Peiping Greets 1962
New Year's editorials in mainland newspapers unanimously admitted difficulties in "socialist construction" and stressed the readjustment of the "national economy."
The Kung Jen Jih Pao (Worker's Daily) said that during the past year, "the working class, together with the people of the whole country, under the leadership of the Party and Chairman Mao, held aloft the three red banners ... and continued to fight against the difficulties caused by the natural calamities which occurred three years in a row."
Noting that 1962 is the last year of the second Five-Year Plan for socialist construction, the daily said, "In this year, we must, under the centralized leadership of the Party, continue to observe the Party's policy of taking agriculture as the foundation for the development of the national economy, and following the policy of readjustment, consolidation, reinforcement, and improvement, strive to increase variety, lower the rate of consumption, strengthen overhaul and repairs, and raise labor productivity."
The Jen Min Jih Pao (People's Daily) viewed shortage of raw materials as the main obstacle to the "great leap forward." The paper said:
"The production of light industry and handicrafts, especially those items using industrial products as raw materials, must be increased in every possible way. The weak links in industry, such as capacity of the timber felling, mining and chemical industries, must be strengthened .... Communications and transport must be improved, and short-distance transport in particular must be developed."
The daily said the most important task for 1962 is to "use every possible means to surpass the 1961 agricultural production by as big a margin as possible."
"This is of decisive significance for the national economy and the livelihood of the people. First of all, efforts must be made to win a relatively big increase in the output of grain, cotton and oil-bearing crops and, simultaneously, to make good arrangements for the production of other industrial crops, forestry, livestock breeding, fishery and sideline occupations so that their output will be more than in 1961," the paper added.
The Chung Kua Ching Nien Pao (China Youth Daily) urged the members of the Young Communist League to master production techniques.
"The League must organize the whole body of its members and the broad masses of youth to undertake, at appropriate times, a serious study of the Party's policies, production techniques, and science and culture. In particular, technical knowledge of production is urgently needed by the broad masses of youth because it is indispensable to the struggle against nature.
"Let us win greater victories with a higher level of consciousness, more knowledge and production techniques. In this new battle, we shall surely encounter difficulties, big and small. But, under the leadership of the Party, we shall be able to overcome difficulties one by one and win one victory after another, and attain our objective, provided we are energetic and strong-willed."
The Hongkong Ta Kung Pao carried a New Year's speech broadcast to overseas Chinese by Liao Cheng-chih, chairman of the "Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission."
Asserting that "U. S. imperialism had fomented trouble and stirred up unrest everywhere," Liao said the 60,000-70,000 returned overseas Chinese resettled last year in the state-owned overseas Chinese farms in Kwangtung, Kwangsi, Fukien, Yunnan and Szechwan "have devoted themselves to production side by side with the old farm hands."
To fill up the shortage of manpower caused by genocide and natural calamities, the "chairman" said:
"The various overseas Chinese farms this year will continuously strive for a larger degree of self- sufficiency in grain, edible oil, vegetables, meat, etc., apart from the development of tropical and sub-tropical economic crops in line with local needs."
Dear Comrades
Moscow and Peiping exchanged New Year greetings for 1962.
Peiping seemed to be eager to promote the impression of a "collective leadership" on its suzerain in the Kremlin. The message was addressed to two "comrades," Khrushchev and Brezhnev, by four "chairmen," Mao Tse-tung, Liu Shao-chi, Chu Teh, and "Premier" Chou En-lai.
The message cooed:
"In the past year, the great Soviet people, under the leadership of the Central Committee of the glorious Communist Party of the Soviet Union, have scored tremendous successes in the struggle for building Communism and safeguarding world peace. The Chinese people are immeasurably elated over this -and wish the fraternal Soviet people new and greater successes in the lofty cause of building Communism and defending world peace in the new year.
"The long-tested fraternal friendship and unity between the people of our two countries are based on Marxism-Leninism and the principles of proletarian internationalism and cannot be disrupted by any force."
In return, Moscow's message of thanks was also addressed to the foursome:
"The Soviet people, rallying still ever closer around the Communist Party and its Leninist Central Committee, are striving with unprecedented fervor for the realization of the resolutions of the 22nd Congress and the tasks put forward by the grand program of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union adopted by the Congress - a program of building a Communist society in our country. The Soviet people consider this effort as their internationalist obligation and as a contribution to the common struggle of the working people in the world for the victory of the ideology of peace and Communism.
"We rejoice at the achievements scored by the Chinese people - our great friend and ally-under the leadership of the glorious Chinese Communist Party and its Central Committee in the building of socialism.
"Dear comrades, we wish you and the entire people of the People's Republic of China new successes in building socialism and in the struggle for consolidating universal peace in the forthcoming year."
Goa and West Irian
Last December was a busy month for the Chinese Communists. The successive disputes on the Himalayan border and in Goa and West Irian became the external "three red banners" of the month.
Right after the Indian government's dispatch of troops into Goa on December 18, the puppet regime and its mouthpieces voiced their "resolute support" to India and Indonesia.
In support of India, Peiping's "Foreign Ministry" issued a statement on December 19:
"To oppose colonialism and safeguard national independence and the unity of their country, the Indian people have for a long time been demanding the recovery of Goa and have waged an unremitting struggle for this purpose. The action of the Indian government to recover Goa reflects the just demand of the Indian people. The Chinese government and people express their resolute support for it.
Only two weeks before the "recovery" of Goa, the Chinese Communists and India had exchanged accusations over the Himalayan border issue. Peiping said "the current anti-Chinese campaign in India has been started upon Nehru's return from his visit to the United States" and "Nehru is free to beg wherever he wants, and no one is interested."
But later, Peiping rallied behind Nehru in a "united front" against the "U.S. imperialists."
"What calls for serious attention is that the imperialist powers headed by the United States of America openly oppose and unjustifiably censure the Indian people's just demand for recovering Goa and support continued Portuguese occupation of Goa," the statement said.
The Jen Min Jih Pao (People's Daily) editorialized on December 20 that the Indian people's resolute action to recover their territory of Goa is "entirely necessary and just."
Referring to the puppet regime's statement, the editorial asserted:
"Goa, Daman and Diu are part of Indian territory. After India's independence, the Portugese colonialists, supported by the U.S. imperialists, stubbornly persisted in their colonialist stand for permanent occupation of these places.
"There is no alternative but to wage resolute struggle against imperialism and colonialism in order to overthrow colonial rule; win real independence and freedom, and safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity."
Inspired by Sukarno's command to "liberate" West Irian on December 19, Indonesian Ambassador Sukarni Kartodiwirjo called on "Foreign Minister" Chen Yi for support.
Chen pledged that "the Chinese government and people resolutely support the just struggle waged by the government and people of the Indonesian Republic."
"Sukarno's order to liberate West Irian demonstrates the determination of the Indonesian people to fight against Dutch colonialism and safeguard the independence and unity of their homeland," editorialized the Jen Min Jih Pao (People's Daily) on December 21.
"West Irian is an inalienable part of Indonesian territory. After Indonesia won independence, the Dutch government went back on its promises and continued its occupation of West Irian to use the island as a base for threat and aggression against Indonesia.
The daily also falsely accused the United States of stirring up troubles in this area. Asserted the paper: "U. S. monopoly capital has long made inroads in to West Irian to plunder oil and various other important mineral resources there. Since the Kennedy administration was inaugurated, the United States has directed the Dutch colonialists to conduct moves for the complete severance of West Irian from Indonesia."
The Ta Kung Pao stressed on December 22 that "the Chinese people fully sympathize with and resolutely support the Indonesian people's just struggle."
"This determination of the Indonesian government and people to liberate their own territory will become an irresistible force. We are convinced that the just struggle of the Indonesian people, supported by the people of Asia and the world, will certainly triumph. West Irian will surely returned to Indonesia," the paper said.
Cuban Anniversary
On the third anniversary of the "victory" of the Cuban revolution, "Chairrpan" Liu Shao-chi and "Premier" Chou En-lai sent a message of "warm fraternal congratulations" to President Osvaldo Dorticos and Premier Fidel Castro on December 31.
The message was addressed to two "excellencies," not "comrades." "Chairman" Mao Tse-tung was not among the well wishers. The message read:
"In the three years, the heroic Cuban people, under the correct leadership of their great leader Fidel Castro and of the Cuban Revolutionary Government, have won great victories and achievements in the struggle against U. S. imperialism's aggression and intervention, for safeguarding national independence, building their fatherland and defending world peace.
"The profound friendship between the Chinese and Cuban peoples is built on the basis of the common struggle against imperialism, for safe-guarding national independence, defending world peace and for social progress. This militant friendship between our two peoples is everlasting and unbreakable.
"The Cuban people may be assured that the Chinese people, who have suffered a great deal from imperialist aggression and oppression, have been in the past, are now and will be in the future, their most reliable and faithful comrade-in-arms."
Cuba's return message of thanks for the greetings was received rather late. The cable message announced by the New China News Agency on January 12 said:
"The sincere expression of solidarity which you conveyed to us on behalf of the Chinese people is a great encouragement for the struggle of our people and for the great task of the socialist construction of our country. The inestimable support given us by the Chinese people in our struggle against imperialist aggression and in defense of national independence has greatly increased our people's courage and strength in combat."
In Peiping, a "warm celebration" was held on December 29. "Foreign Minister" Chen Yi and two vice chairmen of the "National People's Congress" attended the rally.
According to the New China News Agency dispatch of the day, the rally declared a "unanimously-adopted" message: "Should U. S. imperialism dare to launch another invasion of Cuba, it would surely meet with still more ignominious failure."
Liu Chang-sheng, vice president of the "All-China Federation of Trade Unions," asserted that "the people of Cuba do not stand alone. The Chinese people, long victims of imperialist aggression and oppression, are the most reliable friends of the Cuban people."
Speaking at the rally, Cuban Ambassador Oscar Pino-Santos said:
"U. S. imperialism is preparing a new invasion of Cuba. Under its instigation, the foreign minister of one of the American countries has proposed a meeting to be held on January 22 next year to discuss the fictitious aggression by Cuba against the so-called inter-American system. This is, in effect, an attempt to find an excuse for the organization of another shameless armed invasion of Cuba."
On New Year's Day, the Ta Kung Pao and the Kuang Ming Jih Pao editorially "greeted" the Cuban anniversary.
The Ta Kung Pao stated that the "heroic Cuban people's waging of an arduous armed struggle against U. S. imperialism was an event of profound world historic significance. It marked the beginning of the collapse of U. S. imperialism's protracted colonial rule in Latin America and an important development in the national democratic movement in that continent."
"The Chinese and Cuban peoples are brothers and close comrades-in-arms. This friendship is founded on their common struggle against imperialism, in defense of world peace and national independence and for social progress," it added.
Buddhist Conference
The World Fellowship of Buddhists held its sixth conference last November in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The conference restored the membership of the Republic of China, which had been replaced by the Peiping regime in 1956.
No representative from Taipei was present. The puppet delegation from Peiping walked out when its proposal to continue disqualification of the Republic of China was voted down.
The Jen Min Jih Pao (People's Daily) on December 19 accused the United States of "carrying out dirty political intrigue in the name of religion."
In an article entitled "Be Vigilant Against U.S. Intrigue Through Religion," the paper said that the "Fifth WFB Conference held in Bangkok in 1958, to which China was unable to send a delegation because of the unreasonable obstruction of the Thai government, adopted in contravention of past decisions a resolution for accepting Taiwan as a regional center of the WFB."
"However," the article asserted, "dark clouds from the West appeared over the sixth conference. Strange figures who had never been seen in dignified Buddhist conferences in the past made their appearance in the conference and were very active. All these people, without exception, came from the United States.
"Anyone who is somewhat sober-minded can see clearly that the conference was manipulated by the American plotters who had sneaked into it. This is further proved by the unjustified voting down at the conference of the Chinese delegation's proposal for canceling the resolution of the fifth conference of the WFB on accepting Taiwan as a regional center."
But according to the report of a Cambodian paper, 102 persons from 37 countries were invited to the November conference. Twenty of these countries maintain diplomatic relations with Peiping, only 11 with Taipei.
Delegates from the Communist bloc included three each from Hanoi, Peiping, Pyongyang and Ulan Bator, and two from East Berlin.
The Republic of China was one of the founders of WFB. Delegates of the Republic of China attended the first two conferences in Colombo (1950) and Tokyo (1952). Because of delayed issuance of visas, free Chinese delegates were unable to attend the third conference in Rangoon (1954). Peiping was invited to succeed the Republic of China at the fourth conference in Kathmandu (1956).