Some 15 years ago there was a show in the Casino at Paris called "The Greatest Show on Earth." It was a grand performance. Hundreds of actors, actresses, dancers and singers took part; the stage space was not much smaller than the stalls and dress circle put together. Yet if the number of people taking part is the criterion of greatness, there are greater parades and demonstrations behind the Iron Curtain. Those in mainland China are the greatest of all. Besides the "National Day" and May Day parades, there are shows of all kinds, such as: "The People's Commune is Fine! ", "Learn from Tachai," "Learn from Taching," "The Acupuncture Anesthetics," "Trade and Commodity Fair in Canton," on so on.
When you read about or see a parade and demonstration in mainland China, do not think it involves a demand for more pay as is so often the case in the West. It does not. It is a show organized by the employer - the government - for the benefit of foreign travelers or foreign corresponddents in order to impress the world.
Sometimes the demonstrators do not even know what they are doing. But they know that the Communist party is the supreme authority, the supreme commander, and demands unquestioning obedience. They know that whoever dares to be disobedient will be shamed, will be subjected to public criticism, will be forced to do menial manual labor, will be disgraced for life, and will be locked up, exiled or even executed. The fear of these dangers is a thousand times more terrifying than the danger itself.
Fear is the weightiest of all weapons in the subjugation of the masses. The obedience of 800 million has been enforced through the threat of losing jobs (without pay or unemployment benefits), through the threat of being branded counterrevolutionary elements and through the threat of being permanently cast out. The ordinary mainland Chinese has a scanty food ration which would shock most Westerners, works eight hours a day six days a week and is continuously subject to the party's daily beck and call for a study session, an emergency meeting, a parade or some other political activity. This is meant to tame any person, just as animals are tamed. Discipline and obedience are the first commandments of Asian Communism. The party bosses have such total control that they can easily organize a nationwide show. Until now the "greatest show" has been performed only in Peiping and a few other big cities that are supposedly open to foreigners. But we know that the population of China is a quarter of that of the whole world and should not be surprised if more and bigger shows are to be seen in the days to come.
It was an ordinary day in the hot Peiping summer of 1971 and everybody was working as usual. Suddenly the Peiping radio told listeners that an important message would be broadcast the following afternoon. Everyone was curious; one guessed one thing and one guessed another. At last the news broke: it was the secret mission of Henry Kissinger, who had already been in Peiping for several days, and the announcement that Richard Nixon would visit mainland China.
One of the first signs of a thaw in the Far East cold war had been seen about eight months earlier, at the end of 1970, when a friendly conversation took place between Mao Tse-tung and an American reporter, Edgar Snow, in the "chairman's" study. Their talk touched on events concerning the "cultural revolution," the personality cult and the international situation. Mao said the problem of Taiwan had nothing to do with Nixon; it was Truman who had wanted to protect Chiang Kai-shek and created a cold war barrier between America and Communist China. He expressed his hope that Nixon would visit mainland China at on early date, either officially or informally. This conversation was published in Life and also in an Italian magazine. By early 1971, Chinese mainland people of all ranks and classes were able to read of this conversation in a circular translated from the two magazines. A number of political study groups were organized to discuss Mao's "new foreign policy." The temperature of the personality cult began to drop (as mentioned in the conversation) and the blame for past mistakes was shifted to other scapegoats Lin Piao and his followers. After the radio announcement of Nixon's visit, the mainland was in a state of excitement, curiosity and astonishment. People here and there and everywhere were talking of the visit; the subject became a part of daily life. Study classes supervised by specially chosen party members discussed reports of meetings and speeches by high party officials. This period of study and discussion lasted about three months. Party officials were trying to brainwash the people and convince them that Americans were friends, after all, that the Japanese were neighbors and that the Russians had turned out to be the principal enemy. To hoist its revolutionary banner in final victory, Peiping had to make use of the contradictions between the super powers. The main points made by the party officials about Nixon's visit were: (1) Nixon himself wanted to visit mainland China and not the other way around; (2) owing to the Americans' total defeat and failure on the Vietnam battlefield, he was acting as a peace envoy who wanted to submit himself and surrender; (3) due to the pressures of rising Russian military power and rising Japanese economic power, he wanted to make friends with Red China; (4) his visit might help him win re-election.
When these discussions reached the second stage, the participants had to face up to question of how to welcome a guest who had been abused as the head of the imperialists. As is well known, the size of the welcoming crowd and extent of the welcoming ceremony are Peiping expressions of relationships with other countries, the degree of friendship and the position of the visitor. For example, Sihanouk is only an exiled prince of Cambodia, yet Peiping pays tribute and welcomes him as a head of a state every time he returns from abroad. Although Nixon was president of the United States, there were no diplomatic relations with Washington. Many hostile slogans had attacked U.S. policy in Vietnam, Korea and Taiwan. Big character posters at the Peiping airport and along the highway leading into the city were changed. "Down With American Imperialism!" was replaced by "Workers of the World Unite!" and "Proletarians of the World Unite!" However, it was also decided there would be no crowds along the road. Only a small group of officials was to welcome him at the airport.
It was said that stringent precautions would be taken to assure the safety of Nixon and his party. First, all cities to be visited would be carefully checked. An overcrowded city is not impressive and is difficult to control, so the populations had to be reduced. No one was allowed to book a rail ticket to Peiping unless he had a letter from the Provincial Revolutionary Committee. All vehicles in the cities to be visited had to undergo a thorough inspection and obtain a special license. Old vehicles, including trucks and vans, were not allowed to operate. All bicycles, numbering several hundred thousand in Peiping, had to be equipped with headlight, brakes, etc., and old ones were not allowed on the streets. Wagons drawn by draught animals were not allowed to pass through the city center. A census of "illegal residence" was ordered and most of the young people who had sneaked in from the countryside were sent back. The mentally unbalanced were kept in hospitals. Those branded as landlords, rich peasants, counter revolutionary elements, bad elements, rightists, capitalists, black gang and revisionists (the so-called eight black kinds) were kept under surveillance or in custody.
There was a mass movement to tidy up the city. Some old houses and buildings, especially those in the city center or near marketplaces, were pulled down or repaired; broken windows and roof tiles (most of the damage dated to the "cultural revolution") were replaced; doors facing the street were repainted. Shops had to have freshly painted names or signboards (from the beginning of the "cultural revolution," most shops had no name at all). Traces and stains of the big character posters had to be washed away, white washed or painted over; shop windows had to be artistically decorated; signs of poverty or backwardness had to be covered or removed.
Nearly all these tasks were completed by the end of 1971. After that came a period of intensive political study. People in all walks of life, even retired pensioners and housewives, had to take part. All had to be convinced that the new policy was absolutely correct.
The program was then pushed forward to control shopping, street people, park loungers and cinema goers. Children were to be kept in school or at home. Parents were responsible for their children's activities. College students and staff members were to stay in their quarters; workers stayed in their factories; the ill were confined to hospitals or their homes, and so on. No one was allowed to go shopping in the city center during Nixon's visit; such an offense would brand one as an "acting counterrevolutionary element opposing the chairman's foreign policy."
Nor was it difficult to control those not employed or in school. All people in mainland China must be registered as living in a city, town or village. They are attached to a district and must belong to a political organization. Housewives, invalids and the aged have to join the so-called "party street committee" of their district. Because it would look funny to be welcoming a chief of state in a deserted city, all those whose services would nominally be required - postmen, messengers, ambulance drivers, street cleaners, transportation workers, food dispensers, etc., were told to stay at their posts. Those who had commutation tickets to go to and from work or school could do so. But who was going to appear in the streets and go shopping in the city center? Many strictly rationed items would be on display. Yet the supply would not be enough for ordinary citizens and long queues would be unsightly. It was decided that a third of retail business workers would stay at their posts and two-thirds would play the role of customers and window shoppers. Whenever a foreigner appeared, some would do some buying over the counter. What they bought would be returned to the store later through the back door. Posts as shop sentinels would be filled by police and members of the armed forces wearing plain clothes. Students of all ages from kindergarten to college would populate parks and playgrounds.
The Summer Palace would not be open to the public. The area was divided into sections, each to be occupied by 20 to 30 students. Every school and college had five or six groups organized, rehearsed and ready for the call. Students wore their best clothes. Girls were dressed in skirts instead of the usual baggy trousers. They carried picnic baskets full of cookies, chocolate, sandwiches and fruits provided by the authorities. They were to engage in such activities as dancing, skating, singing and games but could not leave their assigned sections. Whenever a foreigner appeared, everyone would put on a performance intended to give the picture of joyful and cheerful life in the "new China." Visitors would see children playing and gamboling in the park, lilies and roses, friendship and courtship, freedom and a carefree spirit, with everything spick and span. Incredibly, even the courting couples in parks were pre-arranged. The poor "lovers" did not even know one another. They were young policemen and policewomen on temporary duty as actors and actresses.
As the date of the unprecedented performance drew near, party members were called again and again to emergency meetings to discuss every possible unforeseen emergency. Several final measures were taken. One was to keep an eye on returning overseas Chinese. Some were invited to accept special assignments that would get them out of the way. An overseas housewife was approached by a cadre, who said: "A nurse who is working in our clinic has suddenly become ill. I wonder if you could give some help during her absence. She will be back in about a fortnight." The woman said she knew nothing about nursing. The officer said, "They need hands, you know, and there are plenty odd jobs you could do. It is only for two weeks." The housewife could only accept; she knows there was an iron fist inside the velvet glove.
About six weeks before the show, it was announced that one or two American television communication satellites would be launched especially for the visit. U.S. engineers would be arriving a month ahead of Nixon. A week later, representatives of colleges, factories and other organizations were called together to deal with the problem of electric power. To assume sufficient electricity for visitors and diplomats and stable voltage for the U.S. satellite ground station, all factories and other major users of electricity were to draw power by turns for only three days a week. The power company supplied the details. Residential areas received electricity full time but only for lighting. Hospitals, theaters and hotels got all the power they could use.
However, this was to be no vacation period. Employees were to go to work as usual. In fact, the first consideration was to keep them at their places of work. The party authority would organize political meetings. People could sing party songs and gossip away the time.
In the end, the performance went off successfully. No bomb exploded, no accident occurred, no complaint about the power supply was received. Millions all over the world watched the great show on TV with no understanding of the reality behind the giant "set."
A girl of 15 had been chosen as a Great Wall card player. She told part of her story after the honorable guest had departed. "It was very cold," she said, "but the children were not supposed to wear overcoats and the girls were supposed to wear skirts." All put on overcoats and girls their trousers but posted a sentinel. As soon as they had word of approaching visitors, they took off coats, hid their trousers and went about their play. The girl said, "We were frozen to death. All our fingers were thumbs. For heaven's sake, how could we play cards and chess outdoors on such a cold winter day! Do you think Nixon was so stupid as not to notice our bluffing?"
One young man came to Peiping to see his ailing mother, although I don't know how he managed to get into the capital during that critical period. He happened to go to the great department store in the city center. To his surprise it contained many things he had not seen for ages and which could be purchased without ration coupons. He went to a counter where a foreigner was buying some peanuts. He asked for five catties (about 2½ kilograms). The sales girl was reluctant to serve him but could not say anything in front of the foreigner. She tried to slow the transaction by wrapping the peanuts in five separate packages. The foreign customer was still around, so the young man got his purchase. But once he moved away from the counter, the peanut buyer was accosted by another customer, who said: "Where are you from, comrade? I am a policeman. Show me your identity card." The policeman took the peanuts away and ordered the young man to accompany him.
Some people around the world were impressed. I have heard them say: "Oh! How wonderful! Everything is so clean and tidy and in such good order!" "Who says it is overpopulated? There are no crowds. You can see with your own eyes." "Look at that swarm of bicycles! If we used more bicycles we would solve our problem of traffic jams and the energy crisis." "Look at the shops, full of food and commodities. People look healthy, wealthy and gay." "There are no beggars, no thieves and no unemployment." "The ugliness and dirt of Western society do not exist there!"
I was told more than 700 million people all over the world watched color TV programs of the visit - more than watched the first man to walk on the moon. One that lasted only two minutes was in black and white because no foreign cameramen were allowed to enter Mao's study. If a quarter of the world's population watched, the quarter resident in mainland China did not. There was no on-the-scene broadcast. A few days afterward Peiping TV showed brief footage of Nixon entering Mao's residence. After all, the people of the mainland were actors, not spectators.
Three years has elapsed since the Nixon visit. It was a fantastic performance - the Greatest Show on Earth - and phony from beginning to end. I know; I was there.