*----------------------------------------------------------* | | | x x x x x x x xx xxx xxx xxx | | xx xx x xx xx xx x x x x x x Issue #26 | | x x x x x x x x xx x x x xx xxx | | x x x x x x x x x x x x 09/02/86 | | x x x x x x x xx x xxx xxx | | | |----------------------------------------------------------| | Newspaper of the Maoist Internationalist Movement | *----------------------------------------------------------* CHINESE CAPITALISM UPDATE CHINA BREAKS WITH LENIN'S THEORY OF IMPERIALISM The governing Communist Party of China recently abandoned its view that world war is inevitable as long as there are advanced capitalist countries. Beijing Review announded that China had held its first "symposium on peace" with more than 40 scholars in attendance. According to Beijing Review, Deng Xiaoping "lately pointed out unequivocally: In the past we said world war was inevitable. Now we have changed this viewpoint." Lenin, the leader of the Russian Revolution in 1917, held that as long as there were advanced capitalism, there would be imperialism. The imperialists according to Lenin would inevitably wage war to redivide the world. Until the Soviet leader Khrushchev took power in the 1950s, the Marxist-Leninist countries all held that world would could only stop with socialist revolution. Since the 1950s, however, the Soviet Union has propagated "peaceful coexistence" and "detente" with the advanced capitalist countries of the West. Likewise, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) now says "revolutionaries today should not use war to advance socialist revolution." To do so would mean "the common ruin of the contending classes" according to the CCP. Instead of revolutionary war the CCP says, "we must concentrate on stopping the highly dangerous nuclear arms race." The CCP emphasized that Third World countries that recently won national independence do not support superpower geopolitics. "They constitute an overwhelming force for peace hitherto unknown in history," according to the CCP. In a related development, China demobilized one million soldiers in an effort to spur the economy. (Beijing Reivew 6/9/86) PRIVATE ENTERPRISE BRINGS CRIME AS SIDE EFFECT IN CHINA "Crimes by private entrepreneurs have increased over the past two years, and divorce cases among them have also gone up." (China Daily 7/10/86, p. 3.) In 1985, 385 people with private businesses went to prison or re-education camp for various sentences. That figure is double 1984's. "Their convictions were mainly for stealing state or private property, evading taxes, threatening customers and buying and selling stolen goods." (Ibid) Divorces were said to increase to a total of 144 per year in 1985 amongst private businesses. "China has permitted private businesses since the late 1970s," says the China Daily. (Ibid) JORDAN CLOSES PLO OFFICES Jordanian soliders closed offices of pro and anti- Arafat factions of the PLO in Amman. (China Daily 7/9/86, p. 8) CHINA DAILY: "MENTAL ILLS ON THE RISE IN SHANGHAI" According to Shanghai's Liberation Daily, "the number of the city's mental patients has exceeded 100,000 or 11.35 per 1,000 people. This constitutes a 55.9% increase over the figure in 1978." (China Daily 7/9/86, p. 3.) In 1982, China averaged one mental patient per 100 people. However there was only one bed for every 140 mental patients. (China Daily 8/13/86, p. 3.) Experts said that schizophrenia and mental depression have risen because of new pressures to do well in exams and business. One school district in Shanghai alone had four suicide attempts by children in June because of exam and homework pressure. (China Daily 7/8/86) A survey "found nearly 30% of the cases of abnormal behaviour involved children." (China Daily 7/9/86) The phenomenon is so new that Shanghai has only 5,500 beds for its mental patients; even though Shanghai is China's largest city. China Daily points out that psychiatry as a profession did not exist until recently in China. (Ibid) PERUVIAN REGIME MASSACRES SENDERO PRISONERS Social democrat and President Alan Garcia feted fellow social democrats and "democratic socialists" from the world over in Lima, while his repressive apparatus massacred surrendered prison rebels. The regime has acknowledged that guards shot at least a hundred rebels at close range in cold blood. The exposure of this well-witness event has resulted in the resignation of the Justice Minister Luis Gonzalez Posada, a friend of Garcia's, and the dismissal of General Andres Maximo Lira of the "parliamentary Republican Guard police force." (China Daily 7/2/86, p. 8.) Also, one hundred guards are under arrest. At this time, it is not clear how this will affect contradictions within the ruling regime. Citations of the China Daily in this issue of MIM Notes refer to the English language version issued in Beijing. CHINA'S PREMIER HAILS YUGOSLAVIA Premier Zhao Ziyang said that Yugoslavia provides an "inspiring" example for China to follow. (China Daily 7/8/86) China Daily said that Yugoslavia had applied the basic principles of Marxism to create socialism in its country. Zhao also praised Yugoslavia for leading the way in the non-aligned movement. In the early 60s, China issued polemics that denounced Yugoslavia for following the capitalist road. Soon after, China condemned the Soviet government in similar terms. The Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) started as a struggle between two factions in the CCP--one that favored Soviet or Yugoslavian reforms, the other that sought a new path of class struggle to lead socialist construction. DIRECT INVESTMENT IN CHINA INCREASES Foreigners invested $5.85 billion in China in 1985. That's up 120% from the year before. (Beijing Review 4/28/86) NEW LAW IN CHINA ALLOWS BANKRUPTCY OF ENTERPRISES The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has decided to allow Chinese [section unrecovered--18] encourage competition, allowing enterprises to succeed or be eliminated, thus serving as an incentive to improve management. It applies to State-owned firms as well as others and is seen as a further big step in the bid to smash the 'iron rice bowl' that has protected inefficient enterprises." (China Daily 6/17/86, p. 1.) In the past, the state closed, merged or reorganized enterprises in the red. The first factory to go bankrupt by the letter of the law was in Shenyang of Liaoning Province. The factory's assets are going to be divided amongst 219 creditors. The employees except for the handicapped are to lose their jobs. The unemployed will receive 75% of their original wages for six months and then 30 yuan a month thereafter. Thirty yuan is about a third or one-quarter of a worker's monthly wage. (China Daily 8/5/86, p. 3) The bankruptcy law is important for its implications within Marxist theory. Competition amongst capitalists is thought to cause "the anarchy of production"--overproduction (from capitalists trying to undersell eachother), the business cycle, the search for the cheapest techniquest of production, the unemployment of workers according the that search and imperialism. Competition amongst capitalists results in imperialism because it weeds out the weak and creates capitalist giants-- monopolies. The competition of multinational corporations plays itself out in war as the ultimate form of competition for cheap labor-power, natural resources and markets. Multinationals find that they can influence the state to go to war for their good. In the preparations, many make a good profit in selling armaments to the state. STUDENTS AT TIANJIN UNIVERSITY ATTACK AFRICAN GUESTS Science and technology students at Tianjin University of Tianjin, China rioted for five hours May 24 after an African party on campus. The rioters threw rocks, bricks and bottles at the building the Africans were in. (International Herald Tribune 6/6/86) It took till May 28 before the Foreign ministry issued a statement in apology. (Ibid) While both white and Black foreign students in Tianjin enjoy privileges that the Chinese students do not, 3,000 Chinese rallied only against the Africans. At neighboring Nankai University foreign students called the city police for protection in a related incident. The police said that it was not their business. Some academic administrators attempted but failed to divert anti-African rioters. The government authorities have asked the African students to return to campus from their embassies in Beijing. Many hoped to transfer, but eventually returned to Tianjin. The African students waled halfway to Beijing from Tianjin for fear of their safety before authorities intercepted them. The students insisted on visiting their embassies in Beijing and managed to speak to the press upon their arrival there. U.S. NATIONALIZES FIRST BANK Business weakness in the energy industry, real estate and agriculture has resulted in a number of defaults and slow downs in the loan business. Many banks are scraping by. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation of the U.S. government bought a 55% share of BancOklahoma Corp. Eventually the U.S. will probably purchase the whole bank as the losses of investors are absorbed by taxpayers. "We will see a bunch of nationalized banks," said one banking consultant. (Asian Wall Street Journal 8/21/86, p. 1.) The U.S. government has a long standing policy of not nationalizing banks; however, recent banking ailments have resisted traditional free-market cures. In effect, the government and very large banks cannot do without eachother. If one large bank goes under, it will start a wage of defaults. One federal official says of bailouts, "we may have no choice." (Ibid) RURAL UNEMPLOYMENT NECESSITATES CAPITALISM IN CHINA In the rural areas of one city in the southeastern area of China unemployment was 70% of a 2.3 million person workforce. As a result of the unemployment, the Chinese government has heralded the hiring of laborers by private employers. "There are 13,000 households employing 42,000 laborers, 2% of the rural workforce." (China Daily 8/15/86, p. 4.) Most of the workers in the area are engaged in handicrafts and small domestic item production. Twenty seven percent of the employers are members of the Communist Party. A number of different official media organs offered justifications for the private hiring of labor. Some went so far as to say that the private hiring of labor was inevitable in an immature stage of socialism. (Ibid) CONFUCIUS AIDS CHINA'S MODERNIZATION DRIVE "Confucian thought is applicable to our modernization drive," said Kong Lingpeng, an academic official. "Confucius is now assessed as a great thinker, statesman and educator inChina's history." (China Daily 8/5/86, p. 5.) How does one run a large state with a big population according to Confucius? "Enrich the people." "What after they are enriched?" "Educate them." (Ibid) In reaction to this dialogue Kong said: "Our country is now embarking on econonomic reforms in a bid to enrich people, but much stress has been laid on education. Doesn't that fall in line with what Confucius said?" (Ibid) "In China we underwent a regressive period when Confucius was repudiated." (Ibid) CORPORATISM ON THE RISE IN CHINA According to the Chinese government, the urban unemployment rate was 5.9% in 1979. In 1985 it was 1.8%. The government credits the rise of "labor service companies" for the fall in the unemployment rate. "Over the past five years, the companies have trained and recruited 8.31 million people and run 210,000 collective enterprises." (China Daily 8/5/86, p. 3) CHINA PRAISES PERU China praised Peru for pursuing "peaceful coexistence" and a sound foreign policy. (Beijing Review 7/14/86, p. 11.) The Chinese press does not refer to the Maoist insurgency in Peru. When it does mention the insurgency it only edits Western wire service reports about "rebels" or "terrorists" in Peru. China's praise did not mention internal problems including the massacre of prisoners three weeks earlier. EPLF NOTES "SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL" SUPPORT BUT NOT GARCIA'S MASSACRE The Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) reported that the Socialist International (SI) passed a resolution in favor of Eritrean self-determination at the SI's Lima conference in June. Two days before the conference, the Peruvian government massacred over 100 Sendero prisoners. The EPLF magazine did not mention this fact. (Adulis Vol. III No. 7, 1986) Unfortunately, while the EPLF seeks internationalist support, the EPLF cause is often narrowly nationalist in outlook. RESENTMENT AGAINST MILLIONAIRES UP IN POLAND The Communist Party of Poland ran a weekly magazine article on the nine richest people in Poland. One of the people--Ignacy Soszynski--has a food and perfume company with more than 1,000 employees. (International Herald Tribune, 8/15/86, p. 1) Meanwhile, 18% of pensioners and 7% of workers live below Poland's poverty line. (Ibid.) CONGRESS APPROVES $100 MILLION MILITARY AID TO THE CONTRAS: WHAT DID YOU EXPECT? MITTERAND KNEW ABOUT THE PLAN TO SINK THE GREENPEACE SHIP Two journalists say that French President Mitterand approved the bombing and sinking of a Greenpeace ship that killed one person. LeMonde and L'Express support the conclusions. (New York Times, 8/31/86, p. 20) CHINA TO GO TO SOUTH KOREA GAMES While police fight students, religious groups and workers in the streets in South Korea and the government imprisons and tortures dissidents in a new crackdown, China has chosen to improve relations with Seoul. (Japan Times, 8/17/86, p. 1)Why?--in a word trade between the two countries has advanced to the point where both sides feel that relations are holding back business. For example, there is no direct airline connection between the two countries.