevents.

The English edition of BeijingRetsi.eut (then called PekingReoieto) first appeared onMarch 4, 1958. Beginning fromMarch 1963, the French,Spanish, Japanese and Germaneditions were successively add-ed. Today, the five editionsare airmailed weekly to 150-oddcountries and regions.

To satisfy our readers' desirefor knowledge of China, Bei,jingReoieu also publishes the Chi.naTod,ay and China anil the Worldseries and other pamphlets.

In the last quarter centuryBeijing Revieut has done itsshare in enhancing the under-standing of China throughoutthe rest of the world, in further-ing the friendship between thepeople of China and other coun-tries and in safeguarding worldpeace and promoting the pro-gressive causes of mankind. Inthis process we have mademany friends from other coun-tries. Our editorial departmentreceives a constant stream ofIetters from all over the world,which we see as tremendous en-couragement from our readersand friends. Some of theseletters are published in our"Letters" column.

As the old Chinese sayinggoes, "Although we are sepa-rated by mountains and oceans,so long as we seek muhralunderstanding, we are closefriends." It is with this beliefthat we will redouble our ef-forts to promote friendship andmutual understanding amongthe people of all countries. Toachieve that end we hope tohear more criticisms and sug-gestions from you, our readers.

- Editor

Beijing Rersieu, No. I0

{Jrce1i11gts Itt " Ilt,ijini: Iletriew'On the occasion of the 25th annioersory of the founding of

the English eilition of "Beijing Rer>ieu)," seoeral Partg and statelead,ers and renouneil social ligures hatse sent greetings. Fourare reprod.uceil here. Our nett issue uill carry others anil utillcooer the celebrotion actirsities. - Eil-

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understandlng and frlendship among the peopleot all countries.

Membe, ", :;":":;,l1lnil,,"ou o1 *.CPC Centtal, Cotnmlttee, Vice-Chait-man of the NPc stancnng committee

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BEIJING REVIEW has doDe well in a quarterof a century. It should continue its good workto keep readers abroad lnformed of chlna'spolitical, economlc and social reforms and itspolicy ol openlng to the outside world.

presid.ent ", "rir"Trlli iation tor In-

ternationol lJndPfilandlng of Ckina

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Besi wishes to BEIiTING REVTEW which ser:ves as a brldge promoting understanallng be-tween the people of Chlna and other countries.

Xue MuqiaoSeqeto"g of the Economlc

ceLtre und,eJ the stateGenetalF,esearchcouncil

"*4rlo.BEIJING nEVIEW has played - and continues

to play - an lmportant role in presenung Chlnato the outside world, conveylng lts vlews oninternatloDal affalrs and bringing the people olChina and other countries closer together byElvlng expression to thelr oplnlons and feellngs.May you sum up your experlence and makelurther progress.

Huan XlangAduiset to the Chiflese Acaatetnv o,Socio, Scl€nces

Il-------.-..-

March 7, 1983

Bringing (lur ffiagazine to You

English, French, JaPanese, SPanishand German editions of "Beiiing

Review."

A reporter and Photo-grapher cover a storyat the Shoutlu Iron and

Steel ComPanY.

Intelviewing a Shahccommune member in

Changping CorrnlY.

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Editors of the international depar.tmentdiscuss the week's news.

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CHINA EVINTS AND TREND$

Enterprises are Iiberated from 'big pot'

Enterprises will pay moretaxes but will have greater con-trol over profits. This ls a ma-jor aspect of the current eco-nomic reform. According to arecent decision by the Ministryof Finance, this will graduallybe brought about in all state-owned enterprises within thisyear.

Before 1979, under the so-called "big pot" system, stateindustrial and commercial en-terprises turned all profits plusa small tax over to the state.The state covered the losses oftroubled state enterprises.

Under this system, it was ir-relevant to enterprises andworkers whether the enterprisemanagement was good or poor.The "pot" system greatly ham-pered workers' enthusiasm andthe development of productiveforces.

Under the current system, en-terprises no longer hand in prof-its to the state but instead paymore in taxes such as incometax, industrial and commercialtax and fixed assets tax. Thus,the income of the state is guar-anteed, while the enterprisescontrol the use of their profitsafter taxes and have greaterpower of self-determination.

The new system was first triedout in 1979 in Hubei Provinceand gradually adopted in manyother places,

It has already increased staterevenues, enterprise profits andworkers' incomes. A survey of456 industrial enterprises in 18provinces and munieipa.litiesshows that one year after thenew system was instituted, thetotal output value increased by2.5 per cent, sales rose 8.9 percent, profits jumped 18 per cent

8

and the state collected 13.6 percent more in taxes.

In Sichuan Province, 99 com-mercial establishments paid atotal of 112.6 million yuan intaxes over three yearc, nearlytwice the amount of money inprofits handed to the state inthe three years before the newsystem was instituted.

Today enterprises themselvescan determine how their profitswill be utilized. Previously, lead-ing authorities had to approveallocations whenever enterprisesneeded funds to replace equip-ment or improve workers'benefits.

Under the new system, eightindustrial enterprises in Guang-dong Province doubled theirprofits in two years. Aftertaxes, they used their retain-ed profits to purchase 750pieces or sets of equipment,complete 204 major technicalreform projects and raise thewages of 60 per cent of the workforce.

The close links bdtween theenterprises' benefits and work-ers' welfare and the effective-ness of enterprise managementhave provided strong incentivesfor increased productivity.

Another offshorewell strikes oil

A new exploration well in theSino-Japanese joint explorationarea in the southern part of theBohai Sea has reported an oilflow of commercial value.

Tests show that the well willproduce an average of 250 tonsof crude oil and 8,900 cubic me-tres of natural gas a day. The

An exploratory well in theSinoJapanese joint explora-tion area in the Bohai Sea.

crude oil has a specific gravityof 0.89 and contains no water.

Drilling of the well started onSeptember 7, L982 and was com-pleted on December 29. The4,095-metre well began showingoil at 3,000 metres. The oil-bearing structure where thewell is located is the fourth ofits kind verified since Sino-Japanese joint explorationstarted in 1980.

The drilling was done by theBohai No.4 rig of the China Na-tional Offshore Oil Corporation(CNOOC) which was set up inFebruary 1982 to take charge ofChina's offshore oil explorationin co-operation with foreignfirms.

Chen Binqian, spokesman forCNOOC, said thht the successof this exploration well is fur-ther evidence of the future pros-pects for Sino-Japanese jointexploration in the southern partof the Bohai Sea. The two sideshave agreed to extend the periodof joint exploration in the desig-nated area of the Bohai Sea

*

Beiiing Reuieto, No. 10

Tianjin water project

Rapid progress has been madein the 223-kilometre-long pro-ject to divert water from theLuanhe River to Tianjin since itbegan in May 1981. This projectto alleviate the water shortagein the port city is expected to

nears completion

finish a year ahead of schedule.About 100,000 workers, peas-

ants and office workels volun-tarily took part in digging the64-kilometre section from BaodiCounty to the northern outskirtsof Tianjin. The earthwork was

from the original five years toseven years: terminating in May1987. The exploration invest-ment has been increased toUS$600 million from the orig-inal sum of US$210 million.

China has abundant oil re-sources. OiI and gas fields havebeen discovered in l9 provinces,municipalities and autonomousregions, The offshore areas ofthe Bohai Sea, lhe South ChinaSea and the southern part of theYello'ul, Sea also have rich oilt'eserves.

China had already conductedfairly systematic geophysicalprospecting and a limited num-ber of drilling tests on the coas-

tal continental shelf in 1957.Since 1979, it has signed agree-ments with dozens of foreign oilcompanies which provided thefunds and techniques for theseismographic general survey of420.000 square kilometres of theSouth China Sea and southernpart of the Yellow Sea. Chinahas also signed contracts withFrench and Japanese oil com-panies for joint prospecting andexploitation of offshore oil inthe Bohai Sea and part of theBeibu Gulf waters in the SouthChina Sea.

Promising oil and gas reserveshave been verified in these off-shore areas.

finished in two months, eventhough the original plan allow-ed four months.

The project includes morethan 130 kilometres of canal, llkilometres of tunnels, fivepumping stations, over 100bridges, reservoirs and water-works.

The whole project is arduousand complicated. Take the tun-nels for example. According tcr

existing technical conditions, itwould take 15 years at least.But, the two units of the Peo-ple's Liberation Army, whichwere assigned the task of dig-ging, rvorked hard day andnight. They dealt with difficul-ties in a scientific manner andrationally arranged the timesf or diggirrg. In one year anda half. they have finished 76 percent of the tunnelling.

Under the <lriginal plan, theproject was scheduled for com-pletion in 1984. However, be-cause of the smooth progr-ess, itwill be completeci bef ore Oc-tober I this year,

With a population of 7.6 mil-lion, Tianjin is one of China'slargest industlial cities, secondonly to Shanghai. Water ccxr-sumption for the people's daiJyIife increased eight fold between1950 and 1980, and that for in-dustrial production, 71 fold. Atpresent, some f actories havestopped production or operatedat half capacity becau-se of thewater shortage.

The 880-kilometre-long Luan-he River originates in Zhangjia-kou Prefecture. It runs acrossTangshan Prefecture andempties into the Bohai Sea nearLeting County. The river hasan average annual flow of 4.600million cubic metres with a max-imum of 7.400 million cubicmetres. When completed, theproject will supply Tianjin with1,000 million cubic metres ofwater annually.A worksite of lhe project to lead the Luanhe River waters to Tianjin.

March 7, i983

CHINA EVENTS AND TRENDS

Food hygiene law

to take effect

The recently promulgatedFood Hygiene Law of the Peo-ple's Republic of China willcome into force on a trial basisas of October 1, 1983, to replacethe 1979 regulations concerningfood hygiene.

Of the 45 articles of the newlaw, eight set hygiene standardsfor food, food production andfood additives and two list thekinds of food whose productionis banned.

Special care has been shownIor the health of babies withthe fifth article ruling on stapleand nonstaple food for babies.

Food containers and food pack-aging materials such as paper,plastics and rubber. accordingto the law. will be manufacturedby specially designated factories.Pesticides, fertilizers and otherchemicals affecting the qualityof food must be examined andapproved by the State Councilhealth department,

The Food Hygiene Law alsostipulates that offenders will bepunished according to the meritsof their cases, with punishmentsranging from fines. closure andlicense suspension to criminaliiability in the event of death ordisability.

Foreigners residing in Chinaare also protected by the FoodHygiene Law. Food producingor processing enterprises jointlyrun with Chinese and foreigninvestment as well as foreignbusinesses operating in Chinaalso come under the law. Astricter inspecting system willbe instituted for imported food,and China will refuse entrance

10

to any foods that do not meetthe hygiene standards set by thegovernment.

China has enacted serrera!food hygiene regulations. Thedraft of the new Food Hl,gieneLaw was revised five timesdrawing on experiences Iltlm

China and foreign countries andon the more than 1.000 opinionsand suggestions irom thc de-partmenis cc,ncr:l'ned- The protn-ulgation of riris lau. rvili heip.itrengthen Ci:,inl s supervisi,rnof food h1'{it,trt :rnci rnsut'e thepeoplc's hciilth

Strengthen rural technical workTo transform the present

organization and s),stem ofscientific and lechnical wolk inChina's countryside is an ui'genttask.

This work has long cateredonly to the needs of farmingand fishelies. and cannot meetthe all-round needs of rural de-velopment. Scientifie researchdepartments are not promptlyinformed of the urgent andknotty problems in agricuituralproduction, nor are scientificand technical achievements p()P-

ularized among the Peasantson time. What is more. thereare only a small number of agro-nomists and agro-'.echnicianscompared with the large ruralpopulation. Due to low pay andpoor working conditions.500,000 of the 860,000 agro-technicians trained since ihe{ounding of New China haveleft the villages to work else-rvhere.

"A flexible policy shouid beadopted to encourage technicalpersonnel to work in the coun-tryside." This remark was madeby Z}:ao Shouyi. Minister ofLabour and Personnel. at ameeting on scientific and tech-nical problems in the ruralareas.

He suggested that measulesbe taken to allov,' personne)with professional knowledge totransfer to other departments

rvheie they may ieveiop '.herr'talen'rs. and that a contract sys-tem oI lccruiting them beadopied gracir-rai)1',

He said t hai au'arcis shoulo legiven to those u'ho have madeinventions ;.nd discc'r'enes.

};leasures should be taken tocnc(jut'ate -screntific and techni-ca1 per':onnel to work in lemoter egii-rns. pliit taus. cold al eas

und ln national minority tr'-gions. They' -sirould get higherincomes anci br:tter rt'eifarefacilities. h.- said.

He rvent on to say ihat a sys-tern of teci-rnical contl'actsshould be acir:pted. The rewardsearned by scientists anci techni-cians in fullilling technicalduties under contract in theirspare-time are entirely theirorvn and are protected by law.

He Kang, Vice-il{inister ofAgriculture. Animal Husbandryand Fishery. said that a ne1-

work for popularizing agrotech-niques should be set up withcentres in every county. Theirmain iask is to organize techni-cai forces to make experiments.popularize techniques. trainlocal technicians and provide:Lechnical services to thepeasanis

Fang Yi, Chairman of theState Science and TechnologyCommission, reiterated at the

Bei)tng Feuieu. Nr,r, l0

close of the meeting thatit was necessary to speed up thetechnical transformation of agri-eulture and enormously raise theoutput of farmland giving me-dium or low yields. He said thatscientists and techniciaru shouldwork to open new branchescf production in the rural areas,take more energetic meas-ures to maintain the ecologicalbalance, protect and make ration-al use of resources and protectthe environment. He said thatall this work has to be done bymainly relying on the massesand the society as a whole.

Government aids

the rural poorWhile encouraging a section

of the peasants to become well-off in the course of readjustingits agricultural policy, the Chi-nese Government is also takingmeasures to assist the ruralpoor.

Last December, nine centralgovernment departments issueda joint circular calling on localgovernments and cadres to helppoor families in rural areas.

Remarkable changes havetaken place in the last few yearsthanks to the implementation ofa series of rural economic poli-cies and the production respon-sibility system. In 1982, theaverage income of Chinesepeasants was 60 per cent higherthan in 1979.

The circular said that in thepast few years aid in bothIabour and money has beenextended to 2.73 million poorfamilies in the villages, of whichone million now have enor-mously improved their economicconditions. But the rest stillexperience difficuities in bothproduction and daily life due toinadequate labour, money orproduction techniques.

March 7, 1983

&'

h]

The Shi family rvhich had difficulties in its livelihood has prosperedwith lhe responsibility system and their son now uses the lamily

tractor to reap wheat for others'

The circular urges govern-ment departments and cadres atvarious levels to make continuedefforts to help the poor.

Dezhou in Shandong Provinceis one of the poorest prefecturesin China. In 1978, the annualaverage income per capita in 42

pcrorest communes was only 35

-v-uan (a basic subsistence levelwas 116 yuan). The localgovernment therefore assigneda number of cadres to in-vestigate the peasants' pro-duction and life in order to findoUt the reasons for poverty.Active measures were soontaken. In the cotton growingareas. for instance, their agri-cultural tax was eitherexempted or reduced. Thegovernment issued more loansand allocated additional chemi-cal fertilizer and tractors 1o

these places. Agronomists weresent to help train local tech-nrcrans.

Production of both grain andcotton in these communes soonwent up and the average income

per capita in 19Bl shot up to 130

yuan, topping the prefectureaverage.

Laian County in AnhuiProvince was among the firstcounties where the productionresponsibility system was in-stituted after 1978. In spite ofbumper harvests f or severalyears running, the countyleadership still kept in rnind thepoor f amilies. Some 1,600groups were organized to helptbem. Within one year. themajority of the householdsincreased their grain output by77.4 per cent. and oil-bearingcrops by 150 per cent. Sincethen they have not only solvedthe problern of food andclothing. but have gained a newview of life.

The nine government depart-ments issuing the circular'included the State EconomicCommission. Ministry trf Fi-nance, Ministry of Commerce.Ministry of Agriculture. AnimalHusbandry and Fishery and theAgricultural Bank of China.

TI

INTERNATIONAT REPORTS AND COMMENTS

Polestine Yiet Nam

Fruitful nationa! council session Another troopwithdraYval hoax

A STATEMENT issued at the/ r end of a two-day (Feb,22-23) summit meeting of VietNam, Laos and the Heng Samrinclique of Kampuchea in Vien-tiane announced that Viet Namwould make partial troop with-drawals from Kampuchea on a

yearly basis beginning this yearif three preconditions are met.

The Vietnamese troop pull-out offer is not new, but simplya refurbished version of an oldtrick designed to reduce inter-national pressure on Hanoi.

Previous Offers

Viet Nam has made partialtroop withdrawal offers on atleast three occasions since it in-vaded Kampuchea in 1978. Thetiming of each announcementwas carefully chosen.

The first offer was made atthe 35th UN General AssemblySession with the intention ofobstructing the adoption of theUN resolution calling for a com-plete Vietnimese troop with-drawal from Kampuchea.

The second, announced afterHanoi encountered strong oppo-sition from the five ASEANcountries following its almed in-trusion into Thailand, sought tolure Thailand and other ASEANstates into "contact" and "dia-logue" with Hanoi.

The third offer, made in thewake of the signing of the dec-laration on the establishment otthe Kampuchean tripartite coali-tion government and on the eveof the 37th UN General Assem-bly Session, was intended tooffset the impact of the thus

T HE nine-day 16th session ofr the Palestine NationalCouncil (PNC) ended on Feb-ruary 22 in Algiers, capital ofAlgeria.

A political statement wasadopted and a new l4-memberexecutive committee formed.Yasser Arafat wds re-elected itschairman.

Stress on Unity

The statement stressed theneed to strengthen the unity ofall revolutionary groups withinthe Palestine Liberation Organi-zation (PLO) to step up armedstruggle against Zionism andunify all revolutionary forcesu,ithin the national-liberationarmy.

The statement emphasizedthat the resolution of the ArabFez Summit constituted theminimum programme of polit-ical activities for the Arab coun-tries, and it must be comple-mented by military actions. Itrejected US President Reagan'splan as an effective basis forseeking a just and lasting solu-tion to the Palestinian problemand the Arab-Zionist conflict.

The statement said that Rea-gan's plan fails to satisfy, inform or content, the inalienablerights of the Palestinian peoplebecause it ignores their rightsto return to their homeland, toself-determination, and to thecreation of an independentPalestinian state, and because itrejects the PLO as the solelegitimate representative of thePalestinian people.

The congress took place at acrucial moment in the Palestin-ian revolution. The success of

7'

the congress has demonstratedthat the Palestinian people havenot been intimidated by barba-rous aggression and massacre.The PLO, sole legitimate repre-sentative of the Palestinian peo-ple, has become even more unit-ed and determined to continuethe struggle for recovering thelegitimate rights of the Pales-tinian people. Delegations frommore than 80 countries attend-ed the congress, an indicationof the PLO's growing interna-tional prestige.

lmportont Milestone

The unity of the Palestinianpeople is the mainspring oftheir strength and the guaranteeof victory for their national-Iiberation struggle. The con-gress's resolve to hold highthe banner of "nationalsolidarity, mobilization and lib-eration," fully shows thedetermination of the Pales-tinian fighters and their confi-dence in victory. The PLO isa vital formidable force inI\Iiddle East politics. Any at-tempt to solve the Middle Eastissue without the participationof the PLO is doomed to failure.

The Chinese people expressedtheir admiration for the heroicspirit of sacrifice and perse-verance of the Palestinian peo-ple. The Chinese Governmentand people will, as always, firm-ly support the just struggle ofthe Palestinian people to returnto their homeland, to achieveself-determination and to es-tablish an independent state.

- Liu Hua

Beiiing Retsiew, No. l0

strengthened Kampuchean re-sistance and avoid further UNcondemnation.

This time Viet Nam haschosen the eve of the 7th Non-Aligned Summit to make itsfourth offer. By so doing,Hanoi apparently hopes to in-fluence the discussion of theKampuchean question at thenon-aligned summit, to escapef urther condemnations by thenon-aligned countries and con-vince them to renounce theirstand for an immediate, uncon-ditional and complete Viet-narnese troop withdrawal fromKampuchea.

Absurd Preconditions

Although the statement sug-gested that Viet Nam would pullout its invading troops fromKampuchea, the three precondi-tions it put forward reveal nosincere desire at all to do so.

The first precondition is re-moval of the so-called "threatfrom China." But it is not Chi-na who "threatens" Viet Nam,but rather Viet Nam, in col-laboration with a superpower,which is thr:eatening China inan attempt to deflect world at-tention from its actions in Kam-puchea.

The Vietnamese use of thespectre of a non-existent"threat from China" as a meansto reject the international callfor its troop withdrawal fromKampuchea is a futile deception.

The second precondition re-quires a halt of all support tothe Kampuchean patrioticforces, and the third, a guaran-tee for tranquillity on the Thai-Kampuchean border. Both areas absurd as the first, for theyimply a reversed cause-effect re-lationship. If there had beenno Vietnamese aggressionagainst Kampuchea, there wouldbe no question of supportingthe Kampuchean patriotic

March 7, 1983

forces. And if the Vietnameseaggressor troops had not engag-ed in military actions along theThai-Kampuchean border, therewould have been no problem ofborder tranquillity.

These preconditions indicatethat the Vietnamese authoritiesare attempting to justify to theworld their occupation of Kam-puchea through spurious andstrained excuses.

Moreover, the statement keptsilent on the size, timetable andinspection of the Vietnameseannual partial troop with-drawals, The failure to mentionthese questions demonstratesHanoi's intention to disguise itsiroop rotations or redeploy-ments as troop withdrawals.

topan

All in all, the latest Viet Namtroop withdrawal offer is simplya fraud designed to deceiveworld opinior:.

Developments in both Kam-puchea and the internationalcommunity have shown moreand more clearly that Viet Namcan never annex Kampuchea.Settlement of the Kampucheanquestion will be possible only ifHanoi is prepared to respect therelevant UN resolutions,- with-draws all its troops from Kam-puchea without delay, and re-stores peace, independence, neu-trality and non-alignment toKampuchea and peace and se-curity to Southeast Asia.

- Liu He

Nakasone acknowledges historyA NSWERING an inquiry be-/ r fore the Lower House Budg-et Committee on February 18,Japanese Prime Minister Yasu-hiro Nakasone stated that heaccepted the internationat judg-ment that Japan's war againstChina was a war of aggressionand should be seen as a lesson.This, the first official admissionby a Japanese Prime Ministerof Japan's aggression, is signifi-cant for the future developmentof Japan's friendly relationswith China, and with Asian andPacific countries.

The aggression of Japan's mil-itarists not only inflicted dis-aster on the people of China andother Asian and Pacific coun-tries, but also brought much suf-fering to the Japanese people.Japan's admission of its past ag-gression is not just a questionof respecting the historical facts.It is also a question of whetherJapan can learn from its defeatand stem the revival of mili-tarism. This is the issue that

most concerns peace-loving peo-ple all over the world.

Although some previouspostwar Japanese governmentsadmitted that Japanese actionsin China, Asia and Pacific wereshameful, it is regrettable thatnone admitted explicitly thatJapan had conducted a war ofaggression. This evasive atti-tude of successive Japanese gov-ernments has made possible thecontinued activities of the rem-nant Japanese militarists andhas given rise to internationalfears that Japan might againembark on the road of militaristaggression. Given the presentcomplicated international situa-tion, continued obscurity on thenature of the SinoJapanese warwould inevitably hurt Japanitself and jeopardize its relationswith other Asian and Pacificcountries.

Prime Minister Nakasone'sadmission of Japan's past ag-gression against China is a posi-tive step in continuing the de-

13

INTERNATIONAT R.EPORTS AND COMMENTS

velopment of friendship and co-operation in Sino-Japanese re-lations. This, of course, is likelyto meet with opposition fromsome in Japan, but furthering

U nited Stotes

Sino-Japanese friendship is thetrend of history and expressesthe desires of both peoples.

- "Renmin Ribao" commentary

recognize the following obliga-tions undertaken by his govern-ment in the August communi-que: "It does not seek to carryout a long-terrn policy of armssales to Taiwan," "it intendsgradually to reduce the sale ofarms to Taiwan, leading, overa period of time, to a final res-olution" and it "acknowledgesChina's consistent position r'e-garding the thorough settlementof the issue." Instead, he scoffedat the idea-that "just as timegoes by, we're going to reducethe arms to thern (Taiwan)."This is, again, a grave stePbackward.

It can be seen from Reagan'sinterview that he takes the"Taiwan relations act" as a

document guiding Sino-US rela-tions and totally disregards thebasic principles of the Sino-USjoint communique issued on Au-gust 17, 1982. That is why he didnot say a single word about thecommunique bu'r kePt talkingabout "abiding by" and "carrY-ing out" the terms of the "Tai-wan relations act." In interna-tional relations, no one cantolerate such practice of tram-pling on solemn agreements withother countries and imPosingone's own law on others.

It is true that there is also a

sentence in his remarks whichreads: "It would be foolish ofus not to go forward with trYingto keep good relations with thePeople's Republic of China."But what is required in orderto maintain "good relations"with China is to abide by thecommunique on the establish-ment of diplomatic relations be-tween China and the UnitedStates and last August's jointcommunique and do somethingin earnest to promote and not tociamage Sino-US relations.

- Xinhua correspondent

ing US-China relations, andon the reaffirmation of the Tai-wan question being China's in-ternal affair, The communiqueexplicitly states that thesefundamental principles "con-tinue to govern all aspects oftheir relations," which natunallyincludes US arms sales to Tai-wan, an issue left over fromhistory.

Because he had departedfrom the basic principles of theAugust communiqtre, Reaganstressed more outspokenly thanever that the United States"linked" the question of USarms sales to Taiwan to China'speaceful solution of the Taiwanissue. "All the reference to re-ducing arms is tied to progressin that," he asserted. Thesestatements are obviously an in-terference in China's internalaffairs. Throughout the year-long talks, the Chinese sidemaintained that peaceful solu-tion of the Taiwan issue is en-tirely China's internal affair andmust not be made a conditionf or the cessation of US armssales to Taiwan. But in his re-cent interview, Reagan simPlydisr'egarded the commitmentmade by the US Governrnent inthe August communique that it"has no intention of . in-terfering in China's internai af-fairs." This represents a gravestep backward.

Even more surprising is thatin the interview Reagan did not

Reagan takes grave step backwardp RESIDENT Ronald Reagan'sr statement on US arms salesto Taiwan made in a recentinterview with the weekly Hu-man Euents departed from thefundamental principles contain-ed in the Sino-US joint com-munique issued on August 1T

last year, This indicates a gravestep backward in the US posi-tion.

This development is unfor-tunate and contrary to our hopethat the August communiquewould help lift the dark cloudover Sino-US relations and leadto a smooth deveiopment ofthese relations.

In .summing up the Augustcommunique, Reagan said inthe interview: "If the day evercomes that those two (China andTaiwan) find that they can gettogether and become one China,in a peaceful manner, then therewouldn't be any need for armssales to Taiwan" And that's allthat u'as meant in the communi-que. Nothing 'r'as meant be-yond that." With these remarks,he discarded all the nine pointsof the communique, includingthe most essential ones dh theUS recognition of the Govern-ment of the People's Republicof China as the sole legalgovernment of China, on themutual respect for each other'ssovereignty and territorial in-tegrity and non-interference ineach other's internal affairs as

the fundamental principles guid-

14 Beijing Reuiew, No. l0

ARTICTES AND DOCUMENTS

Foreign M inistry Stotement

March l, 1983

AN Februarv 23. 1983. the Vietnamese au-\Jthorities issued a statement through the so-called "summit conference of the three Indo-'chinese nations,'' , announcing the "offer" ofconditional, annual and partial troop with-drarvals from Kampuchea and repeating iheirthree unreasonabie preconditions for a totaltroop withdra'*,a1. This is another hoax pro-duced by the Vietnamese authorities in order todivert public attention, covef up their criminalacts of aggression. deceive world opinion andextricate themselves lrom the internal and ex-ternal difficulties which engulf them as theirwar oI aggression against Kampuchea has goneon for four years.

As is known to all. the Kampuchean ques-tion is the result of Viet Nam's armed invasionand occupation of Kampuchea. The key to a

settlement of the question lies in Viet Nam'sunconditional rvithdrawal cif all its aggressoltroops from Kampuchea so that the Kampu-chean people may decide their own destiny bythemselves. The relevant resolutions adoptedby the UN General Assembly since its 34thsession and the lesolution and declaration ofthe International Conference on Kampucheahave all given expression to this correct andreasonable position. Thr: Vietnamese' authori-ties have refuseci to implement these resolutionsand. after the failure of their past politicalmanoeuvres, have resorted to new tricks andhit upon the idea of fixing a tag of "volun-teers" to their aggressor troops in Karnpuchea.These are indeed cheap tricks rvhich make a

laughingstock of themselves. At the same time,they again put forward three so-called precon-ditions for the total withdrau,al of their troops.slandering the just action of China anci theASEAN countries supporting the Kampucheanpeople's resistance to Vietnamese aggression asa threat to their security. All this has beendone in <trder to invent excuses for their con-tinued execution of a policy of aggression andexpansion and their refusal to rr,rithciraw alltheir troops from Kampuchea.

March 7. 1983

As for the so-called ''annual partial rvith-drawals" of troops, it is nothing new either. Itis just a reproduction of the deceitful "partialr,r'ithdrawal" offer the Vietnamese authoritiesput forward last July. Although the withdraw-als are now called "annttal and partial," notime limit or numbers are specified, and theu'ithdrawals are made dependent on "seculitycondiiions." How can such an announced"offer" of withdrawal be of any practical sig-nificance ?

All justice-upholding and peace-Iovingcountries and peoples u'ish to see a settlementof the Kampuchean question at the earliestpossible date. The Chinese Government hasrepeatedly explained its basic position, viewsand proposals for a settlement of the Kampu-chean question, which can be summed up as

follows:

Viet Nam must first declare an uncondi-tional withdrawal of all its troops from Kam-puchea.

The Soviet Union should cease supportingViet Nam's aggression against Kampuchea, andact in the spirit of the UN Charter and in com-pliance with the relevant resolutions of theUN General Assembly by urging Viet Nam towithdraw all its troops from Kampuchea.

If the Vietnamese Government should de-cide to announce a withdrawal of all its troopsfrom Kampuchea, the Chinese side would beu'illing, after the withdrawal of the first batchof Vietnamese troops, to resume negotiationsrvith Viet Nam for the normalization of rela-tions between the two countries. And alongwith the '*-ithdrarval of more Vietnamese troopsfrom Kampuchea, the Chinese side would takepraciical steps to improrre its relations with VietNam.

After the withdrawal of all Vietnamesetroops from Kampuchea, it should be up to theKampuchean people themselves to settle alltheir internal issues. including the kind of i:o-

15

cial system and form of government to be setup in Kampuchea. The Chinese Governmentrespects the Kampuchean people's right to self-determination. Taking the same position as

that of most other countries of the world, Chinawishes to see an independent, peaceful, neutraland non-aligned Kampuchea.

China seeks no self interest on the questionof Kampuchea. China is willing to make a.

joint commitment with other countries to re-frain from any form of interference in the in-ternal affairs of Kampuchea, to respect theindependence, neutrality and non-aligned statusof Kampuchea, and to respect the result of theKampuchean people's choice made through a

genuinely free election to be held under UNsupervision.

There is a profound traditional friendshipbetween the Chinese and the Vietnamese peo-ples. The Chinese people are wi-Iling to makejoint efforts with the Vietnamese people toovercome the obstacles so that this ftiendshipcan be resumed and developed. The ChineseGovernment is ready to take effective actiontogether with the other peace-Ioving andjustice-upholding countries and peoples to urgethe Vietnamese Government to implemen'i theUN General Assembly resolutions on Kampu-chea so that a just and reasonable settlementof the Kampuchean issue may be realized atan early date. tr

Relotionship Between EconomicAnd Politicol I ndependence

I

I

I

)

tI-!HE major common task facing the thirdr world countries today is the need to safe-

guard their political independence and developtheir national econnmies. I With economic rin-dependence, the third world countries will beable to consolidate their hard won political in-dependence.

Since World War II, many Asian, Africanand Latin American countries have thrown offthe yoke of colonialism and achieved independ-ence. This is a historical event of epoch-making significance.

In reality, however, this represents only thefirst step. Political independence needs to beensured by economic independence.

lmportance of Economic lndependence

The importance of economic independenceis based on the fact that, although the strugglesof the oppressed peoples have forced the imperi-alists and colonialists to give up their colonialdomination and make political concessions, theystill try as hard as possible to preserve the oldeconomic order in the third world throughthe practice of neo-colonialism. Consequently,m1ny third world nations still remain subor-

16

by Xing Anhuong

dinate to their folmer colonial powers and arestill burdened by the vestiges of the colonial orsemi-colonial era.

These vestiges are apparent in the oftenlopsided economies of third world nations, inexploitation by price "scissors" on the interna-tional market where the third world countriescan only export primary products and have toimport manufactured goods, in business opera-tions which are still subject to the control offoreign capital, in dependenee on developedcountries for technology, in restrictions on theacquisition of foreign capital imposed by the in-ternational monetary monopoly, and in heavydebts incurred as a result of the developed coun-tries' control of financial resources and the ex-orbitant credit terms they impose.

With the stepped-up rivalry for global he-gemony between the superpowers, many third'*'orld countries have also become targets of thesuperpowers' attempts to enlarge their spheresof influence. Economic penetration, control andexploitation are the major means by which thesuperpowers try to manipulate and rob the de-veloping countrie.s.

Thus, it is clear that following their politi-cal independence, the third w'orld countries

Beijing Reuiew, No. 10

rnust gradually achieve economic independenceby developing their national economies in or-der to become truly independent.

After ridding themselves of colonial rule,some third world countries are able to map outpolicies and laws in compliance with theirown conditions, thereby restricting and eveneliminating colonial control and influence intheir countries in order to build up their na-tional economies in the interests of their ownpeople. Many third world countries, aftergaining independence, have set out to strip theimperialists of their special privileges, to regaintheir own legitimate rights and recover controlof their oivn economic lifeline. They havesupervised. regulated or nationalized thosemajor economic sectors controlled or owned byforeign companies such as lands, mines andbanks. This undoubtedly contributes greatly tothe development of their national economies.

However, a numbr of third world countrieshave failed to free themselves of dependenceupon the developed countries and have failed toabolish poverty and backwardness becar.rse ofunderdevelopment and the absence of timely,effective measures, thus leaving the door openfor outside manipulation, interference and plun-der. This severely limits their ability to main-tain and consolidate their political independ-ence, to play their pt'oper roles in internationalaffairs.

What is more. as third world countries be-come increasingly embroiled in the old inter-national economic order. those third rvorldcountries which have not yet achieved

"cor,o*i"independence will inevitably fall victim to fluc-tuations in world economic conditions, and be-come targets of the developed countries for ex-porting their economic crisis. Even those coun-tries that have taken the tirst steps towards eco-nomic independence cannot be wholly exemptfrom such adverse impacts. As a result, econo-mic troubles will provide a hotbed for social un-rest and prclitical turbulence.

In their attempts to maintain the old in-ternational economic orcler, the colonialists. im-perialists and superpowers take advantage of theeconomic difficulties of some third world coun-tries to weaken their economic strength. By thisstrategy they attempt to influence and changethe domestic and foreign policies of some thirdworld countries. Through ec\onomic penetration.they even attempt to find and foster proxies tosubvert legal governments.

March 7, 1983

Today, the developed countries are facingthe most s€rious economic depression sinceWorld War II. Therefore, it is of prime impor-tance that the developing countries strive todevelop and preserve their own national econo-mies, eliminate foreign control and achieve eco-nomic independence. Only thus can they safe-guard and consolidate their political independ-ence.

The Task Ahead

Around the world the developing countrimare uniting to call for a change in the old inter-national economic order. The Latin Americancountries first launched a struggle against thesuperpowers for the 200 nautical-mile maritimerights. Some oil-exporting and raw material-producing c\ountries have struggled to establishpermanent sovereignty over their natural re-sources. In recent years the third world coun-tries have made more efforts to build a new in-ternational economic order. All these struggleshave limited somewhat the ability of the super-powers and developed countries to manipulateand exploit the developing countries at will.However, the North-South talks have not gain-ed any substantial progress because the develop-ed countries, especially the superpowers, havestubbornly stuck to the old international eco-nomic order.

More and more third world countries nowrealize that the key to economic independenceis self-reliance. Self-reliance does not preventa country from dealing with foreign countrieson an equal basis and for mutual benefit, whileupholding its national rights, controlling its eco-nomic lifeline, putting into full use its nationalresources and relying mainly on the strengthof its own people. In keeping with the principleof self-reliance, a third world country canformulate its own policies and measures in ac-cerdance with its specific conditions, solve itseconomic problems independently and changestep by step its old social and economic struc-ture. It may analyse its own economic charac-teristics and, by building upon its own strengthsand avoiding its weaknesses, develop a multipleeconomy so that dependence on foreign coun-tries will be reduced as much as possible. Eco-nomic independence based on self-reliance alsocalls for proper control over foreign invest-ments and rational use of advanced technologyand business management introduced fromother countries.

17

On the basis of self-reliance, it is essentialfor the developing countries to carry out eco-nomic co-operation and exchange among them-selves and adopt a common stand in the struggleto change the irrational international economicorder. Although economically backward. thethird world countries, having their own respec-tive economic characteristics, can supply eachother's needs. It is also essential for them tounite because one country with a weak economycannot free itself from the control of the bigpowers by itself.

Tbe Bandung Conference of 1955 firstput forward the principles for changing the oldinternational economic order, for strengthening

co-operation on the basis oI equality and mu-tual benefit and for stabilizing the price of theraw rnalerial pr:oducts. Since then, some devel-oping countries which are raw material pro-ducers and exporters have set up specializedand regional organizations f or economic co-

operation. These organizations have played asignificant role in freeing their member nationsfrom the yoke of the old international economicorder and in strengthening the position of thedeveloping countries in their talks ',r'ith thedeveloped countries. South-South co-opet'iition,or collective self-reliance. has alreadv shorvn it-self to be an important means for achievrng

Rural Uomen and the Jlew Economic Policies

Since early 1979, the Chinese Gooernmenthas encouraged econom,ic diversiJication in th.ecountryside and has imqflemented. the produc-tion responsibility sAstem, anil a series of otherneu) economic policies. As a result, the ruralareas hatse chalked up remo.rl<able achieue-rrt^ents. The follotoing article etplores the int-p@ct of these ileuelopments on rural women.

- Ed.

f IU FENCHAN, 37, is a member of the Yang-I / mingbao commune, Daixian Couniy ofShandong Province. Her husband works inanother place. Her four children live with her.Formerly sideline occupations by individuaihouseholds were prohibited. tiu could donothing but her household duties. Her familyeked out a minimal living on the 40 yuan or so

her husband earned each month.However. when her commune adopted the

responsibility system in 1981, she contractedrnith her brigade to provide all the baby silk-worms for the villagers. She earned 1,700 yuanin the first year.

Her husband joked: "I never expected thatyou would earn more than I do." This changein Liu Fenchan's life epitomizes the currenlsituation for China's rural women.

Good Prospects

Women have always constituted abtiut 50per cent of the labour force in China's countl'"y-

18

by Our Stoff Writer Wu Noitoo

side. Iir the past, many of then-r joineci men inheavy manuai labour in the fields. Now that thegovernment encourages diversiiied economy,women are maximizing their skills in planting,breeding. gathering. u'eaving and embroidery.

In the suburbs of Qiqihal in rrrrliheaslChina's Heilongiiang Prrrr.ince. 11.000 h\ 'usc\\'ivesare raising chickens and have conltacted r,r'ith

the state enterprises to sell their producls. Theysell over 4 million kilogrammes of eggs everyyear. accounting for 85 per cent of the sales offresh eggs in Qiqihar. This has not only increas-eci the income of these households. but also im-proved the supply of eggs in the city.

Women in rural Pujian Province raised1.25 million West German rabbits for.' exportand earned US$ 2.76 million in one year.

In 1981, 2,500 women in Luobiao commune.Gongxian County of Sichuan Province. signedcontracts in the name of a group. a household ot'an individual for such diversified tasks aspicking tea. managing orchards. breeding silk-\l,orms and raising pigs. They created a wealthof 1.38 million yuan and brought in 63.1 percent of the commune's income from ditzersifiedundertakings. Income for these women fron'tcollective distribution rose nearly 100 per centand they aiso received 3?0.000 ;7ttan ft'om theirhousehold sideline occupations.

The diversified economv has also enabledr>ld. weak, sick and disabled women to take partin productive labour'. \Vrin Qilan. 21. of the

tseiling Rexiew. Nri. I0

Yongfeng commune in Nanjing, wasunable to work because of childhoodmalnutritiort. But she has a strongcharacter and was unrviliing to be sup-ported by her parerrts for the rest of herlife. She sought a contract to do pro-cessing work for the commune's knit-wear mill. She earned 500 yuan forthe first time in her life in 1981. Nou,she supports herself, has a savings ac-count and supplements her parents' in-come. What is more important to heris that she is no longer dependent onher family.

Reasonable RemunetationThe former method of calculating

work-points was generally determinedby the recipient's physical strengthrather than the results of the work done.

An able-bodied man usually u,as assignednine to ten work-points a day for work that gaveyoung able-bodied women only seven. In thecourse of striving to give equal pay for equal.work, women tried to match men'-s physicalstrength, often impairing theil own health.

Under the responsibility system, both menand women commune members sign contracts toaccomplish a particular output or outputvalue. Their contracts stipulate that they arefree to utilize the portion in excess of the pro-duction target. Therefore, the principle of dis-tribution according to work bas been truly im-p)emented.

The aquatic product beds in the Yang-zhou commune of Fuzhou city, Jiangxi Prov-ince. raises pearls ilr oysters. AII members ofthe pearl group are women. Formerly, theyhad fixed incomes. Each woman only cultured500 oysters a year. Since the responsibilitysystem was implemented in 19?8, their incomeshave been closely linked rvith the fruits of theirlabour. They have assiduously improved theirskil]s and now each can treat about 5,000 oystersa year. In 1981, they produeed pearls valuedat 170,000 yuan at a production cost of 40,000yuan. Their individual income rose substan-tially.

The responsibility system allows each peas-ant household to use its Iamily funds anci labourpower effectively. Women. once an auxiliarylabour force, have become a main labour forceand, therefore, they have more decision-makingpower in the arrangements cf production andhousehold duties. Women's labour is increas-ingly essential to specialized production andfamily earnings.

March 7. 1983

Colleeting silk cocoons.

The old rural mentality towards women isbeing done away with. The sttenuous house-hold duties that hung like a dead weight onwomen in the past are now partially shared bytheir husbands on their own initiative so as toenable women to devote their energies to moreimportant productive labour.

lmproving Skills

To boost agricultural production and side-line occupations, women canno[ rely merely on

their arduous labour. fhey must also benefitfrom science and technology. as not a fervwomen in the rural areas have realized.

When the production team leader set tiisksfor commune rlembers in the past. women wereusually assigned auxiiiary jobs. Therefore theyshared the view ihat it was of little impoltancewhether they learnt agricultural science. Nowthat women have contracted to produce variousitems, they need a thorough understanding ofrelated production techniques. Hence, many areengrossed in study.

Wu Qizhen! a woman commune memberfrom Sichuan Province, travelled to other placesseven times to learn new techniques for growingmushrooms and edible fungus.

Wang Shulin, a commune member in DayiCounty, Sichuan Province. raised an improvedbreed of chickens. After an assessment for tech-nical proficiency, the local county governmentraised her position to that of a chicken-raisingtechnician, second class,

When communes run agrotechnical studyclasses, training classes or technical courses,women respond immediately vying with eachother for the limited class space.

19

In 1982, some 648,000 commune members at-tended agrotechnical classes in the Yulin Pre-fecture oI the Guangxi Zhuang AutonomousRegion, 60 per cent of whom were women.

The women's federation of Xinhui County.Guangdong Province, ran 83 drawnwork tech-nical study classes in 1982, and 8,253 women par-ticipated. Another 1,300 women met to ex-change experiences and demonstrated nelvtechniques.

The agricultural departments of variouslocal governments organized agrotechnicians toconduct rural lecture and demonstration tours.The talks were transmitted across the wire-broadcasting network. These also allowedi\4/omen to enrich their technical knowledge.

Encouraged by the local goVernment. 1.830women's scientific research groups have beenset up in the Hanshou County of Hunan Plov-rnce.

New OutlooklVith the rapid growth of the rural econ-

omy. women have more opportunities to partic-ipate in various production and recreationalactivities. A Iarge number of advanced womenhave bcen commended at women's federationmeetings in various Iocalities every year.

In Gutian County's Qianban ProductionBrigade. Fujian Province. Yao Heping togetherwith her husband experimented with growingtremella in bottles for 13 years. During theyears when the gang of four usurped part of thestate power. the development of diversifiedeconomy and sideline occupations was labelled"taking the capitalist road.''

Yao continued her experiments clandestine-ly. When the government again encourageddiversified economy. shb was able to earn 50,000yuan in three years. She built a 12-room houseand bought lrumerous household electric ap-pliances. Hers was the first better-off famiiy inher village.

But she was not content with prosperity forher own family. Under her guidance. 49 of the53 households in her village have mastered theskill of growing tremella in bottles. Now ever5'houschold in her village has become well off.

She also made her techniques available topeople in other places. Together with herhusband. she edited a booklet on growingtremella in bottles and printed 5,000 copies ather own expense. which she sent them to peo-ple who had written to her for advice.

When she heard the news that SichuanProvince was suffering from severe flooding in

20

1981, she donated 1,000 yuan to the people inthe afflicted areas.

In Xinnan brigade, Pinghe County of Fu-jian Province, Chen Manghua and her mother-in-law raised high quality rabbits. A profiteeroffered to buy rabbit fur at a price of five yuanmore per jin lhan the'stdte purchasing price,but Chen flatly refused, saying. "I raise rabbitswith the support of the state and, therefore, Iwill sell to the state. Even if you offer 50 yuanmore per jin, I cannot sell to you."

In Xiajiang County of Jiangxi Province, LiuTaoxiu, a corrunune member. earned 2,518 yuanin l9B1 by gr<-rwing vegetables and raisingchickens. She donated 580 yuan to build a

well, a cistern and a stone bridge in her village.

Eli mi n ati n g F eud al Remnants

The Constitution of the People's Republicof China stipulates: "Women in the People'sRepublic of China enjoy equal rights with menin all spheres of life, political. economic, cul-tural and social, including family life." Becauseof the long-term influence of traditional feudalldeaS and because of old habits. discriminationagainst and maltreatment of women still existin China's rural areas.

In order to control the population growth.the state has in recent years encouraged eachcouple to have only one child. But the conceptof men being superior to women has not beenfully wiped out. Some men have tormentedtheir wives who gave birth to girls or drownedthe infant girls in some rural aleas (see "Pro-tecting Infant Girls" in our issue No. 5. 1983).

The government is quite concerned about thisserious problem. Opposition to these practicesis one of tlre important educational campaigns ofthe women's federations in various localities.

l,ocal women's federations have takennumerous actions to safeguard the legitimaterights and interests of women. For instance.in Yanshi County of Henan Province, over theIast three years at the suggestion of the women'sfederation, the courts reviewed three cases in-volving unjust judgments of matrimonial dis-putes. In co-operation with departments con-cerned, the federation has intervened in 10

cases that denied young people the legally pro-tected freedom to marry whom they please, anddefended two worrren who were victims of beat-ings. It has also conducted numerous other ac-tions to inform the population of women's rightsunder the socialist legal system and to helpwomen secure those rights.

Bei,jing Reuiew, No. 10

SPECIAL FEATURE/CHANGJIANG RIVER

The Mighty Changiiang RiverThe Chongliong (Yongtze) River, the longest in

Chino, hos come into its own in the woke of o reyito-lized notionol economy chorocterized by thrivingcommerce. Yet its greot potentiol os the notion'sleoding inlond woterwoy is still not fully topped.Fundomentol reforms now underwoy ore poying off ino ropid growth of shipping, ond even more ombitiousplons hold immense promise for the future.

A Vital Water Thoroughfareby Our Correspondent Jion Chuon

qTEAMBOATS and motortJ junks ply up and down theriver, joined, fronr time to time.by tugboats pulling long lines ofbarges Ioaded high with cargo.At newly built modern ports.towering cranes hoist containerson and off ships while conveyerbelts speed them along to theildest-ination and forklifts scurryabout. This everyday scenealong the Changjiang (Yangtze)River is visible proof of the newflourishing commerce based onChina's rapidly developingeconomy.

Chonges

The world's third longest riverafter the Nile and the Amazon,the 6,300-kilometre Changjiangmeanders its way eastwardthrough nine provinces and a

municipality, an area of mildclimate and opulent natural re-sources. With a netrvork otl 700-odd tributaries whose navigabledistances total 70,000 kilometres,the river accounts for 65 percent of China's total inlandnavigation system. In conjunc-tion with the eight railwaysthat cross it. the rivel forms animportant part of a giganticu,ater-and-land transport net-vzork.

The Changjiang shipping in-dustry has seen dramatic

March 7. 1983

changes in thedecades.

last three

In the 1950s there was steadygro',^,th in the total volume of

Table I

Freightton-kilometres

Cargo loaded& unload.edat harbours

Number ofships

Total dead-weighttonnage

Grossindustrialoutput value

Development of Shipping Along the Changiiang

freight handled along the river.This unfortunately was followedby 16 years of stagnation. Then.with political turmoil and con-fusion removed and with na-tional emphasis turned to mod-ernization, navigation on theChangjiang entered a new stageof development. In the period1977-82, total cargo volumedoubled.

In 1982. the Changjiang RiverNavigation Administration'Bu-reau (CRNAB) alone handled26.7 times more freight and 19.5

times more passengers thanwere shipped along the wholeriver in 1949 (see Table I).

21

An oil tanker passes through a lock in the Gezhouba water conservancynetwork.

Achievements notrvithstand-ing. the river and its tributariespresently handle only 200 mii-lion tons of cargo a year, aboutthe same as the Rhine inEurope, or half that of the Mis-sissippi in North America. Thisrelativeiy small shipping capac-ity characterizes China's wholetranspor't indu.strl,. Nationaleconomic readjustment demandsthe smooth. swilt circulation ofgoods. and these transportbottlenecks must be solved.

Herculean efforts have beenmade in the last few years toincrease the river's carriagecapacit.y*. and fuel tl'ansport wa.sthe first to benefit.

In 1981. coal and oil accountedfor 31.7 and 28.9 per cent of thetotal volume of cargo transport-ed by the CRNAB: 62.5 per centof the coal rvas .shipped to Jiang-su. Zhejiang and Anhui in east

22

China and to Shanghai. thecountry's largest industrial city

Port. construction has beenstepped up to accommodate in-creased coal and oil shipments.Between 1978 and June 1982.the number of oil piers increas-ed 3.5-fold along the river, rais-ing oil shipping capacity 3.24-fold. Three nerv coal piers werebuilt and 13 old ones revamped.all with mechanized loading andunloading facilities. thus boost-ing shipping capacity by 6 mil-Iion tons.

Nanjing is the largest of the25 ports along the river. Withan annual loading and unload-ing capacity of over 30 milliontons (80 per cent devoted to coaland oil shipment), it is also thehub of east China's water-and-land transport system.

Forty kilometres east of Nan-jing stands one of China's threeIeading oil ports. Completed in

1978, it has 11 piers. Crude oilis pipe<l directly from oilfieldsin Hebei. Shandong and Henanand then shipped to chemicalfactories and refineries alongthe river Due to a shortage inoil suppll,. oniy half of theport's 20-million-ton capacity isnor,r, being utilized.

Cutting AdministrotiveRed Tope

Only a few years ago localshipping was not allowed toenter the Changjiang itself fromits tributaries because the riverwas under the exclusive man-agement of the CRNAB. Localshipping departments in turnmanagd traffic along the tribu-taries.

As a result. cargo bound forrither provinces had to changeships before entering the Chang-jiang. This slowed shipping con-siderably and increased thecost - cargo-owners had to pay2-3 yuan extra for trans.shippingeach ton of cargo. So manyenterprises simply shunnedwater tran.jporl.. to the detri-ment oI iocal navigation com-panles.

The Hubei Pruvincial Naviga-tion Company. with 11,000workers and staff and a dead-weight capacity of 63,000 tons.had to restrict its ships to a 524-kilometre route on the HanRiver, a Changjiang tributary,although a i.l00-kilometrestretch of the Changjiang runsthrough the province. Unableto attract customers. the com-pany suffered heavy financialIosses every year.

After the restriction u,as re-moved in 1980, the company'sships could freeiy enter theChangjiang. sail upstream toChongqing in Sichuan Provinceand downstream to Shanghai atthe river's estuary. Profits beganto roll in. In 1981, the companyhandled 19.1 per cent more

Beijing Rerieu;. No. l0

t.l.

{r

t*

t

npt

i?

SPECIAL FEATURE/CHANGJIANG RIVER

cargo than it did in 1977. rvith ir

43.3 pei' cent increase .in freighltulnovel' .rnd a 63..1 per ('r'n: ji1-

crease in gross plol:.t.

Though progress has beenmade. a number of bottlenecksstilj exist. An urgent problemis uccess to loading and unload-ing facilities i.i'L livet portsAccordirrg to Yang Detisheng.

depLrty' m:tnager ,-'i :he Jian3hiriNavrgaiior: Companr'';l JiiingsiiProvince. ports lnanaged by l"he

CRNAB have not been fullyopened Lo iocal ships. ;is thebureau t'ixes louding ancl L{n-

loading quuias according to ii-sorvn needs Whele there is in-suiiicitnt cargo-handiing capac-it1'. ir: particular . polts irrq. 1 €-Iuctant 1c; handle gr>cds f rotnIocal shios. for that means extfawork.

Ft-;reign experience shc.rws thalsuch prublems call be solvedonll' by bringing multipurpr-lseuse of river resources undel uni-lied planning b) a special sraterigency. Regardless of the formmanilgemenl takt:^s. the shippiu_qsJ-s1enr along the ChangJiangmusi be streamiined. Pending a

complete change jn the currenisystem. cr-.lmpetition n'iil bc ert-couraged be1r"'een *'rat'ious shtp-ping companies in acc(rrdanceu'ith the -state pLin. On i1

volLintar:' basis. shippinggloup-s u'ill iilso be encoutageC

Table II

Foreign Trade in Jiangsu(Lrnit: 10,000 tot]s)

- Volume of er-Tutal tolunre t' ' v olume ul er'- t otiltne o!. e!-, oorls handledy(jirr e.rpor,l 't po',t' shippeo'p('rts rhippedtf,i""cnriiiliii,ii6

, - -:! "':'_ - o1-.I-',--'"::r,i1y':

19?i 7.4 i.4

t9?8 rti I 5.,1 10.?

l9?!, 30.;1 ?,lt 2:a

IgiiU rj5 fl i.tl 3;-r 2:,

to integrate their operations totheir mutual benefit.

So far. thlee kinds ol inte-grated shipping groups havestarted operating along therrver:

- Shipping groups compris-ing barges from the CRNAB andlocal companies, These share()ut thc rvork and co{perate'"r'ith each other to ensurethrough traffic from the mainriver to tributaries and vicevel'sa.

- Co-operative operations totransport large quantities o{cargr) financed jointly by local-ities ul cnterprises and theCRNAB. The localities or entel'-prises build their olvn Ports ordocks and supply their o'v\al

barges. while the CRNABprovides tugboats and takes cat'eot loading and unloading. Theplofiis are divided according tothe investment shares.

- A joint venture. the Yang-tze Shipping Corporation Ltd.estabtished b5. the CRNAB, theShanghai Ocean Shipping Bu-reilu and the China Interna-tional Trust and InvestmentCorp;raticin. Under the leader-ship of its brrard of trustees. thecorporation independentiy man-ages transpo!'t i-r1 nrerchandisefor expot'1.

To the Oceons

The Changjiang River emptiesinto the sea, and even duringIow-water season, 10,000-tonships can sail upstream to Nan-jing without trouble. When thewater is of middling depths.ships of 3,000-5,000 tons canreach Jiujiang and Wuhan inthe river's middle reaches. Withconditions sc tavourable. theriver has a big role to piay inexpanding China's foreign trade.For many years, however, ad-ministrative red tape seriouslyaffected the flow of local com-modities to the outside world.

Transport of export goods hasbeen given a big boost since1980, when the ports of Zhang-jiagang, Nantong, Nanjing.Wuhu, Jiujiang, ,Huangshi, Wu-han. Chenglingji and Chongqingwere added to those to servingforeign trade.

Jiangsu Province places thirdin China's foreign trade. Yet inthe past it had to ship its exportcommodities tn Shanghai orLianyungang by rail or waterfor transshipment. since itsthree Changjiang ports -Zhangjiagang. Nantong andNanjing-did not handie over-seas shipping. This caused bothdelays and stockpiling of goods.Today. merchandise can bepromptly shipped to foreigncountries through the threeports. and the province's ex-ports have increased con-siderably (see Table II).

The China Ocean ShippingCorporation's Jiangsu branch,the first shipping agency inChina crmanaged by the cen-tral and local authorities, wasestablished after the Changjiangports were opened to foreigntrade. With a fleet of sevenoceangoing freighters totalling51,000 tons in deadweight capac-ity, the branch since February1980 has opened six lines to suchplaces as Xianggang (Hong-

I98l

1982

958

i10

i,o

I

39

49

:19

54

llulch ;. 198:i ,?

BE IJ ING

SFECIAT FEATURE/CHANGJIANG RIVER

kong), Japan, the Philippinesand. Singapore. Similar firmshave been set up in Hubei, An-hui and Jiangxi Provinces.

Preparations are under wayto open the Zhangjiagang andNantong ports to foreign vesselsfollow'ing a December 1982resolution of the Fifth National

People's Congress. This repre-sents a significant step towardspromoting foreign trade alongthe Changjiang and lighteningShanghai's heavy import-exporttraffic burden"

Booming Tourist lndustry

The Changjiang's reacheshave many places of historical

interest. There are also manynotable scenic spots. These in-clude the Lushan and Huang-shan Mountains, Suzhou, Wuxiand Taihu Lake. The ThreeGorges are an unforgettablesight famous through the ages.

China's policy of opening formore contacts with the outsideworld has vastly expanded totrr-ism in these places.

The flow of foreign and do-mestic tourists began to grorveven more rapidly in 1979, *'henthe China International TravelService established its Chang-jiang branch. To meet the needs

of this thriving tourist industry,the branch has doubled its totalaccommodations by commission-ing three new tour boats andrefitting the second-class cabinsof 20 regular passenger ships onthe Wuhan-Chongqing route.By September 1982, it had

served 21,000 visitors fromabroad.

Anhui, Jiangsu and Shanghai, islinked with Hunan's DongtingLake, Jiangxi's Poyang Lake,Anhui's Chaohu Lake, Jiangsu'sTaihu Lake and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, thusforming an extensive inlandwater transport network, The

Table III

railways which cross it - theChengdu-Kunming, Beijing-Guangzhou, Beijing-Shanghai,Chongqing-Guiyang, Chengdu-Chongqing, Jiaozuo-Zhichenglines -

join it to the countrY'sland transport system.

The Changjiang carries animpressive portion of the totalvolume of cargo handled by thenational inland shipping net-work (see Table III).

Changjiang- A Brief lntroductionrf\HE longest river in China,I the Changjiang is 6,300kilometres long, with a nav-igable length of 3,000 kilo-metres. Its more than 700 trib-utaries total 70,000 kilometresin navigable distance. They,plus the Changjiang itself, ac-count for 65 per cent of China'stotal inland waterway network.

The annual water flow is1,000,000 million cubic metres,21. times that of the HuangheRiver (the second longest inChina) or five times that of theVolga (the longest in Europe).Ice-free, it is open to shippingall year round.

The river, which runs throughQinghai, Tibet, Sichuan, Yun-nan, Hubei, Hunai, Jiangxi,

24

(1981 !igures)

Beijing Reaiew, No. 10

SPECIAT FEATURE/CHANGJIANG RIVER

Table IV

Basic Facts AboutThe Changjiang River Basin

cities, medium-sized and small,such as Nantong, Huangshi,Shashi and Yichang, with totalindustrial output value account-ing for over 40 per cent of thenational total.

The river basin also aboundsin mineral, forest and hydraulicresources. Besides having well-developed machine-building,chemical fertilizer, cement and

textile industries, the area hasfour l4rge coal mines (Huainanand Huaibei, Jiuzhou, Xuzhouand Liupanshui), five big ironand steel complexes (Panzhihua,Chongqing, Wuhan, Maanshanand Shanghai), and a dozenlarge chemical plants and oil re-fineries. AII these provide gleatopportunities for further devel-oping the river's transport sYs-tem (see Table IV).

Items I Petcentoge inI national total

Area

Population

Farmland

Grain output

Cotton output

Fresh-water fishoutput

Total agriculturaloutput value

Steel output

Coal output

Total industrialoutput value

Forests

m

33

25

70

50

66

40

40

26

40

Hydraulic re-sources

Coal

Iron ore

Copper oredeposits

Phosphorus oredeposits

The Changjiang river basin ispart of the Chinese heartlandwhich, because it enjoys a mildclimate and long frost-freeperiod, is China's major agri-cultural area. The Chengdu andJianghan Plains, the Changjiangriver delta and Hunan, Hubeiand Jiangsu Provinces along theriver's course account for 70 percent of the nation's total grainoutput, one half of the nation'stotal cotton output and twethirds of the nation's total fresh-water fish catches. They alsofigure prominently in China'sproduction of hemp, oil-bearingcrops, teo, tobacco, fruit andother cash crops.

The basin is also one of Chi-na's most economically developed areas. Along the riverstand three economic centres -Shanghai, Wuhan and Chong-qing - as well as many rising

March 7, 7983

33

40

13

50

50

Comprehensive Plans for theRiver's Future

by Zhou Mingjing, Associote Reseorch Fel-low, ond He Liyun, Engineer, both of theNovigotion Plonning ond Design lnstituteof the Ministry of Communicotions

mHE potential carrying capac-I ity of the navigable portionof the Changjiang River equals14 railways of the same length.But poor management andpolicies, and lack of an overallplan, have blocked full utiliza-tion of the river's immenseresources.

Chinese navigation expertshave put forward a number ofmajor proposals to develop theChangjiang's potential as Chi-na's chief inland waterway hndan axis for the export trade.

Monogement Reforms

One vital need is co-ordinatedmanagement of such areas as

shipping, water conservancy,power generation, bridge build-ing, fish-breeding, water supply,environmental protection and soon. At present, these are manag-ed separately by different de-partments and localities whosefunctions and responsibilities

often overlap. Shipping on theChangjiang itself and its tribu-taries are run by a numhr ofdifferent authorities, for exam-ple, thus seriously hamPering

co-ordinated utilization.

Regional ahd dePartmentalbarriers must be broken downand a special state agency

established to map out generalplans and provide unified guid-ance for the multiPurPose utili-zation of the Changjiang'sresources.

Past experience has Providedvaluable lessons.

In 1958, a headquarters was

set up to ceordinate the GrandCanal' Engineering Bureau andother departments concerned inexpanding the traffic volume ofthe Grand Canal. The workwent smoothly. In a little morethan two years a 404-kilometre,section, from Xuzhou to wherethe canal joins the Changjiang,

25

SPECIAL FEATURE/CHANGJIANG RIVER

A conveyer belt loads coal on lo a barge.

efits the enterprises themselvesand also boosts inland shipping.This is especially so with ironand steel plants, chemieal fac-tories and power stations whichcan make full use of both thewater and cheap transport fa-cilities. For shipping companies,this means steady, regular cargo,

Riverside' factories have alsoproved their worth in China.The Suzhou-Changzhou sectionof the Grand Canal, for exam-ple, is lined with numerous fac-tories. In the medium-sized in-dustrial city of Suzhou alone,175 factories are located on thecanal. Despite its small capac-ity, the canal handled morethan 30 million tons of freightin 1979.

At present, the Changjiangnavigation network handleslittle more than 200 million tonsof cargo annually, falling farbehind other rivers of the samemagnitude. This is partly attri-butable to the past one-sidedstress on building factories"scattered, near mountains andin tunnels" for defence reasons.This resulted in a lopsided.in-dustrial distribution, with very

was widened and dredged. Thisbrought manifold benefits:Cargo shipping capacity rosefrom 900,000 to 16 million tons;8.43 million mu of land wasbrought under irrigation; 62.43million n1,u were freed fromwaterlogging, and the river'sflood-resisting capacity wasfortified.

The functions and powers ofthe CRNAB should be clearlydefined. As a government de-partment, it should formulaterelevant policies and regula-tions, collect shipping and otherfees, ceordinate the work ofvarious shipping agencies andsupervise safety procedures.Meanwhile, a general shippingcorporation should be set up tosupervise cargo handling alongthe river and in ports. This cor-poiation should organize a

number of sub-cornpanies spec-ializing in co<perative or com-bined transport in the Iight ofeconomic conditions along theriver. In this way, procedurescan be simplified and throughtraffic expanded.

Port administrative depart-ments should be separated fromloading and unloading enter-

26

prises, and each port should beput under the dual leadership ofthe local government and thehigher shipping administration.Major ports should be directlymanaged by the Ministry ofCommunications, but in otherports the local governmentsshould have more say.

Riverside Foctories

Foreign experience shows thatbuilding riverside factories ben-

'l- 1.

.l glimpse o[ Wuhan Port.

Beiiing Reuiew, No. 10

few riverside factories. Thetransport factor was negiected.

That practice has finally beenrepudiated. Riverside factoriesare encouraged and river trans-port is a key factor in choosingnew plant sites. Eight of the 14

large chemical installations im-ported from abroad in recentyears were built along theChangjiang, as were four newoil refineries and Shanghai'sgiant Baoshan Iron and SteelComplex.

Riverside enterprises are en-couraged to build their owndocks or invest in port facilitiesunder the guidance of a unifiedplan. For enterprises with finan-cial difficulties, the state hasgranted necessary subsidies.

For on Ertensive WoterwoyNetwork

A nationwide inland rivertransport system centred aroundthe Changjiang is both possibleand necessary. In the upperreaches of the river, after har-nessing and dredging, SichuanProvince's Minjiang, Tuojiang,Jialing and Fujiang Rivers onthe northern bank can join Gui-zhou Province's Chishui andWujiang Rivers on the southernbank to form a southwest Chinawaterway network with Chong-qing as its hub.

In the middle reaches, HunanProvince's Qingjiang, Xiang-jiang, Zijiang, Lijiang, andYuanjiang Rivers and JiangxiProvince's Ganjiang can belinked with the Jianghan Canalto be dug in Hubei Province toform a central China waterwaysystem with Wuhan at thecentre.

In the lower reaches, afterthe Jianghuai Canal in AnhuiProvince is completed and theGrand Canal (running through

March 7, 1983

SPECIAL FEATURE/CHANGJIANG RIVER

Tourists enjoying the Chancjiang scenery,

Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong,Hebei and Beijing) is widened,a fourishiqg water network willappear in east China withShanghai as the hub.

In all these endeavours, riverharnessing and dredging willbe combined with buildingcanals. Navigation conditionson the Changjiang will be con-stantly improved to keep upwith economic development.The tributaries will be graduallyknitted into the navigation net-work and their traffic improved.This could start with tributariesin the lower reaches and be ac-complished in stages.

The building of canals on theJinsha River and other trib-utaries in the middle andupper reaches will extend theirnavigable distances for vesselsof 300, 500 and 1,000 tons andlink them with the Baoji-Cheng-

du, Chengdu-Kunming andChongqing-Guiyang Railwaysand highways. This also wiliallow them to serve the largecoal, phosphorus and iron andsteel industries along the rivers.

In the middle and lowerreaches, major efforts will bedevoted to dredging river bedsand shallows and linking theGrand Canal with the Haihe, theHuanghe, the Huaihe, theChangjiang and the QiantangRivers. This in turn will linkthe northern network, via theJiangxi-Guangdong and Hunan-Guangxi Canals, to the Zhujiang(Pearl) River.

Thus a nationwide waterwaysystem will take shape, realiz-ing an old dream-that shipscould sail from Beijing alonginland waterways all the waydown to the South ChinaSea. tr

27

CULTURE AND SCIENCE

LITERATU RE

Poet Xiao 9aru

rnourned

A memorial meeting for XiaoSan (Emi Siao), outstandingproletarian cultural fighter andwell-known poet, was held inBeijing on February 19.

Joining the Communist Partyof China in 1922, X,iao San wasone of the earliest members ofthe Party. He made significantcontributions to Chinese prole-tarian literature and art andpromoted friendship and cul-tural exchanges between theChinese and the world's peoples.

Xiao San began his literaryactivities in 1928 when he waslecturing at the University of theToilers of the East in Moscow.He attended the internationalrevolutionary writers' congressin Kharkov in 1930 as a per-manent representative of China'sLeft-wing writers and workedas editor-in-chief of the Chineeedition of the publication WorldRetsolutionary Literature. Withthe approval of the ChineseCommunist Party, he joined theCommunist Party of the SovietUnion and twice held the post ofParty committee member of theUnion of Soviet Writers. Duringhis stay in the Soviet Union,Xiao San introduced to theworld about China's Workersand Peasants Red 'Army, theagrarian revolution and China'srevolutionary leaders. Hispoems, essays, novels and re-portage were translated intoRussian, Bulgarian, English,German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Czech and other lan-guages.

Xiao San was head of theediting and translating depart-

28

Xiao San ai the Third Congress ofthe Chinese Wrlters' Association in

November 1979.

ment in Lu Xun Academy ofArts and held other leading postsin literary and art circles afterhe returned to China in 1939.He edited Dazhong Wengi (Pop-ular Literature), China Guiile,Neto Poems and others. Afterliberation, he was a committeemember of the China Federa-tion of Literary and Art Circles,member of the Secretariat ofChinese Writers' Associationand vice-president of China PenCentre.

Xiao San was a schoolmateof the late Mao Zedong in pri-mary school and in a teacherstraining school in Hunan Prov-ince's Xiangxiang County andthey look part in revolutionaryactivities together.

His book Comraile Mao Ze-dong's Youth is well-knownamong Ch,inese readers and hasalso enjoyed an internationalaudience. Poems by Reoolu-tionary Martyrs and its sequeledited by Xiao San have servedas valuable teaching materialabout revolutionary traditions,ideals and values to the Chinesepeople.

Xiao San maintained thatpoetry have a national charac-teristic. Poets should keep thepeople in mind and their liter-ary creations must be under-standable and easily remember-ed. Collections of . his poemsinclude Song of Peace, SelecteilPoems by Xiao Sor, and Fu Li Ji(a collection of Xiao San's worksin his later years).

Xiao San was one of the prin-cipal translators for the Chineseversion of The ilnternationale.He also translated many famousplays and Lenin on Culture and.

Art.

As an international culturalactivist and a fighter for worldpeace, Xiao San held theseposts: Director of the Bureaufor Cultural Relations WithForeign Countries under theChinese Ministry of Culture,permanent 'council member ofthe Chinese People's Associa-tion for Cultural Relations WithForeign Countries, member ofthe Chinese People's Committeefor World Peace, deputy secre-tary-general of the Sino-SovietFriendship Asiociation, and per-manent council member of theWorld Peace Council as well as

Chinese member of its secre-tariat.

ART

Hall dedicated toan artist

The opening ceremony for a

new memorial hall devoted toXu Belhong (Peon Ju) was heldJanuary 31 in Beijing.

China's outstanding modernartist and professor of fine arts,

(Continued on p.30.)

Beijing Reoieta, No. 10

Brighter is fiometmoon

Dream Journeys to China

<6.9y>by Stephen S.N. LiuPublished by the Neus World

PressDistributed bg China Publica-

tions Centre (Guozi Shuilian)Price: paper back 'RMB 1.60

yuan, hard cooer RMB 2.70

auon

Dream Journeys to China, abilingual English-Chinese an-thology of passionate poems byStephen Shu-ning Liu (a poet ofChinese descent now residing inthe United States) aroused greatsympathy in me and set offmany reveries. I still rememberan English poem I recited in mychildhood which went like this:

When I utas a little lad"

With folly on my lips,Fain utas I for journegingAll the seos in ships.But noto tzcross the southern

sroell,

Etsery d,aton I hear

The little streams of Dunarunning clear.

Stephen S.N. Liu shared thisfeeling, as he says in the pre-face of the anthology, "Some-time in 1948, upon my gradua-tion from Nanking University, Ireread Pecheurs D'Island,e, aFrench novel translated intoChinese by Professor Li Liewen.I suddenly heard the irresistiblecalling of the sea.. . ."

"The Chinese vers€ says," hecontinues, "'the Hu horses leanupon the north wind, and theYue birds nest in the southernwoods.' Transplanted into thisNorth American desert, I am,metaphorically, one of the tan-

March 7, 1983

gerine trees in my father'sorchard. Unaccustomed to thealien water and soil, it bearsonly bitter fruits, my ruggdverses. My nostalgic reveries of'home, however, came true inthe summer of 1975."

The anthology was publishedby the New World Press (Bei-jing) after the poet revisited hismotherland in 1980 to realizehis "dr6am journeys to China."

Liu was born by the scenicChangjiang (Yangtze) River andnurtured by the ancient andsplendid Chinese culture. Thefeelings of a lost son are re-vealed in his poems.

When he picked up a pebbleat a beach on the TennesseeRiver, it reminded him of a

"star's egg" he had picked upin his hometown when he'wasa small child. Memories of thepast welled up in his mind:

, "lt's a pear!" I crieil insurprise.

"No, no," Mother said.

"It's a star's egg, A littlestar JeLl off her roost nearHeansen's Palace and laideggs on our rioerbanks"

The blue sparks amused rneon that night of June,

TDarrn, utinilg, as rnq eAesuanilereil the banks oJthe Milky Way.

When he flew over the RockyMountains, he saw the ColoradoRiver which reminded him ofthe winter Yangtze:

The Colorailo Ritser flashesfor a moment. Gone.

You oani,sh into the cur-tained Rockies-

Only your Yangtze Ritserthrobs, chills,

Crauling ooer rny chest,like a ileothless python.

The famous gambling city ofLas Vegas with its debauchednight life increased the poet'slonging for the "furry gorges"of home.

A night in Las Vegas,jazz-mad,

The smoke-riding uind suf-Jers insomnia,

Fanning rtuy satnpan, Iknou not horo,

. Through the fumy gorgeson Yangtze.

An ancient Chinese versegoes, "Dew begins to turn whitetonight, brighter is home'smoon." Is the poet's nostalgiasimply common homesickness?I think not.

Liu grew up in the war-ridden1930s-40s. He joined an exPedi-tionary army during the War ofResistance Against Japan. Afterthe war, he attended NankingUniversity and later went toTaiwan. He eventually left Tai-wan for the United States,where he has settled.

During the war, whether as achallenge to fate or as an ar-rangement of fate, it was com-mon for'the distressed and per-plexed young people of Liu'sgeneration to seek a way out.Many sailed away with the samemixed feelings the poet ex-presses in the Night on theSeo:

BOOKS

29

Ah the steam uhistles thatsadd"en the trauellers!

I go tonight for a ooyage,A long DoAage, alone.

With such contradictoryfeelings, the poet trayelled along distance and worked as anewspaper boy, dish washer,driver and janitor. Decades ofunsettled life only increased hisnostalgia for home.

It is worth noting that, today,after he has gained a secure lifeas a college professor and wonthe 1981-82 Creative WritingFellowship Grant from the Na-tional Endowment for the Arts,his heart is even closer to hismotherland. In the anthology'spreface he praises New China'srevolution and construction :

"Without New China therewill be no Great Bridge onthe Yangtze, no Chinese-madebattleships in Huangpu Harbor,no electricity on remote farms,no personal dignities for thepeasants; and certainly therewould be no nuclear weaponsfor China to defend againstforeign encroachment. Aboveall, the revolution has broughtChina a reputable seat in theUnited Nations."

He pours , out his happyfeelings for the tremendouschanges of the motherland inOd.e to Chongqing:

The Jialing Riuer oncemirrored,

Your scarred face,AniI after baptism of the

Great Fires,You soared. high like a

phoenir.

Years ago, on a tour to theUnited States I met some over-seas Chinese and found thatthere were really very few ofmy generation who were happyabroad and did not miss home.Many eould not help sheddingtears when they heard accentsof their native places or met ano]d friend from New China.

Liu voices their feelings in hispoem to his hometown, Fuling:

Sag my heart is an ironstick if I had not lookedback ushile the monstrousshiyt camieil me off theharbour of Hong Kong,port of nation'sshame;

Call me a Philistine if I hadnot recalled,,

On my Apollo's journey to

the dusty craters, talesfrom gour Autumn MoonGate.

And rohen mg metropolitandays spread out intosmog,

Into gluey heat, into car-bonate and pesticides,

Call me a blockhead,lf mg memories oJ you did"

not spin about my bed

Despise me, ah Fuling, uhenin neon glitter,

Dousn some seaport, haunt-ed by painted roomen,

lf I had not returned toAour maidens in Lo'sGarden.

The 56 poems in this anthol-ogy were written in Englishand most have been publishedin US newspapers or periodi-cals. The writer himself latertranslated them into Chinese.Translated poems tend to losetheir original flavour. But sincethis is a "dream journey toChina," some metaphors soundmore natural when they reap-pear in Chinese. This may beanother special feature of thisanthology of poems.

- Shu Xun

(Continued from p. 28)

Xu Beihong is best known forhis paintings of figures andhorses.

Xu inherited his talent frgmhis father and grandfather whowere self-taught painters. Xuknew hardships while learningto paint, yet his talent, dili-gence and honesty won himopportunities. After going toBeijing in 191? he became rec-ognized in art circles. Twoyears later, that is, in 1919, hewent to Paris on a governmentscholarship. He returned toChina in 1927 and devoted him-

30

self to artistic creation andeducation.

He showed great sympathyand concern for young artlovers. Many a brilliant contem-porary artists received help andencouragement from him. Evenas President of the Central In-stitute of Fine Arts and chair-man of the national union ofChinese artists, from liberationto his death in 1953, the firstthing he did each day was an-swering letters, many fromyouths.

Xu's traditional paintings, oilpaintings and sketches are alloutstanding. His unique works

carried forward the realistictradition of Chinese paintingswhile absorbing artistic tech-niques and realistic creativemethods from classical Westernart. In art education, Xu em-phasized basic skills, advocatedlearning from one's teacherswhile avoiding formalism.

The new hall, a two-storeybuilding, is located on a streetnorth of Xinjiekou and hasseven exhibition halls; 2,700square metres. It houses 155 ofXu Beihong's masterpieces, onlya fraction of his more than 1,000

creations. His other workswill be exhibited later.

Beijing Retsieu, No. I0

Xu Beihong's Paintings

Portrait of Tagore.

Bamboo.

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Galloping Horses,

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