File spoon-archives/marxism-general.archive/marxism-general_1997/marxism-general.9710, message 10


Date: Sat, 4 Oct 1997 03:39:04 -0400
From: malecki-AT-algonet.se (Robert Malecki)
Subject: M-G: Radiotime China


This is the first draft report for Straightfacts radion on China.

Good Evening, this is Bob Malecki reporting
for Straight Facts somewhere in northern Scandinavia
quite near the Polar Circle!

China on the brink of capitalist counter-revolution.

The recent incorporation of the ex-British colony of Hong Kong
ended a long period of British imperialist rule in this part of
the world. Good! Great! But unfortunately the Chinese Stalinists
with their political line of "One Country, Two Systems" is taking
the Chinese Revolution on the path of capitalist counter-revolution.

Alongside of the above policy by the Chinese Stalinist 
bureaucracy is the recent National Party Congress that
has taken another decisive turn in the direction of
capitalist counter-revolution with its plans to
privatize large sectors of the state run planned economy.

Naturally these events must be seen in the context of the
enormous defeat that the destruction of the Soviet Union
(under Stalinist leadership) has had as and impact on
historical events and for poor and working class people.

However this new treachery by the Chinese Stalinists is
not being taken quietly!


The April issue of Dong Xiang journal carried
an article: 

"Peasant Rebellion Spreads to Nine Provinces, Autonomous
Regions," 

reporting that between winter 1996 and spring 1997, several
riots, disturbances, and rebellions broke out in the rural areas
of 36 counties in nine provinces and autonomous regions with the
participation of nearly 380,000 peasants in demonstration, parade,
and petitioning. As a result of this on 29 April the Chinese Communists
held an emergency meeting of party and government leaders from various
provinces (autonomous regions) and municipalities under the direct
administration of the central government. At the meeting Li Peng put
forward five policies and measures to handle the problems concerning rural
areas and peasants. However, what are the results? Mass Demonstrations by
120,00 Peasants in Hubei Province Since mid-May, once again more than
500,000 peasants in more than 270 townships and villages in over 50
counties in Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, and Jiangxi provinces staged parades and
demonstrations and carried out petitioning activities. Between 14 and 19
May, nearly 120,000 peasants in more than 60 townships and villages in
Jingshan, Tianmen, Qianjiang, and Xiantao counties in Jingzhou Prefecture,
Hubei Province, staged parades and demonstrations and filed petitions on
more than 70 occasions accusing the authorities of "exploiting and fleecing
the peasants." Nearly 3,000 peasants assaulted the party and government
institutions in Tianmen County. They clashed with the public security and
armed police forces on 18 May. According to a local report, more than 90
people were injured. Major Riots Provoked by 200,000 Peasants in Hunan
Province Between 17 and 22 May, nearly 200,000 peasants in over 80
townships and villages in Lixian, Linli, Nanxian, Anhua, Ningxiang and
other counties in Yiyang and Changde prefectures, Hunan Province,
assembled, staged parades and demonstrations, and filed petitions on more
than 80 occasions. On 20 May, urban laid-off workers in Yiyang and Changde
also participated in the activities of assembling, staging parades and
demonstrations, and filing petitions. In Yiyang City, Lixian and Ningxiang
counties, incidents of burning cars of party, government and public
security organs broke out. Peasants in Lixian County assaulted the county
government, and clashed with the public security and armed police forces.
According to a local report, 57 people were injured during the clash, and
three persons died of serious injuries. Major Riots Provoked by 100,000
Peasants in Jiangxi Province Between mid-May and mid-June, more than
100,000 peasants in over 70 townships and villages in Xiushui, Yifeng,
Anfu, Wanan, Xingguo, and other counties in Jiujiang, Yichun, and Jian
prefectures in Jiangxi Provinces assembled, staged parades and
demonstrations, and filed petitions on more than 100 occasions. Incidents
of peasants seizing the county party and government buildings, and
attacking supply and marketing cooperatives for chemical fertilizer and
cement were reported in Xiushui, Anfu, Wanan, and other counties. Over 800
peasants assaulted the public security bureau in Yifeng County and
confronted the soldiers and policemen for more than 70 hours. More than 130
peasants were arrested in a clash. According to a Internal Reference
report, some of the rural party and government cadres at the township and
village levels also encouraged peasants to demonstrate and personally
participated in the procession, and put forward the slogans such as "Down
with the urban bureaucratic exploiting class and share the wealth of new
local overlords in the countryside" and "establish peasants' own political
power." In Xiushui, Wanan, and Xingguo counties, incidents of encircling
provincial- and prefectural-level leading party and government cadres were
reported. Finally the local armed forces had to be mobilized to rescue the
besieged cadres. Over 70,000 Peasants Staged Parades in Anhui Province, End
Up in Bloody Accidents Between 20 May and 17 June, nearly 70,000 peasants
in over 50 townships and villages in Lifeng, Funan, Xiaoxian, Luan,
Huoshan, and other counties in Fuyang, Suxian, and Luan prefectures, Anhui
Province, staged parades and demonstrations, held rallies, and filed
petitions on more than 60 occasions. Incidents of peasants raiding party
and government buildings, occupying the offices in charge of confidential
and important files, and seizing guns and ammunition of the armed police
forces took place in Lifeng and Luan counties. On 15 June, an incident of
more than 500 peasants stopping a freight train, seizing cargo, and
clashing with the railway police was reported. It was learned that more
than 40 people were injured and 11 persons died (including 5 public
security guards and policemen). The Anhui provincial authorities formed an
investigation team to investigate this incident. Over 70 Investigation
Teams, Six Documents In the face of the major riots participated in by over
500,000 peasants in four provinces, the CPC Central Committee and the State
Council had sent out more than 70 investigation and specially selected
teams to go to the rural areas in 83 counties in Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, and
Anhui to understand and investigate the violent protests lodged by peasants
recently and the problems that the party and government departments are
faced with in the course of implementing the policies on agriculture and
rural areas. Meanwhile the CPC Central Committee, the State Council, and
the relevant departments had, one after another, issued six documents in
this connection between 12 May and 23 June. On 12 May, the CPC Central
Committee and the State Council had issued a circular: "On Further
Implementation of Guidelines and Policy Concerning Agriculture and Rural
Areas in an All-Round Manner." This document criticized party and
government organizations for ignoring their work on agriculture and rural
areas, willfully working out the various policies and measures that
undermine agricultural development, hamper peasants' enthusiasm in farming,
and lead to peasants' defiance and riots. On 19 May, the General Office of
the State Council and the Ministry of Agriculture issued a circular: "On
Conscientiously and Firmly Carrying Out Work in Purchasing Agricultural
Products and Protecting Peasants' Interests According to Policy." This
document warned local government departments against unhealthy practices
which lead to peasants' defiance such as issuing IOUs, forcing purchasing
prices down, giving short weight, refusing to purchase farm products,
imposing exorbitant new taxes and levies, imposing arbitrary charges, and
offering gifts to cadres. Use of Public Security, Armed Police Forces To
Disperse Petitioners Aggravates Situation On 23 May, the General Office of
the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council
issued a circular: "On Correctly Handling and Solving Problems Concerning
Incidents of Petitioning, Demonstration, Procession, and Assembly by
Peasants." This document pointed out that in some districts, public
security and armed police forces and militiamen were mobilized to disperse
the people who were filing petitions, demonstrating, parading, and
assembling. Sanguinary conflicts had occurred, worsening the situation. In
some of the localities, peasants were arrested en masse. This had
intensified the contradiction. The document also criticized the use of fire
arms which made things worse. In a reply to the Ministry of Public
Security, the State Council issued a circular on 28 May, entitled: "On
Resolutely Striking at Organized Armed Violence and Riotous Activities."
This document was a reply to the request for instruction submitted by the
Hunan provincial government and public security department and the Anhui
provincial government and public security department on how to handle
incidents involving peasants in townships and villages who organized armed
forces to attack township governments, supply and marketing cooperatives,
and public security organs. This document demanded that all organized armed
organizations of violence be firmly dealt with and banned. Those who
persistently carry out violent activities and refuse to surrender their
weapons should be firmly and resolutely hit. One must not become
soft-hearted in dealing with them and tolerate their activities. Work,
Investigation Teams Sent Out by Party, Government Departments at Three
Different Levels To Stay, Work in Rural Areas On 15 June, the General
Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State
Council issued a circular: "On Dispatching and Organizing Work and
Investigation Teams To Stay and Work in Rural Areas." This document
demanded that the party and government departments at the provincial,
prefectural, and county levels establish a long-term surveillance mechanism
for rural work. Leading comrades must select an advanced and relatively
better place and another backward and relatively complicated place for
investigation. Under no circumstances should they do things like a gust of
wind or for appearance's sake. Leading cadres must set their ideas to
rights, and be prepared to lead a hard life when they go down to the
grassroots level to stay and work there. Most of Rural Party, Government
Bodies Are Imperfect On 23 June, the General Office and the Organization
Department of the CPC Central Committee issued a circular: "On Accelerating
the Building and Improvement of Township, Village Party, and Government
Bodies." This document pointed out that little progress has been made in
carrying out the work of building the township and village party and
government bodies. Such work has not been started yet in some areas. In
some other areas, such work has not even been listed in the work agenda.
The document pointed out that more than 65 percent of the township and
village party and government bodies are imperfect, while 30 percent of them
are at a standstill or lack the initiative to exercise leadership.
According to an investigation report prepared by the Policy Research Office
of the State Council and the Ministry of Agriculture in early June,
investigations in 130 townships and villages in 27 counties in Henan,
Shanxi, Hubei, Jiangxi, and other provinces showed that 81 township and
village party and government leading bodies were at a standstill. They
carried out no regular activities as an organization. Nor did they pay
party dues. In some townships and villages, patriarchal clans replaced
party and government organs in making decisions. A Heavy Time Bomb, Powder
Keg Following the rural rebellions in nine provinces and autonomous regions
between last winter and this spring, once again more than 500,000 peasants
assembled, filed petitions, and staged parades and demonstrations in more
than 50 counties in Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, and Jiangxi provinces. What merits
attention is the fact that this wave of peasants' protests broke out in
Hunan and Jiangxi which were the old revolutionary areas where the Chinese
Communists launched their peasant movement in the past, particularly in
Hunan, Mao Zedong's own home province. The Hunan people's traditional
spirit of being fierce and tough has been well manifested in China's modern
and contemporary history. Sure enough, this wave of peasant protests was
turned into peasant riots in Hunan and Jiangxi. In the face of this wave of
relatively larger-scale peasant riots, the Chinese Communists have become
panic-stricken, and issued a total of six documents within one month. They
have also sent out more than 70 work and investigation teams. However, it
seems that they can only provide some temporary solutions to the problems
without being able to effect a permanent cure. The Chinese regime is now
plagued with the labor disturbances caused by a large number of laid-off
workers. Not long ago, when Qiao Shi was on an inspection tour out of
Beijing, he called this situation a heavy time bomb. Actually rural areas
in China are not so calm either. It is not much of an exaggeration if we
call the situation a powder keg. Right now, the Beijing regime is sitting
on a powder keg while holding a heavy time bomb. One can easily imagine its
future

This rather long article from The April issue of Dong Xiang journal
shows that there is sizeable and active resistance to the Chinese
Stalinist bureaucracies attempts to take the road of Capitalist 
counter-revolution. 

In fact the Chinese revolution historically
is less then fifty years old and there are millions of ties and
roots of struggle and in fact great gains (despite the Stalinists)
that came out of world war two. Despite the Chinese revolution being
deformed from its inception, collectivized property forms and
not in the least land reform and a central planned economy were
great gains which took China to being the third and now perhaps
second super power in the world. This connected to the relative
young age of the Chinese Revolution could mean that capitalist
counter-revolution will not take the course of the now dead
Soviet Union. But to a civil war and perhaps political
revolution!

For the now dead western "Maoists" groups who these days are
organizing demonstrations with liberal and right wing groups
under the cover of "human rights"around the world connected 
to at best trying to say that China is already capitalist and 
even "fascist" as they once did the Soviet Union have deserted
the Chinese workers and peasants who show that they are not
as willing to hand over the Chinese revolution to the class
enemy as these once "oh so radical" westrn Maoists now do
in both word and action. They in fact are the agents of despair
and are backhandely supporting the call for the destruction
of the deformed Chinese workers state!

Unlike these fake leftist cretins who now have deserted the
Chinese Workers and Peasants;

The history of Chinese Bolshevism will be found in the works
of the Chinese trotskyists like P'eng Shu-tse and others.For
our radio public I suggest the book "The Chinese Communist
Party in Power" by P'eng Shu-tse.

What is lacking in China is a Bolshevik/Leninist party which
can lead these rebelling Chinese masses in a political revolution
to oust these Stalinist traitors and turn China into a beacon
of proletarian Internationalism and hope for our common future.
And like the Chinese Workers and Peasants Bolshevik/Leninists
will defend the gains of the deformed Chinese revolution and fight
not only for a political revolution in China but Social Revolutions
throughout the region!

This is Bob Malecki reporting for Straighfacts in Sweden.
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