COMMENTS ON COMMUMIST CHINA'S SOCIOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R007600050001-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 7, 2004
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: April 30, 1951
• Content Type: REPORT

COUNTRY China
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til-tr1?41""111 COTIVID77TILL,
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY 25XIIEPORT
iNFORM TION REPORT CD NO.
.CVOIEDISTR, 30 April 1951
SUBJECT --CamMents on Communist China"s Sociological and NO.OFPAGES ?9
Pconomic Problems
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PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE OF
INFO.
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTE ELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
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POPULATION POLICY
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1. If being aware of the population problem means the realization of the seriounnesdaelY
of the population pressure against Chinas economic resources, especially at thecarl
present technological level, then, it seems that the CCP leaders responsible for
planning.leading? policies have such awareness, but this problem does not claim.
:theirattention.
.Thie,',:however,does not mean-that they do not know of such a thing as a popup--
lation-problem for China. Since the 1930's, there has been much Agitation in
Chinese literature on this point, and evon.a limited movement for birth control
has taken place. Most colleges that offer courses on population stress the
'ImPortanee of this point, 10e., excestive population pressure against the nation's
resources. Pew whe have received a modern education fail to get some impression
about this point, and the cm) leaders are no exception.
There is evidence that this problem has been discussed by them to some extent.
One representattve in the New People's Political Council held in Peking preceding
the formal establishment of the Communist government, made a statement to the
effect that "Oe" (ambiguous as to uhat this "we" stands for) "recognise that the
Malthusian principle of population still operates in rural China to some extent
so long as China remains predominantly an agricultural nation." The absence of
documentary sources at hand makes it impossible to quote the statement and name
of the person who said it. At any rate, the statement shows that the population
problem has 'been? in the discussion among the CCP leaders who plan China's future
course.
The question is, how much of foregoing statement stands for the general opinion
of the policy Planners. Most probably this is the opinion of Only a few. The
population problem, as such, perhaps does not condom the serious attention of
:the:majority. In fact,- the Majority of the high rank cadres and practicallyall
the middle and law rankers regard it as reactionary to mention population as one
of China's serious problems. Marx wrote against Malthus in his time, claiming
that what caused suffering,-hardship and Poverty is not.population pressure, tut
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class exploitation. Other doctrinaires after Marx wrote along the same line.
Moscow now takes the some view of any Malthusian conception of the population prob-
lem, The CCP fellows, especially the younger set, are deeply ingrained in the some
idea. CHANG Chung-lin, head of the higher education division of the Ministry of
Education and graduate of the once famous Southeastern University in Nanking, is one
example. We argued heatedly over haw China's standard of living can be substante
tally raised without devoting some attention to the problem of population pressure.
He insisted that man's productivity under the socialistic system can increase much
faster than population, and that there is no sueh thing as overpopulation, for
population are productive elements that can feed themselves, given the right social
institutions* Mien he was driven to admit some facto of overpopulation in
localities specifically quoted, then he mentioned migration to places like Manchuria
as an answer, TU Kee-hsiang, head of the education department of Kwangtung
Provincial Government and one of the top fay holding influences along uithYale
Chieneying, expressed much the same vlew, He said to the effect that so long as
there is gross injustice and waste and serious obstruction against maximura production
by the present social system of class exploitation, let US first correct these and
set up a fair and efficient social system, and if after that is done and there is
still a genuine problem of population pressure against resources, then we will make
25X1X attempts to solve it. I la Soviet Union
representative in the 1111,yorking on a committee that had something to do with
population, expressed an opinion along this same general idea, and it is evident
that the CCP leaders are following the Moscow line in this respect very closely*
It is clear that they are not doing anything with this problem. There is nothing
such as a population policy or program* But, unconsciously, many things they do
will have some effect on population policy or the population itself.
6. Population registration records, for one thing, are a great deal more accurate than
before. It is a necessary measure for strict police control to have correct records
of the inhabitants of a community, Vide margins of error in population registration
records caused by omission or duplication of records on the same person, are
largely ironed out in big cities and in the parts of the countrywide 'ghee() the, land
reform program is completed, But this is generally limited to the treatment of the
adult population. The record on infants and children and their births and deaths
remains doubtful in accuracy. This defect imposes a serious limitation on the
demographical value of the population data of the present government, The present
shortage amen with competent knowledge of population and vital statistics is one
of the factors in causing this defect. Nevertheless, the improved records in adult
population will give the government much data to view the population problem in
better light than before, when it wants to. For example, in Peking, 'shore the
publication of public records seems freer than other places, many more details are
known about the population of the city than before. If one day the preeent govern-
ment wants to collect data for a population program, it will have the organization
and some experience to do it, ei if not the properly trained personnel, 'which I
doubt even the Soviet Union can supply*
7. One thing that is bound to affect the population growth substantially in the public
health 'work conducted by the government with much more efficiency than before.
Cities are fairly clean, and as one of the party leaders put it, there are a lot
of unemployed hands, so 'why not put them to work in cleaning up the places. Garbage
dumps in Peking, for instance, have been removed from the streets for the first time
since the end of the anti-Japanese var. Other cities also see improved cleanliness
in public places as well as other measures, such as fixing the long neglected sewage
system. But most important of all is the beginning of public control of some of
the most common epidemics like mall pox and typhoid. Serious examination of
identifications of small pox vaccination, typhoid injection and the like are con-
scientiously carried out at major stations of all important transportation lines,
and vaccinations or injections are administered byPnerses to persons found without
evidence of already having had them done. Public health movements are pushed
vigorously in large cities and limited areas in the countryside. At the present,
for example, a movement is started in Kwangtung Province to give 9,000,000
vaccinations of small pox within two months, and chances are that this goal or some-
thing near it will be attained. Nava vaccines are available for 6,000,000 treat-
ments. For a province of some 350000,000 population, this is a substantial coverage,
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considering the backwardness of the country in public health work. Plague injection
is also being carried out in the southern part of the province at present; some
200,000 persons have received this treatment. In the present spring anti-epidemic
movement, there is the report of the distribution in the province of 260,000 tubes
of nixed typhoid and influenza serum and 740,000 tubes of typhoid serum (South China
Daily, Mar& 5, 1951). Such a report is probably authentic as it is non-political.
For the fast supply of health personnel, medical colleges are required to offer a
five-year course instead of the usual six to seven year course, muoh against the
protest of the medical professors. Then there are training centers in various
parts of the country producing short-course graduates in health work. In Kaangtung
Province, for instance, the Health Department of the provincial government last
year turned out some 1,200 trainees in epidemic prevention corps, public health
nurses, and obstetricians. For 1951 it is planned to turn out about 1,700-1,900
personnel of these types and 600 shoracorse general physicians for the rural
dietricts. Hospitals, medical schools and other medical institutions are pressed
into offering free service in giving this training in addition to their regular
load of work. Though hastily trained and far short of standards, these personnel
will prove a help in view of China's dire needs for such services. The inevitable
result will be a reduction of death rates and the acceleration of population
growth. The inclusion of obstetric personnel in the large-scale training of health
cadres maybe interpreted as a conscious effort in boosting the population but if
this is the case, it has never been officially indicated.
If health measures, one of the most uncontroversially successful undertakings of
the Communist government, tend to accelerate population growth in China, there are
also negative influences at work that tend to reduce it. One such negative
influence is the difficulty of getting married for men Who work in the government
and in various professional institutions for a salary. Pay is too low to support
a family. Political and military workers remain unmarried long after the
marriageable age, frequently so during ten or twenty years of service to the party.
Pay is evidently figured out for the support of a single individual, not a family.
Men the COP was only a local power, this affected only a comparatively small part
of the population. But with the whole nation under its management, the need for
military and political workers vastly expanded, and huge numbers of people are
being recruited with the same poor remuneration. Moreover, the low pay of the
party cadres as well as military and political workers is fast becoming the standard
for other types of salaried positions, perhaps with the only exceptions of technical
men (engineers), doctors and college teachers. ;7 _1:7
_ This situation either makes marriage
impossible or delays it long after the customary age of 20-30 for men and 18-25
for women, for the present. This delay is serious for the Change in birth rates,
for as it is well known, women married at 24 or 26 have much lower fertility than
those married before this age. Though there are no statistics to show the exact
extent of the delay of marriage or the present marriage rate among workers under
the Communist power, the low marriage rate and the late age of marriage is a
general fact. In one gigantic meeting honoring combat heroes in Canton last
October, the military leader praised all workers, military and otherwise, for their
big sacrifices, which included the foregoing of married life for these who had
come into the revolutionary movement for over ten years. "A revolutionist should
not have the burden of a family" to bother him and to distract him fraa work is the
general idea. As to those who manage to get married, such as most of the high
ranking cadre, this is usually dome by both the husband and the wife working, a
situation strongly discouraging to having Children, or having more than one or two
children, as nursery facilities are extremely limited.
9. Such is the case with party cadres, political and military workers, and an increas-
ing number of salaried people. How many people are affected this way is hard to
estimate, but one would venture to say that the majority of the middle class,
especially the modern educated, altogether to thP aune of some 30,000,000 people,
fall into this category. (troaking down this figures. 9,000,000 KMT officials taken
over by the new government, some 10.000.000 CCP members and political workers,
6.000.000 military personnel of various description, and at least 6,000,000 others
working in salaried positions such as schools under the college level which are
geared to government pay standards.)
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10. This figure includes only the salaried workers in certain institutions, and conee-
quently represents an underestimation of the total number of people affected in
China. Other middle class elements, such as those in private business and small
and middle landlords, all sink to a law OCODDMic level, and consequently the
marriage of their children is either impossible now, or indefinitely postponed.
But their number is hard to estimate. Anyhow, the general fall of marriage and
birth rates maybe expected.
11. As to the poorer class in the cities, their economic situation either changes
little, as in the case of store employees and industrial 'workers, or changes for
the worse, such as city peddlers and coolies and pedicab drivers, as shown in one
piece of research we carried out. Marriage and family life has always been a
difficult thing for them in the past, and the difficulty increases now. It is a
regret that there has been no statistical analysis of differential rates of marriage
and birth according to economic class in the past as a basis of estimate for the
present. However, for rant of adequate data, one may assume that there is very
little chance for this urban class Once the liberation in general.
12. In the rural area, the middle peasants may be expected to have little change it their
marriage and birth rates due to the relatively small change in their economic
status. But poor and tenant peasants who constitute perhaps 50-60% of the agri-
cultural population as an average for the nation (this is only a general guess with
no data on hand for a more careful estimate.) The land reform program here may
prove a booster for the growth of this section of the rural population which is
numerically dominant when compared with other individual sections of the population.
13. There is one baffling theoretical paint here that makes it hard to estimate the
possible changes of population growth 'wrought by the Communist revolution. Demog-
raphy of the Western countries shows a greater number of childrem among the poorer
section of the population than the middle and upper classes. But in China the
reverse, or some degree to the reverse, could be the case. There is no existing
reliable data on this point, but a couple of sample studies we conducted seem to
lend support to this point. It is not that the poorer class has lower fertility,
but their poverty imposes a very high death rate among their children whereas the
middle and upper class elements maintain a high birth rate through the traditional
concubinage system and their belief in leaving offspring as a filial obligation,
and their better economic status results in a lower death rate for their children
through better nutrition and medical care. If this should be the case, then, in
the past the middle and upper ?Lessee were important contributors to the nation's
population growth, though the extent remains to be determined, and the present ,
effect of lowering their marriage and birth rates while raising those of the poorer
class in the countryside will change the picture radically, especially when the
poorer section of the population is numerically strong, Should this almost pure
guesswork prove to be the case, the overall picture points to a greater population
growth rate in the days to come, But, even if this bears same conformity to facts,
there will be a certain time lag such as five to six years under stable conditions
before the new effect will emerge*
14. Another presently prominent factor that has a negative effect on population growth
is mer. The civil me- between the CCP and the KMT has, of course, exacted a high
toll of lives among both the soldiers and civilians that Will leave a deep scar in
the birth rate of the population at the present and in the near future. For ex-
ample, one source in Peking confided that in some districts in Hopei province in
Perth China like Ting chow, where some of the most savage struggles took place,
the sex ratio becomes as discrepant as eleven females to one male in an average of
all age groups because of the conscription or recruiting of men for war, leaving
only old men and very young males. This is regarded as confidential because such
districts obviously constitute soft spots in the Communist area due to their military
meekness and the general resentment of the population against the government. Haw
extensive such areas are remains unclear but there is doubt that the draining of
males of reproductive age into the armed services is a serious one in the so-called
"old liberated areas", due to the protracted struggle those areas faced, and the
heavy casualties among the Communist troops during the civil war made some of the
draining a permanent loss, After the civil mar, the continuation of local military
operation and the participation of the Communist Army in the Korean War keep repro-
ductive males from getting married or from staying with their families. The
unfavorable influence upon the birth rate of the population by this situation is
obvious*
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16. To sum up, the health program will have immediate effect upon reducing the death
rate of the population, and the land reform may boost the birth rate of a sizeable
proportion of the rural population after a period of economic and social stability*
These are positive influences. On the negative side, there is sub-standard income
for government and salaried workers that keep people from getting married or
having children, and the destruction of the economic position of the middle and
upper classes that discourage their birth rate* The continuous military activities
have the same effect. The destruction of the family pattern, which includes the
traditional belief in begetting numerous children as a filial duty, will have the
same negative influence, but the effect will came slowly. Then the destruction of
the family pattern becomes a general fact, Which will take at least five to ten
years with the smooth operation of the present system, whether the rate of popu-
lation growth will be affected depende largely on haw the industrialization program
works out and what form of balance between birth and death rates will take plate.
If China by then still remains predominantly agricultural, her population is liable
to grow fast, with or without the destruction of the traditional family system,
in view of past experience of the Irestern countries. On the other hand, short of a
vigorous movement of birth control, the success of the industrialization program
will also boost the growth of the population for a certain period. Such have been
the demographic trends of countries rath statistical records, with or without the
Chinese pattern of family, and one hardly sees any new or particular factor that
might make China an exception.
16. The negative influences, those 'named above, and others too well expected by students
of population to need mentioning, will spread, and consequently, the growth of
population will be checked or stopped, if internationally there is a war, and
domestically the Communist government fails to achieve stability politically, eco-
nomically, and socially. On the other hand, if internationally there is peace, and
domestically the government is able to maintain stability over most of China and
the present social and economic programs proceed smoothly for five or ten years,
the negative influences will be gradually ironed out by the relative Improvement
of general social and economic conditions, population growth is liable to accelerate.
The amount of acceleration will be hard to predict. One can view the population
growth of the Soviet Union einoe the revolution as a pattern. For Asiatic countries,
one can point out that India, the one Asiatic country that has kept relatively reliable
demographical records for over a century, say a gain of perhaps 1000000,000 inside
of four decades, 1900-1940? Sane students maintained that China saw the same gain
during the same period. Following this trend, China's future gain, given the
favorable conditions, will be rather alarming.
17. As stated at the beginning, the top leaders of the CCP probably are not aware of
the weightiness of the problem, but some well educated low ranking party cadres
may have some idea of it. For example, in Chekiang province, one college graduate
party member related his experience in the land reform of a village. He said that
even after dividing up the land, it is impossible to work out a decent standard of
living for all of the people belonging to the village0 no) saw that the change for
modern farming methods may bring some improvement, but still not enough.. He saw
the serious need for birth control and migration. But this person's view is a rare
one, and it is not the general conception of most of the party leaders?
18. rub no data on hand, one can only point out the general areas where new influences
may operate to change the population picture, with or 'without the awareness of
China's present rulers. Furthermore, material on the subject is difficult to ob-
tain, because population and its trends are related to nations' military strength
at the present and in the future.
TRANSPORTATION
19, Railways are being efficiently operated, and passenger trains are clean and orderly
and fairly punctual. During last summer and fall, old rail ties were being replaced
by new ones. But the new ties are made of an inferior pine from Manchuria, and they
are not baked for sterilization of roma and insects in the rood, as done before the
anti-Japanese war. Moreover, no more S-shape steel holders are nailed onto the two
ends as used to be for the prevention of cracking. Consequently, as one railway
executive said, these new ties can be expected to last only about eight months, and
the road beds are not at all durable* To help prolong the life of the ties and
maintain the road beds, railwaymen's elves and children are pressed into rendering
free service a certain number of hours each reek to sift dust and dirt from roadbed
gravel. This calls forth quite a bit of complaint?
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20. One engineering professor in Peking estimated that the vast majority of the civilian
motor vehicles (mostly buses and trucks and very few passenger cars) will break down
in about two years because of their conversion into mood, coal or Charcoal burning
system on account of gas shortage, and the acid content of the producers gas eats
into the valves and other parts of the engine, By that time, motor transportation
mill be a very difficult problem, for there will be no replacements for these en-
gines, For a country as vast as China with so few railways, the destruction of the
motor transportation system mill produce serious effect in manywaye, A similar
situation arose during the anti-Japanese ear, and the experience at that time per-
haps could serve as a reference for the future.
21 'That will happen wader the steady deterioration of the motor transportation, induced
mainly by the shortage of gasoline and replacement parts? Travel will be difficult
and the circulation of commodities mill be glove but it is doubtful mhether the
economy will sink to the breaking point. In fact, chances are that transportation
will be to some degree more effective than that in Southwest China under the Chung-
king goverment during the 17ar. This is due to the better utilization of the native
means of transportation on water and on land. This is sham in the following report
from Shaeghai? mainly from the Communist New China News Agency, mith some supplement
from other sources,
22, In the rest China region, it is estimated that 40% of all the sailing wooden junks
worked in organized teams under the direction of the East China Regional Gevernment
during the past year, and half of these organized junks belonged to the northern
part of Kiangsu province, mthere the organization work of the Communist power ie most
developed due to its long foothold there einem the early days of the anti-Japanese
mar. In that part of the province, two joint operation associations have 216 wooden
junks aa members, and 78 other wooden boat associations have 5,829 member boats.
In that area last year, commodities transported by the organized boats exceeded
100% of those transported by steamships, and equalled to about so% of all the goods
transported overland due to the importanoe of water transportation in that area.
The variety and tonnage of goods trensported by the boats are not riontioned in tide
report, but .some incomplete data give some idea of the picture. Commodities shipped
out of the rural districts of this area as a whole include such agricultural produce
as hog bristles, soya bean, peanute, eggs and egg products and poultry. /t is
claimed that, perhaps with some reliability, in the counties of Jukao and T'aihsing,
hog production last year was upped 20% compared to the year before laat, due to the
better transportation facilities provided by the organized utilization of native
junks. Into the same area rent such daily necessities as papers, cloth and 130,000
tons of food which helped the feeding of the vast number of conscripted laborers
employed in the water control work of the Su River in this area.
23. The Shantung provincial branch of the East China Joint Shipping Company, a government
outfit, in last December organized 5,000 horse and oxen carts and theelbarrows for
the mass transportation of 'wheat and other things to East China organ centers
such as Shanghai and rushi,, the quantity (not specified) vas five times that trans-
ported by that company by motor vehicles. During the last quarter of last year,
the Shantung Provincial Shipping Company (another government outfit) together with
cooperative societies organized large numbers of carts and wheelbarrowm and shipped
11,000,000 oatties of peanuts from the areas of Laing and renteng, and 220,000
eatties of yellow pears from T'enghsien, which has always been isolated from the
outside due to the mountainous terrain. The shipping out of large quantities of
fruits from the rural areas is perhaps a fact, for during the summer and fall the
coaatal cities from Shanghai through Tsinan to Peking, consumers enjoyed a larger
variety and quantity of fruits than before. In Peking, puffed tangerines from
Ssechuen, red tangerines from mid-Yangtze valley, bananaa and sugar cane from Kwang-
tmag, pomaloe from Kwangsi, beeides grapes and apples and pears from the North China
plain itself, were seen in plentiful quantities on fruit stands and stores. In
Shanghai, fruits from Manchuria (mainly apples) and South China stock the market,
This is more than the result of railway transportation, for the fruits are produced
in the countryside, frequently very distant from rail lines, Lew tours in various
parts of the country, including North China, before the anti-Japanese war, the vrriter
hem seen fruit selling ruinously cheap and even rotting in the countryside due to the
lack of transportation and organized effort to ship them out to urban centers.
Facilities of motor transportation is extremely limited and too costly for the
transportation of such cheap perishables as fruit, So the story of organized utili-
zation of backward means of transportation must bear some reliability,
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240 Most of the tea leaves from Anhwei, an important tea-producing district in China,
were shipped out the same way. In the period from last June to last October, the
Northern Anhwei Branch of the East China Shipping Company shipped out 6,0000000
oatties of tea leaves from the counties of Liu-an, Hoshan and their adjacent
areas, in exchange for food and other necessities which mere shipped in the same
maya Boats were utilized in organized ways in the same area. Organized utili-
zation of native means of transportation has become the main tool to implement
Their policy of exchange goods between the cities and the country. If this were
the case, the possible forthcoming collapse of motor transportation may not too
seriously cripple the economy.
25, During the famine crisis in north and central China last year, it was related by
government executives that mass utilization of organized native means of transpor-
tation was responsible for the shipment of large quantities of food into the
stricken areas. The government did this regardless of cost in some oases. This,
together tith the concentration of vast quantities of food in the hands of the
government, made it possible to avert extensive loss of lives in the famine stricken
areas last year.
26, The mode of utilization of native means of transportation, of which there is no
shortage, is a noticeable matter, for it concerns the correct estimate of the state,
of economy in Red China in peace and in mar, and the organizational aspect of it may
mark the difference between the economy under the KMT and that under the Red regime
now and in the future.
27. The above data, however, should not be interpreted to mean that the organized utili-
zation of the native means of transportation has brought about a smeothworking of
the rural and urban economies in China today. rhile organized utilization increased
the shipping capacity of the native moans of transportation as a thole, there are
indications that a sizeable proportion of some commercial crops (except cotton) in
many parts of the country has not bean shipped out to the market due to the destruc-
tion of the free market system in many respects and to the ignorance of the party
cadres on economic and Commerical matters, resulting in cross mismanagement of
economic administration, The following cases will explain some angles of this point,
28. Recent conversation with a prominent Tientsin merchant reveals the difficulty in
private trading in peanuts, a major commercial crop in the North China plain. Ho
had secured a government permit to export 2,000 tons of peanuts to England. The
government required payment to be in U.S. dollars. with great difficulty he succeed-
ed in achieving this term with the English importer. Then the government stopped
the loading of the cargo in Tientsin, suddenly changing the required payment fran
U.S. dollars to poun&sterling. ruh some complaints and arguments among all
quarters concerned, the merchant and the importer in London complied with the order.
But the government again switched its requirement into pound T.T. This the importer
refused absolutely to pay in advance, and the shipment was stopped. The merchant
later discovered that the goverment wanted to sell 5,000 tons of peanuts after
granting the permit to him, and the repeated switching of forms of payments was dee
signed to block the transaction for fear that it would reduce the chance of the
government selling its own stock. But meanwhile, the merchant said, north China
had a bumper crop in peanuts last year, and perhaps as much as 95% of the harvested
peanuts are still in the hands of the peasants MtAtr. As government marketing
organization is still extremely limited in capacity in handling the vast quantities
of native products in China, peanuts in this ease, it is very important for the
government to guide the private commercial firms in quickly shipping out tale vast
quantity of peanuts to the most advantageous markets. But instead, for the selling
of only 5,000 tons, negligible compered to the estimated total harvest of peanuts
in North China of about 250,000 tons, the Government made it impossible for private
firms to operate.
29. A-very similar thing occurred in the trading of walnut meats last December, and this
is another commercial crop produced in fairly large quantity in North China. Conse-
quently, only a very limited proportion of the total crop was shipped out last year
right after the meat was harvested, a time when the U.S. importers were willing to
pay an attractive price for it. Now, stuck with the goods, the government shipped
200 cases down to Hong Kong at a very law price, each ooze is one picul (133 pounds).
Even at a low price people refused to touch it because it had gone rancid, as walnut
meat is usually marketed before the middle of January in the warm South China climate.
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Had the government been more intelligent in letting the merchants who know this
field handle the business at the proper time, the commercial value of the crop
mould have been saved* But now it is said that much of the walnut crop still
remains up in the trees unharvested for the producers could find no market for
it in the international field due to government mismanagement, and the domestic
market has not been geared to consume it.
30. These two cases distinctly slum the lack of coordination between the organization
of transportation and the management of marketing. Naw, instead of correcting
its own mistakes, the government advises peasants to plant less peanuts and more
staples like sheet and kaoliang the next season. But for walnuts the government
has offered no solution as yet*
RUSSIAN ADVISERS
31. It is reported by an eye witness that the customs, service in Tientsin is completely
controlled by two Russian advisers. The said person had imported some machinery
from England into Tientsin. The customs service people raised a lot of trouble,
and finally, this person was told to see the Russian advisers. Vhereupon he saw two
Russian advisers who checked the identification numbers on the invoice against
those on the machines, found the two seta of numbers agreed with each other, signed
the import permit, and the whole case was settled, Thie person came out amazed,
saying that "these two glees are no advisers, they are executives, and what they are
doing can be done by any Chinese with a high school education."
32. Russians in Peking are likewise drawing bad critioiam. In the People's University
in Peking, for example, Russian professors are drawing a salary of US0.0,000 a year
each, an eye-opener for any Chinese professor, and the salary is paid out of the
Chinese treasury. Moreover, when a Ruseian professor enters a sitting room where
a group of Chinese professors are sitting, the latter have to stand up to pay respect
every time. In lectures, the Russian professors are parroting the Harxist-Leninist
line with very little illumination on academic questions. Verse still is the fact
that, when a Chinese attending the lecture happens to ask a question some original
ideas, the questioner will be branded with all kinds of names such as capitaliOic
thinker, which irritated one prominent Chinese economist who happened to have
addressed a question in one of the lectures. The government propaganda put up these
Russian professors as great sources of learning, and, as one well known Chinese
writer remarks, "Like a pie cruet, it is made to be punctured", a remark that
probably represents the general evaluation of the Russian professors and lecturers
by the Chinese intellectuals* Besides those in Peking, many so-called Russian
professors and scholars have toured the country, lecturing to academic institutions
and civic groups. The Communist government has spent a lot of money to tour these
fellows around the country lecturing and advising, aside from paying them large
salaries in U.S. dollars, and it may be said that from Canton to Peking and along
the coast, one has heard no good comments regarding them, their contents of their
lectures or their personality. In some cases, they are imposing and offensive.
There is one Ruasian woman adviser in nursery education in Peking who publicly, in
front of all the teachers of a famous nursery school, scolded the principal for
wrong choice of teaching material, saying that the latter should shoulder the sole
responsibility of the failure of the school. The material in question was the Black
Sambo story which was criticized to be impressing the children with racial prejudice
and cowardice. Consequently, the phrase "red imperialism" is being murmured around
In many private circles.
33. The number of Russians in Manchuria must be very large, for one railway worker said
that Russian cigarettes are weld on most cigarette stands on the sidewalks but only
Russians buy them, for the flavor is very disagreeable to Chinese smokers. If
Russian cigarettes are so ubiquitous, the customers must be numeroule
$4. Incidentally, north of the Yangtze valley, the Russians are addressed as Lao Ta Ko
(big brother) in people's private conversations, a term carrying a derisive tune.
36. The Sino-Soviet Friendship Association, which lists nonparty people like DO Lungechi
and FFI Hsiao-tung as its national sponsors, continues to be the main center of high
pressuring non-party people into pro-Soviet activities. Also playing an important
part is the People's Foreign Relations Association which may be regarded as the
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counterpart of the Foreign Policy Association in name, but in fact it is a semi-
official organ of the government on foreign relations, and one of its major
functions is to line up the nation's forces for pro-Soviet activities. For instance,
among the Chinese students returned from the U.S. and other western lands last
summer, all those majoring in international law and its associated fields were put
to work in the People's Foreign Relations Association. Ilion asked why, the answer
was that this is to diseducate them of their Anglo-American slant of their legal
knowledge and instill in them the pro-Soviet conception.
l'EOPLEIS IILITIA
36* The government is vigorously pushing the organization of so-called people's militia
in various parts of the country, but its progress in Nwangtung Province is very
slaw. The total number of people's militia in the country was said to be around
1,500,000 but the number in Kwangtung has not been announcedi it is probably very
small. The reason is obviously the slow progress in the organization of the peas-
ants under the Communist leadership, as the land reform program is being put into
effect only in very limited areas in this province* and the peasants are not being
trusted with arms in any sizeable number.
37. The old militia was an important element in the maintenance of rural peace and order,
and it was under the domination of landlords and the gentry, and in many cases, also
the local bullies, These militia mere disarmed immediately after the Communists
got into the province. The Communists picked younger and poorer elements from the
peasants, organized them to take leadership of village affairs, and gave them arms..
The new armed elements are called the people's militia. This people's militia is
placed under the direct command of the communist armed forces in each locality.
The functions of the nem militia go beyond the protection of the village against
bandits and hostile clans to include theupholding of the new regime by giving
armed support to the claims of the poor peasants in accordance with the laws in
land reform. They are also required to fight against hostile guerrillas in the
countryside in coordination with the regular troops. It remains to be seen whether
the organization of the new militia will gain further -progress in Kmaagtungyhen
the land reform program will be in full swing the next year. Those familiar with
the importance of the role played by the militia in traditional Chinese society will
appreciate the broad significance of this development. This is especially important
when a sizeable proportion of the regular troops are used in prosecuting an
international war, and the local matters, including the suppression of local rebel-
lions, is partly left to the local military organizations of the population such as
the militia* Just now, besides a few in number, the new militia in Kvangtung are
poor in quality, some of them closely associated with influences hostile to the
Communist regime such as those in the delta land of the Pearl River, as admitted by
the government people quite publicly, as some of these statements appeared in the
local papers sponsored by the government.
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