Vol. 28, No. 47

fi "November 25, 1985

A CHINESE WEEKLY OF

NEWS AND VIEWS

Z h a o i n L A m e r i c a : S e e i n g I s B e l i e v i n g

_ E u r e k a : S h i f t s i n W e s t e r n A l l i a n c e

Qu Yongshou-An Outstanding

Rice Farmer Q u Y o n g s h o u , a m o d e l

f a r m e r I n H u n a n P r o v i n c e , h a s u s e d a s c i e n t i f i c m e t h o d o f f a r m i n g t h a t i n v o l v e s c l o s e p l a n t i n g a n d e f f e c t i v e f i e l d m a n a g e m e n t f o r m a n y -y e a r s . A s a r e s u l t , Q u h a s r e a p e d s e v e r a l b u m p e r h a r v e s t s a n d i n J u n e 1 9 8 5 w a s r e c o g n i z e d a s a n " O u t s t a n d i n g R i c e F a r m e r " b y t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l R i c e R e s e a r c h I n s t i t u t e o f t h e P h i l i p p i n e s .

Q u Y o n g s h o u a n d o t h e r s i n s p e c t i n g r i c e s e e d l i n g s .

Q u r e c e i v e s t h e a w a r d i n t h e P h i l i p p i n e s .

Vol. 28, No. 47 November 25, 1985

CONTENTS

NOTES FROM THE EDITORS 4

More on Socialist Ethics and Cul­ture

LETTERS 5

EVENTS & TRENDS 6-10

Zhao's L. America Trip; Seeing Is Believing

Beijing Hosts ASPAT 1985 Heading South to Explore Antarc­

tica Beijing Residents Seek House­

maids TV to Show Serial on Liu Shaoql

INTERNATIONAL 11-14 GCC: Summit Signals Subtle

Policy Change Portugal: Social-Democrats Walk

a Tiahtrope US-USSR: Summit Rivets World

Attention Guatemala: Guarding the Dem­

ocratic Process Albania: Leaving at Least a

Window Ajar

Eureka Signals Shift in Western Alliance 15

Zhao Ziyanq, the First Chinese Pre­mier to Visit Lolin America (Pictorial) 18-19

School for Parents Tries to Curb Crime 20

Two Generations Pioneer the Wild­erness 22

Xingcheng: A Potential Summer Re­sort 25

FROM THE CHINESE PRESS 27-28

BUSINESS & TRADE 29-30

CULTURE & SCIENCE 31-32 SPORTS 33

COVER: General Secretary Hu Yaobang visits the form in Jiangxi.

Photo by Guo Yugun

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK Eureka Signals Shift in Western Alliance

Eureka is~not only a European counterpart to the US Strategic Defence Initiative, but is also an important facet of continued West European unity and development. Though somewhat amorphous, the fledgling plan has increasingly com­manded international attention (p. 15).

Zhao Winds Up Latin America Trip Premier Zhao Ziyang's recent Latin America tour, which

one Western newspaper called a "tr ip that won over friends," has consolidated the common political ground shared by China and that part of the world and paved the way for bigger economic co-operation between them (p. 6).

ASPAT 1985 Opens in Beijing The Fourth Asia-Pacific International Trade Fair (ASPAT

'85), which opened in Beijing on November 15, has turned out to be a microcosm of the economic progress and potential of the Pacific countries. It also has provided the chance for all participants to share their experiences (p. 7).

Two Generations Pioneer the Wilderness This article by our correspondent describes how, through

the hard work of youths who came from all over the country 30 years ago, a former wasteland located near Poyang Lake has grown into an affluent farming community called "Gong-qing City." Hu Yaobang visited the community twice, first in the capacity of the secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Youth League, later as the Party General Secretary (p. 22).

More on Socialist Ethics and Culture While good results have been achieved by promoting

socialist ethics in recent years, there also exist some unhealthy tendencies that come in the wake of opening up to the outside world. To overcome these negative factors, the Party has once again emphasized the importance of socialist ethics. But this does not mean that China will close its door again. Rather, combating decadent ideology while opening to the outside world remains China's long-term policy (p. 4).

' Published every Aitondoy by ! BEIJING REVIEW

24 Baiwanzhuang Rood, Beijing The People's Republic of China

Obtributed by C h i n a I n t e m c r t i e n a l B v a k T r a d i n g Car|»oratlan (GUOJI SHUOIAN), P.O. Box 399, Beijing, China

SulMcriptlen pricei (1 year)t AMtraHo A.$ 22.N New i M l a n d . . . NZ.$30.W Canada Can. $2t.M

USA US$22JMI OK £12.80

N O T E S F R O M T H E E D I T O R S

M o r e o n S o c i a l i s t E t h i c s a n d C u l t u r e

b y A N Z H i G U O P o l i t i c a l E d i t o r

M a n y f o r e i g n e r s a r e c o n c e r n e d a b o u t w h a t e f f e c t s C h i n a ' s s t r e s s o n s o c i a l i s t e t h i c s a n d c u l t u r e w i l l h a v e o n i t s p o l i c y o f o p e n i n g t o t h e o u t s i d e w o r l d . B e f o r e a n s w e r ­i n g , l e t i t b e s a i d t h a t w e t h i n k s t r e s s i n g s o c i a l i s t e t h i c s w i l l h a v e o n l y g o o d e f f e c t s o n t h e o p e n p o l i c y .

W h i l e c a r r y i n g o u t s o c i a l i s t e c o ­n o m i c c o n s t r u c t i o n , C h i n a a l s o e m ­p h a s i z e s e d u c a t i o n , s c i e n c e , c u l ­t u r e , r e v o l u t i o n a r y i d e a l , m o r a l s , c o l l e c t i v i s m , s e r v i n g t h e p e o p l e a n d g o o d r e l a t i o n s h i p s b e t w e e n i n ­d i v i d u a l s . T h e C h i n e s e p e o p l e c a l l t h e f o r m e r m a t e r i a l c i v i l i z a t i o n a n d t h e l a t t e r s o c i a l i s t e t h i c s a n d c u l t u r e .

I n r e c e n t y e a r s , C h i n a h a s p r o ­m o t e d t h e p r o g r a m m e o f " F i v e S t r e s s e s a n d F o u r P o i n t s o f B e a u t y " a m o n g i t s p e o p l e . ( T h e f i v e a r e a s t o b e s t r e s s e d a r e ; . d e c o r u m , m a n n e r s , h y g i e n e , d i s c i p l i n e a n d m o r a l s ; T h e f o u r p o i n t s f o r b e a u -t i f i c a t i o n a r e : t h e m i n d , l a n g u a g e , b e h a v i o u r a n d e n v i r o n m e n t ) . T h e C h i n e s e g o v e r n m e n t h a s se t t h e m o n t h o f M a r c h e v e r y y e a r a s " S o ­c i a l i s t E t h i c s a n d C o u r t e s y M o n t h . " A t t h i s t i m e i d e o l o g i c a l a n d p o l i t ­i c a l w o r k is s t r e n g t h e n e d a m o n g s t a f f m e m b e r s , w o r k e r s , p e a s a n t s a n d s t u d e n t s , w h o a r e a l l u r g e d t o h a v e r e v o l u t i o n a r y i d e a l s , s o u n d m o r a l s , g o o d e d u c a t i o n a n d a s t r o n g s ense o f d i s c i p l i n e . A l l t h e s e a r e c o n n e c t e d w i t h s o c i a l i s t e t h i c s a n d c u l t u r e .

B e c a u s e o f e f f i c i e n t w o r k b e i n g d o n e i n t h i s f i e l d , m a n y m o d e l i n ­d i v i d u a l s a n d u n i t s h a v e e m e r g e d .

H o w e v e r , v i e w e d f r o m t h e c o u n t r y as a w h o l e , t h e e f f e c t d o e s n o t l i v e u p t o w h a t i s d e s i r e d . F o r e x a m ­p l e , t h e u n h e a l t h y t e n d e n c y t o " p u t m o n e y a b o v e a l l e l s e , " w h i c h g o e s a g a i n s t s o c i a l i s t e t h i c s , h a s s o m e ­w h a t s p r e a d a m o n g c e r t a i n p e o p l e . I n p u r s u i t o f p e r s o n a l i n t e r e s t , s o m e p e o p l e r a i s e p r i c e s w i t h o u t a u t h o r i z a t i o n , s e l l f a k e d g o o d s , b r e a k l a w s a n d d i s c i p l i n e , a c c e p t b r i b e s , e m b e z z l e f u n d s a n d s e l l p o r n o g r a p h i c m a t e r i a l s . I n v i e w o f t h i s s i t u a t i o n , a t i t s r e c e n t n a ­t i o n a l c o n f e r e n c e t h e C o m m u n i s t P a r t y o f C h i n a o n c e a g a i n u n d e r ­l i n e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f b u i l d i n g so ­c i a l i s t e t h i c s a n d c u l t u r e .

I t s h o u l d b e n o t e d t h a t t h e o p e n p o l i c y h a s e x e r t e d a p o s i t i v e i n ­f l u e n c e o n C h i n e s e p e o p l e . C l o s e r t i e s w i t h t h e o u t s i d e w o r l d b r o a d e n p e o p l e ' s m i n d s , a n d t h i s i s c o n d u ­c i v e t o o v e r c o m i n g f e u d a l i d e a s a n d e l i m i n a t i n g b a c k w a r d n e s s .

O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , h o w e v e r , i t i s t r u e t h a t w i t h t h e a d o p t i o n o f t h e o p e n p o l i c y , s o m e d e c a d e n t i d e a s a n d u n d e s i r a b l e t h i n g s h a v e a l s o b e e n b r o u g h t i n .

C h i n a w i l l n e v e r a g a i n c l o s e i t s d o o r s i m p l y b e c a u s e o f n e g a t i v e o u t s i d e i n f l u e n c e . E c o n o m i c c o n ­s t r u c t i o n , t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f s o ­c i a l i s t e t h i c s a n d c u l t u r e a n d t h e o p e n p o l i c y a r e i n d i s p e n s a b l e t o s o c i a l i s t m o d e r n i z a t i o n . S o c i a l i s m s h o u l d e l i m i n a t e p o v e r t y . T o s p e e d u p s o c i a l i s t e c o n o m i c d e v e l ­o p m e n t , w e m u s t d r a w f o r e i g n f u n d s a n d i n t r o d u c e a d v a n c e d s c i e n c e s a n d t e c h n o l o g i e s f r o m a b r o a d . T o d o s o r e q u i r e s a n o p e n p o l i c y . B u t m a t e r i a l w e a l t h a l o n e d o e s n ' t m e a n s o c i a l i s m . S o ­c i a l i s m m u s t w i p e o u t a l l s o c i a l

e v i l s a n d c o r r u p t p h e n o m e n a r o o t ­e d i n c a p i t a l i s m a n d o t h e r e x p l o i ­t a t i v e s y s t e m s . A t t h e s a m e t i m e , s o c i a l i s m m u s t e s t a b l i s h n e w i d e o l o g i e s , m o r a l s a n d e t h i c s t o m a t c h t h e s y s t e m o f p u b l i c o w n e r ­s h i p , w h i c h r e f l e c t a h i g h l e v e l o f e t h i c s a n d c u l t u r e . I t c a n b e s a i d t h a t m a t e r i a l w e a l t h i s t h e f o u n d a ­t i o n f o r m o d e r n i z a t i o n , w h i l e so ­c i a l i s t e t h i c s a n d c u l t u r e g u a r a n t e e t h e s o c i a l i s t d i r e c t i o n a n d t h e o p e n p o l i c y p r o v i d e s a s h o r t c u t t o m o d e r n i z a t i o n . T h e r e f o r e , c o m b a t ­i n g d e c a d e n t i d e o l o g y w h i l e o p e n ­i n g t o t h e o u t s i d e w o r l d i s a l o n g -t e r m C h i n e s e p o l i c y .

C o r r e c t i n g t h e P a r t y ' s s t y l e o f w o r k i s t h e k e y l i n k t o p r o r n o t i n g s o c i a l i s t e t h i c s a n d c u l t u r e . R e ­c e n t l y , t h e P a r t y ' s w o r k s t y l e h a s i m p r o v e d t o s o m e d e g r e e . F o r e x ­a m p l e , t h e p r a c t i c e o f s e e k i n g t r u t h f r o m f a c t s h a s b e e n c a r r i e d f o r w a r d , c o r r e c t p o l i c i e s h a v e b e e n a d o p t e d a n d a d e m o c r a t i c s t y l e h a s b e e n p r o m o t e d . T h e r e a r e , h o w ­e v e r , s o m e d a r k s i d e s . S o m e P a r t y m e m b e r s a n d l e a d i n g c a d r e s p u r ­s u e p e r s o n a l i n t e r e s t b y a b u s i n g t h e i r p o w e r , a n d b u r e a u c r a c y a n d a n a r c h i s m s t i l l e x i s t . T h e o n g o i n g c a m p a i g n o f P a r t y c o n s o l i d a t i o n w i l l l e a d t o t h e f u n d a m e n t a l i m ­p r o v e m e n t o f t h e P a r t y ' s s t y l e o f w o r k w h i c h w i l l i n t u r n b r i n g a c h a n g e i n t h e s o c i a l m o r e s . I n t h e e c o n o m i c f i e l d p e o p l e a r e e n ­c o u r a g e d t o c u l t i v a t e g o o d p r o f e s ­s i o n a l m o r a l i t y a n d a b i d e b y l a w s a n d d i s c i p l i n e a n d t o r e s i s t a l l k i n d s o f d i s h o n e s t p r a c t i c e s . I n c u l t u r a l c i r c l e s b e t t e r w o r k s o f l i t e r a t u r e , a r t , m u s i c a n d d r a m a a r e b e i n g p r o d u c e d t o m e e t t h e p e o p l e ' s n e e d s , w h i l e b a d i n t e l l e c -

4 B e i j i n g Review, N o . 4 7

t u a l p r o d u c t s a r e o p p o s e d a n d r e s i s t e d .

N e g a t i v e p h e n o m e n a c o n f l i c t i n g w i t h s o c i a l i s t e t h i c s a n d c u l t u r e o b s t r u c t t h e p r o p e r i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f t h e o p e n p o l i c y . F o r e x a m p l e , t w o y e a r s a g o t h e g o v e r n m e n t d e c i d e d t o o p e n H a i n a n I s l a n d ( C h i n a ' s s e c o n d l a r g e s t i s l a n d a f t e r T a i w a n ) t o t h e o u t s i d e w o r l d i n o r d e r t o i m p o r t f o r e i g n f u n d s a n d a d v a n c e d t e c h n o l o g i e s a n d t o t a p l o c a l r e s o u r c e s a n d g r a d u a l l y e s t a b l i s h a r a t i o n a l e c o n o m i c s t r u c ­t u r e u n i q u e t o t h e i s l a n d . H a i n a n a u t h o r i t i e s , h o w e v e r , p r o c e e d i n g f r o m t h e i r l o c a l i n t e r e s t s , v i o l a t e d s t a t e r e g u l a t i o n s a n d r e s o l d a l a r g e n u m b e r o f i m p o r t e d a u t o m o b i l e s f o r a f a t p r o f i t i n o n l y a l i t t l e m o r e t h a n o n e y e a r . T h i s p r a c t i c e d i s ­r u p t e d t h e c o u n t r y ' s p l a n a n d d e l a y e d t h e i s l a n d ' s e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t . W h e n t h e c e n t r a l g o v e r n m e n t d i s c o v e r e d t h e w r o n g ­d o i n g , i t p r o m p t l y c o r r e c t e d t h e e r r o r a n d p u n i s h e d t h e l o c a l l e a d ­e r s i n v o l v e d . H a i n a n n o w i s h e a d ­e d i n t h e r i g h t d i r e c t i o n .

S o m e f o r e i g n b u s i n e s s p e o p l e h o p e C h i n a h a s a s o u n d e n v i r o n ­m e n t f o r i n v e s t m e n t a n d c o n s t r u c ­t i o n . W e t h i n k a g o o d e n v i r o n m e n t n o t o n l y i n c l u d e s m a t e r i a l c o n t e n t , s u c h as p r e f e r e n t i a l t r e a t m e n t a n d g o o d s e r v i c e f a c i l i t i e s , b u t s h o u l d a l s o i n c l u d e t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f a s o c i e t y ' s e t h i c s a n d c u l t u r e . S o ­c i a l i s t e t h i c s i m p l y n o t o n l y a r i c h a n d c o l o u r f u l c u l t u r a l l i f e , t h e y a l s o r e q u i r e g o o d s o c i a l o r d e r , h e a l t h y s o c i a l t e n d e n c i e s a n d h o n e s t p e o ­p l e . A n d n o d o u b t t h e y w i l l h e l p p r o m o t e t h e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f t h e c o u n t r y ' s o p e n p o l i c y .

Suggestions and Criticisms

Beijing Review s h o u l d n o t b e b o u n d w i t h t h i c k s t a p l e s . T h i n s t a p l e s w o u l d m a k e i t e a s i e r t o t e a r o u t p a g e s .

T h e q u a l i t y o f t h e m a g a z i n e ' s p r i n t i n g i s p r e t t y g o o d . S o m e o f t h e p h o t o g r a p h s , h o w e v e r , a r e t o o l i g h t , l a c k i n g c o n t r a s t b e t w e e n b l a c k a n d w h i t e .

I r e a d a l m o s t a l l a r t i c l e s i n y o u r m a g a z i n e , e s p e c i a l l y t h e o n e s a b o u t C h i n a . 1 t h i n k C h i n a i s a s u b j e c t y o u c o v e r b e t t e r t h a n o t h e r p u b l i ­c a t i o n s .

Robert Zwahllen N e u h a u s w e g , S w i t z e r l a n d

Beijing Review s h o u l d c u t d o w n o n i t s n u m b e r o f s p o r t s s t o r i e s . I f s o m e o n e w a n t s t o k n o w m o r e a b o u t C h i n a ' s s p o r t s , h e o r s h e s h o u l d s u b s c r i b e t o C h i n a ' s s p o r t s p u b l i c a t i o n s .

Y o u s h o u l d g i v e m o r e c o m p l e t e i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e b o o k s r e ­v i e w e d a n d a d v e r t i s e d i n Beijing Review. T h i n g s s u c h as l a n g u a g e s , c i r c u l a t i o n , c o s t , e t c . w o u l d b e h e l p f u l .

1 e n j o y e d y o u r " B u s i n e s s a n d T r a d e " c o l u m n . I t h i n k , h o w e v e r , t h a t t h e a r t i c l e s s h o u l d b e e x p l a i n ­e d i n g r e a t e r d e t a i l .

S o m e r e a d e r s w o u l d l i k e t o see m o r e c o l o u r p h o t o g r a p h s i n y o u r m a g a z i n e , b u t I d i s a g r e e . Beijing Review i s n o t f o r e n t e r t a i n m e n t , b u t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n . O f c o u r s e , t h e m a g a z i n e s h o u l d i n c l u d e s o m e p h o t o s , b u t y o u n e e d n ' t r u n t h e m o n e v e r y p a g e . M o r e o v e r , w i t h c o l o u r p h o t o s , t h e p r i c e o f y o u r m a g a z i n e w o u l d i n c r e a s e . \t t h a t y o u r e c o m m e n d China Pic­torial t o t h o s e p e o p l e w h o w a n t p h o t o g r a p h s . i t , t o o , i s a g o o d m a g a z i n e .

Peter Romen L o c h a u , A u s t r i a

LETTERS China and Pakistan

I t i s w i t h g r e a t i n t e r e s t t h a t I r e a d y o u r a r t i c l e " P a k i s t a n P r o t e s t ­i n g A f g h a n B o r d e r R a i d s . " I t i s c l e a r f r o m t h i s a r t i c l e t h a t Beijing Review a n d C h i n a s t a n d f o r h u m a n r i g h t s a n d t h e s t r e n g t h e n i n g o f f r i e n d s h i p a m o n g t h e p e o p l e s o f P a k i s t a n a n d C h i n a .

1 a l s o t h a n k y o u f o r t h e ass i s t ­a n c e t h a t y o u g r a n t t o t h e p r o g r e s ­s i v e , r e v o l u t i o n a r y A f g h a n p e o p l e i n t h e i r b a t t l e f o r t h e i r c o u n t r y .

C h i n a f i r m l y s t a n d s o n t h e s i d e o f a l l p e a c e - l o v i n g p e o p l e .

Haji Muhammad Saeed L a h o r e , P a k i s t a n

Education Reforms Beijing Review i s a n e x c e l l e n t

w e e k l y t o b e r e a d n o t o n l y f o r i n ­f o r m a t i o n b u t a l s o f o r p l e a s u r e . P e o p l e f r o m d i f f e r e n t w a l k s o f l i f e s a t i s f y t h e i r n e e d f o r i n f o r m a t i o n w i t h y o u r m a g a z i n e .

A s a s t u d e n t , I p a r t i c u l a r l y a p p r e c i a t e t h e a r t i c l e s o n C h i n a ' s e d u c a t i o n a l r e f o r m s t h a t y o u r m a g ­a z i n e p u b l i s h e s . T h e y h a v e g i v e n m e a n u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f e d u c a ­t i o n ' s i m p o r t a n c e i n d e v e l o p m e n t . " T e a c h i n g s h o u l d b e t h e m o s t r e s p e c t e d a n d a d m i r e d p r o f e s s i o n i n s o c i e t y , " s a i d C h e n Y u n , m e m ­b e r o f t h e S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e o f t h e C P C C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e P o l i t i ­c a l B u r e a u , w h e n h e r e c o m m e n d e d a n i n c r e a s e i n t e a c h e r s ' s a l a r i e s ( " S c h o o l T e a c h e r s D u e P a y R a i s e , " N o . 2 , 1 9 8 5 ) . T h a t s t a t e m e n t i l l u ­s t r a t e s C h i n a ' s f i r m d e c i s i o n t o p r o m o t e i t s e d u c a t i o n s y s t e m .

C o u l d y o u p u b l i s h a n a r t i c l e a b o u t h o w t h e B e i j i n g F o r e i g n L a n g u a g e s I n s t i t u t e w o r k s ? 1 w o u l d a l s o r e c o m m e n d t h a t Beijing Review c o n t a i n s a t e a r - o u t p a g e w i t h C h i n e s e l e s s o n s .

G. Eskola I b a r r a , E c u a d o r

November 25. 1985 5

EVENTS AND TRENDS

Zhao's L. America Trip: Seeing Is Believing After an action-packed tour of

parts of South America, a jubilant Premier Zhao Ziyang returned home November 15 feeling more confident than ever about the growing Sino-Latin American eco­nomic ties recently boosted by the new-found political affinity be­tween China and the four nations he visited (pictorial in centrefold shows the warm reception given to Zhao during the tour).

To sum up his trip, Zhao refer­red to the expression, "Seeing is believing." A good summary this is, for in 16 days, he discovered a land of unmatched charm, wealth and great promise.

Brazil, for example, ranks eighth in the West for its industrial out­put value, while Argentina, nurtur­ed by well-developed agriculture and animal husbandry ' pro­grammes, is known as the world's largest granary. Venezuela is among the few oil-rich countries of South America; and Colombia stands as the world's second largest coffee producer and exporter, not to men­tion its gold and silver resources.

"Latin America is indeed a great New Continent," Zhao stat­ed. "It is my deep belief that Latin America in the process of development is bound to contribute greatly to the progress of man­kind."

But what seemed to touch the Chinese premier most was the good-will the Latin Americans lavished on the Chinese. Wherever Zhao went, he was met by people who showed a candid admiration for China's ancient civilization and a keen interest in the Chinese rev­olution and modernization pro­gramme. "During my stay here I have had the feeling that I am

living among old friends and brothers," he said at a press con­ference in Caracas on November 12, the day he wrapped up his tour.

Zhao also found great similari­ties in South America with his own motherland. Brazil's Carajas re­minded him of his own country's thriving mining industry, and Ar­gentina's idyllic countryside invok­ed North China's vast pastures and bustling villages. But more than such landscape resemblances, both hosts and guests were taken with their common political ground.

At a banquet thrown by the Chi­nese premier in Buenos Aires on November 6, President Raul Al-fonsin said that despite the dis­tance and different social systems between Argentina and China, "we share many common views on ma­jor international issues. That makes it possible for us to search for new ways and means to develop economic co-operation."

Venezuelan President Jaime Lu-sinchi said that after reading Deng Xiaoping's recent interview with Time magazine, ' he discovered that the markets of China and cap­italist countries do not necessari­ly clash with each other. "This point has not been lost on you," Lusinchi said in the typically candid manner of Venezuelans, "so I hope it will not be lost on private businesses in Venezuela either."

Brazilian President Jose Sar-ney's comment was terse and to the point. He told Premier Zhao during his visit that Brazil and China, having so much in com­mon, "should become very good partners."

But it was the Chinese premier who summed it all up on his way

home. "Since there are no funda­mental contradictions of interest among us, China and the Latin American nations are friends who can trust each other and advance hand in hand in safeguarding world peace and building them­selves up , " he told the Chinese journalists who had accompanied him on his tour.

China's open policy, he added, applied to both developed and de­veloping countries. Accordingly, during his busy travel, he worked relentlessly to expand Sino-Latin American economic ties that date back to the mid-16th century. The result was the signing of a series of economic agreements between China and each of the four coun­tries the premier visited.

But despite such progress, the bilateral trade relations are still rather underdeveloped. While China and Latin America account for 30 percent of the world's pop­ulation and 20 percent of the world's land mass, trade between them makes up less than 1 per­cent of the world's total. Consi­dering the potential, the ex­pansion of economic co-opera­tion made during the Chinese pre­mier's Latin American visit was at best the first step towards nar­rowing that yawning gap.

The entire trip gave Premier Zhao the opportunity to reac-quaint Latin America with China's independent foreign policy. Unity and co-operation with the third world countries, said Zhao, con­stituted the cornerstone of such a policy. He expounded some of its major points: War and Peace. China maintains that while there is still the danger

6 Beijing Review, No. 47

of a third world war, the forces blocking such a war are growing rapidly. As long as the peace-loving nations and their people unite and work in concerted effort, world peace will prevail. Debt Problem. China syinpathizes with debtor nations in Latin Amer­ica and appreciates the demands and solutions put forward by the 11 major debtor nations. Only with renewed economic growth can these nations' repayment capability be fortified. Central America Crisis. The cri­sis in Central America stems from profound internal causes, but they also have much to do with super­power rivalry in that part of the world. China supports the efforts made by the Contadora and Lima Groups and Latin American coun­tries that work towards peaceful settlement of the Central America crisis, and it is opposed to any in­terference in this matter by the superpowers or any other out­siders. Malvinas Islands. China supports Argentina's claim of sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, and hopes that Argentina and Britain will, through peaceful negotiations, reach a reasonable settlement in accordance with related United Nations resolutions.

Throughout his 16-day tour, Zhao drew world attention. The West German paper Die Welt, for example, described the tour as "a trip that won over friends," ad­ding that it served to enhance Chi­na's prestige and influence in the international arena.

Mexico's paper Uno Mas Uno predicted in a commentary that China's enhanced relations with South America would become a major factor in consolidating world co-operation and peace.

The Brazilian paper Correio Braziliense observed the trip from a more pragmatic angle. "Since China's political views.

much in common with those of the third world, enable her to consider prices on a more just and equal footing," an article read, "there is no need to worry about profi­teering or exploitation."

Beijing Hosts ASPAT 1985 , It seemed winter had suddenly turned to spring, what with all the red balloons floating amid a blue sky outside Beijing's newly opened International Exhibition Centre on November 15. Tens of thousands of spectators lined up outside the hall, anxious to attend the open­ing ceremonies of the Fourth Asia-Pacific International Trade Fair (ASPAT'85), a celebration of com­modities from around the world.

Co-sponsored by the China Council for the Promotion of Inter­national Trade and the United Nations Economic and Social Com­mission for Asia and the Pacific, the 15-day trade fair includes participants from Australia, Japan, India, Thailand, the Soviet Union and the United States — 25 coun­tries and territories altogether.

Inside the exhibition hall, pa­vilions displayed a collection of eclectic products imbued with their nation's characteristics.

Director of the Chinese pavilion at the fair, Lu Fengchun, said the exhibition was aimed at increasing mutual understanding between China and other Asia-Pacific coun­tries and regions, and at promoting trade, scientific and technological co-operation between them.

When one enters the Japanese pavilion, he is greeted by a band of five robots that perform a melody of tunes. In the Soviet pavilion, a surgical laser device, designed by the Science Academy of the Soviet Union, can perform surgical opera­tions without anaesthetics or caus­ing haemorrhage. The Bangladesh pavilion, though not as grand as the superpowers' , is filled with sumptuous carpets and other colourful goods.

Nearly every pavilion used video­tape recorders and photo dis­plays to explain their products and to introduce to the viewers their history and customs. The United Nations also occupies a room to introduce its function and history.

The Chinese pavilion is the

ASPAT "85: A scene from »he Chinese pavilion.

November 25, 1985 7

N e w s i n B r i e f

C h i n a w i l l t u r n o u t r i i o r e t h a n 5 0 m i l l i o n b i c y c l e s t h i s y e a r , a c c o u n t i n g f o r o n e - t h i r d o f t h e w o r l d ' s t o t a l . T h e r e a r e a b o u t 2 0 0 m i l l i o n b i k e s i n C h i n a t o d a y , r a n k i n g i t f i r s t i n t h e w o r l d .

C h i n a ' s f i r s t i n t e r n a t i o n a l o p h t h a l m o l o g i c a l m e e t i n g o p e n e d i n G u a n g z h o u o n N o v e m b e r 1 2 . , M o r e t h a n b O O e y e s p e c i a l i s t s f r o m h o m e a n d a b r o a d p a r t i c i p a t ­e d i n t h e m e e t i n g t h a t l a s t e d t h r e e d a y s . D u r i n g t h e m e e t ­i n g a n o p h t h a l m o l o g i c a l f o u n d a t i o n w a s l a i d , i n d e d ­i c a t i o n t o C h e n Y a o z h e n , a w o r l d - f a m o u s o p h t h a l ­m o l o g i s t . A n e x h i b i t i o n f o r s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h a n d o p h t h a l m o l o g i i C a i i f i s t r u i r i e n t s w a s a l s o o n d i s p l a y !

T h e C h i n a W e l f a r e F u n d f o r t h e H a n d i c a p p e d r e c e n t l y o p e n e d a c o m p u t e r i n s t i t u t e f o r t h e h a n d i c a p p e d , t h e f i r s t o f i t s k i n d i n C h i n a . T h e i n ­s t i t u t e a l r e a d y h a s e n r o l l e d 6 5 s t u d e n t s w h o w i l l a t t e n d f o u r c l a s s e s . T h e y w i l l r e ­c e i v e f r e e t u i t i o n f o r c o u r s e s i n c o m p u t e r l a n g u a g e , h a r d w a r e a n d p r i n c i p l e s , h i g h e r m a t h e m a t i c s a n d p r o b a b i l i t y

s t a t i s t i c s .

* * *

I n 1 9 8 5 C h i n a w i l l t u r n o u t 1 3 . 6 m i l l i o n T V s e t s , 5 . 5 t i m e s t h e 1 9 8 0 f i g u r e , a n d 3 2 , 0 0 0 m i n i c o m p u t e r s , a w h o p p i n g 5 4 6 - f o l d i n c r e a s e , a c c o r d i n g t o L i u J i a n f e n g . v i c e - m i n i s t e r o f e l e c t r o n i c s i n d u s t r y .

l a r g e s t . D e s i g n e d i n t r a d i t i o n a l C h i n e s e s t y l e , i t i s d i v i d e d i n t o s e v e r a l e x h i b i t i o n r o o m s , e n t e r e d t h r o u g h m o o n - s h a p e d d o o r s w i t h o r n a m e n t a l e n g r a v i n g s .

I t s e x h i b i t s i n c l u d e m a c h i n e r y , e l e c t r o n i c s , t e x t i l e s a n d l i g h t i n ­d u s t r i a l p r o d u c t s , a s w e l l a s f o o d s t u f f s a n d p r o d u c t s o f a r t s a n d c r a f t s . M a n y p r o d u c t s a r e o n s h o w f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e , s u c h a s a n o i l -p u m p i n g m a c h i n e , a d i g i t a l - c o n ­t r o l l e d l a t h e , a n o f f s e t p r i n t i n g m a c h i n e , a n d o s c i l l a t i n g m a c h i n e s f o r s e l e c t i n g o r e a n d g e n e r a t o r s m a n u f a c t u r e d b y f a c t o r i e s u n d e r t h e M i n i s t r y o f M a c h i n e - B u i l d i n g I n d u s t r y .

P r e m i e r Z h a o Z i y a n g , w h o j u s t w o u n d u p h i s 1 6 - d a y v i s i t t o L a t i n A m e r i c a , s e n t a c o n g r a t u l a t o r y m e s s a g e t o t h e t r a d e f a i r o f f i c i a l s . H e s a i d t h e f a i r , w h i c h h a s d r a w n i n t e r e s t f r o m s o m a n y c o u n t r i e s a n d t e r r i t o r i e s , w o u l d p r o m o t e t r a d e a n d w a s b o u n d t o g i v e a p o w e r f u l b o o s t t o w o r l d f r i e n d s h i p a n d c o - o p e r a t i o n .

Heading South to Explore Antarctica

A s B e i j i n g r e s i d e n t s w e r e s t o c k ­i n g u p o n h o n e y c o m b b r i q u e t s a n d c a b b a g e f o r a l o n g c o l d w i n t e r , 3 9 C h i n e s e s c i e n t i s t s a n d e x p l o r e r s h e a d e d s o u t h f o r t h e i r s u m m e r s u r v e y o f A n t a r c t i c a .

C h i n a ' s s e c o n d e x p e d i t i o n t e a m l e f t i n t h r e e g r o u p s o n N o v e m b e r 1 3 , 1 4 , a n d 2 0 f o r A n t a r c t i c a t o c o n d u c t a t h r e e - m o n t h s u r v e y i n g e o l o g y , g e o p h y s i c s , m a r i n e b i ­o l o g y , g l a c i a t i o n a n d m e t e o r o l o g y , a n d t o b u i l d s o m e n e w o b s e r v a ­t i o n s t a t i o n s .

C h i n a ' s f i r s t e x p e d i t i o n t e a m , w h i c h s t a y e d i n A n t a r c t i c a f r o m N o v e m b e r 1 9 8 4 t o A p r i l 1 9 8 5 , b u i l t i t s f i r s t r e s e a r c h s t a t i o n t a g g e d t h e " G r e a t W a l l . " T h e r e a r e s t i l l e i g h t C h i n e s e s c i e n t i s t s a t

t h e s t a t i o n o n G e o r g e I s l a n d c o n ­d u c t i n g w i n t e r s u r v e y s .

E h D o n g c h e n , a 4 6 - y e a r - o l d u n i ­v e r s i t y l e c t u r e r f r o m W u h a n , H u -b e i P r o v i n c e , a n d d e p u t y h e a d o f t h e t e a m , i s o n e o f t h e s e v e n s c i e n t ­i s t s m a k i n g t h e i r s e c o n d v i s i t t o t h e s t a t i o n . H i s f i r s t s t a y o n t h e s o u t h e r n c o n t i n e n t g a i n e d h i m t h e n i c k n a m e " S a n t a C l a u s " b e c a u s e t h e h a r d l i f e a n d s u b - z e r o w e a t h e r t u r n e d h i s e y e b r o w s a n d h a i r c o m ­p l e t e l y w h i t e i n a m e r e m o n t h ' s t i m e . H a r d l y h a d h i s h a i r t u r n e d b l a c k a g a i n w h e n h e w a s o n h i s w a y b a c k f o r a s e c o n d t o u r .

" W e r e p r e s e n t o u r c o u n t r y , " E h s a i d . " N o m a t t e r w h a t d i f f i c u l t i e s m a y o c c u r , w e m u s t f u l f i l o u r g o a l s a t a l l c o s t s . A s f o r m e , I ' m r e a d y t o b e c o m e ' S a n t a C l a u s ' o n c e a g a i n . "

W a n g X i a n l a n a n d X i e Y o u y u , b o t h 4 8 , w i l l b e c o m e t h e f i r s t C h i n e s e w o m e n s c i e n t i s t s t o s e t f o o t i n A n t a r c t i c a . I t s o h a p p e n e d t h a t X i e ' s h u s b a n d h a d j u s t r e t u r n e d f r o m a N o r t h P o l e s u r v e y o n l y a f e w m o n t h s e a r l i e r . W h e n a s k e d w h e t h e r h e w a s w i l l i n g t o l e t h e r g o , X i e r e p l i e d , " I f h e i s a l l o w e d t o g o t o t h e N o r t h P o l e , w h y s h o u l d n ' t I b e a l l o w e d t o t a k e p l e a s u r e i n A n t a r c t i c a ? "

T h e n e w t e a m i n c l u d e s t w o r e ­p o r t e r s f r o m H o n g k o n g , a n e w m o v e i n s c i e n t i f i c s t u d y s i n c e t h e s i g n i n g o f t h e S i n o - B r i t i s h D e c l a r a ­t i o n o n H o n g k o n g l a s t y e a r .

R u a n J i h o n g , a 2 7 - y e a r - o l d c o r ­r e s p o n d e n t f r o m t h e H o n g k o n g -b a s e d Wen Wei Po, s a i d s i n c e h e s a w t h e e x h i b i t i o n o n C h i n a ' s f i r s t e x p l o r a t i o n o f A n t a r c t i c a i n H o n g k o n g , h e h a d b e e i r d r e a m i n g o f t r a v e l l i n g t o t h e s o u t h e r n c o n ­t i n e n t .

" 1 h e a r d t h e r e p o r t e r s w h o w e n t w i t h t h e f i r s t e x p l o r a t i o n t e a m a l s o t o o k p a r t i n t h e b u i l d i n g o f t h e s t a t i o n , " h e s a i d . " I ' m d e t e r m i n e d t o f u l f i l w h a t e v e r t a s k s o u r t e a m l e a d e r w i l l g i v e m e . I w i l l r e p o r t

8 Beijing Review, No. 47

Tianjin Completes China's Largest Lift Bridge The Haimen Bridge was completed and opened to traffic near Tianjin

Harbour on November 13. It is 903.74 metres long and 14 metres wide, and flanked with 2-metre-wide sidewalks. Its centrepiece is Chine's largest verticol lift bridge with a span of 64 metres and a maximum height of 24 metres. It is large enough to accommodate ships at and under the 5,000-ton class. '

o n t h e e n v i r o n m e n t o f A n t a r c ­t i c a , a s w e l l a s t h e h a r d s h i p s a n d d e e d s o f e v e r y m e m b e r . "

G a o Q i n q u a n , h e a d o f t h e t e a m a n d o n h i s t h i r d v i s i t t o A n t a r c t i c a , s a i d t h e g o a l o f t h i s e x p l o r a t o r y t r i p w a s t o c o n d u c t v a r i e d s c i e n t i f ­i c s u r v e y s u s i n g t h e " G r e a t W a l l " s t a t i o n a s t h e i r b a s e . " O u r a i m i s t o b u i l d o n t h e p r o g r e s s o f o u r p r e -d e s s e s s o r s i n s t e a d o f r e p e a t i n g r e ­s e a r c h a t l o w l e v e l s . "

T h r e e C h i n e s e a s t r o n o m e r s h a v e j o i n e d t h e e x p e d i t i o n t o m a k e o b ­s e r v a t i o n o f H a l l e y ' s C o m e t f r o m A n t a r c t i c a , G a o s a i d .

I n s t i t u t i o n s a n d f a c t o r i e s t h r o u g h o u t C h i n a g a v e s t r o n g s u p ­p o r t t o t h e e x p e d i t i o n , s o t h a t t h e t e a m w a s m u c h b e t t e r p r e p a r e d t h a n t h e f i r s t o n e . T h e t e a m t o o k o f f w i t h s t a t e - o f - t h e - a r t e q u i p m e n t , i n s t r u m e n t s , m e d i c i n e a n d e x p e d i ­t i o n c l o t h i n g — s o m e f a c t o r i e s e v e n g a v e t h e m n e w p r o d u c t s t o t e s t o u t i n A n t a r c t i c a .

Beijing Residents Seek Housemaids

Baomu i s t h e C h i n e s e w o r d f o r t h o s e w o m e n a n d g i r l s w h o a r e e m p l o y e d i n u r b a n h o u s e h o l d s t o l o o k a f t e r s m a l l c h i l d r e n , t a k e c a r e o f t h e s i c k , e l d e r l y , o r d i s a b l e d p e o p l e .

A t p r e s e n t t h e r e a r e 3 6 , 0 0 0 hao-mu i n B e i j i n g , t h r e e a n d a h a l f t i m e s t h e n u m b e r i n 1 9 6 6 , a c c o r d ­i n g t o a n i n v e s t i g a t i o n b y t h e n e w s p a p e r Chinese Women. D e s ­p i t e t h e i n c r e a s e , d e m a n d s t i l l f a r e x c e e d s s u p p l y . T h e i n v e s t i ­g a t i o n d e t e r m i n e d t h a t f o u r o u t o f e v e r y 1 0 0 f a m i l i e s i n B e i j i n g n e e d a baomu, s o 9 0 , 0 0 0 baomu a r e n e e d e d f o r t h e m o r e t h a n 2 m i l l i o n f a m i l i e s i n t h e c i t y p r o p e r .

W i t h s u c h a s m a l l s u p p l y a n d l a r g e d e m a n d , f i n d i n g a baomu c a n b e d i f f i c u l t . A w o r k e r w h o c a m e f r o m W u h a n , a c i t y i n c e n t r a l C h i ­n a , t o B e i j i n g t o l o o k a f t e r h i s s i c k

p a r e n t s w i t h h i s y o u n g e r b r o t h e r a n d s i s t e r , s a i d h e h a d b e e n l o o k i n g f o r a baomu f o r n e a r l y a m o n t h . " 1 h a v e n e v e r b e e n s o w o r r i e d . T h e t h r e e o f u s h a v e b e e n o n l e a v e f o r m o r e t h a n a m o n t h . E v e n t h o u g h w e d o n ' t c a r e a b o u t t h e m o n e y , w e c a n ' t l e a v e o u r j o b s , " h e s a i d .

A n o t h e r y o u n g w o r k e r n a m e d C h e n J i a n g a n g a l s o c o m p l a i n e d t h a t h e h a d b e e n l o o k i n g f o r a bao­mu f o r a m o n t h a n d h a d t o s t a y a t h o m e t o l o o k a f t e r h i s b a b y .

T h e r e a r e m a n y r e a s o n s f o r t h e s h o r t a g e o f baomu. F i r s t o f a l l , m o r e a n d m o r e f a m i l i e s n o w c a n a f f o r d t o e m p l o y a baomu. w h i l e i n t h e p a s t i t w a s o n l y t h e h i g h -r a n k i n g o f f i c i a l s a n d s e n i o r i n t e l ­l e c t u a l s w h o c o u l d a f f o r d i t . A s h o r t a g e o f n u r s e r i e s a n d c h i l d -c a r e c e n t r e s t o d a y i s a n o t h e r c a u s e b e h i n d t h e s h o r t a g e . L a s t y e a r o n l y 4 2 p e r c e n t o f t h e c h i l d r e n i n B e i ­j i n g w e r e a b l e t o g e t p l a c e s i n n u r ­s e r i e s . T h e r e f o r e p a r e n t s h a v e h a d t o e m p l o y baomus t o t a k e c a r e o f t h e i r c h i l d r e n w h i l e t h e y a r e a t w o r k . A n o t h e r r e a s o n i s t h a t s i n c e t h e p o l i c y n o w i s f o r e a c h f a m i l y

t o h a v e o n l y o n e c h i l d , p a r e n t s a r e t a k i n g g r e a t e r c a r e t o k e e p t h e i r o f f s p r i n g f r o m t r a f f i c a n d o t h e r h a z a r d s . A n d f i n a l l y , s i n c e s o m e f a m i l i e s h a v e m o r e m o n e y t o s p a r e , t h e y w o u l d l i k e t o c u t d o w n o n s t r e n u o u s h o u s e w o r k .

C u r r e n t l y , m o s t o f t h e baomu i n B e i j i n g a r e w o m e n b e t w e e n t h e a g e s o f 1 8 a n d 2 5 w h o c o m e f r o m p r o v i n c e s s u c h a s A n h u i , H e b e i , H e n a n , S h a n d o n g a n d J i a n g s u .

T h e s e y o u n g w o m e n h a v e c o m e t o B e i j i n g t o w o r k a s baomu m a i n ­l y b e c a u s e t h e r e i s a s u r p l u s o f l a b o u r i n t h e c o u n t r y s i d e . T a k e W u w e i C o u n t y i n A n h u i P r o v i n c e , w h e r e t h e l a n d p r o v i d e s o n l y e n o u g h w o r k f o r a b o u t h a l f o f t h e l a b o u r f o r c e . A t l e a s t 3 0 p e r c e n t h a v e t o l e a v e t h e i r h o m e s t o f i n d j o b s e l s e w h e r e , w h i c h i s w h y 8 0 p e r c e n t t o 9 0 p e r c e n t o f t h e baomu i n B e i j i n g c o m e f r o m t h i s c o u n t y .

E v e n s o , s o m e o f t h e g i r l s c o m e t o B e i j i n g t o e a r n m o r e m o n e y , w h i l e o t h e r s w a n t t o s e e t h e w o r l d a n d f u r t h e r e d u c a t e t h e m s e l v e s i n t h e i r s p a r e t i m e .

November 2 5 , 1985 9

After a trial period of a month or so, the baomu and the employer often sign a contract. The employ­er usually provides the baomu with room and board, and a salary be­tween 30 to 40 yuan a month. The tasks for the baomu vary from family to family, but most of them look after small children, the elder­ly or disabled, while others do the cooking, cleaning, laundry and shopping.

Most of the baomu have good relations with their employers, who sometimes buy them clothes and offer them gifts when they go home. In return, a baomu back from a home visit often brings her employers special treats from the countryside.

"I like my job, although some people look down on it," said Pan Junjie, a 17-year-old girl from Ru-nan County, Henan Province, who now does housework for a family of five in Beijing. "I am quite happy — as long as my" employer treats me well."

There is a great potential for the supply of baomu in the vast coun­tryside at present. In Huangchuan County,.Henan Province, for exam­ple, there are about 20,000 wom­en between the ages of 17 and 20 who are not gainfully employed, according to the statistics for the county.

But this potential has not been taken advantage of. One reason is that society in general and the city authorities in particular have failed to recognize the grow­ing demand for household labour. There are few household service companies to take care of the problem. The problem is com­pounded by the lack of communica­tion between the cities and the countryside. On the one hand, the urban residents don't know where to find a baomu; and on the other, the women in the countryside don't know where they are needed.

Pre-job training can also be a problem. Many of the baomu who

fail to meet their employers' quali­fications because of lack of train­ing and this merely exacerbates the shortage.

Some economists believe that with the development of the econ­omy, more and more rural wom­en will come to the cities to offer household services, and that it is feasible to rely on this source of labour in the future. But no effec­tive regulations have been adopted to promote this trend; the com­plaints and calls for government attention in Beijing are growing ever louder.

TV to Show Serial On Liu Shaoqi

The Beijing TV Studio has re­leased a new serial based on the revolutionary activities of Liu Shaoqi (1898-1969), an outstanding Chinese leader who died during the "cultural revolution."

Comrade Shaoqi in Northeast China will be shown on local stations all over China every week beginning later this month.

The show was set in 1929, when the Party sent Liu, then a work­ers ' movement leader, to re­establish Party organizations in northeast China that had been undermined by the enemies.

TV critics said the actor who played the leading role resembles Liu in appearance and manner, and his excellent performance would help to make the serial a success.

Ch ina & t h e W o r l d Tian |iyun Ends African Trip

Vice-Pi-emier Tian fiyun returned to Beijing Novem­ber 16 after a three-week tour of five African count­ries—Algeria, Tunisia. Mo­rocco, Libya and Kenya. China Hetps Corb Nuclear Proliferation

A Foreign Ministry spokes­man recently said at a news briefing that China requires all countries importing Chi­nese nuclear products to adhere to the International Atomic Energy Agency security safeguards. China neither advocates nor parti­cipates in nuclear prolifera­tion. Still less wiH it help other nations develop nu­clear weapons, the spokes­man said. Catholic Group Returns home

A Chinese Catholic delega­tion, the first of its kind, led by Michael Fu Tieshan, vice-president of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Associa­tion and bishop of the Bei­jing Diocese, returned to China on November 13 after a 12-day visit to Belgium, at the invitation of the rector of the Catholic University of Lou vain. NZ Youths Visit China

A youth delegation from New Zealand arrived in Bei­jing on November 14 for a 10-day trip at the invitation of the All-Chjna Youth Federation. The 60-mcmber delegation includes young government functionaries, teachers and students. A TV .crew of five also accom­panied the delegation.

Beijing Review, No. 47

INTERNATIONAL

GCC Summit Signals Subtle Policy Change To seek better relations with Iran, the Gulf Co-operation Council summit appears to have taken a more balanced position towards Iraq and Iran.

by Yl MING "Beijing Review" News Analyst

I N the final statement of the sixth summit conference of the

Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), from November 3-6 in Muscat, the wording of the paragraph about the Iraq-Iran war was a bit dif­ferent this time around. This in­dicates a subtle change in the policy of six GCC nations — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — towards the prickly situation. Tehran also has express­ed its approval of the change.

The summit statement neither expressed satisfaction with the "positive" attitude adopted by Iraq towards the peaceful settle­ment of the Gulf war, as the fifth GCC summit did last year, nor did it include any words stating "full support" for Iraq, as the foreign ministers' meeting of the six na­tions did this spring. The state­ment says only that the GCC supreme committee has studied the Iraq-Iran war and that its re­cent escalation would bring furth­er threats to the region.

Analysts believe the word "es­calation" refers to the recent Iraqi air raids on Iran's main oil termin­al at Kharg Island. Baghdad has said its war planes have struck at the island oil installation more than 30 times since mid-August.

Kharg Island, the so-called lungs of Iran's, is located in the north eastern part of the gulf, about 40

kilometres away from Iran. In the pre-war year of 1979. Iran export­ed more than 3 million barrels of oil per day from the port, consti­tuting the largest export of crude oil in the Middle East. After Iraq's raids, according to Iranian news­papers, Iran's oil exports stand at about 1.6 million barrels per day.

Tehran has time and again threatened that if its oil export, via the gulf, was completely cut off, it would blockade the Strait of Hormuz, which would have serious impact on oil transport to Japan and Western Europe. The Iranian navy last October carried out a large-scale war exercise in the strait, demonstrating its cap­ability to turn threat into action. Furthermore, Tehran also threat­ened to retaliate against those gulf countries that supported Baghdad.

Since the shake-up of security and stability in the gulf, the GCC rnember states have held meetings between the heads of the armed forces and defence ministers, to study military co-operation and security in the region. A joint de­fence strategy plan has been map­ped, and the six nations have set up a strike force known as the "Peninsula Shield." The sixth summit has agreed to the joint military strategy and has instructed the authorities concerned to begin to implement the plan.

The spokesman of the summit asserted, however, that these joint forces were not directed against any particular target, nor were

they intended to join in war. Meanwhile, Hashemi Raf-sanjani, speaker of the Iranian Islamic Consultative Assembly, declared, the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz need not be inevitable. Iranian President Ali Khamenei recently also said in a speech that "Saddam [Iraq's President Saddam Hussain] extended the war to the water area of the Persian Gulf, compelling us to take part in the difficult contest. We are careful not to be fooled by him. . . . We do not intend to create a crisis."

President Khamenei also charged that Baghdad was trying to ob­struct Iran's effort to improve re­lations with other gulf countries. "We are not threatening them," he stressed, "but we are giving them a friendly warning. In spite of Saddam's obstruction, we are still willing to normalize relations with the countries in the Persian Gulf, and hope friendly relations will be strengthened."

Seeking better relations with the Arab countries in the gulf, as well as with other countries around the world, Iran has made some en­ergetic diplomatic moves in recent months. It has sent envoys to tour gulf nations and also played host to a GCC delegation headed by the Saudi foreign minister last May. The Iranian foreign minister is expected to pay a return visit to Riyadh soon.

Nevertheless, Iran has se; con­ditions for improved relations with gulf nations. After the statement of the GCC summit was published, Iran's Chief Justice Musavi Arde-bili urged the GCC states to take measures to back up a more realis­tic stand on the Iraq-Iran war.

Senior Arab diplomats said the six GCC nations have decided to seek better relations with non-Arab Iran, but not at the expense

November 25, 1985

o f r e l a t i o n s w i t h I r a q , w h i c h t h e y h a v e t r a d i t i o n a l l y s u p p o r t e d .

A s m a j o r o i l p r o d u c e r s a n d e x ­p o r t e r s , t h e s i x G C C n a t i o n s a p p e a r t o b e t a k i n g a m o r e b a l a n c e d p o s i t i o n w i t h I r a n a n d

Portugal

by HUANG PENGNIAN

OB S E R V E R S i n L i s b o n p r e d i c t t h a t a l o n g , b u m p y r o a d l i e s

b e n e a t h t h e n e w m i n o r i t y S o c i a l -D e m o c r a t i c g o v e r n m e n t , s w o r n i n o n N o v e m b e r 6 .

T h e S o c i a l D e m o c r a t i c P a r t y ( S D P ) e m e r g e d as t h e l a r g e s t p a r t y i n p a r l i a m e n t i n t h e O c t o b e r 6 g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n s , b u t i t g a i n e d o n l y 8 8 s e a t s , f a r f r o m t h e n u m b e r r e q u i r e d t o c o m m a n d a m a j o r i t y i n t h e 2 5 0 - s e a t p a r l i a m e n t . T h e S o c i a l i s t P a r t y g a i n e d 5 5 s e a t s , t h e N e w D e m o c r a t i c R e n e w a l P a r t y w o n 4 5 s e a t s , t h e C o m m u ­n i s t P a r t y p u l l e d i n 3 7 s e a t s a n d t h e C e n t r e D e m o c r a t i c P a r t y g a i n e d 2 0 s e a t s .

P r e s i d e n t A n t o n i o R a m a l h o E a n e s r e q u e s t e d t h e S D P f o r m a n e w c o a l i t i o n g o v e r n m e n t , b u t b e c a u s e o t h e r p a r t i e s r e f u s e d t o b e i t s p a r t n e r s , i t h a d t o f o r m a m i n o r i t y c a b i n e t . T h e n e w g o v e r n m e n t i s c o m p o s e d o f 1 2 m i n i s t r i e s a n d 13 m i n i s t e r s , t h e s m a l l e s t o n e s i n c e 1 9 7 4 . T h e P o r t u g u e s e m e d i a p o i n t e d o u t t h a t t h e m i n o r i t y g o v e r n m e n t w a s t e e t e r i n g o n t h e e d g e b e c a u s e o f a n u n c o n t r o l l a b l e p a r l i a m e n t w h e r e t h e g o v e r n m e n t l a c k s s u p p o r t f r o m o t h e r p a r t i e s , a n d i s u p a g a i n s t

I r a q . A l t h o u g h t h i s i s n o t n e c e s ­s a r i l y a n i n d i c a t i o n t h a t t h e f i v e -y e a r - o l d w a r i s a b o u t t o e n d , i t w i l l c e r t a i n l y h e l p t h e m t o p l a y a m o r e e f f e c t i v e r o l e i n m e d i a t i n g a p e a c e f u l s e t t l e m e n t o f t h e c o n ­f l i c t .

s t r o n g r i v a l s i n t h e S o c i a l i s t a n d C o m m u n i s t P a r t i e s .

F o l l o w i n g t h e g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n s i n 1 9 8 3 , t h e S o c i a l i s t P a r t y f o r m ­e d a c o a l i t i o n w i t h t h e S D P b u t t h e l a t t e r w i t h d r e w f r o m t h e a l l i a n c e l a s t J u n e a f t e r a d i s p u t e o v e r p o l i c i e s . F o r n o w , t h e s o c i a l ­i s t s r e p o r t e d l y w i l l t a k e a w a i t -a n d - s e e a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s t h e n e w g o v e r n m e n t .

A s f o r t h e C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , i t o p p o s e d t h e f o r m a t i o n o f a n y g o v e r n m e n t b y t h e S D P f r o m t h e v e r y b e g i n n i n g . I t d e c l a r e d s o o n a f t e r t h e n e w g o v e r n m e n t w a s s w o r n i n t h a t i t w o u l d r e j e c t t h e g o v e r n m e n t ' s p r o g r a m m e s .

B u t t h e g r a v e s t c h a l l e n g e t h e n e w g o v e r n m e n t f a c e s i s P o r t u g a l ' s e c o n o m i c s l u m p . N e w P r i m e M i n i s t e r C a v a c o S i l v a s a i d a t t h e i n a u g u r a t i o n c e r e m o n y t h a t t h e c o u n t r y w a s c o n f r o n t e d w i t h " a p r o f o u n d e c o n o m i c a n d s o c i a l c r i s i s . "

I n t h e p a s t t w o y e a r s , p r i v a t e i n ­v e s t m e n t s h a v e d r o p p e d 2 7 p e r ­c e n t . N e a r l y 11 p e r c e n t o f t h e n a ­t i o n ' s w o r k f o r c e i s u n e m p l o y e d , a n d t e n s o f t h o u s a n d s o f w o r k e r s h a v e b e e n h i t b y w a g e c u t s . T h e n a t i o n a l s o c a r r i e s a f o r e i g n d e b t o f U S $ 1 . 5 b i l l i o n .

M i n i s t e r o f F i n a n c e M i g u e l C a -

g i l h e s a i d i n h i s p o l i c y s p e e c h o n N o v e m b e r 7 t h a t h i s g o v e r n m e n t w o u l d p u r s u e a n e x p a n s i o n p r o ­g r a m m e t o p r o m o t e e c o n o m i c g r o w t h b y r e d u c i n g t a x e s , l o w e r ­i n g i n t e r e s t r a t e s a n d e n c o u r a g i n g p r i v a t e i n v e s t m e n t a n d c o n s u m p ­t i o n .

B u t t h e s p e e c h b r o u g h t b a c k b a d m e m o r i e s o f w h a t h a p p e n e d i n t h e e a r l y 1 9 8 0 s , w h e n t h e S D P w a s i n o f f i c e a n d c a r r i e d o u t a n e x p a n s i o n p o l i c y . B y t h e e n d o f 1 9 8 2 , t h e n a t i o n ' s d e f i c i t i n c r e a s e d s h a r p l y t o U S $ 3 . 2 b i l l i o n , a n d f o r e i g n d e b t s r e a c h e d U S $ 1 3 b i l ­l i o n .

A n a l y s t s i n P o r t u g u e s e p o l i t i c a l a n d e c o n o m i c c i r c l e s a r e c o n c e r n e d o v e r t h e e c o n o m i c m e a s u r e s t o b e t a k e n b y t h e n e w g o v e r n m e n t , f e a r i n g t h e e x p a n s i o n p o l i c y m i g h t t o u c h o f f a n o t h e r f i n a n c i a l c r i s i s .

W h a t w i l l s t i r e v e n f u r t h e r d e ­b a t e i s t h e S D P s t a n d f o r a r e v i ­s i o n o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n , l a b o u r l a w s a n d l a n d r e f o r m l a w s , i n a n a t t e m p t t o a c c e l e r a t e t h e p r o c e s s o f d e n a t i o n a l i z a t i o n .

I n h i s i n a u g u r a l a d d r e s s , S i l v a e m p h a s i z e d t h e g o v e r n m e n t ' s c o m ­m i t m e n t t o P o r t u g a l ' s e n t r y i n t o t h e E u r o p e a n E c o n o m i c C o m ­m u n i t y ( E E C ) n e x t J a n u a r y . B u t h e a l s o i n d i c a t e d t h a t P o r t u g a l w o u l d d e f e n d i t s n a t i o n a l i n t e r e s t s w i t h a t t e m p t s t o g a i n m o r e s u b ­s i d i e s w h i l e r e d u c i n g i t s s h a r e i n t h e E E C b u d g e t .

S o m e s e n i o r m e m b e r s o f t h e S D P h a v e a d m i t t e d i t w i l l b e d i f f i c u l t f o r t h e S D P m i n o r i t y g o v e r n m e n t t o r i d P o r t u g a l o f i t s i n s t a b i l i t y . A t t h e i n a u g u r a t i o n c e r e m o n y P r i m e M i n i s t e r S i l v a c a l l e d f o r a " c o n s t r u c t i v e a n d c l e a r d i a l o g u e " a m o n g a l l p o l i t i c a l a n d s o c i a l f o r c e s t o r e s o l v e t h e n a t i o n ' s e c o n o m i c a n d s o c i a l c r i s e s . B u t s o f a r h i s a p p e a l h a s n o t r e c e i v e d a n y p o s i t i v e o f f e r s o f s u p p o r t . I n s t e a d , h i s a d d r e s s h a s b e e n c r i t i c i z e d b y t h e s o c i a l i s t s a n d c o m m u n i s t s ; a n d o b s e r v e r s a g r e e , t o u g h t i m e s a r e a h e a d .

Social-Democrats Walk a Tightrope

With Portugal in the midst of a severe economic slump, the new minority Social-Democratic government in Lis­bon faces a precarious first term.

12 B e i j i n g Review, N o . 4 7

us-USSR Leaders in Geneva

Summit Rivets World Attention by XIN PING

AS w e g o t o p r e s s , U S a n d S o ­v i e t l e a d e r s R o n a l d R e a g a n a n d

M i k h a i l G o r b a c h e v m e e t i n G e ­n e v a f o r a t w o - d a y s u m m i t i n t h e f i r s t s u c h e n c o u n t e r b e t w e e n t h e t w o s u p e r p o w e r s i n s i x y e a r s , t h u s a t t r a c t i n g w o r l d w i d e a t t e n t i o n .

T h e s u m m i t i s h e l d a t a m o ­m e n t w h e n t h e i r r e l a t i o n s r e m a i n a s s t r a i n e d — d e s p i t e s i g n s o f s u p e r f i c i a l r e l a x a t i o n — a n d t h e i r a r m s r a c e t h r e a t e n s t o e x t e n d i n t o o u t e r s p a c e .

T h e U n i t e d S t a t e s c a l l e d a s i x -n a t i o n s u m m i t o f t h e W e s t , a n d t h e n a N A T O m e e t i n g i n a n e f f o r t t o w i n b a c k i n g f r o m i t s a l l i e s . M i l i t a r i l y , i t h a s c o m p l e t e d a h e a d o f s c h e d u l e t h e s i t i n g o f 2 2 8 m e d i u m - r a n g e m i s s i l e s i n W e s t e r n E u r o p e , o r i g i n a l l y d u e t o b e i n p l a c e b y t h e e n d o f t h i s y e a r . A t t h e s a m e t i m e , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s i n d i c a t e d i t s w i l l i n g n e s s t o n e g o ­t i a t e a d r a s t i c c u t i n s t r a t e g i c n u c l e a r a r s e n a l s w i t h t h e S o v i e t U n i o n .

M e a n w h i l e , t h e S o v i e t U n i o n

c o n v e n e d a s u m m i t m e e t i n g o f t h e W a r s a w P a c t O r g a n i z a t i o n , a n d i s s u e d r e p e a t e d c a l l s f o r a f r e e z e o n n u c l e a r w e a p o n s , a h a l t t o n u c l e a r t e s t s a n d a 5 0 p e r c e n t c u t i n s t r a t e g i c n u c l e a r w e a p o n s . I t h a s m a d e i t c l e a r t h a t i f t h e U n i t ­e d S t a t e s r e f u s e s t o m a k e c o n c e s ­s i o n s o n i t s " S t a r W a r s " p l a n , t h e r e w i l l b e n o r e a l r e l a x a t i o n i n S o v i e t - U S r e l a t i o n s .

T h e s u m m i t w i l l f o c u s d i s c u s ­s i o n o n d i s a r m a m e n t , r e g i o n a l i s ­s u e s a n d b i l a t e r a l i s s u e s . T h e U S s i d e h a s i n d i c a t e d t h a t i t w i l l a l s o b r i n g u p h u m a n - r i g h t s i s s u e s d u r ­i n g t h e m e e t i n g . B u t t h e k e y i s ­s u e r e m a i n s a r m s c o n t r o l , w h i c h s h a r p l y d i v i d e s t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d t h e S o v i e t U n i o n .

I n t h e p r e v i o u s t h r e e r o u n d s o f a r m s - c o n t r o l t a l k s o n G e n e v a , t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s h a d a g r e e d t o a 5 0 p e r c e n t c u t i n s t r a t e g i c n u c l e a r w e a p o n s a n d h a d c o m e c l o s e r i n t h e i r p o s i t i o n s o n n u c l e a r v e r i f i c a ­t i o n a n d o t h e r s p e c i f i c i s s u e s . B u t t h e r e w a s n o s u b s t a n t i a l p r o g r e s s o n s u c h v i t a l i s s u e s a s t h e s c o p e o f d i s a r m a m e n t a n d t h e U S " S t a r

Guatemala Guarding the Democratic Process Although rumours about a brewing coup d'etat have come out of Guatemala city after the recent presidential elections, experts believe the democratic process is under way in the Central American country.

by YAO CHUNTAO

T H E G u a t e m a l a n s w e n t t o t h e p o l l s o n N o v e m b e r 3 t o

c h o o s e a c i v i l i a n p r e s i d e n t , a v i c e -p r e s i d e n t , a 1 0 0 - m e m b e r c o n g r e s s , m a y o r s a n d c i t y c o u n c i l m e m b e r s . A s s o o n a s t h e e l e c t i o n r e s u l t s w e r e a n n o u n c e d , n e w s t h a t p o l i t ­

i c a l f o r c e s t h a t h a d f a i l e d i n t h e p r e s i d e n t i a l e l e c t i o n s w e r e g e a r ­i n g u p f o r a c o u p d ' e t a t c a m e o u t o f G u a t e m a l a c i t y .

G u a t e m a l a h a s l o n g b e e n r u l e d b y m i l i t a r y d i c t a t o r s h i p . S i n c e 1 9 5 4 , m i l i t a r y j u n t a s h a v e b e e n r e ­

p l a c e d o n e a f t e r a n o t h e r i n a n m e r r y - g o - r o u n d . B e f o r e t h e g e n e r a l

W a r s " p l a n . U S S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e G e o r g e S h u l t z , a f t e r v i s i t i n g M o s ­c o w e a r l y t h i s m o n t h , a d m i t t e d t h a t t h e d e e p d i f f e r e n c e s s e p a r a t ­i n g t h e i r t w o c o u n t r i e s " h a v e n o t n a r r o w e d . "

O n r e g i o n a l i s s u e s , t h e t w o c o u n ­t r i e s a c c u s e d e a c h o t h e r o f e n g a g ­i n g i n e x p a n s i o n a n d i n f i l t r a t i o n , a n d i n t h e p a s t f i v e m e e t i n g s b e ­t w e e n t h e m t o d i s c u s s i s s u e s c o n ­c e r n i n g A f g h a n i s t a n , S o u t h A f r i c a , E a s t A s i a , M i d d l e E a s t a n d C e n t r a l A m e r i c a , l i t t l e p r o g r e s s w a s m a d e .

S i n c e t h e f i r s t o f t h e i r y e a r , h o w e v e r , t h e r e h a s b e e n a remark­a b l e i n c r e a s e i n m u t u a l v i s i t s b y t o p g o v e r n m e n t o f f i c i a l s a n d o t h e r p e r s o n n e l , a n d n e g o t i a t i o n s h a v e b e e n h e l d o n t r a d e , c i v i l a v i a t i o n , a v i a t i o n s e c u r i t y , o p e n i n g o f m o r e c o n s u l a t e s a n d c o - o p e r a t i o n i n t h e c i v i l u s e o f n u c l e a r e n e r g y . R e ­c e n t l y , t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s h a v e s h o w n f r e s h i n t e r e s t i n h o l d i n g r e g ­u l a r s u m m i t m e e t i n g s . A c c o r d s o n s o m e o f t h e a b o v e - m e n t i o n e d i s s u e s a r e c o n s i d e r e d l i k e l y a t t h e s u m m i t .

T h e w o r l d w e l c o m e s t h e s u m m i t m e e t i n g a n d h o p e s i t w i l l y i e l d p o s i t i v e r e s u l t s . B u t U S a n d S o v i e t g o v e r n m e n t o f f i c i a l s a r e c a u t i o u s i n p r e d i c t i n g t h e m e e t i n g ' s o u t ­c o m e .

e l e c t i o n s t h e r e w a s h e a r s a y a b o u t a c o u p a n d m a n y G u a t e m a l a n s w e r e n e r v o u s o r s c e p t i c a l a b o u t j o i n i n g i n t h e g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n s .

G u a t e m a l a h a s a p o p u l a t i o n o f 7 . 7 m i l l i o n , 3 . 7 m i l l i o n o f w h o m h a v e t h e r i g h t t o v o t e . B u t o u t o f t h a t , o n l y 2 . 7 5 m i l l i o n h a v e r e g ­i s t e r e d t o v o t e a n d o n e t h i r d o f t h o s e d i d n o t e v e n v o t e i n t h e e l e c ­t i o n s . T w e l v e p e r c e n t o f t h e n e a r l y 2 m i l l i o n v o t e r s c a s t b l a n k o r i n ­v a l i d b a l l o t s .

B e f o r e t h e e l e c t i o n , t h e e i g h t c a n d i d a t e s s t u m p e d t h e c o u n t r y , p a s s i n g o u t p r o m i s e s a n d s p e n d i n g l i b e r a l l y . A c c o r d i n g t o t h e C o n ­s t i t u t i o n , t h e c a n d i d a t e w h o w o n

November 2 5 , 1985 J 3

I t i s p r e d i c t e d t h a t C e r e z o a n d w i l l c o m e i n t o p o w e r n e x t ) a n u a r y , t h e C h r i s t i a n D e m o c r a t i c P a r t y b u t n o t w i t h o u t s e v e r e d i f f i c u l t y .

Albania Leaving at Least a Window Ajar The door is still shut with a sign on it that reads "inde­pendent." But Albania recently has begun to introduce openings, allowing in some light from its neighbouring countries.

m o r e t h a n 5 0 p e r c e n t o f t h e v o t e w o u l d b e c o m e p r e s i d e n t . I f n o n e o f t h e c a n d i d a t e s g a i n e d e n o u g h v o t e s , t h e t w o t o o k t h e t o p p l a c e s i n t h e e l e c t i o n s w o u l d r u n i n a s e c o n d r o u n d o f e l e c t i o n s . A c c o r d ­i n g t o t h e G u a t e m a l a n e l e c t i o n c o m m i t t e e ' s a n n o u n c e m e n t , t h e c a n d i d a t e o f t h e C h r i s t i a n D e m o ­c r a t i c P a r t y , M a r i o V i n i c i o C e r e z o , a n d J o r g e C a r p i o o f t h e N a t i o n a l C e n t r e U n i o n , c a m e i n a t t h e t o p . C e r e z o g a i n e d 3 8 . 8 5 p e r c e n t o f t h e v o t e , a n d C a r p i o p u l l e d i n 2 0 . 2 3 p e r c e n t , a n d b o t h a r e s c h e d u l e d t o g o t h r o u g h a n o t h e r r o u n d o n D e c e m b e r 8 .

H o w e v e r , t h e D e m o c r a t i c I n s t i ­t u t i o n a l P a r t y a n d t h e N a t i o n a l " L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t , w h i c h t o o k p a r t i n t h e p r e s i d e n t i a l e l e c t i o n s , a r e n o t c o n t e n t w i t h t h e e l e c t i o n r e s u l t s . A n d t h e t h r e e - r i g h t - w i n g p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s h a v e f o r m e d a n a ­t i o n a l o p p o s i t i o n f r o n t , a s k i n g t h e v o t e r s t o r e j e c t t h e s e c o n d - r o u n d r u n - o f f n e x t m o n t h .

P u b l i c o p i n i o n i n M e x i c o a n d o t h e r L a t i n A m e r i c a n c o u n t r i e s i s t h a t t h e r i g h t - w i n g G u a t e m a l a n p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s w i l l n o t r e s i g n t h e m s e l v e s t o d e f e a t a n d s t e p d o w n f r o m t h e p o l i t i c a l a r e n a . T h e y h a v e e x t e n s i v e t i e s w i t h t h e m i l i t a r y a n d p o l i t i c a l c i r c l e s , as w e l l a s p o w e r f u l i n d u s t r i a l , c o m ­m e r c i a l a n d f i n a n c i a l c o n n e c t i o n s .

B u t a n a l y s t s a l s o n o t e d t h a t i n L a t i n A m e r i c a , m i l i t a r y d i c t a t o r ­s h i p i s n o t t h e c u r r e n t t r e n d , a n d d e m o c r a c y a n d l a w a r e t h e f a v o u r ­e d m e t h o d s i n t h a t p a r t o f t h e w o r l d t o d a y .

T h e e c o n o m y i n G u a t e m a l a s t a n d s o n t h e b r i n k o f c o l l a p s e a n d i n d u s t r i a l a n d a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o ­d u c t i o n h a s d r o p p e d ; t h e c u r r e n c y h a s b e e n g r e a t l y d e v a l u e d ; t h e p r i c e s o f c o m m o d i t i e s a r e u p ; a n d u n e m p l o y m e n t c o n t i n u e s t o es­c a l a t e , w h i l e l i v i n g s t a n d a r d s f a l l . T h e r e f o r e t h e G u a t e m a l a n g o v e r n ­m e n t n e e d t o m o b i l i z e i t s f o r c e s a n d b r i n g i n f o r e i g n a i d , a n d m a n y b e l i e v e t h a t i n o r d e r t o d o s o , a d e m o c r a t i c p r o c e s s w i l l h a v e t o f i r m l y p u t i n p l a c e .

b y G E B A O Z H I

A L B A N I A i s t a c i t l y r e a d j u s t i n g i t s d o m e s t i c a n d f o r e i g n

p o l i c i e s . A l b a n i a h a s t r a d i t i o n a l ­l y b e e n a n a t i o n o f c o m p l a c e n t s e l f - r e l i a n c e . T o d a y , h o w e v e r , i t i s r e d o u b l i n g i t s e f f o r t t o n o r m a l i z e i t s i n t e r n a t i o n a l e x c h a n g e s , e s p e ­c i a l l y w i t h i t s n e i g h b o u r s .

A l b a n i a ' s e c o n o m i c e x c h a n g e s w i t h T u r k e y , Y u g o s l a v i a a t i d A u s t r i a h a v e b e e n o n t h e r i s e , a n d i n t h e p a s t s e v e r a l m o n t h s , a s e r i e s o f a g r e e m e n t s f o r t r a d e e x p a n s i o n w e r e s i g n e d w i t h I t a l y a n d G r e e c e . A l b a n i a b e g a n t o p r o v i d e e l e c t r i c ­i t y t o G r e e c e a n d Y u g o s l a v i a t h r o u g h a h i g h - v o l t a g e t r a n s m i t t ­i n g n e t w o r k . I t a l s o h a s d e c i d e d t o p u r c h a s e a se t o f h y d r o e l e c t r i c s t a t i o n e q u i p m e n t f r o m F r a n c e .

I d e o l o g i c a l a n d p o l i t i c a l d i s p u t e s a m o n g t h e s e n a t i o n s s h o u l d n o t a f ­f e c t t h e i r e c o n o m i c a n d t r a d e r e l a ­t i o n s , s a i d R a m i z A l i a , n e w f i r s t s e c r e t a r y o f t h e C e n t r a l C o m m i t ­t e e o f t h e A l b a n i a n L a b o u r P a r t y . H e h a s r e i t e r a t e d t h e g u i d e l i n e s f o r i n d e p e n d e n c e a n d s e l f - r e l i a n c e , se t f o r t h b y E n v e r H o x h a , a n d h a s c a l l e d f o r n a t i o n w i d e o p p o s i ­t i o n o f t h e ' " U S i m p e r i a l i s t s " a n d " S o v i e t s o c i a l i s t r e v i s i o n i s t s . "

H o w e v e r , A l b a n i a ' s w a y s h a v e b e e n s o m e w h a t r e v i s e d i n o r d e r t o l i g h t l y p u s h t h e c o u n t r y i n t o c o n ­t e m p o r a r y w o r l d s o c i e t y . A l b a n i a u s e d t o s t e e r c l e a r o f b o t h E a s t e r n a n d W e s t e r n c u l t u r e , b u t t h a t i s

s l o w l y , b u t s u r e l y , c h a n g i n g . I t s n e w s a g e n c y a n d r a d i o s t a t i o n n o w h a v e e x c h a n g e p r o g r a m m e s w i t h I t a l y a n d A u s t r i a a n d f o r e i g n j o u r ­n a l i s t s h a v e b e e n g r a n t e d m o r e e l -b o w r o o m . I t s f i r s t b a t c h o f s t u ­d e n t s w a s r e c e n t l y s e n t t o I t a l y , t h e f i r s t s i n c e W o r l d W a r I I .

A l b a n i a h a s a c h i e v e d s o m e m a j o r a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s i n f o r e i g n e x c h a n g e s t h i s y e a r . T h e f i r s t p r o t o c o l d o c u m e n t i n 4 5 y e a r s w a s r e a c h e d b e t w e e n A l b a n i a a n d G r e e c e , w i t h t h r e e j o i n t m i l i t a r y c o m m i s s i o n s b e i n g s e t u p t o de­f i n e t h e b o r d e r b e t w e e n t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s . S t e p s a r e a l s o t a k e n t o c o n n e c t h i g h w a y t r a n s p o r t a t i o n b e ­t w e e n t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s .

A f e r r y l i n e b e t w e e n D u r r e s i i n A l b a n i a a n d T r i e s t e , I t a l y , h a s o p e n e d u p a s e a l i n e t o W e s t e r n E u r o p e f o r A l b a n i a . A l b a n i a a l s o h a s s i g n e d a c i v i l a i r - t r a f f i c a g r e e ­m e n t w i t h T u r k e y .

T h e A l b a n i a n - Y u g o s l a v i a n b o r ­d e r w a s o n c e a r i g i d b a r r i e r w i t h s c a r c e e x c h a n g e s . B u t t o d a y a r a i l r o a d l i n k s A l b a n i a ' s S h k o d r a a n d Y u g o s l a v i a ' s T i t o g r a d .

A l b a n i a u s e d t o b o a s t a n i m a g e o f d e b t - f r e e n a t i o n t h a t r e g a r d e d a l l f o r e g i n a i d a n d l o a n s a s s l a v e s h a c k l e s . B u t m o r e r e c e n t l y i t h a s a c c e p t e d a i d f r o m t h e U n i t e d N a ­t i o n s ' E x p l o i t a t i o n a n d D e v e l o p ­m e n t O r g a n i z a t i o n . I t h a s a l s o d r o p p e d i t s d e m a n d s f o r f i n a n c i a l w a r r e p a r a t i o n f r o m W e s t G e r ­m a n y , c o n c e d i n g t h a t i t i s w i l l i n g t o a c c e p t t e c h n o l o g i c a l a s s i s t a n c e .

1 4 B e i j i n g Review, N o . 4 7

Eureka Signals Shift in Western Alliance Eureka, which stands for the European Research Co-ordination Agency, is not only a European counterpart to the US Strategic Defense Initiative, but also a demonstra­tion of Western Europe's intention to win an independent position for itself in the areas of arms, economics and technology.

by HU JIE

L A S T M a r c h t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s f o r m a l l y i n v i t e d i t s W e s t e r n

a l l i e s t o j o i n i t s r e s e a r c h p r o g r a m m e f o r t h e S t r a t e g i c D e ­f e n s e I n i t i a t i v e ( S D I ) , o r S t a r W a r s . F o l l o w i n g t h e o f f e r , i n A p r i l F r e n c h P r e s i d e n t F r a n c o i s M i t t e r r a n d p u t f o r t h p r o p o s a l s f o r a E u r o p e a n a l t e r n a t i v e t o t h e U S p r o g r a m m e . T h a t p r o g r a m m e , d u b b e d E u r e k a , t h o u g h s t i l l i n t h e c o n c e p t u a l s t a g e , c a l l s f o r a j o i n t E u r o p e a n e f f o r t t o b u i l d a h i g h - t e c h p r o g r a m m e w i t h s p a c e i n c l u d e d . A t t h e E u r o p e a n E c o ­n o m i c C o m m u n i t y c o n f e r e n c e h e l d i n M i l a n i n J u n e , t h e m u l t i -b i l l i o n d o l l a r p l a n f o u n d f o r m a l s u p p o r t e r s . I n l u l y , 1 2 E E C c o u n t r i e s , i n c l u d i n g P o r t u g a l a n d S p a i n , a n d f i v e o t h e r n o n - E E C m e m b e r n a t i o n s , h e l d a m i n i s ­t e r i a l l e v e l m e e t i n g d u r i n g w h i c h t h e y a n n o u n c e d t h e i r a p p r o v a l o f a n d s u p p o r t f o r t h e s t i l l l o o s e l y d e f i n e d E u r e k a p r o j e c t . A t t h e s e c o n d E u r e k a m i n i s t e r i a l c o n ­f e r e n c e h e l d i n H a n o v e r , F e d e r a l G e r m a n y , e a r l y t h i s m o n t h , i t s 1 8 m e m b e r s i n c l u d i n g T u r k e y a p ­p r o v e d E u r e k a ' s d e c l a r a t i o n o f p r i n c i p l e s a n d i t s f i r s t 1 0 p r o j e c t s . T h e s e m o v e s m a r k E u r e k a ' s f i r s t p r a c t i c a l s t e p s .

A l t h o u g h S D I w a s n o t m e n ­t i o n e d i n t h e E E C ' s E u r e k a p r o c l a m a t i o n , t o s o m e o b s e r v e r s t h e a n n o u n c e m e n t r e v e a l e d t h e d e g r e e t o w h i c h W e s t e r n E u r o p e c r a v e s i t s m i l i t a r y , e c o n o m i c a n d t e c h n o l o g i c a l i n d e p e n d e n c e f r o m t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . T o m a n y t h e m o v e a l s o s i g n a l l e d t h e d e v e l o p ­m e n t o f p o s s i b l e t e n s i o n s b e ­

t w e e n W e s t e r n E u r o p e a n d t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . M o s c o w , w h i c h s c o r n s E u r e k a a l m o s t a s h e a r t i l y a s i t d o e s S D I , i s c l o s e l y s c r u t i n i z ­i n g E u r e k a ' s p r o g r e s s w i t h h o p e s o f s o m e h o w e x e r t i n g a n i n f l u e n c e u p o n i t . W i t h t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , t h e S o v i e t U n i o n a n d W e s t e r n E u r o p e n o w a l l j o c k e y ­i n g f o r p o s i t i o n i n s p a c e t e c h ­n o l o g y , a n e w f a c t o r h a s n o w c o m e u p i n t h e a l r e a d y s t r a i n e d t r i l a t e r a l r e l a t i o n s .

E u r e k a i s a l s o a m a j o r s t e p o f p r o f o u n d i m p o r t a n c e f o r a u n i t ­e d a n d p o w e r f u l W e s t e r n E u r o p e . B e c a u s e o f t h i s , t h e f l e d g l i n g p l a n h a s i n c r e a s i n g l y c o m m a " " " e d i n t e r n a t i o n a l a t t e n t i o n .

A Star Wars By-Product

E u r e k a i s n o t a n a c c i d e n t a l d e ­v e l o p m e n t , b u t r e s u l t e d f r o m E u r o p e a n m i s g i v i n g s a b o u t a n A m e r i c a n m o n o p o l y o n h i g h - t e c h s p a c e r e s e a r c h . A y e a r a f t e r U S P r e s i d e n t R o n a l d R e a g a n p r o ­p o s e d S D I i n M a r c h 1 9 8 3 , t h e U S C o n g r e s s a p p r o v e d t h e a l l o c a ­t i o n o f U S $ 2 6 b i l l i o n f o r t h e p r o j e c t , w h i l e s o o n a f t e r w a r d s m i l i t a r y a n d s c i e n t i f i c i n s t i t u t e s s e e m i n g l y s p r o u t e d o v e r n i g h t t o b e g i n t h e r e q u i r e d r e s e a r c h . I n p r o c e e d i n g s o q u i c k l y , t h e U n i t ­e d S t a t e s a w a k e n e d W e s t e r n E u r o p e . T h o u g h q u e s t i o n i n g t h e f e a s i b i l i t y o f S D I , i t n o l o n g e r c o n s i d e r e d t h e v e n t u r e a m e r e m y t h i c a l f a n t a s y .

W h i l e S D I w a s b e i n g l a u n c h e d i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , W e s t e r n E u r o p e a n d t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s b e ­g a n a h e a t e d d e b a t e o n s t r a t e g i c t h e o r y . W e s t e r n E u r o p e f e l t

t h a t b y t u r n i n g t o t h e s t r a t e g y o f " s p a c e d e f e n c e , " ' t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s h a s c r e a t e d t w o p r o t e c t i v e z o n e s i n t h e A t l a n t i c a l l i a n c e . A s s u c h , t h e E u r o p e a n s a r g u e , t h e s e c u r i t y o f U S t e r r i t o r y i s f u r t h e r s t r e n g t h e n e d , w h i l e t h e E u r o p e a n t h e a t r e b e c o m e s e v e n m o r e e x ­p o s e d a n d v u l n e r a b l e . T h i s U S -W e s t E u r o p e a n s t r a t e g i c d i s p a r i t y w h i c h h a d a l r e a d y c r o p p e d u p w h e n t h e r e w a s n u c l e a r b a l a n c e b e t w e e n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d t h e S o v i e t U n i o n , b e c o m e s a l l t h e m o r e s e r i o u s w i t h t h e d e b u t o f s p a c e - w e a p o n r y .

F e e l i n g t h r e a t e n e d b y t h e i r s t r a t e g i c d i s l o c a t i o n , s o m e W e s t E u r o p e a n l e a d e r s h a v e a t ­t e m p t e d a t v a r i o u s s t a g e s t o d e r a i l S D I . T h e i r e f f o r t s , a n d t h e i r v i e w o f S D I i n g e n e r a l , h a v e h a d t w o e f f e c t s . F i r s t , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s h a s h a d t o c o u r t i t s a l l i e s w i t h e x p l a n a t i o n s a n d c o n c e s ­s i o n s . A n d s e c o n d , S o v i e t l e a d e r s a l s o h a v e g o n e s t u m p i n g t h r o u g h t h e r e g i o n , t a k i n g a d v a n t a g e o f W e s t e r n d i s c o r d t o p r o m o t e i t s o w n a l t e r n a t i v e s i n W e s t e r n E u r o p e , a n d t r y i n g t o p u t p r e s ­s u r e o n t h e F e d e r a l R e p u b l i c o f G e r m a n y , w i n o v e r F r a n c e a n d n e u t r a l i z e G r e a t B r i t a i n w i t h d i p l o m a t i c o v e r t u r e s a n d t r a d e o f f e r s .

A t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f 1 9 8 5 , a f t e r U S a n d S o v i e t r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s d e c i d e d t o r e s u m e t h e i r G e n e v a a r m s r e d u c t i o n t a l k s . W e s t e r n E u r o p e a n d W a s h i n g t o n l o w e r e d t h e t e n o r o f t h e i r p o l e m i c s o v e r s p a c e w e a p o n r y , a n d c h o s e i n s t e a d t o c o - o r d i n a t e t h e i r p o s i t i o n s t o o p p o s e M o s c o w . I n o r d e r t o a s s u r e W e s t e r n E u r o p e ,

N o v e m b e r 25. 1985 75

t h e R e a g a n a d m i n i s t r a t i o n r e v i s e d i t s i d e a o f s t r a t e g i c p l a n s t o i n ­c l u d e b o t h d e f e n c e a n d o f f e n c e , r a t h e r t h a n d e f e n c e a l o n e . W a s h i n g t o n a l s o p l e d g e d t h a t i t s s p a c e w e a p o n s w o u l d d e f e n d i t s t e r r i t o r y a n d t h a t o f W e s t e r n E u r o p e as w e l l , a n d t h a t t h e K r e m l i n w o u l d b e c o n s u l t e d b e ­f o r e s u c h w e a p o n s w e r e d e p l o y ­e d . T h o u g h w i l l i n g t o m a k e t h e s e c o n c e s s i o n s , W a s h i n g t o n a l s o s t o o d f i r m i n i t s r e s o l v e t o p r o c e e d w i t h S D I . I n t h e f a c e o f U S c o n s o l a t i o n s a n d p r e s s u r e , s o m e W e s t E u r o p e a n c o u n t r i e s a c q u i e s c e d t o s u p p o r t S D I o u t o f c o n s i d e r a t i o n f o r t h e N o r t h A t ­l a n t i c T r e a t y O r g a n i z a t i o n ( N A T O ) , a n d t h e f a c t t h a t t h e S o v i e t U n i o n h a s a l s o b e e n r e ­s e a r c h i n g a n d m a n u f a c t u r i n g s p a c e w e a p o n s . T h o u g h u n a b l e t o p r e v e n t t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s f r o m c a r r y i n g o u t i t s p l a n . W e s t e r n E u r o p e i s n o t w i l l i n g t o f o r m t h e " c o m m o n f r o n t " w i t h t h e S o v i e t U n i o n . T h e r e f o r e , s o m e W e s t E u r o p e a n c o u n t r i e s h a v e r e a d j u s t ­e d t h e i r p o l i c i e s a n d d e c l a r e d s u p p o r t f o r S D I , w h i l e o t h e r s h a v e t o n e d d o w n t h e i r c r i t i c i s m .

A f t e r w i n n i n g s o m e s u p p o r t f r o m W e s t e r n E u r o p e f o r S D I , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s w e n t f u r t h e r t o a s k i t s a l l i e s t o j o i n t h e p r o g r a m m e a n d t o r e p l y t o t h e i n v i t a t i o n b y a c e r t a i n d a t e . A t t h e s a m e t i m e , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a l s o s e t u p d i r e c t r e ­l a t i o n s w i t h n e a r l y 1 0 0 W e s t E u r o p e a n i n d u s t r i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s a n d r e s e a r c h i n s t i t u t e s i n t e r e s t e d i n S D I . E a r l y o n W a s h i n g t o n a p ­p r o p r i a t e d U S $ 1 b i l l i o n t o f o r e i g n a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s t o d r a w t h e m i n t o t h e r e s e a r c h p r o g r a m m e , w h i l e t h e d e p a r t m e n t i n c h a r g e o f S D I i s r e a d y t o a c c e p t a d o z e n o r ­g a n i z a t i o n s f r o m f i v e W e s t E u r o ­p e a n n a t i o n s t c j o i n t h e r e l a t e d r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t s . I t w a s u n d e r s u c h c i r c u m s t a n c e s t h a t t h e a r g u ­m e n t b e t w e e n W e s t e r n E u r o p e a n d t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s l e f t t h e t h e o r e t i c a l r e a l m , a n d S D I b e c a m e a r e a l i s t i c c h a l l e n g e t o W e s t e r n E u r o p e .

A c c o r d i n g t o i t s p r o p o n e n t s , E u r e k a m e e t s t h a t c h a l l e n g e h e a d o n . F o l l o w i n g M i t t e r r a n d ' s o p e n i n g E u r e k a g a m b i t , W a s h i n g t o n be ­c a m e m o r e s o l i c i t o u s . N o w t h a t E u r e k a h a d b e e n h a t c h e d , t h e W e s t E u r o p e a n g o v e r n m e n t s w e r e n o l o n g e r g i v e n a d e a d l i n e f o r r e ­p l y , w h i l e i n v i t a t i o n s t o W e s t E u r o ­p e a n f i r m s f o r p a r t i c i p a t i o n a n d c o - o p e r a t i o n w e r e f u r t h e r e x t e n d ­e d .

Challenging the Super­power Hold on Defence A p a r t f r o m i t s p r a c t i c a l e f f e c t s ,

t h e E u r e k a p r o g r a m m e a l s o h a s d e e p p o l i t i c a l , s t r a t e g i c a n d e c o ­n o m i c s i g n i f i c a n c e . A s t h e e m b o d i ­m e n t o f t h e E u r o p e a n d e s i r e f o r p o l i t i c a l i n d e p e n d e n c e a n d h i g h t e c h n o l o g y . E u r e k a a l s o a u g u r s a f u t u r e j o i n t d e f e n c e o f W e s t e r n E u r o p e .

T h e U S d e m a n d f o r E u r o p e ' s s u p p o r t i n S D I i s , b y s o m e ac­c o u n t s , W a s h i n g t o n ' s w a y o f f o r c ­i n g W e s t e r n E u r o p e t o b a c k U S d e f e n c e p o l i c y , a n d t h e r e b y m e e t ­i n g t h e U S ' s t r a t e g i c n e e d . A U S o f f i c i a l o n c e s a i d W e s t e r n E u r o p e s h o u l d c o n t r i b u t e f i n a n c i a l a n d t e c h n o l o g i c a l r e s o u r c e s t o S D I . B y d o i n g s o , t h e o f f i c i a l s a i d . W e s t e r n E u r o p e w o u l d b e p r o t e c t i n g i t s e l f f r o m " s e l f - F i n l a n d i z a t i o n . " T h e r e m a r k , a s i n d i c a t i v e o f t h e U S g o v e r n m e n t ' s v i e w , s h o w s t h a t o n e o f t h e p o l i t i c a l p u r p o s e s o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s i n p u r s u i n g S D I i s t o f u r t h e r c o n f i n e W e s t e r n E u r o p e .

T h e c o u n t r i e s o f W e s t e r n E u ­r o p e , h o w e v e r , w a n t n e i t h e r t o b e p a w n s o f t h e U S , n o r v i c t i m s o f a p o s s i b l e c o n f l i c t s b e t w e e n W a s h ­i n g t o n a n d M o s c o w . W h a t t h e y w a n t i s a s t r a t e g y v i s - a - v i s t h e S o v i e t U n i o n d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h e o n e t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s h a s o f f e r e d .

E u r e k a r e f l e c t s t h e d i f f e r e n c e s t h a t s u r f a c e d b e t w e e n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d E u r o p e o v e r t h e d e v e l ­o p m e n t o f S D I . A l t h o u g h s o m e W e s t E u r o p e a n c o u n t r i e s s u p p o r t S D I , h o p i n g i t w i l l c u r b t h e S o v i e t

U n i o n a n d f o r c e i t t o n e g o t i a t e s e r i o u s l y f o r a r m s r e d u c t i o n s , n o c o u n t r i e s i n t h a t r e g i o n w a n t t o b e i n v o l v e d i n a s t e p p e d - u p a r m s r a c e . E u r e k a , a n i d e a s p u r r e d b y s u c h t h o u g h t s , i s , i n f a c t , a n e x ­p a n s i o n o f t h e W e s t E u r o p e a n p o l i c y o f d e t e n t e a n d d e f e n c e .

T h e s p a c e a r m s c o m p e t i t i o n be ­t w e e n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d t h e S o v i e t U n i o n i s a n e w p a g e i n t h e a r m s r a c e h i s t o r y . A l t h o u g h n u c l e a r a r m s w i l l r e m a i n a m u t u a l d e t e r r e n t , t h e b a l a n c e o f m i l i t a r y f o r c e , i n t h e l o n g r a n g e , w i l l n o t o n l y b e d e ­c i d e d b y t h e q u a n t i t y a n d q u a l i t y o f n u c l e a r a r m s , b u t a l s o , t o a n i n c r e a s i n g e x t e n t , b y e a c h n a t i o n ' s a b i l i t y t o d e f e n d i t s e l f a g a i n s t n u ­c l e a r a t t a c k s . T h e i m p o r t a n c e o f o u t e r s p a c e w e a p o n r y i n d e f e n ­s i v e m i l i t a r y s t r a t e g y i s e v e r i n ­c r e a s i n g . I f W e s t e r n E u r o p e h a n d s o v e r t h e o u t e r s p a c e t o t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d t h e S o v i e t U n i o n a n d l e t s t h e m d o w h a t t h e y l i k e w i t h i t , n o n - n u c l e a r c o u n t r i e s w i l l o n l y b e f u r t h e r c o n t r o l l e d b y U S - S o v i e t s t r a t e g y , w h i l e B r i t a i n a n d F r a n c e w i l l s i m u l t a n e o u s l y l o s e t h e i r n u ­c l e a r d e t e r r e n t a b i l i t i e s .

F r a n c e a n d t h e F e d e r a l R e p u b l i c o f G e r m a n y h a v e a l r e a d y c o - o p e r a t ­e d t o l a u n c h m i l i t a r y r e c o n n a i s ­s a n c e s a t e l l i t e s i n o r d e r t o m o n i t o r d e v e l o p m e n t s i n o u t e r s p a c e . F r a n c e a l s o e s t a b l i s h e d w i t h i n i t s g e n e r a l s t a f f s a s p e c i a l t a s k f o r c e d e v o t e d t o s p a c e d e f e n c e . E u r e k a s h o w s W e s t e r n E u r o p e ' s c o m m i t ­m e n t t o b e o n t o p o f f u t u r e c h a n g e s i n t h e s t r a t e g i c b a l a n c e o f p o w e r . D e s p i t e t h e p u r p o s e o f t h e E u r e k a p r o g r a m m e b e i n g f o r c i v i l u s e , r a t h e r t h a n f o r d e f e n c e , t h e p l a n d o e s n o t p r e ­c l u d e m i l i t a r y d e v e l o p m e n t s . H a v i n g s u c h a p l a n a n d p u t t i n g i t i n t o e f f e c t w i l l a l s o g i v e W e s t e r n E u r o p e m o r e i n p u t i n t o t h e o v e r a l l d e v e l o p m e n t o f s p a c e t e c h n o l o g y .

T h e m i l i t a r y c h a l l e n g e p r e s c a r e d b y S D I i s b o t h l o n g a n d s h o r t t e r m . T h e k e e n e s t c o m p e t i t i o n t h e s e d a y s i s i n t h e t e c h n o l o g i c a l f i e l d , i n t h e

16 B e i j i n g Review. N o . 4 7

past, the Apollo Project took the lead in the development of new technology. Today the allocation of huge sums from the US govern­ment to American companies equipped to perform related re­search will also spur new defence and civil technology.

Technology Gap The technological superiority of

US companies has traditionally de­pended on national defence re­search and government contracts. SDI, therefore, will further strengthen the technological upper hand held by corporate America. In that case, the technological gap between Western Europe and the United States can be expected to widen. SDI has a strong appeal to West Europeans and could end up siphoning some of the area's finan­cial, technological and personnel re­sources off to the United States, turning Western Europe into a pro­cessing factory for US technology. Eureka, in trying to co-ordinate Western Europe's technological ef­forts and enhance its competitive abilities, reflects the will of the re­gion to prevent its brains and money from being drawn to the United States, as well as its desire to become self-reliant in technol­ogy.

From Drawing Board to Launching Pad

West European technical capabil­ities have been advancing. Some of the countries have made initial progress in transferring telecom­munications and biological re­search. Successful spaceflight co­ordination between European na­tions has also enabled the members of Eureka to become competitors of the United States. Despite such progress however, Eureka remains an abstract concept that faces com­plex and potentially insurmounta­ble problems. Those problems are currently being heatedly debated among Eureka members.

Eureka is an important step in continued West Eureopean unity

and development, even though it now appears to be merely a struc­ture for technological co-ordina­tion. While such vexing issues as budget and shareholding, s tand­ardization, and marketing need to be smoothed out before Eureka can be put into effect, the programme's effectiveness will depend on the members' abilities to reconcile their divergent political yearnings. The EEC members themselves have given quite varied degrees of ap­proval to the Eureka programme. With its advanced space technolo­gy, France insists on carrying out the Eureka programme for politi­cal and strategic needs. The Feder­al Republic of Germany, the re­gion's wealthiest country, however, hopes to take part in SDI in order to improve its own political and defensive positions, but fears Washington will not take it on as an equal partner. Realizing that being the only West European na­tion working with the United States on SDI could be politically awk­ward. West Germany endorsed Eu­reka on the condition that the pro­gramme pursue merely civilian and commercial uses, and thus avoid conflicts with the United States. London, initially cool to Eureka, has become a supporter. However, because Britain's major scientific and technological departments have already had private post-war co­operation agreements with the United States, it is unable to spare much more time and effort on Eureka. Italy, which has given its political and diplomatic support to the European programme, is actual­ly interested in only a limited area — computers in particular. Since West European countries, France included, cannot stop private com­panies in their own countries from joining the SDI programme, or from accepting orders or research contracts from Washington, Eureka may turn out simply to be a loose­ly-woven ^programme of technical research co-ordination.

The original proposal stipulated that Eureka be independent of ex­

isting West European institutions. However, Britain and Federal Ger­many vetoed the idea, saying that to set up new independent institu­tions to oversee Eureka's finances would be both costly and time-consuming. Having to part with the concept of a separate agency, and still faced with the need to find a flexible organization design, France and Belgium looked to the West European Union (WEU), in hopes that it would produce con­crete support for Eureka. Once again. Federal Germany and Great Britain opposed the idea. As a military setup, they said, WEU was not an appropriate or­ganization to oversee Eureka, which is intended for civil use. The core to all these arguments is that Bonn and London are unwill­ing to rub Washington the wrong way.

Western Europe's advanced tech­nological co-ordination within EEC faces many problems. First, the EEC will have to create corre­sponding budgets and common in­dustrial and commercial policies for the programme. Second, some EEC members still refuse to join Eureka, claiming it could eventual­ly be used for military purposes, while other EEC members may agree only to participate in individ­ual research projects. Because of such divisiveness Eureka could suf­fer the same fate as the European strategic research programme in information technology — lack of sufficient EEC funding.

There are no clear, concrete steps the European community can take to surmount its Eureka hur­dles. Glimmers of hope for co-ordi­nated efforts, however, have sur­faced. Several large companies in France, Germany and the Nether­lands have announced their inten­tion to establish electronic indus­trial research co-operation in ac­cordance with Eureka. French-German and French-Norwegian companies also have signed more than 10 such co-ordination con-

November 25, 1985 17

Z h a o Z i y a n g , t h e F i r s t C h i n e s e P r e m i e r t o V i s i t L a t i n A m e r i c a

L e a v i n g < h e B r a z i l i a n p r e s i d e n t i a l r e s i d e n c e a f t e r h i s s e c o n d r o u n d o f t a l k s w i t h P r e s i d e n t J o s e S a r n e y o n

N o v e m b e r 1 .

A b i g g i f t f o r t h e l i b r a r y o f B r a s i l i a U n i v e r s i t y : m o r e t h a n 1 , 0 0 0 C h i n e s e b o o k s .

V i s i t i n g " R a n c h G e n e r a l B e l g r a n o " i n C o r d o b a o n t h e v a s t A r g e n t i n e R a m p a s .

i r a c t s . A s t h e f i r s t s t e p t o t u r n E u r e k a f r o m a c o n c e p t t o a v e r i ­t a b l e p l a n , W e s t e r n E u r o p e m u s t f i r s t d e c i d e o n E u r e k a ' s s t r a t e g i c a i m s , o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e s i g n a n d m a n a g e m e n t m e t h o d s .

E u r e k a w i l l s w a l l o w 5 5 b i l l i o n F r e n c h f r a n c s w i t h i n t h e n e x t f i v e y e a r s , F r e n c h o f f i c i a l s h a v e e s t i ­m a t e d . B u t f u n d i n g p l e d g e s f o r t h e p r o j e c t h a v e n o t c o m e e a s y . F r a n c e o n c e p r o p o s e d t h a t t h e p a r t i c i p a t i n g e n t e r p r i s e s a n d t h e E E C d i v i d e t h e e x p e n s e s f o r E u r e k a e v e n l y . U n d e r s u c h a n a r r a n g e m e n t , t h e E E C , w h o s e a n n u a l b u d g e t n e v e r a l l o w s m o r e t h a n U S $ 2 b i l l i o n f o r s c i e n t i f i c r e s e a r c h , w o u l d h a v e t o d o u b l e i t s a l l o c a t i o n . M o r e r e c e n t l y , F r a n c e s u g g e s t e d t h a t g o v e r n m e n t s j o i n t h e c o m p a n i e s a n d t h e E E C i n f o o t i n g t h e b i l l f o r E u r e k a . T h i s i s o n e f e a s i b l e m e t h o d o f b r i n g ­

i n g i n m o r e r e l i a b l e c a p i t a l . T u r n ­i n g t h i s t h e o r y i n t o p r a c t i c e , h o w ­e v e r , i s a n o t h e r m a t t e r . O t h e r m e m b e r n a t i o n s h a v e s u g g e s t e d f u n d i n g b e h a n d l e d b y t h e E u r o ­p e a n I n v e s t m e n t B a n k , e n t e r p r i s e s a n d a l l o c a t i o n s f r o m p a r t i c i p a t i n g s t a t e s , s i m i l a r t o w h a t h a s b e e n d o n e i n W e s t E u r o p e a n s p a c e c o ­o p e r a t i o n .

Dream or Reality? C o m p a r e d t o S D I , E u r e k a , s t i l l

i n i t s c o n c e p t u a l s t a g e , i s d e s c r i b e d b y s o i n e a n a l y s t s a s l i t t l e m o r e t h a n a d r e a m . T h e d e v e l o p i n g c o u r s e o f E u r e k a , h o w e v e r , i s o n e t h a t c o u l d f o r c e t h e E E C t o r e a d ­j u s t i t s i n t e r n a l r e l a t i o n s a n d e l i m ­i n a t e b l o c k a d e s a g a i n s t c o - o p e r a ­t i o n , b u i l d i n g E u r o p e i n t o a n o t h e r h i g h - t e c h p o w e r . P r o b l e m s , s o m e p e t t y , o t h e r s e n o r m o u s , w i l l c o n ­t i n u e t o a r i s e o v e r m o n e y a n d o r ­

g a n i z a t i o n , a s w e l l a s o v e r t e c h n i ­c a l c r i t e r i a a n d m a r k e t i n g . I n a d d i ­t i o n t o h a v i n g t o c o n t e n d w i t h d i f ­f e r e n c e s w i t h i n t h e E E C , E u r e k a a l s o p l a c e s s c i e n c e a n d t e c h n o l o g ­i c a l c o - o p e r a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e E E C a n d o t h e r W e s t E u r o p e a n c o u n t r i e s s u c h a s S w i t z e r l a n d , S w e ­d e n . N o r w a y a n d A u s t r i a o n t h e a g e n d a . I f t h e E E C o p e n s i t s g a t e s t o t h e s e o u t s i d e r s , o v e r a l l e c o n o m ­i c c o - o p e t a t i o n c o u l d b e p r o m o t ­e d a n d a m o r e u n i f i e d W e s t E u r o ­p e a n m a r k e t m . a y r e s u l t . T h e w o r l d w a i t s t o s e e h o w W e s t e r n E u r o p e w i l l c o n s o l i d a t e i t s i d e a s a n d e f f o r t s i n c r e a t i n g t h e E u r e k a p r o ­g r a m m e , a n d w h e t h e r t h e p r o ­g r a m m e w i l l e v e n t u a l l y l e a d t o a p r o n o u n c e d c r a c k i n t h e r e g i o n ' s r e l a t i o n s w i t h t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , o r i f i n s t e a d i t w i l l e v e n t u a l l y b e c o m e a " c i v i l i a n " s u p p l e m e n t t o t h e S D I . •

School for Parents Tries to Curb Crime by YANG XIAOBING Our Correspondent

A C R I M E s u r v e y o f t h e c a p i t a l o f G a n s u P r o v i n c e f o r t h e

f i r s t h a l f o f 1 9 8 4 p u t f o r t h s o m e s u r p r i s i n g r e s u l t s : M o r e t h a n 8 3 p e r c e n t o f t h e c o n v i c t e d o f f e n d e r s w e r e y o u n g e r t h a n 2 5 y e a r s o l d , a n d m o s t o f t h e m c a m e f r o m b a d f a m i l y s i t u a t i o n .

T h e s u r v e y , p u t o u t t h i s S e p t e m ­b e r b y t h e H o m e E d u c a t i o n S t u d y G r o u p u n d e r t h e L a n z h o u - b a s e d G a n s u P r o v i n c i a l E t h i c s S o c i e t y , a l s o r e v e a l e d t h a t i n t h e c i t y o n l y a b o u t 5 p e r c e n t o f t h e f a m i l i e s p r o ­v i d e t h e i r c h i l d r e n w i t h w h a t t h e H o m e E d u c a t i o n S t u d y G r o u p c o n ­s i d e r s " p r o p e r a n d e f f e c t i v e " e d u ­c a t i o n . A m o n g t h e r e s t o f t h e f a m ­i l i e s , 6 0 p e r c e n t d o e m p h a s i z e f a m i l y e d u c a t i o n b u t f a i l t o u s e p r o p e r m e t h o d s , w h i l e t h e r e ­m a i n i n g 3 5 p e r c e n t a d o p t a f r o m p a m p e r i n g t o s p a n k i n g . C h i l ­d r e n f r o m t h e t h i r d t y p e o f f a m i ­l i e s a r e c o m p a r a t i v e l y s e l f i s h , r e c k ­

l e s s a n d l a c k a r e s p e c t f o r a u t h o r ­i t y , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e s t u d y g r o u p . I t i s t h i s , g r o u p o f f a m i l i e s f r o m w h i c h t h e b u l k o f y o u n g c r i m i n a l s i n L a n z h o u c o m e .

T h i s a l e r t e d t h e g r o u p m e m b e r s t o t h e d a n g e r t h a t b a d f a m i l y e d u ­c a t i o n a n d c u s t o m s c a n h a v e o n s o c i e t y . A t a d i s c u s s i o n m e e t i n g , i t w a s p r o p o s e d t h a t a n o n - g o v e r n ­m e n t a l n i g h t s c h o o l b e s e t u p t o t e a c h f a m i l y e d u c a t o r s h o w t o e d u ­c a t e t h e i r c h i l d r e n . T h e c o n s e n ­s u s w a s t h a t t h i s w o u l d n o t o n l y b e g o o d f o r t h e s o c i a l f i g h t a g a i n s t c r i m e , b u t f o r t h e e t h i c s s t u d y g r o u p a s w e l l .

W i t h w i d e s p r e a d c o m m u n i t y s u p p o r t , t h e e t h i c s s o c i e t y o p e n e d t h e L a n z h o u F a m i l y E d u c a t i o n S c h o o l i n O c t o b e r 1 9 8 4 , t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e G a n s u P r o v i n c i a l W o m ­e n ' s A s s o c i a t i o n a n d t h e L a n z h o u N o . 1 8 M i d d l e S c h o o l . O v e r t h e p a s t y e a r , t h e n i g h t s c h o o l h a s h e l d f i v e c o u r s e s f o r m o r e t h a n 5 0 0 p a r e n t s .

T h e s c h o o l h o l d s t w o - h o u r c l a s s ­

e s t w i c e a w e e k f o r o n e a n d a h a l f m o n t h s i n a t e r m . E a c h s t u d e n t p a y s t w o y u a n a t r e g i s t r a t i o n a n d f i l l s o u t a f o r m i n d i c a t i n g w h a t h e o r s h e w a n t s t o s t u d y , a n d f r o m t h i s t h e s i x i n s t r u c t o r s p r e p a r e t e a c h i n g k i t s . T h e s c h o o l i s n o w t e a c h i n g c o u r s e s i n f a m i l y e d u c a ­t i o n , c h i l d p s y c h o l o g y , p u b l i c h e a l t h , a n d e t h i c s a n d l a w .

Dedication

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e s c h o o l p r e s i ­d e n t . L e i X i n l a n , w h o i s a l s o d i ­r e c t o r o f t h e C h i l d r e n ' s W o r k D e ­p a r t m e n t o f t h e G a n s u P r o v i n c i a l W o m e n ' s A s s o c i a t i o n , a l l t h e i n s ­t r u c t o r s w e r e d e d i c a t e d t o t h e w o r k , e v e n t h o u g h t h e i r s e r v i c e s w e r e g i v e n o n a v o l u n t e e r b a s i s .

L e i s a i d 5 5 - y e a r - o l d G u o J i n g -y u a n , a l e c t u r e r o f t h e L a n z h o u E d u c a t i o n C o l l e g e , t e a c h e s a t l e a s t f i v e c l a s s e s o f c h i l d p s y c h o l o g y a t e r m . " S h e w o r k s f a r f r o m h o m e , " L e i a d d e d . " S o m e t i m e s w h e n h e r c l a s s e s r u n l a t e , a f t e r t h e r e i s n o

2 0 B e i j i n g R e v i e w , N o . 4 7

b u s s e r v i c e , h e r h u s b a n d o r s o n w i l l p i c k h e r u p b y b i c y c l e . " L e i s a i d t h e o t h e r i n s t r u c t o r s w e r e l i k e G u o ; t h e y c l e a r l y u n d e r s t o o d t h e v a l u e o f t h e i r w o r k .

T h e i r s t u d e n t s s t u d y h a r d . P r e s ­i d e n t L e i s a i d . M a n y o f t h e m h a v e t e e n a g e r s a t h o m e w h o a r e g o i n g t h r o u g h t h e d i f f i c u l t p h y s i ­c a l a n d e m o t i o n a l c h a n g e s o f a d o ­l e s c e n c e .

Results T h e n i g h t s c h o o l r e c e i v e s f i n a n ­

c i a l a i d a n d m a t e r i a l s u p p o r t f r o m m a n y o r g a n i z a t i o n s t h a t d o n ' t w a n t t o see t h e i r e m p l o y e e s b o t h ­e r e d b y t h e i r c h i l d r e n a n d u n a ­b l e t o c o n c e n t r a t e o n t h e i r w o r k . B u t m o s t o f t h e s c h o o l ' s s u p p o r t t u r n s o u t t o b e f r o m t h e p a r e n t -s t u d e n t s w h o a r e a n x i o u s t o a p p l y t h e i r l e s s o n s a t h o m e . O n e s t u ­d e n t f e l t h e h a d l e a r n t s o m u c h f r o m t h e s c h o o l , t h a t h e i n s i s t e d o n d o n a t i n g a s u m l a r g e r t h a n h i s o n e - m o n t h s a l a r y . T h e s c h o o l a d ­m i n i s t r a t i o n a p p r e c i a t e d t h e ges­t u r e , b u t d e c l i n e d .

K o n g F a n x i a n g , a n e m p l o y e e o f t h e L a n z h o u N o . 4 W o o l l e n M i l l , a n d h i s w i f e , w h o w o r k s i n t h e c a f e t e r i a b u s i n e s s , t o l d a b o u t h o w t h e y l o v e d t h e i r s o n a n d h a d h i g h h o p e s f o r h i s f u t u r e . B u t t h e c o u ­p l e t h o u g h t c o r p o r a l p u n i s h m e n t

w a s t h e m o s t e f f e c t i v e w a y t o e d u ­c a t e t h e i r s o n . T h e b e a t i n g s o n l y s e n t t h e b o y f r o m h i s p a r e n t s a n d i n t o a c l i q u e o f s h a d y f r i e n d s . A f ­t e r s t u d i e s a t t h e n i g h t s c h o o l , K o n g b e g a n t o u n d e r s t a n d t h a t b e a t i n g t h e b o y o n l y d r o v e h i m f a r t h e r f r o m h o m e . I n a c h a t w i t h m e t h e c h i l d s a i d , " T h e m o s t p r o ­g r e s s D a d d y h a s m a d e i s t h a t h e h a s s t o p p e d b e a t i n g m e . I d i d n ' t d a r e t o t a l k t o h i m b e f o r e , b u t n o w I f e e l f a m i l y w a r m t h . "

H u o T i n g g o n g i s h e a d o f a n e i g h b o u r h o o d c o m m i t t e e i n t h e Q i l i h e D i s t r i c t . B o t h h i s 1 4 - y e a r -o l d s o n , H u o X i n g , a n d 1 3 - y e a r -o l d d a u g h t e r , H u o H u a , w e r e t e r ­r i b l y s p o i l e d b y t h e i r g r a n d m o t h e r . T h e y o f t e n b u r s t i n t o t e m p e r t a n ­t r u m s t h a t n o a m o u n t o f r e p r i ­m a n d s o r s p a n k i n g s c a n s t o p . T h e b o y s t o l e f r u i t f r o m t h e m a r k e t a n d b e g a n t o d a t e a g i r l b e h i n d b o t h t h e i r p a r e n t s ' b a c k s . A t s c h o o l , h e w a s a n o t o r i o u s t r u a n t a n d c l a s s c l o w n w h e n h e d i d s h o w u p . K o n g a n d h i s w i f e w e r e des ­p e r a t e a n d t h e n i g h t s c h o o l c a m e t o t h e i r r e s c u e . T h r o u g h c h i l d p s y c h o l o g y a n d h e a l t h a n d h y g i e n e c o u r s e s , t h e y l e a r n t t h a t a r e b e l ­l i o u s n a t u r e o f t e n r e f l e c t s a c h i l d ' s s t u n t e d p s y c h o l o g i c a l m a t u r i t y , w h i l e d a t i n g g i r l s i s o n l y a n i n d i ­c a t i o n o f p u b e r t y , a p e n o d t h a t c a l l s f o r p a t i e n c e a n d g e n t l e d i s -

Parents attending o physiology class.

s u a s i o n . P u t t i n g w h a t t h e y h a v e l e a r n t i n t o p r a c t i c e , t h e c o u p l e d i d t h e i r b e s t t o r e s p e c t t h e i r c h i l d r e n a n d s h o w t h e m g r e a t w a r m t h . D u r ­i n g w e e k e n d s o r h o l i d a y s , t h e y i n ­v i t e d s o m e o f t h e c h i l d r e n ' s p a l s t o f a m i l y p a r t i e s , t o s h o w t h e m w h a t f r i e n d s s h o u l d b e m a d e o f . G r a d u a l l y , t h e b o y b e c a m e c l o s e r t o h i s p a r e n t s a n d e v e n t o l d t h e m a b o u t h i s g i r l f r i e n d . A f t e r m o r e t a l k s , h e s t o p p e d d a t i n g h e r s o h e c o u l d c o n c e n t r a t e o n s t u d i e s . T h o u g h t f u l l y t h e b o y s a i d t o h i s p a r e n t s , " C h i l d r e n c a n b e e a s i l y s p o i l e d ; i t w a s a p a i n f u l e x p e r i e n c e f o r m e . L i t t l e s i s t e r i s a l s o g r o w ­i n g a n d s h o u l d b e w e l l - t a k e n c a r e o f . "

Devetopment S e e i n g a l l t h e s e c h a n g e s t h a t

t o o k p l a c e a t h o m e , H u o T i n g g o n g d e c i d e d t o s h a r e h i s n e w - f o u n d f a m i l y p s y c h o l o g y w i t h h i s c o m ­m u n i t y b y s t a r t i n g u p a s c h o o l o f h i s o w n . S i m i l a r m o v e s a r e i n t h e p i p e l i n e f o r t w o o f L a n z h o u ' s l a r ­ge s t f a c t o r i e s , t h e L a n z h o u C h e m i ­c a l W o r k s a n d t h e N o . 3 5 1 2 F a c ­t o r y .

D e s p i t e t h e s e i n i t i a l a c h i e v e ­m e n t s , t h e a m b i t i o u s n i g h t s c h o o l t e a c h e r s a r e n o t f u l l y s a t i s f i e d w i t h t h e i r w o r k . T h e y a r e c u r r e n t ­l y d r a w i n g u p n e w p l a n s t o i m ­p l e m e n t c h i l d b i r t h a n d p r e - s c h o o l c o u r s e s i n t o t h e c u r r i c u l u m a n d t o c o n d u c t m o r e r e s e a r c h a n d c o n ­s u l t a t i o n s e v i c e s .

T h e f u l l i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f t h e p l a n , h o w e v e r , h a s b e e n m e t w i t h s o m e a n t i c i p a t e d p r o b l e m s , n a m e ­l y m o n e y . T h e s c h o o l ' s c u r r e n t f i n a n c i a l r e s o u r c e s c o m e f r o m t h e s t u d e n t s ' r e g i s t r a t i o n f e e s a n d c o m m u n i t y d o n a t i o n s . A s t h e p r o g r a m m e e x p a n d s , m o r e t e a c h e r s w i l l h a v e t o c h a r g e s o m e f e e s . T h e f i n a n c i a l p i n c h h a s a r o u s e d c o m ­m u n i t y c o n c e r n . T h e M u n i c i p a l E d u c a t i o n a l B u r e a u p l a n s t o ea r ­m a r k s o m e f u n d s f o r t h e s c h o o l , a n d e v e n t u a l l y t h e p r i v a t e n i g h t s c h o o l m a y b e c o m e p a r t l y f i n a n c ­e d b y t h e s t a t e . •

November 25. 1 9 8 5 2 1

Two Generations Pioneer the Wilderness

by WU NAITAO Our Correspondent

THIRTY years ago, 98 young people left their homes in

Shanghai, the most bustling and prosperous city in China, to make new homes for themselves in the wilderness of Poyang Lake in liangxi Province. When the First Five-Year Plan (1953-57) for eco­nomic development was declared, this handful of youths was just one of the dozens of groups who vo-lunte;ered to challenge more than 3 million of the country's 100 million hectares of wasteland.

Their hard work over the past three decades has paid off. This former wasteland today has grown into an exemplary place of af­fluence. The farm, popularly call­ed "Gongqing City," or city of the Communist Youth League, has a population of more than 10,000, and has the country's largest down clothing factory, the largest soft drinks brewery south of the lower reaches of the Chang-jiang River and nine other facto­ries. Its per-capita agricultural and industrial output value is three times that of the provincial capital city of Nanchang, and 16.5 times that of the whole province. The

state has invested 206,000 yuan al­together to Gongqing since 1969. But the farm has reciprocated with more than 20 million yuan in prof­its and taxes for the state.

Today, trucks loaded with goods can be seen running on the high­ways sprawled out among the fields, with pigs of lean meat type being shipped to Hongkong, dried salted ducks to Southeast Asia and down clothing to Europe, America and Australia as well as to other Chinese provinces and cities. In recent years, the farm has hosted

thousands of Chinese and foreign visitors every year who come for trade talks. Small as it is (only 21.1 square kilometres), the farm, which started from scratch, has be­come known throughout the coun­try for its pioneering spirit and re­markable achievements.

Hu Yaobang Returns On October 15, when the farm

celebrated its 30th birthday, Hu Yaobang, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, sent the Gongqing

The farm's down factory produces more than 300 types of clothing that are sold in more than 30 countries. Its export value mokes up 10 percent of

China's totol in this line.

22 Beijing Review. Nu. 47

f a r m e r s a l e t t e r o f g r e e t i n g s , i n w h i c h h e p r a i s e d t h e o l d p i o ­n e e r s f o r t h e i r n o b l e s p i r i t o f b u i l d ­i n g a n e n t e r p r i s e t h r o u g h a r d u o u s e f f o r t . H e p o i n t e d o u t t h a t i n t o ­d a y ' s s o c i a l i s t c o n s t r u c t i o n , i t i s s t i l l n e c e s s a r y t o c a r r y f o r w a r d t h i s v a l u a b l e s p i r i t .

Y u W e i z h o n g , o n e o f t h e f i r s t p i o n e e r s a n d n o w s e c r e t a r y o f t h e f a r m ' s P a r t y c o m m i t t e e , s a i d t h a t j u s t o n e m o n t h a f t e r t h e o l d p i o n ­e e r s a r r i v e d h e r e i n O c t o b e r 1 9 5 5 , H u , t h e n t h e f i r s t s e c r e t a r y o f t h e C h i n e s e C o m m u n i s t Y o u t h L e a g u e C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e , c a m e f r o m B e i ­j i n g t o see t h e m , a s k i n g t h e m t h e d e t a i l s a b o u t t h e i r l i v e s , f a m i l i e s , s t u d y a n d m a r r i a g e .

A t t h a t t i m e H u e n c o u r a g e d t h e y o u n g p e o p l e t o o v e r c o m e t h e i r d i f f i c u l t i e s a n d r u n t h e f a r m w e l l . T h e g r o u p l e a d e r r e p l i e d : " W e a r e n o t t o b e i n t i m i d a t e d b y d i f f i c u l t i e s a n d h a r d s h i p s . W e d o n ' t g r u m b l e l i v i n g i n t h e s e t h a t c h e d s h e l t e r s . " O n e y o u n g m a n c h i p p e d i n , " W e b u i l t t h e s e h o m e s a n d w a n t t o l i v e i n t h e m f o r e v e r . " H u s a i d w i t h a s m i l e : " Y o u a r e n o t s u p p o s e d t o l i v e i n t h e s e s h e l t e r s f o r e v e r . Y o u w i l l l i v e i n t h e m f o r o n l y t h r e e y e a r s . T o d a y I e a t y o u r r i c e g r u e l a n d s a l t e d b e a n s . I w i l l c o m e a g a i n t o e a t a b a n q u e t w h e n y o u r f a r m b e c o m e s p r o s p e r o u s e n o u g h t o a f f o r d y o u t h e f e a s t . "

W h e n H u r e t u r n e d t o B e i j i n g , Y u r e c a l l e d , h e s e n t t h e m s e v e r a l m u s i c a l i n s t r u m e n t s t o g e t h e r w i t h a l e t t e r o f e n c o u r a g e m e n t , w h i c h r e a d i n p a r t : " W i t h m y c o n t r i b u ­t i o n fees 1 b o u g h t t h e s e m u s i c a l i n s t r u m e n t s f o r y o u r r e c r e a t i o n a l a c t i v i t i e s , t h e s e b o o k s f o r y o u t o r e a d , a n d o n e a l a r m c l o c k f o r y o u t o u s e i n y o u r r a c e a g a i n s t t i m e . "

A n d as H u h a d p r o m i s e d , h e r e ­t u r n e d t o G o n g q i n g l a s t D e c e m b e r , t h i s t i m e as t h e P a r t y ' s g e n e r a ! s e c r e t a r y . A n d i n d e e d h e w a s t r e a t ­e d t o a g r a n d b a n q u e t . W h e n Y u p r o p o s e d i n v i t i n g H u a n d o t h e r s t a t e l e a d e r s t o a g r a n d c e l e b r a t i o n m a r k i n g t h e 3 0 t h b i r t h d a y o f t h e

f a r m , H u s u g g e s t e d i t w o u l d b e b e t t e r n o t t o h o l d c e l e b r a t i o n s o f a n y k i n d . R a t h e r , i t w o u l d b e a d v i s a b l e t o o r g a n i z e s o m e s o r t o f m e e t i n g , a n d c a l l i t a g a t h e r i n g " t o r e c a l l t h e p a s t . " H e f e l t t h e y s h o u l d i n v i t e t h e o l d p i o n e e r s a n d t h e i r c h i l d r e n , w h o w e r e s p r e a d o u t o v e r C h i n a . T h e g u e s t s s h o u l d b e m a i n l y y o u n g p e o p l e r a t h e r t h a n s t a t e l e a d e r s . " D o n ' t s h o w o f f t o t h e l e a d e r s , b u t e d u c a t e t h e y o u n g , " H u s a i d .

I n t h e e x h i b i t i o n h a l l w e r e H u ' s p h o t o s t a k e n w i t h t h e f a r m e r s d u r ­i n g h i s t w o v i s i t s t o t h e f a r m , a n d h i s i n s c r i p t i o n , w h i c h r e a d : " W h e r e t h e r e i s a w i l l , t h e r e i s a w a y , " d e d i c a t e d t o t h e o l d p i o n e e r s ; w h i l e , " G l o r y s h o u l d g o t o t h e g e n e r a t i o n o f t h e 1 9 8 0 s , " w a s m e a n t t o e n c o u r a g e t h e y o u n g .

C u r r e n t l y , y o u n g p e o p l e m a k e u p 8 0 p e r c e n t o f t h e f a r m ' s p o p u ­l a t i o n . A s e n t e r p r i s i n g a s t h e i r o l d c o u n t e r p a r t s , t h e s e y o u n g p e o p l e

a r e s e a r c h i n g f o r n e w l i f e s t y l e s a n d i d e a l s .

No Resting on Laurels T a n g X i u y i n g w a s o n e o f t h e

f i r s t w i l d e r n e s s p i o n e e r s . T h i r t y y e a r s a g o , w h e n H u f i r s t v i s i t e d t h e f a r m , h e e n c o u r a g e d t h e 1 5 - y e a r -o l d T a n g t o w o r k h a r d t o o v e r ­c o m e d i f f i c u l t i e s . " T h e m o s t v a l u ­a b l e s p i r i t o f y o u n g p e o p l e , " H u h a d t o f d h e r , " i s t h a t t h e y h a v e t h e c o u r a g e t o t r y s o m e t h i n g n e w . " T a n g ' s d a u g h t e r , Z h o u L i j u n , w a s i n s p i r e d b y w h a t H u h a d s a i d t o h e r m o t h e r .

D u r i n g t h e p a s t h a r d t i m e s , t h e o l d e r g e n e r a t i o n d i s p l a y e d a d a u n t ­l e ss s p i r i t i n d e a l i n g w i t h a n y e m e r ­g e n c y . O n e d a y w h e n f l o o d s w a s h ­e d t h r o u g h a n a r e a w h e r e 3 0 , 0 0 0 b r i c k s w e r e b e i n g s u b m e r g e d , a g r o u p o f y o u t h s r a c e d t h r o u g h t h e w a t e r s u n t i l t h e y h a d s a v e d a l l t h e b r i c k s , a n d t h r e e o t h e r y o u n g m e n w o r k e d i n t h e f l o o d s f o r s e v e n c o n ­s e c u t i v e d a y s t o s a v e a n e l e c t r i c i t y

T h e f a r m p r o d u c e s 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 d r i e d , s a K e d d u c k s e v e r y y e a r , w h i c h o r e s o l d m a i n l y t o H o n g k o n g a n d M a c a o .

November 25. 1 9 8 5 23

Study after work.

generator. Today, the material con­ditions are much better, but the daring spirit exhibited in those years is still being carried forward.

For example, when a decision was made in early 1980 to build an amusement centre to liven up the young people's spare-time ac­tivities, the young people declined a financial offer made by the farm even though it was already wealthy enough to allocate the money for the centre at the time. Instead, they worked extra hours every day and finally made 1 mil­lion yuan by the end of the year, and from this they took out 100,000 yuan for the new centre. It covers an area of 10,000 square metres,

the largest of its kind in the prov­ince. The centre was named "Home of the Young," in dedica­tion to the youths who raised the money, worked out the blueprint and volunteered labour for its con­struction. It is complete with classical pavilions, European-style buildings, a skating rink, a ball­room, a reading room and a park. At the entrance to the centre stands a statue of a robust young man, half soaked in mud, with an atomic nucleus model in hands, indicating the farm's young people's determi­nation to create a bright future.

They invite professors to give lectures at the centre and hold ir­regular forums and night classes

Gongqing City's mechanized pig farm.

24

on ethics, calligraphy and art, science and technology.

New Quests Xing Qinglai, 37, had only com­

pleted junior middle school in the 1960s. Delving into piles of books after work, he finally passed the state examination to become an economist and today is deputy leader of the farm. Speaking of his farm, he said an enterprise could become "spineless," like a person with no ideal or goals. "Of course," he said, "we have targets for different periods. At the begin­ning when we actually had no­thing, our target was just to keep the farm above water. By the end of the 1970s, as our economy im­proved, so did our targets. We wanted to build our farm into an enterprise complete with agricul­ture, industry and commerce and a thriving small town. Today we have raised our goals again. We hope to build our farm into a mo­dern city."

Years ago, when 29-year-old Yu Xiulong was promoted to be lead­er of the building materials fac­tory, the factory, with a staff of only 200 workers, was poorly equipped and operated at a loss. He worked hard together with his fellow workers and turned the fac­tory into a profitable enterprise, bringing in 17,000 yuan by the end of 1984, and 34,000 yuan in the first ten months of this year. Yu said he planned to build the fac­tory into one capable of producing several types of building materials.

Shen Jiayi, a 26-year-old farmer who works a vast stretch of rice paddies, said young people admired the old pioneers and have learnt from their examples. "Neverthe­less," Shen said, "since the out­dated toiling and moiling methods are gone f'^r good, and we are bet­ter educated, this generation should be even more outstanding." Today's young Gongqing farmers, like Shen, subscribe to the Jiangxi Science and Technology Journal

Beijing Review, No. 47

a n d l i s t e n t o R a d i o J i a n g x i ' s a g r o - " t e c h n o l o g y p r o g r a m m e t o k e e p a b ­r e a s t o f t h e m o d e r n s c i e n c e i n ­v o l v e d i n f a r m i n g .

Thirst for Knowledge

I t i s c l e a r f r o m t h e r e s u l t s o f a n e x a m i n a t i o n t a k e n b y m o r e t h a n 3 , 0 0 0 y o u n g p e o p l e f r o m t h e f a r m t h a t m a n y o f t h e m a r e s t u d y ­i n g h a r d o n t h e i r o w n i n o r d e r t o r e a c h t h e l e v e l o f s e n i o r m i d d l e s c h o o l g r a d u a t e s o r t o w i n t h e t i t l e o f t e c h n i c a l p o s i t i o n s .

C a o Y i h u a , a w o r k e r o f t h e m a c h i n e r y p l a n t , w a s a p r i m a r y s c h o o l g r a d u a t e o f 1 9 7 7 . A f t e r e n t e r i n g t h e f a c t o r y , h e b e c a m e s e l f - t a u g h t i n m a t h e m a t i c s , c h e m i s ­t r y a n d p h y s i c s a n d b e g a n t o s t u d y E n g l i s h i n 1 9 7 9 . C a o s a i d h i s g o a l w a s t o b e c o m e a n e n g i n e e r , o r a t l e a s t a t e c h n i c i a n .

Y u S h u y u , a s e c o n d a r y t e c h n i c a l s c h o o l g r a d u a t e o f 1 9 8 2 , i s n o w o n e o f t h e l e a d e r s o f a w o r k s h o p . " I h a v e m u c h t o l e a r n , " Y u s a i d , s i t t i n g b y h i s d e s k p i l e d w i t h c o l ­

l e g e b o o k s . " 1 w a n t t o r e a c h t h e c o l l e g e l e v e l o n m y o w n . " T h e p r o v i n c i a l a u t h o r i t i e s r e c e n t l y a w a r d e d h i m a n a d v a n c e d s c i e n ­t i f i c p r i z e f o r " h i s r e s e a r c h i n c o ­o p e r a t i o n w i t h a r e s e a r c h i n s t i t u t e , u s i n g b r e w e r y w a s t e s t o p r o d u c e p r o t e i n s o u r c e s f o r p i g s . S i n c e t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h i s y e a r , t h e f a r m a l r e a d y h a s s o l d m o r e t h a n 3 , 0 0 0 p i g s t o H o n g k o n g , 8 0 p e r c e n t o f w h i c h p r o d u c e l e a n p o r k .

Life Takes on New Colour

Y u Y a o l i n g , a 2 3 - y e a r - o l d d a u g h ­t e r o f o l d p i o n e e r s , i s n o w l e a d e r o f t h e d e s i g n i n g o f f i c e o f t h e d o w n c l o t h i n g f a c t o r y . S t a f f e d w i t h 3 7 w o r k e r s a t a n a v e r a g e a g e o f 2 5 , t h e o f f i c e i s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r d e s i g n ­i n g a n d p r o d u c i n g s a m p l e c l o t h i n g f o r t h e m a i n 3 , 0 0 0 - w o r k e r f a c t o r y . Y u Y a o l i n g i s s a i d t o b e b r i g h t a n d p r o d u c t i v e , y e t s h e o f t e n q u a r r e l s w i t h h e r m o t h e r , a f o r m e r t r a c t o r d r i v e r , b e c a u s e t h e o l d e r w o m a n d o e s n o t l i k e h e r d a u g h t e r t o w e a r t h e n e w f a s h i o n s . B u t Y u c o n t e n d s t h a t t i m e s h a v e c h a n g e d . " I k n o w

h o w h a r d t h e i r l i v e s w e r e a n d I w o r k a s h a r d a s t h e y d i d . B u t w e a r e y o u n g p e o p l e o f t h e 1 9 8 0 s , " s h e s a i d . " W e w a n t t o m a k e o u r l i v e s r i c h e r a n d m o r e c o l o u r f u l . H o w c a n w e j u s t w o r k a n d w o r k w i t h o u t e n d ? "

Y u D a y u a n . a t r u c k d r i v e r w h o h a s a p p l i e d f o r P a r t y m e m b e r s h i p , o f t e n c o m p l a i n s a b o u t h i s o l d e r l e a d e r s . " 1 g r u m b l e b e c a u s e t h e f a r m s t i l l h a s m u c h t o b e d e s i r e d , " h e s a i d . " I w a n t t o d o m y j o b w e l l b e c a u s e [ w a n t t o c o n t r i b u t e m o r e t o t h e c o u n t r y . "

T h e o l d e r g e n e r a t i o n , s a i d Y u X i u l o n g , t h e l e a d e r o f t h e f a r m , r e s t s c o n t e n t e d w i t h i t s p a s t a c h i e v e m e n t s a n d d o e s n o t c o n c e r n i t s e l f w i t h p a y . T h e y o u n g e r g e n e r a t i o n l o o k s t o r i c h e s a n d a c o l o u r f u l l i f e a n d d e m a n d s r e s p e c t f o r p e r s o n a l r i g h t s a n d c h e r i s h e s n e w i d e a s .

D e s p i t e t h e i n e v i t a b l e c o n f l i c t s b e t w e e n t h e t w o g e n e r a t i o n s , t h e y h a v e o n e t h i n g i n c o m m o n : B o t h a r e e n t e r p r i s i n g a n d r e a d y t o b e a r g r e a t h a r d s h i p , Y u s a i d . n

Xingcheng: A Potential Summer Resort by ZHANG ZEYU Our Correspondent

X I N G C H E N G , a s m a l l t o w n o n t h e s o u t h w e s t c o s t o f L i a o n i n g

P r o v i n c e , o f f e r s m a n y a t t r a c t i o n s — a n c i e n t b u i l d i n g s , h o t s p r i n g s , s u n b a t h i n g b e a c h e s , l u s h m o u n t a i n s a n d i s l a n d s . U p o n a p p r o v a l b y t h e S t a t e C o u n c i l , i t w a s r e c e n t l y a n n o u n c e d t h a t t h e a r e a w o u l d b e d e v e l o p e d i n t o a t o u r i s t s p o t i n n o r t h C h i n a i n t h r e e t o f i v e y e a r s .

A f t e r a s u r v e y o f X i n g c h e n g m a n y e x p e r t s h e l d t h a t i t w a s r a r e t o f i n d s o m a n y p l a c e s o f h i s t o r i c i n t e r e s t a n d n a t u r a l b e a u t y w i t h i n 2 0 s q u a r e k i l o m e t r e s i n C h i n a , o r e l s e w h e r e i n t h e w o r l d .

P r e m i e r Z h a o Z i y a n g a l s o n o t e d a f t e r h i s v i s i t t o X i n g c h e n g t h a t

t h e a r e a c o u l d b e d e v e l o p e d i n t o a n o t h e r f a m o u s s u m m e r r e s o r t , " B e i d a i h e . "

F o r t r a v e l l e r s t h e w o r l d o v e r , X i n g c h e n g c o u l d b e t h e n e x t s p o t o n t h e m a p f o r s u m m e r r e s o r t s .

Ancient Town

G e t t i n g t o X i n g c h e n g i s e a s y . I t is l i n k e d t o B e i j i n g a n d S h e n y a n g b y t r a i n . X i n g c h e n g f a c e s t h e B o h a i S e a a n d h a s u n d u l a t i n g h i l l s as i t s b a c k d r o p . X i n g c h e n g C o u n t y n o w h a s a p o p u l a t i o n o f 4 8 0 , 0 0 0 , m o s t b e i n g o f t l i e H a n n a t i o n a l i t y , a n d M a n c h u , M o n g o l i a n , H u i , K o r e a n a n d X i b o e t h n i c g r o u p s a r e a l s o f o u n d i n s m a l l n u m b e r s .

T h e a n c i e n t t o w n , b u i l t d u r i n g t h e m i d d l e p e r i o d o f t h e M i n g D y n a s t y ( 1 3 6 8 - 1 6 4 4 ) , h a s a h i s t o r y

t h a t d a t e s b a c k 5 0 0 y e a r s . T h e o u t l i n e o f t h e t o w n i s s h a p e d l i k e a s q u a r e , s u r r o u n d e d b y a b r i c k w a l l , a n d t o w e r s o v e r t h e t o w n g a t e s a t e i t h e r s i d e , a s w e l l as a b e l l - d r u m - t o w e r i n t h e m i d d l e o f t h e t o w n . T h e l a y o u t i s t y p i c a l o f t h e M i n g D y n a s t y s t y l e , a n d w e l l -p r e s e r v e d s o f a r . I t h a s b e c o m e a c e n t r e f o r t h e s t u d y o f a n c i e n t a r c h i t e c t u r e , a n d o n c e s e r v e d as a n i m p o r t a n t m i l i t a r y i n s t a l l a t i o n .

E n t e r i n g t h e s o u t h g a t e , o n e s t e p s o n t o S o u t h S t r e e t , r e m i n i ­s c e n t o f t h e M i n g D y n a s t y , c l e a r a n d s t r a i g h t , f l a n k e d b y g r e y - b r i c k a n d t i l e h o u s e s . A s t o n e m e m o r i a l a r c h w a y a n d s t o n e l i o n s a l o n g t h e s t r e e t s e r v e as w i t n e s s t o t h e age-o l d c u s t o m s o f X i n g c h e n g . O r i g i ­n a l l y , t w o s t o n e a r c h w a y s w e r e b u i l t i n t h e s t r e e t b y C h o n g Z h e n ,

November 25. 1 9 8 5 2 5

t h e l a s t e m p e r o r o f t h e M i n g D y n a s t y , i n h o n o u r o f t w o g o v ­e r n o r s u n d e r h i s r u l e , Z u D a s h o u a n d h i s b r o t h e r Z u D a l e .

T h e s u r v i v i n g f i v e - t i e r a r c h w a y , s u p p o r t e d b y f o u r i n t r i c a t e l y e n ­g r a v e d c o l u m n s , i s o n e o f t h e t o w n ' s m o s t m a g n i f i c e n t a t t r a c ­t i o n s .

X i n g c h e n g ' s t o w e r s a n d g a t e s h a v e r e c e n t l y b e e n r e p a i r e d a n d r e s t o r e d t o t h e i r o r i g i n a l l o o k . T h e r e n o v a t i o n o f o l d h o u s e s a l o n g t h e s t r e e t a l s o h a s b e g u n , a n d w h e n c o m p l e t e d , t h e s t r e e t w i l l c h a r a c ­t e r i z e t h e M i n g D y n a s t y . A l l s h o p a s s i s t a n t s w i l l d r e s s u p i n M i n g c o s t u m e a n d r e c e i v e t o u r i s t s w i t h t h e e t i q u e t t e a n d c u s t o m s o f t h a t t i m e . G o o d s a n d f o o d s o f t h e M i n g t r a d i t i o n w i l l b e s o l d a l o n g t h e s t r e e t , g i v i n g t h e v i s i t o r a r e a l t a s t e o f C h i n e s e h i s t o r y .

Sunbathing Beaches A d r i v e o f s o m e e i g h t k i l o m e t r e s

b r i n g s t h e c u r i o u s t r a v e l l e r t o o n e o f t h e m o s t f a s c i n a t i n g a n d b e a u t i ­f u l b a t h i n g b e a c h e s . A l o n g t h e s h o r e , y o u c a n see o n e s u m m e r h e a l t h r e s o r t a f t e r a n o t h e r . T h e s c e n i c c o a s t a l l i n e s p r e a d s a l o n g 14 k i l o m e t r e s , a n d t 'ne p l a n i s t o

A stone meinoriai archway standing on South Street, reminiscent of

the Ming Dynasty.

b u i l d f o u r b a t h i n g b e a c h e s t h a t w i l l a c c o m m o d a t e 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 s w i m m e r s . T w o b a t h i n g b e a c h e s h a v e b e e n o p e n e d t o t h e p u b l i c .

T h e s u m m e r t e m p e r a t u r e i n X i n g c h e n g i s 3 1 d e g r e e s c e n t i g r a d e ( 8 7 F a h r e n h e i t ) , w h i l e t h e t e m p e r a ­t u r e o f t h e sea w a t e r r a n g e s b e ­t w e e n 18 a n d 2 0 d e g r e e s c e n t i g r a d e ( a r o u n d 7 0 F a h r e n h e i t ) . T h e b e a c h i s b r o a d a n d c o v e r e d w i t h s o f t , f i n e s a n d a n d t h e w a t e r c l e a r o f r e e f s . T h e m o u n t a i n s s l o p e g e n t l y d o w n t o t h e s h o r e l i n e , a n d t h i s l o v e l y b a c k d r o p c r e a t e s a c h a r m i n g , n a ­t u r a l s c e n e .

I n a p i n e f o r e s t a l o n g t h e sea­s h o r e , a p a r k o f f e r s v i s i t o r s h i l l s a n d p o n d s , p a v i l i o n s a n d t e r r a c e s t o e x p l o r e , a s w e l l a s s w i m m i n g a n d a m u s e m e n t f a c i l i t i e s .

Hot Springs A h o t s p r i n g h e a l t h r e s o r t n e s t l ­

e d i n g r e e n t r e e s i s l o c a t e d b e t w e e n t h e t o w n o f X i n g c h e n g a n d t h e b e a c h . T h e r e a r e 11 h o t s p r i n g s a t t h e r e s o r t , t h a t r e a c h t e m p e r a ­t u r e s u p t o 7 0 d e g r e e s c e n t i g r a d e . T h e m i n e r a l h o t s p r i n g s c o n t a i n p o t a s s i u m , s o d i u m , c a l c i u m , m a g ­n e s i u m , a m m o n i a , s u l p h u r , h y d r o ­g e n a n d o t h e r e l e m e n t s , a n d h a v e m e d i c i n a l e f f e c t s o n r h e u m a r t h r i t i s a n d s k i n d i s e a s e s . T h e m i n e r a l s p r i n g s a r e a l s o k n o w n t o h e l p p a t i e n t s t h r o u g h q u i c k r e c o v e r i e s a f t e r m a j o r o p e r a t i o n s . T h e " m e d i c i n e w a t e r " h a s l o n g b e e n u s e d as a t o n i c . T h e M o n g o ­l i a n s c o m e h e r e e v e r y s p r i n g a n d a u t u m n a n d t a k e h o t s p r i n g b a t h s . W h e n t h e y r e t u r n t o t h e i r f a m i l i e s , t h e y b r i n g b a c k s o m e o f t h e m i n e r a l w a t e r , w h i c h i s r e ­g a r d e d as h o l y w a t e r a n d m e a n t t o k e e p t h e d e v i l a w a y .

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e h e a d o f t h e h e a l t h r e s o r t . G e n e r a l S e c r e t a r y H u Y a o b a n g e n j o y e d a h o t s p r i n g b a t h h e r e n o t l o n g a g o .

Chrysanthemum Island T o u r i s t s c a n g e t t o C h r y s a n t h e ­

m u m I s l a n d , s o u t h e a s t o f X i n g ­

c h e n g , b y p l e a s u r e b o a t i n 3 0 m i n u t e s . C h r y s a n t h e m u m I s l a n d w i t h a n a r e a o f 13 s q u a r e k i l o m e ­t r e s , w a s g i v e n i t s n a m e b e c a u s e i t a b o u n d s i n w i l d c h r y s a n t h e ­m u m s . T h e r e a r e r o c k y p e a k s c o v e r e d w i t h g r e e n t r e e s a n d p a r t o f t h e g r o u n d s h a v e b e e n se t a s i d e f o r h u n t i n g . P l a c e s o f h i s t o r i c i n t e r e s t i n c l u d e a p a v i l i o n , a g l a z e d t r e a s u r e w e l l , a T a n g D y n a s t y e m p e r o r ' s c a v e , a n d a n a n c i e n t p l a t f o r m u s e d " b y t h e r u l e r s t o t a k e r o l l c a l l o f t h e o f f i c e r s . T h e i s l a n d a l s o h a d b e e n a B u d d h i s t c e n t r e i n t h e L i a o D y n a s t y (ja 6-1125), ac ­c o r d i n g t o h i s t o r i c a l r e c o r d s .

I n t h e p a s t , C h r y s a n t h e m u m I s l a n d w a s h a r d t o g e t t o . M a r ­r i a g e s a m o n g r e l a t i v e s b e c a m e c o m m o n s o t h e i s l a n d e r s h a v e t e n d ­e d t o b e s h o r t a n d s l i g h t i n f i g u r e a n d a r e p o o r i n h e a l t h . T h e s i t u a ­t i o n h a s c h a n g e d g r e a t l y b e c a u s e t r a f f i c a n d t r a v e l h a v e o p e n e d u p s i n c e 1 9 4 9 .

Shoushan A b o u t 2.5 k i l o m e t r e s e a s t o f t h e

c i t y , t h e r e i s a n o t h e r g o r g e o u s s i t e t o b e h o l d — S h o u s h a n m o u n t a i n . I t s n a m e , " h e a d m o u n t a i n , " b e a r s a s t r i k i n g r e s e m b l a n c e t o a f i g u r e ' s h e a d . A p a r t f r o m i t s p r e c i p i t o u s a n d o d d - s h a p e d r o c k s , t h e m o u n ­t a i n i s c e l e b r a t e d f o r i t s c l o u d - c a p ­p e d r o c k y p e a k s . I f o n e c l i m b s t o t h e t o p o f t h e p e a k s , a f i n e v i e w o f b l u e s e a , g o l d e n s a n d , p a v i l i o n a n d s m a l l b r i d g e s l i e s b e l o w .

W i t h i t s n a t u r a l b e a u t y a n d n u m e r o u s h i s t o r i c a l s i t e s , X i n g ­c h e n g o f f e r s a d a n g l i n g r o p e i n f r o n t o f t o u r i s t s , s a i d W a n g Z e -m i n g , h e a d o f X i n g c h e n g C o u n t y . B u t t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f X i n g c h e n g w i l l r e q u i r e m u c h w o r k , e s p e c i a l l y w h e n i t c o m e s t o t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n . X i n g c h e n g o f f i c i a l s a r e e n c o u r a g ­i n g f o r e i g n e n t r e p r e n e u r s a n d b u s i ­n e s s m e n t o i n v e s t i n t h e t o w n f o r i t s d e v e l o p m e n t . T o a b s o r b m o r e f o r e i g n i n v e s t m e n t , t h e X i n g ­c h e n g C o u n t y T o u r i s m D e v e l o p ­m e n t C o m p a n y h a s b e e n e s t a b l i s h ­e d t o a i d f o r e i g n i n v e s t o r s . •

B e i j i n g Review, N o . 4 7

FROM THE CHINESE PRESS

Films, TV C o - o p e r a t e to P r o s p e r

from "RENMiN RIBAO" (People's Daily) 'VrEW leisure distractions liave -•^ lured away many young film fans. Some former cinemagoers have turned to self-education while others have acquired more so­phisticated artistic tastes. All this is quite normal.

However, other factors have also had a hand in the decline in audiences. Some TV stations are importing trashy shows from Hongkong and elsewhere. Some video clubs entertain audiences with vulgar or even pornographic films. Unhealthy popular litera­ture has spread unchecked. These factors combine to have a negative impact on the film industry.

Film studios, at the same time, are competing with each other to turn out superficial, low-quality films in the hope of winning over audiences, now that studios are responsible for their own profits and losses. Films that are more profound, more artistic and truth­fully mirror life in present-day China have become scarce.

The solution lies in improving film quality. The pessimistic con­clusion that TV will ultimately replace film is unfounded.

At present, there are only 50 million TV sets among China's 1 billion people. Last year saw a record crop of feature films, 140 in all. A total of 20 billion cinema tickets was sold last year.

In the United States, there are 77 TV sets per 100 people. But the nine major film producers still turn out 150 feature films an­nually.

In the Soviet Union, there are

80 million TV sets. Despite that, annual production </f feature films is around 150 and 4 billion movie tickets are sold every year.

Good films are often later screened on television. The HBO cable TV station in the United States is geared to airing feature films. To accommodate different tastes, slots are set aside for classic movies, foreign films and other categories. "Little cinemas" are thus the homes of millions of families.

All this shows that the film and TV industries are becoming more interdependent. To raise the quality of films as well as TV, it is imperative to overcome the problem of their separate manage­ment systems.

This separation denies many good Chinese newsreels and science film.s access to TV screens. Moreover, film studios cannot af­ford to accept the low prices of­fered by TV stations now that they are financially accountable. This explains -the film studios re­luctance to produce TV films.

The Shanghai Film Studio, for example, produced two fine TV dramas — Under the Shanghai Roofs and Night Roaming — only to end up in financial straits. It has had to ask for "patronage" from factories and corporations — thinly veiled advertising. While finding difficulty in shooting huge­ly expensive military and histori­cal films, studios face intense com­petition from TV. Under the pres­sure, they often resort to shooting pure "entertainment" and "com­mercial" films. This will ultimate­ly lead to drastic deterioration in the quality of both films and TV dramas.

Films and TV shows have a daily audience of 300 million in China. Considering their great in­fluence on society, improvement in quality is urgently needed. Film and TV drama producers need to find a wide range of fresh themes and explore different styles. Pro­fundity must replace superficiality, and a truthful reflection of life must replace distortion. Political moralizing and stereotyped preaching, however, should be dropped.

Varied V i e w p o i n t s o n R e l i g i o n

from "XUESHUJIE DONGTAI" (Academic Trends)

RELIGIOUS belief is protected by China's Constitution.

Scholars, however, have different points of view on the merit of such protection. Their views fall into three categories.

The first point of view holds a negative attitude towards religion. Although religion is allowed to exist for quite a long- time in so­

cialist society, its fundamental doc­trines and rites still distort the objective world. Its principles are in opposition to those of Marxism, and its narcotic nature remains un­changed. The people with this viewpoint say education on athe­ism should be emphasized in order to eliminate religion as quickly as possible.

The second school of thought contends that religion in socialist society is different from that of

November 25, 1985. 27

other historical stages, but is, how­ever, co-ordinated with socialism. Marx once said that besides its role as an opiate, religion also re­flects people's hardships and their struggles against them. Unlike some other countries, China does not have its own state religion. Religion in China never be­came a political force con­trolling the state. It is only an undertaking organized by the believers themselves, and is not a tool used by the ruling class to control the people. As religion will exist for a long time in China, China should adopt a prudent and realistic policy to deal with it.

The third viewpoint maintains that in the beginning the world's main religions — Christianity, ludaism. Buddhism and Islam — were more positive than passive. Later they were used to exploit the masses, however. Religion, they say, played a positive role in the development of history, cul­ture, arts, architecture and medi­cine. Politically speaking, progres­sive thoughts often fell into heresy when they first appeared. So now is the time to adopt a realistic at­titude towards religion.

Suggestion for a Chinese Award

from " R E N M I N R I B A O " (People's Doily)

Q IN MU, a famous writer, re­cently proposed that China

offer an award for Chinese litera­ture.

"Chinese is one of the world's 13 influential languages," Qin

said. "People of 1,100 million speak and write Chinese, more than any other language in the world. In addition to people living in China, Chinese in Singa­pore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, the United States, Can­

ada, Australia and . France also write books in Chinese. Besides, sinologists who are not Chinese also write in Chinese.

"Socialist literature on China's mainland and the literature of Hongkong and Taiwan constitute the body of Chinese literature. It is expected that Chinese literature will have a gradually larger in­fluence on the world.

. "Spain has the Cervantes Prize for literary works written in Spanish throughout the world, while Britain, the United States and France also have their own awards for prominent writers who write in English or French.

"In the near future there should be a large-scale assessment of fine literary works in Chinese. China should award the best of these for their excellence," Qin said.

China*s Springs Fascinate

from " N O N G M I N T I B A O " (Peasants' Daily)

HINA has many interesting freshwater springs.

The sensitive spring, located on Longmen Mountain in Guangyuan County, Sichuan Province, is so named because when a stone is thrown into the spring, the water will suddenly flow backward and then recommence flowing forward sometime later.

At the foot of the Yunlong Peak in the Cangshan Range in western Yunnan Province there is the but­terfly spring. Next to it is an an­cient tree. Each year, in late spring and early summer multi-coloured butterflies flock to the tree in droves. Their reflections in , the mirror-like water of the spring make them look like beautiful flowers.

The responsive spring, located five kilometres north of Shouxian County in Anhui Province, answers when visitors call out. When peo­ple stand near the stream and shout, the normally placid spring comes gushing out in torrents.

The sister springs in Sanli village outside Zhengzhou, Henan Prov­ince, are two springs located close together. One is hot with temper­atures above 32°C. The other is cold with temperatures below 18° C.

The intermittent spring in Haxi village in Dayong County, Hunan Province, has a water surface of 12 square metres and spurts out water every 20 minutes for three to seven minutes eacli time.

The fragrant spring in southern Suixian County, Henan Province, flows underground. The spring's water gives off the aroma of the locust flower and was first used in brewing about 800 years ago.

The milk spring on the southern slope of Xishan Mountain in Gul­ping County, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is China's sole source of softwater for export and is about 0.6 metres wide and 0.6 metres deep, and wells with milk-white water at about 9 am and 9 pm. The water from this spring is used in brewing China's famous "Maotai from Guangxi."'

The coin-holding spring, or the Tiger Spring, near West Lake in Hangzhou, is a rapid spring with high surface tension. To throw a few coins into a cup filled with water from the spring the water will rise two to three millimetres higher than the cup. If you put another coin above on the water, it will remain atop it.

The water-fire spring in Tainan County, Taiwan Province, runs at a temperature of about TS'C. The water, which is black, bittei', alka­line and sulfurous, responds to matches being struck around it by billowing the matches flame.

28 Beijing Review, No. 47

B U S I N E S S AND TRADE

Bridging Sino-Japanese Tracle Gap C h i n a ' s y a w n i n g t r a d e d e f i c i t

w i t h l a p a n h a s a f f e c t e d t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s ' e c o n o m i c a n d t r a d e d e ­v e l o p m e n t . S t a t i s t i c s s h o w t h a t i n 1 9 8 4 C h i n a ' s t r a d e d e f i c i t w i t h J a p a n r e a c h e d U S $ 2 b i l l i o n . I n t h e f i r s t h a l f o f t h i s y e a r , t h e d e f i c i t r o s e t o U S $ 2 . 3 b i l l i o n , a n d t h i s t r e n d i s s t i l l u p w a r d s .

I n t h e p a s t t w o y e a r s , m a n y f a c ­t o r s h a v e c o n t r i b u t e d t o C h i n a ' s e x p a n d i n g t r a d e d e f i c i t w i t h i t s l a r g e s t t r a d e p a r t n e r . F i r s t , t h e a m o u n t o f r a w a n d s e m i - f i n i s h e d m a t e r i a l s , m a c h i n e r y a n d c h e m i c a l p r o d u c t s i m p o r t e d f r o m J a p a n t o m e e t C h i n a ' s n e e d s h a s i n c r e a s e d . S e c o n d , C h i n a h a s i n c r e a s e d i t s e x p o r t s o f p e t r o l e u m , c o a l , f a r m p r o d u c e , t e x t i l e s a n d a q u a t i c p r o d ­u c t s t o J a p a n a t l o w p r i c e s , w h i l e i t s i m p o r t s f r o m J a p a n h a v e b e e n e x p e n s i v e a n d t o o m u c h i n q u a n ­t i t y . I n a d d i t i o n , C h i n a ' s e x p o r t s t o J a p a n a r e a d v e r s e l y a f f e c t e d b y J a p a n ' s r e s t r i c t i o n s o n t h e i m p o r t o f C h i n e s e s i l k s , s a t i n s , c e r t a i n f a r m p r o d u c e a n d o t h e r g o o d s .

T h e v o l u m e o f t r a d e b e t w e e n C h i n a a n d J a p a n r e a c h e d U S $ 1 2 . 7 3 b i l l i o n i n 1 9 8 4 , 2 5 p e r c e n t o f C h i n a ' s t o t a l f o r e i g n t r a d e . I f C h i n a ' s t r a d e d e f i c i t w i t h J a p a n c o n t i n u e s t o m u l t i p l y , t h e s t e a d y d e v e l o p m e n t o f t r a d e b e t w e e n t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s w i l l b e i m p o s s i b l e .

I n o r d e r t o s o l v e t h e p r o b l e m o f u n b a l a n c e d t r a d e b e t w e e n t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s , b o t h s i d e s n e e d t o m a k e c o n c e r t e d e f f o r t s . C h i n a w i l l v i g o ­r o u s l y e x p a n d i t s p r o d u c t i o n , i m ­p r o v e t h e q u a l i t y o f i t s p r o d u c t s , o p e n u p m o r e c h a n n e l s f o r e x p o r t s a n d s t r e n g t h e n i t s t r a n s p o r t c a p a ­c i t y , s o a s t o m e e t t h e n e e d s o f t h e J a p a n e s e m a r k e t . A t t h e s a m e t i m e , J a p a n s h o u l d s t e p u p i t s p e t r o l e u m a n d c o a l i m p o r t s f r o m C h i n a a n d

i n c r e a s e i t s i m p o r t s o f t r a d i t i o n a l C h i n e s e p r o d u c t s . O n l y w h e n i t s e x p o r t s t o J a p a n m u l t i p l y a n d i t s p a y m e n t c a p a c i t y i m p r o v e w i l l C h i n a b e a b l e t o i m p o r t m o r e f r o m J a p a n .

China and India Boost Trade Ties

O n N o v e m b e r 2 5 i n N e w D e l h i , r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s f r o m C h i n a a n d I n d i a s i g n e d a 1 9 8 6 t r a d e p r o t o c o l i n v o l v i n g U S $ 1 6 0 m i l l i o n , t h e l a r g e s t s u m i n S i n o - I n d i a n t r a d e h i s t o r y .

I n t h e p a s t t h e r e h a v e b e e n f r e ­q u e n t e x c h a n g e s b e t w e e n C h i n a a n d I n d i a , b u t t r a d e b e t w e e n t h e t w o h a s n o t b e c o m e h e a v y f o r v a r ­i o u s r e a s o n s . W i t h t h e r e c e n t d e ­v e l o p m e n t o f r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s , S i n o - l n d i a n t r a d e h a s m a d e r a p i d p r o g r e s s , g o i n g f r o m 2 5 . 6 m i l l i o n r u p e e s ( a b o u t U S $ 2 m i l l i o n ) i n 1 9 7 7 t o m o r e t h a n 4 0 0 m i l l i o n r u p e e s ( a b o u t U S $ 3 0 m i l l i o n ) i n 1 9 8 4 . C h i n a ' s m a j o r I n ­d i a n i m p o r t s i n c l u d e m e t a l p r o d ­u c t s , s h e l l a c , i r o n o r e , i r o n a n d s t e e l , c h r o m i t e a n d o t h e r r a w m a ­t e r i a l s . I t s e x p o r t s t o I n d i a i n c l u d e s p i c e s , s i l k , i n d u s t r i a l c h e m i c a l s , y a r n a n d n o n f e r r o u s m e t a l s .

I n o r d e r t o p r o m o t e S i n o - I n d i a n t r a d e , C h i n a a n d I n d i a s i g n e d a t r a d e a g r e e m e n t i n A u g u s t 1 9 8 4 . T h a t t h r e e - y e a r a g r e e m e n t s t i p u l a t e s t h a t e a c h w i l l g i v e t h e o t h e r m o s t - f a v o u r e d - n a t i o n t r e a t m e n t i n c o m m e r c e , s h i p ­p i n g , i m p o r t a n d e x p o r t p r o c e d u r e s , c u s t o m s d u t i e s a n d t a x a t i o n . U p o n e x p i r a t i o n , u n l e s s o n e p a r t y d i s a g r e e s , t h e c o n t r a c t

Vehicles from India on display at the Asia-Pacific International Trade Fair.

w i l l b e r e n e w e d f o r a n o t h e r t h r e e y e a r s . T h e t r a d e a g r e e m e n t a l s o s t i p u l a t e s t h a t t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s u s e m u t u a l l y a c c e p t a b l e a n d c o n ­v e r t i b l e c u r r e n c y f o r t h e p a y m e n t .

A p a r t f r o m t h e i r t r a d e r e l a t i o n s , C h i n a a n d I n d i a a r e e x p l o r i n g t h e p o s s i b i l i t y f o r t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f j o i n t v e n t u r e s a n d t e c h n o l o g y t r a n s f e r s .

I n 1 9 8 4 C h i n a s e n t a d e l e g a t i o n t o a t t e n d I n d i a ' s i n t e r n a t i o n a l t r a d e f a i r . T h i s y e a r , I n d i a a l s o s e n t b u s i n e s s p e o p l e f r o m m o r e t h a n 1 0 0 s t a t e - o w n e d a n d p r i v a t e c o m ­p a n i e s t o a t t e n d t h e A s i a - P a c i f i c I n ­t e r n a t i o n a l T r a d e F a i r h e l d i n B e i ­j i n g , i n o r d e r t o s e e k n e w w a y s f o r t r a d e , e c o n o m i c a n d t e c h n o l o g i ­c a l c o - o p e r a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s .

N o v e m b e r 25, 1985 2 9

us Investment Up in China

The volume of US investment in China is growing year by year, and, to date, amounts to USSl billion. About US$150 million of that sum is in the joint ventures, while US$600 million has been invested in the joint exploration and devel­opment of China's offshore petro­leum.

By the end of 1984, 62 Sino-US joint ventures had been launched, making the United States second only to Hongkong in the number of projects in China. Sino-US joint ventures involve machine-building, chemicals, petroleum, motor vehi­cles, textiles, food and tourist in­dustries and are located in about a dozen provinces and cities includ­ing Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangdong Province.

These joint ventures have been operated with advanced technolo­gies, equipment and managerial ex­pertise. Although many have not been operating long, they have obtained a fairly high rate of returns.

For example, tests showed that the quality of the coated razor blades produced by the Shenmei Daily Use Products Co. Ltd., a joint venture financed by the Shen­yang Daily Use Metals Industrial Corp. and the Gillette Co. of the United States, has matched Gillet­te's technical standards. The ven­ture's profits in 1984 were 2.3 times higher than predicted.

China and foreign oil companies have signed 23 contracts for the development of China's petroleum resources. Of these contracts, the m o s t — 1 2 — are with Americans. Some of these companies have already struck oil and gas.

^ To encourage US investment in China, the two countries have concluded investment insurance, guarantee agreements and an agree-30

ment on avoiding dual taxation. An investment protection agree­ment is now under discussion by officials of the two countries.

A Joint Venture to Modify Boeing 727s

On November 7, three Chinese companies and two American com­panies signed a preliminary agree­ment on the establishment of a joint venture to modify a fleet of Boeing 727-200 aircraft. With a total investment of US$40 million, China and the United States own equal shares in the venture.

Boeing now has 994 aircraft of the 727-200 type in service. A ma­jor plan for their modification en­tails replacing the original three engines with two improved ones. Other alterations will include lengthening the fuselage and add­ing 18 seats, refitting the cockpit to accommodate a two-person rather than a three-person crew. The cost for refitting each aircraft is expected to be approximately US$15 million.

Experts from China's astronau­tics industry said the revamped Boeing 727-200s would save fuel, have less noise, carry more pass­engers and be able to land and take off at medium-sized airports with runways of about 1,500 metres, making the model ideal for China's civil aviation services.

Under the contract, the prototype will be modified and refitted in the United States, but the modifica­tions will be done in China.

News in Brief • In the first half of this year,

China set up 687 joint ventures. It is expected that the total num­ber of joint ventures in China will exceed 2,000 by the end of 1985. Of the ventures currently under way, the number of large and tech­

nology-intensive projects has in­creased dramatically.

With the exception of Tibet, joint ventures have been launched in all parts of China. Foreign busi­ness people who have invested in China hail from 28 countries and regions, including developing na­tions such as Kuwait, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Tunisia.

• By the end of October this year, the Trademark Agency of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade handled more than 20,000 trademark regis­trations for foreign firms and indi­viduals in China. Representatives from 40 countries and regions have applied for- trademark registrations. The Chinese trademark agency has forged ties with 500 trademark agencies and lawyer's offices in 100 countries and regions.

• In order to develop its busi­ness in China, the World Bank opened an office in Beijing on Ociober 25. The World Bank has established 36 representative of­fices around the world, and has granted China loans amounting to US$1,100 million this year. The figure will jump to US$3,000 mil­lion in the next five years.

Beijing Review, No. 47

CULTURE AND SCIENCE

Exhibiting Custom of Tujia, Miao People

An exhibit, displaying an assort­ment of cultural relics and photos from the Miao and Tujia nationali­ties of Hunan Province, opened in Beijing recently.

Located in the northwest of Hunan Province in central China, the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Auton­omous Prefecture is a picturesque area with 2.77 million inhabitants who share 20,000 squard kilome­tres of land that are divided by the Wulin Mountains.

Tujia Love Song The Tujia nationality has a his­

tory that dates back to the 10th century. The Tujia people original­ly engaged solely in agriculture and hunting rather than commerce and have traditionally carried their grain, firewood and water on their backs. Some of the baskets and pails they use to carry their prod­ucts around are part of the current display.

As seen in a televised programme at the exhibit, the Tujia people ex­cel at singing and dancing and have a song for nearly every occasion, including dating, which is heralded with the Tujia Love Song. The songs Digging and Weeding accom­pany those tasks, while young women sing Weeping Bride when they are getting married. The Tujia also have a song entitled God which is sung during worship.

The Tujia's more popular tradi­tional dances include the Baishou, the Flag Dance and the Horse Dance. The Baishou includes dif­ferent versions for different occasions. The Xiaobaishou, for example, is performed in January and focuses on farmwork, such as planting corn, and is accompanied by a trumpet, the suona horn.

gongs and drums. About 10,000 dancers participate

in another dance, the Dabaishou, which is held every three years. For the dance young people don the Tujia's typically colourful brocade and disguise themselves as warriors. The event lasts for one week. Maogusi, the Tujia's oldest drama about how the Tujias homesteaded in the wilderness cen­turies ago, is also performed at the festival.

Some of the Tujia's traditional musical instruments are also on display at the exhibit and visitors are treated to a performance called Daliuzi, a melody with a strong rhythm played with gongs, drums and cymbals.

Women of the Tujia nationality are skillful artists, particularly in weaving, embroidering, making batik, carving and painting, and tend to use the natural colours for their artwork. The Tujia's brocade, which is colourful and simple and bears traditional designs, captures many visitors' interests, often so much so that many ask to purchase pieces of the display. Tujia brocade can be traced back to more than 1,000 years ago when it was con­sidered an article of imperial tri­bute. While the warp is of cotton yarn, the weft consists of thick silk, cotton and woollen yarn. The ma­terials, patterns, colours all relate to daily life, with clouds, peonies, swallows and the good luck phoe­nix-peony pattern being the most popular.

Among the photos exhibited, one of the most prominent is of an 80-year-old woman engrossed in brocading. Ye Yucui, a veteran ar­

tist of the Tujia nationality, began brocading as a young child and can now sew nearly 100 different patterns. Ye's vivid brocade work won her international acclaim at a London Fair, as well as at other exhibitions in Eastern Europe.

Hailing IVIiao Heroes About 3,000 years ago, the Miao

people lived on the middle reaches of the Changjiang River. Today, however, they populate areas of Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan, Guang-xi and Sichuan.

Because Miao live in heavily wooded areas, most of their build­ings are made of wood, while their roofs are usually of tile, bark, straw and stone. The typical Miao house is set up on the side of a hill, supported by long pillars on the lower half, and shorter ones on the upper half.

The Miao people have many festivals, among which "April 8" and "June 6" commemorating na­tional heroes, and "Celebrating the Beginning of Autumn," are the most important. Behind "Celebrat­ing the Beginning of Au tumn" is a tale of one of the Miao's heroes, a young man named Baguidare. Baguidare, handsome and honest, was a skilled archer. One day, as he was hunting, Baguidare shot a hawk. After he did so he saw an embroidered shoe fall from the sky. Determined to find the owner of the errant shoe, Baguidare made a huge swing that could hold eight people, and at the beginning of autumn, Baguidare invited all the people in the area to come to use his swing. It was at one of these events that Baguidare found the woman who had lost her shoe. She later became his wife. Since then, young Miao people have come to

November 25, 1985 31

t h e " B e g i n n i n g o f A u t u m n " f e s t i v a l t o l o o k f o r s p o u s e s .

T h e c o l o u r f u l M i a o c o s t u m e s a r e o n e o f t h e e x h i b i t ' s m o s t p o p u l a r d i s p l a y s a n d i n c l u d e a n c i e n t s c a r f s , p l e a t e d s k i r t s , c l o a k s , v e s t s a n d s h o e s . T h e e x h i b i t , i n w h i c h t h e e v o l u t i o n o f M i a o c l o t h i n g i s e x p l a i n e d , s h o w s t h a t t h e M i a o s t i l l k e e p t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l s t y l e s o f d r e s s . L o n g a g o , b o t h M i a o m e n a n d w o m e n w o r e c o l o u r f u l c l o t h ­i n g , p l e a t e d s k i r t s , b o a t - s h a p e d s h o e s , a n d c o l o u r f u l k e r c h i e f s . I n t h e Q i n g D y n a s t y ( 1 6 4 4 - 1 9 1 1 ) , M i a o m e n b e g a n w e a r i n g t r o u s e r s a n d j a c k e t s w i t h b u t t o n s d o w n t h e f r o n t . A t t h e s a m e t i m e , M i a o w o m e n s t a r t e d w e a r i n g c l o t h e s o f w h i c h t h e f r o n t , t h e c u f f s a n d t r o u s e r s w e r e e m b r o i d e r e d .

M i a o c o s t u m e s a r e o f m o r e t h a n 2 0 s t y l e s . M i a o d r e s s , k e r c h i e f s a n d d r e s s d e c o r a t i o n s a l l h a v e m e a n i n g s — w i s h e s a n d i d e a l s , d i l i g e n c e a n d b r a v e r y , g o o d h a r ­v e s t s , l o v e a n d h a p p i n e s s . T h e e x ­h i b i t p r o v i d e s t h e p u b l i c w i t h a v i v i d p i c t u r e o f t h e M i a o p a s t , t h e M i a o w a y o f l i f e , a n d M i a o ' s c l o s e e c o n o m i c a n d c u l t u r a l t i e s w i t h o t h e r n a t i o n a l i t i e s .

A c c o r d i n g t o s o m e e x p e r t s , t h e g e o m e t r i c p a t t e r n s f o u n d i n M i a o c l o t h i n g i n S i c h u a n , G u i z h o u a n d Y u n n a n a r e s i m i l a r t o t h a t o f t h e Y a o i n G u a n g x i , a n o b s e r v a t i o n , w h i c h s o m e s a y s u p p o r t s t h e t h e o r y t h a t t h e M i a o a n d t h e Y a o a r e d e s c e n d a n t s o f t h e s a m e a n c e s t o r s . A l t h o u g h t h e t h e o r y n e e d s f u r t h e r p r o v i n g , i t i s l i k e l y t h a t M i a o d r e s s i s t h e m i x t u r e o f i t s o w n h e r i t a g e a n d t h a t o f o t h e r n a t i o n a l i t i e s . O t h e r s s u g g e s t t h e g e o m e t r i c p a t t e r n s a r e i n s o m e w a y r e l a t e d t o t h e g e o m e t r i c p a t t e r n s o n t h e p o t t e r y o f t h e N e w S t o n e A g e .

A c c l a i m e d a s t h e " f l o w e r " o f t h e M i a o ' s a r t i f a c t s , a s a s h w o v e n w i t h s i l k i s a l s o t h e c o l l e c ­t i o n ' s m o s t u n i q u e p i e c e . L e a r n ­i n g t o m a k e t h e s a s h , w h i c h i s w o v e n i n t o v a r i o u s p a t t e r n s w i t h n a u l t i - c o l o u r e d e d g e s , i s c o m p u l s o r y f o r e v e r y M i a o g i r l . W h e n M i a o g i r l s c o m e o f a g e , t h e y o f t e n g i v e a s a s h a s a g i f t t o t h e i r b o y f r i e n d , w h o t h e n w e a r s i t t o l e t o t h e r s k n o w h e h a s a g i r l f r i e n d .

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e M i a o , s i l v e r i s t h e s y m b o l o f l i g h t a n d w e a l t h .

D u r i n g i m p o r t a n t h o l i d a y s , M i a o w o m e n w e a r s i l v e r n e c k l a c e s , e a r r i n g s , b r a c e l e t s a n d r i n g s . A s i l v e r t o o t h p i c k , c a r v e d w i t h a d o u b l e p h o e n i x , m e a n s l o v e , a n d o n e w i t h a c a r p j u m p i n g a c r o s s t h e d r a g o n g a t e , m e a n s - h a p p i n e s s . S u c h f i n e r y c o m b i n e s t h e c u s t o m s , t r a d i t i o n s a n d b e a u t y o f t h e M i a o p e o p l e .

B e f o r e l i b e r a t i o n , t h e r u l i n g c l a s s d e p r i v e d t h e M i a o o f t h e i r c u l t u r a l l i f e , s t i f l i n g t h e M i a o ' s a r t i s t i c t a l e n t s . B y 1 9 4 9 w h e n N e w C h i n a w a s f o u n d e d , 9 0 p e r c e n t o f t h e M i a o w e r e i l l i t e r a t e a n d p r a c t i s e d f e w o f t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l r i t e s . S i n c e l i b e r a t i o n , h o w e v e r , t h e P a r t y a n d g o v e r n m e n t h a s s t r e s s e d c u l t u r a l d e v e l o p m e n t i n t h e m i n o r i t y a r e a s . S p e c i a l t e a m s h a v e b e e n s e n t t o t h e M i a o r e g i o n t o r e c o r d l e g e n d s , f o l k s o n g s , a n d a r t s a n d c r a f t s , a n d h a v e s i n c e p u b l i s h e d t h e Huamei a n d The Story of the Evergreen Tree, t w o c o l l e c t i o n s o f M i a o s h o r t s t o r i e s . I n a d d i t i o n , s u c h M i a o a n d T u j i a e p i c n o v e l s a s Baishou Song, Weeping Bride a n d Old Sayings h a v e a l s o b e e n p u b l i s h e d .

L e f t : A young Miao woman in tradi­tional dress. R i g h t : An embroidered Miao work.

3 2 Beijing Review. No. 47

SPORTS

The Thriving Art of Shaolin Kungfu

Every dawn, amid temples and towering cypress trees, 40 monks dressed in gray can be seen practis­ing Shaolin kungfu, a form of martial arts that has been a part of the monks' morning ritual for hundreds of years.

The Shaolin Temple, located in Dengfeng County, Henan Province, is important to both Buddhists and kungfu, or wushu, masters. The temple achieved its distinction as a kungfu centre in the 5th century when an Indian monk named Damo, who came to live at the temple, brought with him an In­dian branch of Buddhism called Dhyana, which included kungfu in its religious practices. Shaolin kungfu, as the art came to be known, reached even greater prom­inence in the 7th century after some of the Shaolin monks saved the life of Li Shimin (599-649), one of China's greatest emperors.

Today, the temple's current master, Dechan, 82, who is also vice-chairman of the Buddhism As­sociation of Henan Province, still leads the monks in both their daily kungfu practice and in their scrip­tures. In addition to its Buddhist devotees, the temple also attracts thousands of kungfu enthusiasts from throughout China.

In Dengfeng County, where 20 percent of the residents practise kungfu, the area's wushu associa­tion, established in 1980, has three branches and more than 1,000 members. Every year, in addition to two major village competitions held during the Zhongyue Fair and the Lantern Festival, all the units

in Dengfeng County, especially the schools, hold year-round wushu competitions.

Considering the degree of China's current infatuation with kungfu, one would find it hard to believe that the activity was once forbidden. During the "cul­tural revolution", Shaolin kungfu was considered feudal, and monks of all ages were routed from their temples, converted to the secular world and put to work in the fields. Shaolin Temple, like other temples, was left deserted.

In 1979, when the temple was rehabilitated, the monks returned. Since 1980, 43 wushu schools, state- and privately-owned, have opened, enrolling more than 5,000 students and employing about 140 teachers. A complete training sys­tem has been formed with kinder­gartens, primary, secondary and high schools. The most prominent of these schools today are the Shaolin WUshu Training Centre and the Shaolin Wushu Sports School.

The Shaolin Wushu Training Centre focuses on educating kung-fu coaches for other provinces and regions. The centre's 400 students, whose ages range from 11 years to 21 years, come from 24 municipali­ties and provinces. Their three-year programme, which is 20 yuan per month, includes instruction in the goals of kungfu — preserving China's heritage, fitness and self-defence — as well as in the physi­cal movements of Shaolin kungfu. During their first year, students are taught basic skills and empty-hand fighting skills, while during the

third year, students study wushu theory and fighting skills between two.

Dengfeng County considers teaching quality very important. Three kungfu schools there have been closed down for the poor quality of their instruction. All the teachers at the Shaolin Wushu Training Centre have received a standard wushu education. The centre's president, Liang Yiquan, 56, a national grade two wushu coach, comes from a long line of wushu enthusiasts. Liang's great grandfather was a wushu appren­tice to the renowned wushu artist and monk, Zhande, while Liang's father was the ivus/iu director for the army of General Feng Yuxiang before liberation. Liang began learning wushu when he was six years old and has written a book on the subject entitled Songshan Shaolin Quanfa. With 40 years of coaching experience behind him, Liang now gives classes in wushu theory to the school's students. To raise the teachers' theoretical level, Liang said his centre invites teachers from the Beijing Sports Culture Institute to the Shaolin centre every summer to lecture on athletic subjects. Liang said his centre is popular not only with the Chinese, but with foreigners as well. He said he and his associates at the Shaolin centre have received dozens of letters from foreigners expressing their interest in studying there. Soon, the Shaolin Temple, he said, may go from being a rela­tively little known wushu centre for select Chinese and Buddhist monks, to one for wushu enthu­siasts from around the world.

November 25. 1985 33

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