Radio Peiping has been playing up the return of Hsieh Fu-chi and Wang Li from Wuhan.
It claimed that "both have triumphantly returned to Peking—the place where the great proletarian cultural revolution was initiated". They were greeted by Red Chinese leaders, military commanders and the revolutionary masses, including Chou En-lai, Kang Sheng and Chiang Ching, who shook hands with the "returning heroes".
"The occasion," Radio Peiping said, "was a hero's welcome accorded to the triumphant two men," adding that the two were sent to Wuhan to tackle "problems pertinent to the great proletarian revolution".
A candidate member of the CCP Politburo, Hsieh is concurrently vice premier of the "State Council" and deputy chief of the cultural revolutionary group in the armed forces, while Wang is a member of the central cultural revolutionary group and concurrently assistant chief editor of Red Flag magazine.
They were not given farewell parties and were not even mentioned in the Chinese Communist press when they left. Why should they be given such a rousing welcome on their return?
In depicting the "jubilant celebrations throughout the country", the Communist press had this to say:
"Army men and the masses in Peiping staged demonstration after demonstration; in Shanghai meetings were held by otter 200,000 people of the revolutionary units and armed forces under the blazing sun; some 100,000 men and women at Kweisui of Suiyuan province and about an equal number of the revolutionary forces and army units in the capital of Kiangsi staged mass rallies in support of the Wuhan revolutionary group.
"In addition, activities on the same pattern took place at Chengtu, Foocbow, Mukden, Nanking, Tsinan, Canton, Kunming, Lanchow, and several places in Inner Mongolia, Sinkiang, Tibet, Heilungkiang, Kweichow, Shensi, Kwangsi, and Hunan".
What actually happened in Wuhan? Why should there be any problem with the "great cultural revolution" there? And why should the Chinese Communist authorities send representatives?
Nothing about the problems was mentioned. Nor war there a single word regarding measures taken to solve them. Instead, the Reds made a big thing out of the return of Hsieh and Wang to Peiping.
According to a Japanese correspondent in Peiping, the problem was, in fact, the bloody struggle between the pro-Maoists and the anti-Maoists. During the period from April 28 to June 24 more than 250 clashes occurred and 350 persons were killed, 1,500 were seriously wounded, and 15,000 were slightly wounded.
Members of the "One Million Brave Men" (an anti-Maoist organization comprising local army units, peasants and workers) mustered more than 400 military vehicles for an anti-Mao demonstration on July 20.
Subsequent clashes paralyzed the operations of more than 400 factories and mines in Hupeh and disruptea traffic on the Great Yangtze River bridge.
The seriousness of the situation was reflected in the large-scale demonstrations staged in Peiping the night of July 21. Demonstrators shouted slogans reprimanding the "rebellious forces" in Wuhan. The slogans included: "Down With Liu Shao-chi, Wang Jen-chung, and Chen Tsai-tao," "We Cannot Tolerate the Kidnaping of Hsieh Fu-chi and Wang Li," and "Liberate Wuhan."
These slogans proved one point. CCP representatives Hsieh, who represented the cultural revolutionary group of the armed forces, and Wang, who represented the central cultural revolutionary group, were held as hostages by the local 8201st Army Unit and were not released until Chou En-lai went to Wuhan.
Chou evidently made a deal with Chen Tsai-tao, commander of the Wuhan Military Region, for the release of Hsieh and Wang.
Peiping's propaganda machine was actually prudent. For one thing, it refrained from directly criticizing the anti-Maoists in the Wuhan area. It merely branded the anti-Maoists as "conservatives" deviating from the Party line.
In the power struggle, Chen Tsai-tao formed an alliance with Wang Jen-chung and Chang Ti-hsueh and converted Hupeh into an anti-Mao stronghold. Wang is first secretary of the Central and South China Bureau and concurrently first commissar of the Wuhan Military Region. Chang is first secretary and governor of Hupeh. The situation in Wuhan is no less serious than the occupation of Szechwan by Li Ching-chuan and Huang Hsin-ting.
From August to December last year, anti-Mao struggles broke out in Wuhan and other places in Hupeh. The president of Wuhan University, a veteran CCP member, was fired. Following the January "revolution" in Shanghai, a "pseudo-power seizure" was staged in Wuhan. The joint headquarters of the Maoists in Hupeh issued a special proclamntion which, however, was not approved by the CCP authorities. On February 8, the "248th Red Rebellious Field Army" and the "revolutionary masses" issued a joint declaration on the situation in the Wuhan area which was published in the Yangtze Daily under the title "February 8 Declaration". It was later labeled as "an intrigue and comeback staged by a small group of anti-Maoists".
On February 18, the Wuhan Military Region issued a proclamation stating that armed forces were stationed at various organizations "to maintain order and prevent armed struggle". In reality, they were used to prevent the Red Guards from seizing power.
Since February this year, a number of units, including the Wuhan Steel Plant, the Yangtze Daily, the Wuhan Evening News, and Communist cadre, students, and peasants at Huangkang and other places in Hupeh have instigated anti-Mao struggles. Red Guard posters reported that during the "May storm", armed clashes erupted throughout the Wuhan area. For a time, the Yangtze River Bridge was closed.
The Wuhan episode did not arise all of a sudden. It was a natural consequence of a prolonged struggle. The detention of Mao's envoys attests to the seriousness of the situation.
Worthy of our attention are these factors:
1. The Wuhan Incident is not an isolated case. It is closely connected with anti-Maoist operations in Szechwan, Yunnan, Inner Mongolia, Tsinghai, Honan, Kiangsi, Chekiang, Kiangsu, and Fukien.
2. The Wuhan Incident evidently had the support of the army. At the least, Chen Tsai-tao did not do anything to stop anti-Maoists from kidnapping Hsieh and Wang. For this reason, Red Guards shouted "Down with Chen Tsai-tao" in the big rally in Peiping. This was the first time that a ranking military commander had been publicly criticized. It could also mean that the gun barrel is not quite so dependable as Mao would like to believe.
3. From time to time, violent fighting broke out in the Wuhan Military Region which is geographically very important.
In northwest and southwest China, the time bomb could also explode at any time. East China and South China have been the scene of serious anti-Mao and anti-Communist struggles. Mao Tse-tung and his friend Lin Piao can do nothing to improve the situation.
Civil war is inevitable on the mainland, if present trends continue.
The first shots of China's Revolution in 1911 came from Wuhan. In the Northward Expedition of the National Revolutionary Forces in 1927, Wuhan became the graveyard of the warlords, whose ultimate defeat brought about the unification of China.
The Wuhan episode has created a new situation. Anti-Mao and anti-Communist forces will expedite an early recovery of the Chinese mainland.
Political Review, fortnightly, "The Transformation of Overseas Chinese Communities"—
Overseas Chinese communities are changing continuously to keep pace with the times. Changes in the education and occupations of younger generation overseas Chinese and new immigration have provided the momentum. New York's Chinatown typifies this transformation and has aroused press interest.
On June 28 and 29, the New York Times carried two articles on living conditions and economic development in Chinatown, pointing out that the increasing number of Chinese immigrants had caused some noteworthy changes. How to control the transformation and make it contribute to social and economic development is up to overseas Chinese leaders.
Problems have arisen between U.S.-born overseas Chinese and immigrants as a result of different cultural and social backgrounds. The crime rate in Chinatown is still low but juvenile delinquency is increasing.
A teacher said immigrants who had lived in cities and can speak a little English are more dissatisfied with the status quo.
Since 1965 when the new U.S. Immigration Act was passed, the number of Chinese immigrants has soared. Most of them are from Hongkong and are relatives of Chinese who have acquired U.S. nationality.
Seeking a better life, these people are too busy to take care of their children. The teacher said: "These kids do not respect the aged as we did in the past. Their parents could not find time to teach them."
On the other hand, let us take a look at San Francisco, where the biggest Chinatown is located. New immigrants have been pouring in since 1960. The Chinese population there has increased from 4.9 to 5.7 per cent. In 1966 the Chinese in San Francisco numbered 42,600.
A research team of the University of California has conducted a three-year study of San Francisco's Chinatown. Its report says: "The streets of Chinatown appear quieter than other areas. In 1965, not a single Chinese was charged with murder, attack, rape or maltreating his wife or daughter. Among the 252 adult cases, only two Chinese were involved in physical assault. In 1966, only one of the Chinese youths that constituted 17 per cent of all high school students in San Francisco was charged with attacking others with a deadly weapon.
"Of the candidates for college scholarships in California, 25 per cent are Chinese. Not only in San Francisco but also elsewhere in the United States, the Chinese are law-abiding."
The New York Times pointed out that Miss Esther Eng, who went to New York from San Francisco, has in 17 years opened five restaurants and become a movie producer, director, and distributor.
It is to be hoped that overseas Chinese will absorb the best traits of their communities and at the same time not forget traditional Chinese virtues. The traditional Chinese culture may be a stabilizing force in local communities and also contribute to world peace.
Current Democracy, fortnightly, "The Complexity of International Politics" by Chow Chung-lieh—
The General Assembly of the United Nations has opened its 22nd session. Although the so-called China representation issue again has been raised by Communist and pro-Communist countries, Communism will meet with another defeat.
The Chinese Communists on the mainland amounts to puppet regime of the Soviet Union. Peiping is not qualified to be admitted to the United Nations, yet the issue is raised year after year. Realizing they are bound to be defeated, why do the Communists keep trying? Complicated international politics are involved.
Moscow-Peiping relations are bad. It may seem contradictory that Russia and other Communist countries still try to get Peiping into the United Nations. These are some of the reasons why they do: (1) The Chinese Communists are claiming that Russia is collaborating with the United States to seize the Chinese mainland. Moscow dare not change its attitude for fear of losing ground in the international Communist movement. (2) Russia cannot help us against the Chinese Communists' just as the United States cannot help Peiping. (3) International Communism is at a low ebb. Peiping's defeat or collapse will not help Russia. Moscow thinks that if Mao Tse-tung steps down, it can cooperate with the Chinese Communists once again.
In the cold war between the free world and the Communist bloc, the United Nations has become a stage for politicians. The so-called China representation issue is only a drama in which they perform.
Circumstances are favorable to us this year. The "great cultural revolution" and Red Guard rampages have plunged the Chinese mainland into chaos and anarchy. Canada has declared it will not vote for Peiping's admission. This may have an effect on other nations of the British Commonwealth. U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk has declared the United States will continue to oppose Peiping's admission. More African countries have turned against Peiping. Ghana will support the "continued presence" of the Republic of China in the United Nations.
There are contradictions within the free world as well as in the Communist bloc. This is to be observed in the proposals of Canada and Italy last year. Until the mainland is recovered, the China representation vote will give us a headache from year to year.