THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 23 SEPTEMBER 1975

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006014908
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: September 23, 1975

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The President's Daily Brief
September 23, 1975
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category 5B(1),(2),(3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
September 23, 1975
Table of Contents
Lebanon: Fighting continued in Beirut yesterday
and the government again warned residents to
stay off the streets. (Page 1)
Portugal: The new government is not going to re-
ceive a honeymoon period from the Communists,
who are reluctant to give up the gains they
have made. (Page 2)
China: The nation, although nominally a "workers'
state," has had to contend for more than a
year with worker strikes, absenteeism, and
slowdowns. (Page 3)
Notes: Jordan-Syria; Panama; East Germany - USSR
(Page 5)
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LEBANON
Fighting continued yesterday
in Beirut and the government again
warned residents that all streets in
the city were dangerous. Fighting
also picked up again in the northern
city of Tripoli.
Last night, the right-wing Phalanges Party as
well as left-wing and fedayeen groups agreed again
to abide by the cease-fire concluded on Saturday
night. The Phalangists may be more willing to ob-
serve the cease-fire this time because they are re-
portedly low on ammunition.
The US embassy in Beirut believes that nearly
all the forces, except for the Communists and the
fedayeen "rejectionists," now would like to see an
end to the fighting, but each continues to insist
on its own terms. The current cease-fire does not
provide for the removal of barricades and armed
men from the streets of the capital. The embassy
notes that, without such a clause, the entire ar-
rangement is at the mercy of the least disciplined
and doubts that the cease-fire can be enforced ef-
fectively.
Syrian Foreign Minister Khaddam continued his
mediation efforts yesterday.
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PORTUGAL
The new government is not going
to receive a honeymoon period from
the Communists, who are reluctant to
give up the gains they have made.
The party is challenging the Azevedo govern-
ment on agrarian reform issues and is attempting to
block efforts by the new administration to restruc-
ture local governments that the Communists control.
Similar blocking efforts are likely in the media,
labor, and the government bureaucracy.
Meanwhile, the Communist-dominated Democratic
Movement is attempting to foment unrest among in-
dustrial workers. The Movement has promised a
"period of social agitation," and is supporting a
one-hour strike called by steelworkers for tomorrow.
Some military officers are unwilling to risk
their "revolutionary" credentials by supporting the
new government. Security chief Carvalho, for ex-
ample, has announced that he intends to keep his
distance and "to enter decidedly into the opposi-
tion" if the government shows any sign of a turn to
the right.
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CHINA
China, although nominally a
'workers' state," has had to con-
tend for more than a year with worker
strikes, absenteeism, and slowdowns.
The government seems unable to cope
with these phenomena. Indeed, there
may even be those within the leader-
ship who sympathize with the workers'
demands. Repeated exhortations have
been issued in an effort to end the
strikes and increase production, but
the country's leaders apparently have
taken no firm action against the
strikers, and the basic issue--wages--
has been sidestepped. These factors,
together with bottlenecks in the min-
ing and transport industries, are con-
tributing to a marked slowdown in the
rate of industrial growth.
The strikes, although economically motivated,
seemed to grow out of the political instability
generated last year during the so-called anti-
Confucius campaign, which reflected the rivalry and
policy differences within the national leadership.
While some factories were thrown into disarray as
workers used the campaign to attack factory mana-
gers for political wrongdoing, other workers ap-
parently seized the opportunity to press home their
demands for higher wages. This was the first wide-
spread activity of this sort since January 1967,
when similar demands occurred in the confusion of
the Cultural Revolution.
A meeting of the National Peoples' Congress,
China's legislature, in January this year contrib-
uted to a recurrence of labor unrest. Expectations
that the congress would approve a wage hike proved
groundless. In addition, the new constitution
adopted at the congress gave workers the right to
strike, providing a legal outlet for their growing
frustration.
As was the case last year, the steel and rail-
way industries apparently have been the hardest hit
by this year's strikes, which continued at least
through August. Work stoppages reportedly kept the
(continued)
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iron and steel industries from meeting production
goals for the first half of the year, and wage-re-
lated strikes also contributed to rail disruption.
In addition, these industries are suffering from
the cumulative impact of inadequate capital invest-
ment over the past several years.
Most workers have not had a pay raise since
the 1950s, and the cost of living, although low by
Western standards, has risen somewhat over recent
years. After 26 years of Communist rule, the Chi-
nese people have found that the state has taken care
of their basic necessities. While this is no small
accomplishment, the populace now seems ready for
something more than the barest essentials, and a
cycle of rising expectations may have set in.
Nonetheless, the people are again being asked
to tighten their belts as China embarks on a long-
range economic plan designed to bring the country
into the front ranks of the industrialized nations
by the end of the century. Peking's dependence on
worker cooperation in this economic effort has left
China's leaders vulnerable to pressure from the
workers. In essence, they have demanded more com-
pensation for their cooperation.
This presents Peking with a dilemma. Aside
from the obvious cost of an across-the-board pay
raise, giving in to workers' demands would set a
potentially dangerous precedent at a time when Pe-
king is trying to promote stability throughout the
country.
Repressive measures against the strikers pre-
sent even greater hazards. After four years of
gradually removing the army from factories, schools,
and other civilian institutions in the interest of
restoring party supremacy, Peking clearly is reluct-
ant to use the military again in the factories.
Troops have been used to quell disorders caused by
political disputes between contending groups of
workers, but there is no evidence that the army has
been employed against strikers complaining about
wages.
The government obviously cannot allow the
strikes to go on indefinitely and will eventually
have to come to grips with the wage issue--or, re-
luctantly, use force against the strikers. What-
ever decision it finally makes will certainly carry
with it significant economic or political costs.
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NOTES
Jordan
Syria
Panama's release over the weekend of confiden-
tial US and Panamanian negotiating positions was
not designed to torpedo the canal treaty talks. It
was a domestic political tactic.
The government was trying to show Panamanians
that it is keeping the initiative and rejecting US
proposals that it says could infringe on Panama's
sovereignty. It said nothing to throw doubt on its
basic commitment to the talks--but now, of course,
it will be more difficult for Panama to compromise.
General Torrijos, it would seem, is banking on
further significant concessions from the US.
East German
Soviet
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