CHINESE WEEKLY OF NEWS AND VIEWS I'
Vol. 31, No. 46 November 14-20, 1988 Reunderstanding Capitalism and What It Offers China Capturing a unique scene. Wang Wenlan HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
BeijingR«?it^ Reunderstandlng Capitalism
VOU 3i, NO. 46 NOV. 14-20 • In a frank and. systematic appraisal of modern capitalism. CONTENTS Xu Jiatun, head of the Xinhua News Agency's Hong Kong NOTES FROM THE EDITORS 4 branch, calls for the rejection of stereotyped views of capitalist societies. He acknowledges that great changes have taken place Public Tip-Offs Aid Drive in their social and economic practices, and that they still possess Against Corruption a large potential for developing their productive forces. Xu also EVENTSARENDS 5-9 claims that capitalism's positive features and achievements should be assimilated into the task of building socialism with Revving Up Rural Reform . Chinese characteristics (p. 18). Foreign Contracts Will Be Respected UN Awards Disability Worker Thrcc-Gorgcs Plan: Public Tip-offs Aid Anti-Corruptlon Drive I-inalization Needed Pugwash Ponders Regional • This year. 900 corruption reporting centres have opened Peace across China to collect and process information supplied by the Wccklv Chronicle public about official malfeasance. The centres have both played (Oct. 31-Nov. 6) a major role in the recovery of millions of yiian's worth of goods INTERNATIONAL 10-13 and money and helped to promote clean government. The Supreme People's Procuratorate is now drawing up a series of r\ Nations Rally: regulations to standardize corruption reporting work across Middle East: Tripartite the country (p. 4). Talks Promote Peace FRG-USSR: Kohl Visit Warms Relations Israel: Major Parties Vic for Privatization of Urban Housing Swing Votes The Privatization of Urban • Until now, housing provision in China's cities has alwasy Housing 14 been regarded as a welfare service. Bui the Chinese governmern Documents: Report to the is currently planning to put hall" of the country's 2.4 billion Third Plenary Session of the square metres of public housing up for sale. Us oserall goal is 13th CPC Central Committee converting the heavily subsidized hose-building industry into a (Centrefold ) self-financing business (p. 14). ReunderstandJng Capitalism 18 China's Elderly Surveyed 22 Causes Given for Income Zhao's Report to 3rd Plenum of the CPC Unfairness 25 Facts & Figures (Decade of Chinese Party leader Zhao Ziyang delivered a report to the Reform VIII): Changes Third Plenary Session of the 13th CPC Ccntial Committee on in the Life-Style of Urban September 26. The report, recently published in Chinese Residents 26 newspapers, dealt with three major issues improving the FROM THE CHINESE PRESS 28-29 economic environment and rectifying the economic order; BUSINESS/TRADE 30-31 promoting comprehensive reform systematically and under CULTURE/SCIENCE 32-33 unified leadership; and strengthening Party leadership. Full TOURISM 34 text of the report (Supplement). COVER: New high-rise apart• ment bkx;ks in Beijing. Xue Chao
Published every Monday by General Editorial Office Tel: 8314318 Subscription rates{1 year): BEIJING REVIEW English Dept Tel: 831.5599 Ext, 646 Australia A.$29.00 USA.. . US$29.00 24 Baiwanzhuang Road. Distributed by China International Book New Zealand... NZ.$39.00 Canada Can.$25.00 Beijing 100037 Trading Corporation (GUOJI SHUDIAN) The People's Republic of China UK £14.50 P.O. Box 399, Beijing, China m NOTES FROM THE EDITORS
Public Tip-Offs Aid Drive Against Corruption China has made great achievements in reform and opening to the outside world in the last ten years. But some government employees have taken advantage of the reform programme and the open policy to abuse their powers for personal gain. Such malfeasances have hindered economic development and the implementation of various reforms. They have also tarnished the reputation of the Party and the government, and generated strong feelings of resentment among the people. The corruption report system has been one of the country's responses to the problem.
by Li Li
ince China's first corruption the Party and the judiciary have Supervision's hotline received an Sreport centre was opened by acted in unison. On June 29, the average of 44 calls a day in its first the Shenzhen Municipal People's Supreme People's Procuratorate 13 days of operation. Procuratorate in Guangdong opened its anti-corrupfion tele• Among the many problems earlier this year, another 900 have phone hotlines, and the chief and exposed have been: official abuse sprung up across the country. deputy chief procurators de• of power for personal gain, Acting on tip-offs from the public, manded daily reports on progress. acceptance of bribes, bureaucrat• they have already handled more On August 4, the Ministry of ism, dereliction of duty, the than 40,000 cases of corruption, Supervision established a series of protection and cover-up of embezzlement, bribery and other corruption report centres to corrupt officials, and infringe• crimes. In addition to clamping handle information and charges of ments on citizens' rights. The down on illegal activities, their administrative breaches of the law guilty have included leading very effectiveness has played a or discipline. officials. Party members and legal positive role in the supervision of personnel. officials and the promofion of In early September, the CPC The overwhelming majority of clean government. Central Commission for the the information has come from Corruption has manifested Inspection of Discipline re• cadres, workers, sales clerks and itself in China alongside the great published in Renmin Ribao residents, but perhaps the most achievements of the last ten years. (People's Daily) its Regulations significant tips have been provided Some government employees have on the Handling of Reports, by accountants, treasurers, en• taken advantage of the reform Accusations and Appeals which it trance guards and drivers — many programme and the open policy to had adopted in 1987. These state of whom gave eyewitness reports abuse their powers for personal that it is impermissible to suppress of illegal acts. Most of the gain. Such malfeasances have or harass anyone who exposes or informants supplied their names, hindered economic development accuses Party members or work units and addresses, and said and the implementation of various organizations guilty of corrup- that in protecfing the interests of reforms. They have also tarnished fion, and anyone who attempts the state they were not afraid of the reputation of the Party and the such actions should be dealt with retahation. government, and generated strong severely. feelings of resentment among the The public have proved en• To process the informafion people. thusiastic participants in the crime provided by the public. China's The corruption reporting sys• reporting system. When the procuratorial bodies have organ• tem has been one of the country's Guangzhou Municipal People's ized special teams. The Supreme responses to the problem, along Procuratorate opened its centre on People's Procuratorate issued a with measures to strengthen June 1, people queued up outside special circular in October urging China's legal system, oversee the the gate to pass on information procuratorial bodies to handle strict enforcement of laws and before it started work. The cases based on public information. impose Party and administrative Shanghai Procuratorate's centre This has raised the public's discipline. To ensure the system handled 1,937 cases within its first confidence in the system — as works effectively, the government, 48 days, and the Ministry of have some of the major cases that
4 BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 EVENTSARENDS
have been uncovered and pros• ecuted. Between June and Septem• ber, the Linfen Municipal Pro- Revving Up Rural Reform curatorate in Shanxi Province recovered around 50,000 yuan by ural reform needs to be According to stafistics, in 1984, pursuing reports of 22 economic Raccelerated in order to increase China's grain output hit the all- crimes. Acting on a series of tip- agricultural production, especially fime high of 407.3 million tons. offs, Wuxi Municipal Procurato- grain producfion, by 1991, or Since then the country's grain rate in Jiangsu Province un• before the Eighth Five-Year Plan production has stagnated and covered one case of embezzlement begins, according to Vice-Premier failed to meet the state plan. involving 500,000 yuan of public Tian Jiyun. "These problems, if not solved funds. Speaking on November 2 at a soon, will hamper the country's Between March and August, national agricultural work meet• reform, the development of the Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Shan- ing, convened by the Central national economy, and the tou in Guangdong Province Committee of the Chinese stability and improvement of investigated 183 reports of Communist Party (CPC) and the people's living standards," Tian malfeasance. Although 30 have State Council, Tian said China's stressed. been placed on file for further rural economy has made notable investigation, already several progress in the past decade. He pointed out that agriculture hundred thousand yuan's worth For instance, China's grain is the basis of the country's of goods have been recovered and production in 1987 totalled 400 national economy, and grain is the activities costing the state 7 million tons, a 32 percent growth basis of agriculture, so it must not million yuan have been stopped. over 1978, and the average per- be neglected. Following this opening round capita income in rural areas in Although the country's of success, the problem facing 1987 showed a 2.5-fold increase economic growth rate will be China's anti-corruption drive is over 1978. decelerated and capital construc• how to maintain momentum. A However, there are still pro• tion reduced somewhat in the next national corruption reporting blems in agriculture that cannot be two years, Tian said, agricultural work conference held in Shanghai ignored, and of eminent concern is development, especially grain and in mid-October both summarized the gap between demand and cotton production, will be stepped major achievements of the past supply in the grain sector, Tian up. "We should redouble our year and drew up soi^ie guidehnes said. efforts to get bumper harvests next for future development. Various suggestions were made, including A national agricuiturai worl< meeting was lield in Beijing. China's Premier Li Peng adjustments in procuratorial (third from left) presided over the November 2 meeting and Vice-Premier Tian Jiyun bodies, strengthening the quality (second from right) made a speech on speeding up agricultural production. of their personnel, new methods of LIU JIANSHENG handling cases and processing information, the protection of informants' rights and the preven• tion and punishment of frame- ups. If these measures cannot be satisfactorily incorporated into the work of China's corruption report centres, popular confidence and enthusiasm is likely to be dampened. To avoid this, the Supreme People's Procuratorate is currently drawing up a set of regulations on the People's Procuratorate's corruption re• porting work aimed at standardiz• ing investigatory procedures across the country. •
BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 5 EVENTS/TRENDS year in agricultural production," crop will be lower than last year "Ten years of practice have he added. and the cotton output will be the proven that to reform means to Another problem China's same as in 1987. march forward," Zhao said. The agriculture is facing is a lack of The minister attributed the cause of the recent drive to sufficient funds to support decrease in grain production to the improve the economic environ• agricultural development. The severe natural disasters that ment and rectify the economic state investment in basic agricul• affected 52 million hectares of order lies in inflation, Zhao said. tural facilities has dropped to 3.3 farmland, the low market price of The present sharp rise in inflation percent of the country's total grain, and the short supply and is taxing the endurance of the investment in capital construction high cost of farm equipment. He Chinese people, so it must be in recent years, compared with an also pointed out that low curbed by the government, he average of 11.9 percent during the investment remains the major explained. 29 years from 1950 to 1979. factor restricting the development Zhao told his audience that the China will do its best to increase of agricultural production. country's current economic read• agricultural input, Tian said. The minister's proposals for justment will not affect China's The key to solving the developing agriculture next year foreign economic relations. In agricultural problems lies in were similar to those later fact, he said, from a long-term taking effective measures to presented by Tian. However, He point of view such a restructuring strengthen the basic position of Kang did specifically mention the of the economy will create even agriculture among the whole need for raising the purchasing better conditions for economic national economy, he continued. prices of grain and oil crops and and technical co-operation with More specifically, Tian called more investment in agricultural other countries. for further stabilization and production. • perfection of the rural contract Zhao invited businessmen and responsibility system; gradual and industrialists from other countries systematic reform of the produce to invest in China by establishing distribution and pricing systems; independent enterprises or joint and strengthening macro-control Foreign Contracts ventures on the basis of existing over major agricultural products, Will Be Respected enterprises. He described the production materials and mar• process of establishing such joint kets. He also emphasized the ventures as "grafting foreign importance of scientific research hao Ziyang, general secretary advanced technologies and man• application to agricultural Zof the Chinese Communist agement on the tree of Chinese production. Party Central Committee, told enterprises," and said he hopes to see more of such ventures in the The vice-premier's views echoed more than 80 foreigners who future. the concerns of a previous state attended the 8th International meeting on rural reform. Business Leaders' Symposium on Yuan Mu, a spokesman for the November 2 that reform and State Council, said on October 28 On October 29, the Political opening up to the outside world that all signed Sino-foreign Bureau of the Central Committee are general and long-term policies contracts and economic co• of the CPC held its 13th plenary and principles that will last for operation projects will be pro• session to discuss enhancing rural dozens or even a hundred years. tected during the on-going reforms and agricultural develop• These policies and principles will national campaign to rectify the ment during the forthcoming never alter because of partial and economic environment. Eighth Five-Year Plan period, temporary political or economic But the spokesman added that with an emphasis on preparatory changes, he said. some projects under negotiation measures be taken in the next two Zhao noted that China's 10 might be affected to a limited years. years of reform and opening up to extent. They include such non• Addressing the fourth meeting the outside world have witnessed productive projects as hotels and of the Standing Committee of the great achievements and changes in office buildings and those process• Seventh National People's Con• China, so there is no reason for ing projects that are not urgently gress, He Kang, minister of China to reverse her decision on needed. agriculture, said that Chinese these matters. Without the Yuan Mu told about 100 agricultural output has seen a support of the people, the Chinese Chinese and foreign journalists at steady increase so far this year. leadership would not have had the a press conference that China's co• However, he pointed out that determination to conduct such operative projects with foreign this year's grain and oil-bearing reforms, he explained. countries in such fields as energy.
6 BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 transportation and communic• economy under control, he said October 28 as part of the ation will be strengthened. China will hold its overall inauguration ceremony of the Construction of hotels in some industrial production growth to a China Rehabilitation Research tourist cities and areas will not be rate of 10 percent or lower in the Centre. Mr. Sharif, assistant affected by the nation's current next two years. director of the United Nations drive to cut down on the scale of Yuan said that financial Centre for Social Development capital construction. China, in departments are still discussing and Humanitarian Affairs, pre• fact, will attract more foreign the possible cancellation of sented the testimonial to Deng on investments and expand its Foreign Exchange Certificates behalf of United Nations importation of advanced tech• (FEC) and are considering Secretary-General Javier Perez de nology, he said. "something new to replace the Cuellar. currency." The FEC was issued in Deng, 45-year-old son of senior Yuan also announced that all of early 1980 mainly for foreigners leader Deng Xiaoping, is also China's government employees working or touring in China. But, deputy director of the Chinese and those who work fqr state- he added, various problems, such Organizational Committee for the owned enterprises would have as illegal money exchange, plague United Nations' Decade for the more pay next year. He declined to areas open to foreigners because Disabled and chairman of the tell in detail how much the pay of the over-expansion of the issue China Fund for the Handicapped. raises would be, but said that of FEC. • further economic-reform would He was persecuted by the "gang surely improve the people's of four" and became disabled standard of living. UN Awards himself during the 1966-76 He added that strict controls on Disability Wori Yuan said there was no plan to curb the development of the growing rural industries, which account for one-fourth of the nation's total output value of industry and agriculture. The rural enterprises have not only provided various commodities urgently needed on the market, but have also gained experience in flexible management that state- owned enterprises may find useful. To keep the overheated BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 7 EVENTSARENDS He established the China Fund Secretary-General awarded the Despite their conflicting views for the Handicapped in 1984 and China Fund for the Handicapped concerning whether the Three- made it a turning point of the its Peace Messenger Award. Gorges project should be built or Chinese handicapped people's The China Fund for the not, they unanimously agreed that cause. This year, he set up the Handicapped is a state member of the government should finalize China Disabled People's the International Rehabilitation their decision soon, so that a plan Federation. Society. Chinese handicapped for the overall development of the people's groups have also joined Changjiang River valley could be Deng has traveled about the with international associations for possible. • country in his wheelchair, spend• the deaf, blind and disabled in ing several years investigating order to form sports organiz• grassroots organizations for the ations. At the recently closed disabled, the conditions of Pugwash Ponders Olympic Games for the disabled in families with disabled members Seoul, 43 athletes from China won Regional Peace and social welfare factories and 34 medals. departments for the handicapped. by Yang Xiaobing ie 53rd Pugwash Symposium With Deng and his colleagues' Ton Peace and Security in the effort, there has been a great Asia-Pacific Region, sponsored by improvement in the handicapped Three-Gorges Plan: the Pugwash Conference on people's employment and enroll• Science and World Affairs ment in universities and colleges. Finalization Needed (PCSWA) and the Chinese Now, there are more than 30,000 People's Association for Peace and Disarmament (CPAPD), was social welfare set-ups for the embers of the National held October 17-20, 1988, in handicapped, whose yearly output Committee of the Chinese M Beijing. This was the first such value amounts to 10 billion yuan Political Consultative Conference international meeting held in (about US$2.7 biUion). (CPCC) urged that a final decision China. It was attended by 50 on the Three-Gorges project be Chinese universities and col• scientists and scholars from 13 made as early as possible. They leges had never enrolled disabled countries, and received 26 papers. expressed this view during their students before 1983, but now the recent 12-day inspection tour of PCSWA is an international number of such students has the areas expected to be sub• peace organization of scientists surpassed 3.000. At present, the merged if the Three-Gorges from the East and the West and an China Disabled People's Feder• reservoir is built. important consultant for both the ation is helping the State United Nations and governments Education Commission revise In Wuhan, they visited the of related countries. The first the physical examination stan• Changjiang River valley planning Pugwash meeting was held in the dards for students who enter into office and heard brief introduc• fishing village of Pugwash in polytechnic schools so as to let tions on the project. Canada in July 1957. PCSWA more handicapped people have While travelling by boat, they aims at promoting research on the chance of receiving specialized held discussions on some of the peace and disarmament and education. problems, such as sedimentation, making scientific and technolog• Deng helped draw up the resettlement of emigration and ical achievements to bring benefits government's "Five-Year Work investment. Before they reached to humanity. Plan of the Chinese Handicapped Chongqing, they also stopped People's Cause" and had re• several times to inspect The most recent symposium habilitation of the handicapped Wanxian and Fengdu, areas covered the concept of regional included in the state's overall expected to be submerged. security, problems in areas of development plan. heightened tension and conflict, "It has been 30 years since the scientific co-operation and ex• He also promoted "peace, project was first proposed," they change, and stopping the arms development, friendship and hu• complained after the tour, adding, race in the region. manity," as well as international "Economic development has been Participants listed the central exchanges and co-operation, and affected considerably because problems and dilemmas affecdng has established relations with people there are afraid their efforts the region, including: handicapped people's organiz• will be washed away by the water if — Economic security is an ations in more than ten countries. the central government decides to important precondidon for the In September, the United Nations proceed." attainment of military and 8 BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 political security; November 4 ment with other foreign business — The North Pacific sub-region • Meeting with the visiting people. is most affected by the naval and Vice-Premier and Foreign Mini• He says China separates aerial arms race and competition ster of the Democratic People's government affairs and politics between the Soviet Union and the Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim from enterprise matters and United States; Yong Nam, Chinese Premier Li business relations. Peng stresses that China will, as — The promotion of common always, firmly support the DPRK security in the Asia-Pacific region in its cause for independence, has to reflect its distinctive CULTURAL peace and unity and its efforts for cultural and political character• easing the tension on the Korean November 1 istics; and Peninsula. • The Beijing Branch of —To ease military tensions and Federal Germany's Goethe In• pre-empt accidental conflict, there November 5 stitute is officialy inaugurated is a need to end the Kampuchean • During the talks held today at the Beijing Foreign war, reduce East-West naval and between Chinese Premier Li Peng Studies University. air competition, further denu• and visiting Uruguayan President clearize the region, effectively Hans Genscher, vice-chancellor Julio Maira Sanguinetti, Premier demilitarize the demihtarized zone and foreign minister of Federal Li Peng says that the future of the in the Korean Peninsula, lower Germany who is now on a visit to world seems to indicate that force levels on both sides of the China, addresses the inauguration nations will become increasingly Sino-Soviet border, restrain Japa• ceremony. He expresses hope that polarized. China gives importance nese defense expenditure and China will set up a similar branch to the unity and co-operation address the positive and negative institute in Federral Germany. displayed by Latin American consequences of foreign mihtary countries and the roles played by bases in the region. the eight-nation group in Latin The summary report of the American affairs. symposium said that without SOCIAL economic development and envir• onmental security, the absence of November 2 war alone will not result in long- ECONOMIC • Mohammad Imami, 25, an term stabihty in the region. • Iranian national who has fraudu• November 2 lently cashed traveller's checks worth 130,000 yuan in foreign • East China Airways, one of exchange certificates at 13 hotels, six major Chinese airlines formed is sentenced to a prison term of last June, plans to open eight new Weekly Chronicle eight years and deportation by the routes this month to meet the (October 31-November 6) Beijing Intermediate Court. increasing number of travellers, Mohammad was arrested POLITICAL the airline's authorities say. March 18 while trying to cash a The routes are Nanjing-Hong bad cheque at the Beijing November 3 Kong, Nanjing-Guangzhou, International Hotel. Yantai-Beijing, Fuzhou-Xian, Shanghai-Xiamen, Nanchang- November 4 • At a weekly news briefing, Ganzhou, Nanchang-Changzhou foreign Ministry spokeswoman Li and Jinan-Hangzhou. • Taiwan authorities have Jinhua says that the Vatican decided to accept applications should end diplomatic relations from mainlanders for attending with Taiwan and recognize the November 4 funerals of their parents, children government of the People's • Chu Baotai, deputy director and spouses in Taiwan starting on Republic of China as the sole legal of the foreign Investment Bureau November 9, according to a news government of the whole China of the Ministry of Foreign report from Taiwan via Xinhua. before it attempts to restore Economic Relations and Trade, Mainland visitors will be relations with the Chinese'Catho- addressing more than 100 busi• allowed to stay up to two months lic Church. nessmen from China and Japan, in Taiwan, but they can apply for Li adds that the Chinese says that as far as Chinese policy is an extension of one month if they Catholic Church pursues a policy concerned, businessmen from have special reasons, the report of managing its own affairs. South Korea enjoy equal treat• says. • BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 9 • INTERNATIONAL over Kampuchea and really restores the peace, independence, UN neutrality and non-alignment of the country. Nations Rally: Free Kampuchea What merits attention is that Viet Nam has quickened the pace As many regional conflicts are being resolved, the unsettled of its efforts to strengthen Heng Kampuchean issue is drawing more attention fi-om the Samrin's forces by creating international community than ever before. excuses to delay its military withdrawal According td esti• mates by diplomats in Hanoi, ince November 2, the current that his government is convinced including some from Viet Nam's S 43rd United Nations Gen• that without the effective intern• allies, the Heng Samrin regime has eral Assembly has started to ational supervision for the Viet• more than 80,000 regular army debate the Kampuchean issue. namese withdrawal and their non• troops and more than 100,000 This is the tenth discussion of this return, peace and security in miUtiamen. issue since 1979. With many Kampuchea will remain precari• Viet Nam's purpose is to regional conflicts being peacefully ous and threatened. His view was restrict, weaken and even wipe out settled, the international com• shared by many delegates. the resistance forces. It hopes to munity is paying more attention to The political settlement of the make Heng Samrin's forces the the Kampuchean situation than Kampuchean issue first requires strongest in Kampuchea. Second, ever before and trying its best to the immediate withdrawal of Viet Nam demanded that the get an early settlement. Vietnamese troops from Kampu• refugee camps be moved away The Kampuchean issue is the chea. This is the key to the from the Kampuchea-Thailand result of the Vietnamese troops' restoration and guarantee of the borders. It never mentioned the invasion and occupation of independence, sovereignty and expatriation of a large number of Kampuchea. At the past nine non-aligned status of Kampuchea. illegal Vietnamese immigrants to sessions of the UN General Kampuchea. Assembly, representatives from It has recently been noted that Tens of thousands of Kampu- various countries of the world the Vietnamese authorities have cheans left their homes for condemned the Vietnamese ag• become a bit more flexible in terms Thailand due to the Vietnamese gressive acts, and a series of of their troops' withdrawal, but invasion of their nation. This correct resolutions demanding the many factors prove that they lack brought a heavy burden to withdrawal of Vietnamese troops sincerity. First, Viet Nam refuses Thailand and the international from Kampuchea have been an unconditional withdrawal of its community. So when the war in adopted by the vast majority of forces from Kampuchea. Instead, Kampuchea ends, the refugees will votes every year. Unfortunately, it offers a timetable for a three- return to their own country and the Vietnamese authorities have phased withdrawal and three- rebuild their homes. How can they not recognized and implemented phased halt of outside interference be driven to foreign nations them. Consequently, the Kampu• in and assistance to Kampuchea. further away? chean issue has not been resolved However, Viet Nam has not Diplomats in Hanoi believe that peacefully so far. announced the time frame for the number of Vietnamese im• The current General Assembly pulling out the troops. It linked migrants in Kampuchea is be• adopted a draft resolution calling the withdrawal of its invading tween 800,000 and 1 million. Most for Vitenamese withdrawal of all troops to an end of outside aid to of them illegally entered Kampu• its forces from Kampuchea under the resistance forces. This is chea since the Vietnamese inva• effective international supervision unjustifiable. sion in 1978. As a result, and control. This resolution, The so-called "outside inter• Kampuchea, a small country with worked out by the countries of ference" comes from Viet Nam a population of only 7 million, the Association of Southeast itself, not others. Therefore, faces the danger of "being Asian Nations, was adopted by a international assistance to the Vietnamized." vote of 122 in favour, five more resistance forces will naturally end Third, Viet Nam is still opposed than the one passed last year. when Viet Nam ends its invasion to setting up a quadripartite Son Sann, prime minister of of Kampuchea, abolishes its coalition government with Sam- Democratic Kampuchea, told the "strategic alliance" with the Heng dech Norodom Sihanouk as the General Assembly on November 2 Samrin regime, gives up control head. It prefers to try to legalize 10 BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 the Heng Samrin regime. The confidence in Sihanouk's "central intentionally held two weeks Vietnamese suggest that the role" in seeking a solution to the before the US presidential elec• activities of the international Kampuchean problem and the US tion. In the two recent meetings supervisory committee must be belief that he "should lead any with Arafat, Mubarak persuaded reported to the "Kampuchean government that emerges after a him to postpone the declaration of state" and obtain its permission. settlement." a Palestinian state until after the Since Viet Nam refuses the idea of In view of the above situation, American election. This would establishing a quadripartite coa• the international community de• leave more time for the new US lition government headed by mands that the Vietnamese government to re-consider previ• Sihanouk, its so-called "Kampu• authorities withdraw their troops ous US policies on the Middle chean state" obviously refers to from Kampuchea as early as East. the Heng Samrin regime. possible, and that the fundamental Recently, the US government In recent days leaders of the rights of the Kampuchean people accepted the "symbolic meaning" United States and Britain ex• be restored and respected. Let of the PLO and offered to give the pressed support for Prince Sih• them choose their own destiny Palestinian people "political anouk. US Assistant Secretary of under peaceful, free, just and rights." This US gesture was State Gaston Sigur, in Paris on democratic conditions. initially appreciated by the PLO November 1, reiterated American by Ren Yan and Arab countries. Later, the US government gave a positive appraisal of the Aqaba talks. MIDDLE EAST Although the actual changes in policy of the next US government Tripartite Tall^s Promote Peace are difficult to foresee, the government's call for Jordan and the PLO to send a united With the opening date of an emergency session of the delegation to attend an intern• Palestine National Council very near, concerned parties are ational Middle East peace confer• busy co-ordinating preparations for a significant ence clearly strengthens the announcement and a possible international peace conference. probability that such a meeting will occur. No doubt, the Aqaba talks are rom October 22 to 23, the independent Palestinian state is an important development in the Fleaders of Jordan, Egypt and expected to be proclaimed during rapidly changing Middle East the Palestine Liberation Organiz• the forthcoming emergency ses• situation. They show that Arab ation (PLO) held two rounds of sion of the Palestine National countries are endeavouring to talks in the port city Aqaba in Council (PNC) in Algiers in create conditions favourable for southern Jordan in order to co• November, in a bid to speed up the an international Middle East ordinate their stance on the Middle East peace process. peace conference in the near establishment of an independent The Jordanian news agency future. Hopes remain that this will Palestinian state and Arab-Israeli reported that, during the talks, the wholly and fairly settle the peace negotiations. Although three leaders persisted in plans to Palestinian problem and bring a details have not been revealed. convene an international Middle lasting peace to the Middle East. King Hussein's interview with East peace conference to be Chu Qimen journalists has suggested that the attended by the five permanent talks were fruitful. Hussein of member states of the United Jordan confirmed an agreement Nations Security Council and all with PLO Chairman Yasser parties involved in the Arab- Arafat to continue mutually co• Israeli dispute. ordinated efforts for a Middle "This meeting aims at co- East peace. ordniaimg Arab positions so we The talks between Hussein, can move forward quickly to Arafat and Egyptian President convening an international peace Hosni Mubarak centred on conference," Arafat told reporters establishing a confederation to be after his first session with Hussein comprised of Jordan and an and Mubarak. independent Palestinian state. The The tripartite talks also were BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 11 •1 INTERNATIONAL countries. But since 1984, the FRG-USSR trade volume between the two countries has been reduced Kohl Visit Warms Relations because of the falling prices of raw materials in world markets. Last Federal German Chancellor Helmut Kohl ended his four-day year, imports of the FRG from the visit to the Soviet Union on October 27, declaring that his visit USSR were only valued at 7.2 has opened a new chapter in the relations between his country billion marks, a decrease of 22 and the Soviet Union. percent from the previous year. Exports to the USSR were worth 7.8 billion marks, a 16 percent ederal Republic of Germany's angrier and their relations became reduction from 1986. F (FRG) (hancellor Helmut even colder. They did not improve Both sides have made great Kohl paid his visit to the Soviet unfil the US and USSR signed the efforts to reverse this slide. Union from October 24 to 27. He Intermediate-Range Nuclear Currently,they have opened 13 and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorba• Force (INF) Treaty in 1987. The jointly funded enterprises and are chev conducted ten hours of talks FRG decision to give up the US negotiating to open another 35. during the four days, focusing on Perishing missiles removed the What is more remarkable is that security and disarmament in main obstacle between the two the FRG has decided recently to Europe and bilateral co• countries' relations. In July 1986, provide 3 billion marks in a loan to operation. As a result of these Dietrich Genscher, FRG's foreign the USSR, the first such loan in talks, the two leaders signed seven minister, visited the USSR. This the past seven years. The USSR is co-operation agreements, in re• was followed by FRG President a large market for the FRG, which gard to the following: research on Richard von Weizsacker's visit in also needs the support of the outer space, utiUzation of nuclear July 1987. Soviet Foreign Minister USSR in its effort to develop energy, nuclear technology, pro• Eduard Shevardnadze visited the relations between the two Ger• tection from nuclear radiation and FRG in January 1988. These visits manics. In view of this, FRG- a series of co-operative projects. helped improve their relations and USSR economic and technolog• The FRG Defence Minister set the stage for Kohl's visit. ical co-operation will expand Manfred Worner, a member of Economic interdependence has further after Kohl's visit. Kohl's delegation, also paid his also contributed to the improved However, differences on the first visit to the Soviet Union and relations. Federal Germany is a disarmament in Europe, the made official contact with the rich, technologically developed unification of the two Germanics Soviet military leaders. Both Kohl country. It is realistic for the and human rights still remain. For and Gorbachev highly appraised Soviet Union to strengthen its example. Kohl opposed the the visit as a new chapter in the economic and technological ties dismantling of all types of nuclear relations between the two with the FRG in its efforts to weapons in Europe, while Gorba• countries. revitalize its own economy. The chev proposed destroying all the It is not accidental that the FRG is the Soviet Union's main tactical nuclear weapons. FRG-USSR relafions, which have trade partner among Western by Jiang Jianguo been cold during the past few years, are beginning to turn warmer. It is the result of the two ISRAEL countries' mutual efforts and needs. IVIajor Parties Vie for Swing Votes It is well known that in the early Preliminary results of Israel's parliamentary elections 1980s, Federal Germany insisted on the "dual-track decision" of indicate that the two major parties, Likud and Labour, are the North Atlanfic Treaty now locked in a tight race to from the next government. Organization (NATO) and de• ployed the United States' either party emerged a clear But four reHgious parties, which medium-range missiles, which Nvictor in Israel's parliamentary are traditionally closer to Likud, cooled off the FRG-USSR elections on November 1. The surprisingly won 18 seats. These relations. The FRG's particip• Likud bloc gained 39 seats in the conservative minor parties now ation in research for the US Star 120-member parliament, and the hold the likely swing votes in the Wars programme made the USSR Labour Party took 38. formation of a new government. 12 BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20. 1988 With no party achieving the 61- two parties disagreed on whether seat majority in the Israeh to annex or abandon the West parliament, assembling a new Bank and Gaza Strip and whether government will be more difficult to peacefully co-exist with Arab than expected. The two major neighbours, particularly the International Studies rival parties, who have shared Palestinians. power in an uneasy coalition since A Quarterly in Chinese 1984, have begun to woo the small Labour expressed a readiness to Contents of Issue No. 4, 1988 religious factions whose support trade peace for territory and Study New Changes in the World are key to forming a coalition reaffirmed its support for an With New Thinking and New government that will control a international Mideast peace con• Perspective — Wong Shu parliamentary majority. ference. Shamir's Likud bloc Observations on the New Detente If its courting of the right- claimed that any concession to the Between the United States and leaning rehgious parties succeeds, Palestinians would endanger Soviet Union — Jin Junhui the right-wing Likud bloc of Prime Israel's security and threatened to The Situation of the Black People's Minister Yitzhak Shamir will take tougher measures against the Struggle Against Racism in South probably head Israel's 23rd Palestinian uprising. Africa and Its Prospects — Wo Shi government and make the mod• The Panama Crisis and the US- erate Labour Party a minority Despite differences on territory Panamanian Relations — Xiao Yu opposition force. and security, both parties have Takeshita's Diplomacy fhaf Has Reports from Jerusalem show rejected direct talks with the Attracted Attention Both at that Shamir is confident that his Palestine Liberation Organization Home and Abroad—Lu Guo- hard-line party will lead the neTw (PLO), denying it is the sole zhong government. In a TV interview on legitimate representative of the Australia's Shift of Strategic Focus November 2, he opposed the idea Palestinians. They also opposed and the Problems in it — Cheng of a national unity government an independent Palestinian state Qizhen with Labour, adding that he had and favour the use of arms to Two Interrelated Strategic Goals already contacted the religious crush the Palestinian uprising. — A Brief Discussion of West parties that have emerged as Europe's Economic Reinvigoration power brokers. But the Labour However, pressure is mounting — Huang Suan Party chief, Foreign Minister in Israel for peace. A recent Israeli Federal Germany and EEC — Zhu Shimon Peres, has not conceded newspaper opinion poll of 1,200 Yiqing defeat. people showed 65 percent of the Jews in favour of "trading land for Mr. Miterrand's African Policy Arab-oriented parties, consi• peace." Yet the right-wing still — Zhang Hongming dered unlikely partners to any gains great support; 53 percent in A Book on Contemporary Chinese alliance, won eight seats in the the same poll opposed talks with Diplomacy — Feng Chunfang elections. Local analysts predicted the PLO and an independent that Labour might still have a Palestinian state. chance of blocking Likud by winning some of their swing votes. The PLO called Israel's election China's Foreign Reilations: A Chronicle It is widely thought that the results "a fatal blow for peace." A Classified Subject Index to INTERNA• elections, to a certain extent, will "We expect more intransigence, TIONAL STUDIES (From No. 1, 1988 to determine the future of the Israeli- hate and terrorism with a Likud No. 4, 1 988) occupied territories and shape government," the PLO news Israel's policy on deahng with the agency said in a political Arabs, particularly the commentary. The PLO Chairman Palestinians. Yasser Arafat, who visited Italy on November 2, said to reporters The campaign prior to the that the Israeli elections have no elections focused on the Palest• effect on the Palestinian uprising inian uprising in the occupied in the occupied territories. He territories and the possible birth of added, "It is obvious that we will an independent Palestinian state continue with our uprising wave co-existing with Israel after the after wave until the end of the November 12 session of the IsraeH occupation." Palestine National Council. The by Lu Jianxin BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 13 m ARTICLES The Privatization of Urban Housing In Chinese cities, the provision of housing has been perceived up to now as a welfare service. Soon, however, homes will be sold as commodities. It is estimated that half of the country's 2.4 billion square metres of public housing will be put on the market with the aim of recouping 180 billion yuan. The overall goal of housing reform is to convert the heavily subsidized house-building industry into a self-financing business. by Our Correspondent Liu Jianjun n the eve of World Housing out at the unbelievably low cost of payments per square metre QDay (October 3), Lin Han- around 3 percent of the amount to 3 yuan, while the rent xiong, leader of the State Council inhabitant's monthly income. collected is 0.1 yuan — only Housing Reform Group and Because of this, China's urban enough to offset one-third of the minister of Construction, said housing industry is a welfare maintenance fees. Such an aston• China would step up the reform of undertaking making no profits at ishing gap between investment its housing system through a all. and returns is becoming increas• policy of privatization. In short, From 1957-78, low investment ingly unbridgeable. Investment in people would be able to buy their in housing and the spiralling housing construction is nothing own homes. growth in population made the less than throwing money into a The aim of the programme is housing shortage one of the bottomless pit. The more the state two-fold: to halt the spending severest social problems in China. spends on housing, the more it spree on consumer durables and to Since 1979, the central govern• loses. This situation presents a provide everyone with shelter. At ment has tried everything possible stark contrast to the profit- the same time, it will open new to accelerate housing construc• making real estate industry financial channels for the housing tion. Altogether 1 billion square abroad. construction industry to operate metres have been built — equal to In addition, the practice of profitably and free of state the entire area of the previous 30 distributing houses as welfare support. years. From 1981-87, China spent benefits stimulates the desire for The Chinese government has around 25 percent of its total fixed larger and more comfortable decided to commercialize urban asset investment on housing homes. And although houses are housing after a long period of construction, which compares distributed through repeated con• deliberation and various trials in a favourably with the 15-20 percent sultancy with representatives of handful of pilot cities. As detailed average of other developing the people, some cadres have measures remain to be released, it countries and the 20-30 percent abused their powers to ensure they has to be asked: Why make such a average of the developed receive the best accommod• decision? Is it feasible, and how countries. ation— generally arousing will the public react? These new homes raised average dissatisfaction. living space per capita from 4.2 A survey conducted at the end square metres in 1978 to 8.04 of 1985 indicated that about 20 Finance and Distribution square metres in 1987 — 7.7 percent of urban households had square metres in China's larger an average of more than 10 square In China's countryside, all cities and 9 square metres in metres per person, while 25 houses are privately owned. county-level towns. percent had less than 4 square Farmers build their homes at their However, behind these seem• metres per capita. In some homes, own expense, and hand them ingly encouraging figures lies a three generations were packed down to their children. In the bleak fact: the state's financial into a single room. In short, cities, however, almost all housing burden has grown increasingly China's housing industry, handi• has been built and maintained heavy. capped with an unbearable with state funds, and then rented At present, monthly interest financial burden and conflicts in 14 BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 first group of pilot cities for urban housing reform. Last year, another 12 cities, including Chongqing, Wuhan, Lanzhou and Shijiazhuang, were singled out for further trials in home ownership. Early this year, a special State Council meeting discussed and adopted a 10-year programme to encourage residents to buy their own homes, to establish a housing fund and to raise rents. Restructuring of Rents Experiments in housing reform have been guided by the principle that commercialization should not involve imposing an extra finan• cial burden on tenants. As a result, most of the pilot cities have attempted to raise rents while improving the structure of subsidies. Yantai is typical: while increas• ing monthly rents from 0.16 yuan Acres of new housing—a typical scene across the whole of China. per square metre to 1.28 yuan, the city government introduced distribution, has no future except This method, however, proved "housing subsidy coupons" worth through reform. unpractical. Although it was 23.5 percent of a tenant's monthly acceptable to those badly in need wage. Those with smaller houses Plan for Housing Reform of homes and who could afford could put coupons aside to buy a their share, both the state and house, while those with larger As "early as 1980, Deng work units found the cost houses have had to make up their Xiaoping pointed out that the unbearable. As a result, the payments from their own purse. housing shortage had become "an experiment was abandoned. Thus, subsidies have been trans• explosive social problem." He As China's economic reforms ferred from the housing industry said, "residents should buy their have continued to unfold, increas• to the residents themselves. own houses," adding that "rents ing numbers of people have come Because of this new method, should be readjusted in line with to realize the need for the more than 31,000 families, investment in housing con• development of a commodity including the mayor and most of struction." economy at the present stage. the cadres who live in spacious In January 1981, the then State Zhao Ziyang asked in 1985: If homes have had to supplement Council Premier Zhao Ziyang scientific research results could be their coupons, while 33,000 over• called for housing reform when he commercialized, why not housing? crowded households have had a went to Changzhou in Jiangsu The over-rapid expansion of surplus. The experiment has not Province to inspect the city's consumption, he said, has led only distributed the state's newly built residential areas. At people to buy colour television subsidies more equally, but also that time, houses were being sold sets and refrigerators when the dampened the demand for larger to individuals on a trial basis in the money could be used to develop homes. Many families with larger four cities of Zhenzhou, Chang• housing construction. living quarters have moved into zhou, Siping and Shashi. Because In 1986, Yantai in Shandong smaller homes, helping to alleviate of limited purchasing power, the Province, Bengbu in Anhui, the housing shortage. In addition, state, the buyer and his or her Tangshan in Hebei and Shenyang the considerable rise in rents has work unit split the cost three ways. in Liaoning were selected as the made it less economical to rent a BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 15 discount for those who could pay a lump sum and subsidies for those with financial difficulties. With affordable prices, a house buying spree hit the town. Savings which would otherwise have been used to buy colour televisions or re• frigerators went on homes instead, and within three months, 96 percent of the town's public housing was sold, recovering more than 10 milHon yuan. Re-invested in housing construction, this was enough to build 40,000 square metres of new accommodation. Feasibility Analysis Half of China's 2.4 bilhon One of Yantai's estate agencies. square metres of public-owned urban housing can be sold at house than to buy one. Now, more maintenance every year — an present — making privatization than 4,000 famihes have registered unbearably large amount for the readily feasible. If the price was set to buy their own homes, and since county government. at 150 yuan per square metre on special savings accounts for At the beginning of 1988, a new average (a realistic figure taking potential house buyers were programme was introduced to average financial circumstances introduced last December, more encourage individuals to buy their into account), then 180 bilHon than 80 miUion yuan has been own homes. All public housing yuan could be recovered over ten deposited. was classified into one of seven years. This sum could not only However, the Yantai experi• grades according to quality. Then contribute to boosting the housing ment has not relieved the state's a series of preferential terms for construction industry and remov• financial burden. In the past year, house buyers were drawn up, such ing much of the state's current subsidies have totalled almost 10 as low-interest loans, a 14 percent burden, but could also help curb milhon yuan. In addition, oppo• sition from some quarters, notably IHouse buyers paying an instalment at a local bank. those cadres living in larger homes, has caused the city to offer rent reductions, which in turn have dissatisfied the general populace. Sales of Public Housing While the pilot cities have been experimenting with rent increases and subsidy adjustments, some small cities have begun selling state-owned houses to residents. Jinxian County Town in Liaoning Province has 10,000 households. Its initial foray into subsidies came to a discouraging end when it had to put aside 5 million yuan plus 500,000 yuan for 16 BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 savings may restrict privatization, and once privately owned, home maintenance and repairs present another problem yet to be fully resolved. One of Beijing's deputy mayors has estimated it would take the capital ten years to fully carry out housing reform. Public Response A national survey has revealed that while most people advocate reforming the present housing distribution system, they would prefer to wait and see whether it was better to buy or rent. Opposition has also emerged, notably from leading cadres living in comfortable and spacious homes. A veteran cadre in Yantai has said: "T fought across the inflation and stabilize the tion costs and financial ability country and have helped the economy. must be taken into account. To revolution almost all my life. Now China's decade-long economic encourage house buying, rents I have to buy my own house from boom has considerably improved should not be set too low and my own pocket!" national living standards. By the purchase must be made easy to Another retired cadre with eight end of last year, personal bank bear through measures such as rooms totaOing 150 square metres savings amounted to more than discounts for lump sum payments, of living space has taken it for 420 billion yuan throughout the installment payment, low-interest granted that a single person of country, about half of the amount loans and subsidies for households bureau-level rank has the right to coming from urban residents. By on a low income. live in such a big house. He refuses pricing houses reasonably and These preferential terms, ex• to pay more rent. adopting flexible sales measures, perts suggest, should be confined In a recent survey of more than this powerful purchasing power to a certain area per inhabitant, 2,000 families in Jiangsu Province, which is now principally directed above which the price should be 85 percent of those asked at household electric goods, could set at a rate not lower than the preferred the status quo — only be converted into property — the construction cost plus average 3.3 percent were opposed to the most durable of commodities. interest rate to prevent principle of "more rents for more The problem is establishing a speculation. housing." realistic price. If it was set It is reported that the State Of the 1,050 households according to the present market Council's Housing Reform Group surveyed in Heilongjiang Pro• price of more than 1,000 yuan per is deliberating a series of specific vince, 62.9 percent said they did square metre, hardly anyone terms for house sales. In the not like their province being the would be able to afford the cost. meantime, it has approved the first to carry out housing reform, The China National Real Estate widespread adoption of the and 69.4 percent were worried that Development Corp. now has experiment conducted in Jinxian some cadres would bend the apartments of 380,000 square County. So far, several dozen central government's housing metres which cannot be sold out counties have embarked on a pohcy for their own personal simply because the prices are far similar programme, and if all of interest, thus lowering general too high for the average Chinese. China's 2,000 counties and 11,000 living standards. A primary school But if the price was set too low and cities follow suit, housing reform teacher said: "My salary is just the construction costs could not be will accelerate considerably. enough for a basic living. How recovered, the state's burden However, in the big cities the could I dream of buying a house would merely increase. situation is a lot more complex. on my own?" Therefore, both the construc• Low incomes and limited bank Whatever the pros and cons of BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 17 housing reform, it is understand- intimately connected with assurance that there is no ing that there are misgivings, everyone's daily hfe. People see the possibility they will lose out in the Housing, after all, is a matter need for change, but want process. • Reunderstanding Capitalism Compared with many simiiar articles that have appeared in the Chinese press during the past few years, this essay by the director of the Hong Kong branch of the Xinhua News Agency offers a franli and systematic exposition on modern capitalism, it calls for the rejection of stereotyped views of capitalist societies, acltnowledges that major changes have talten place in their social and economic practices, and that they still possess a large potential for developing productive forces. At the same time, the author calls for the assimilation of the positive aspects and achievements of capitalism in the building of socialism with Chinese characteristics. by Xu Jiatun ver the past few decades, as ancient times to the mechani• Osocialism has developed, capit• zation, electrification, automation alism has also undergone quite a and computerization of today. few transformations. In today's The socialized mass production world, these two social systems of capitahsm is far more advanced exist side by side, competing with than the family-based production and influencing each other. And it of feudal society; and capitaHsm's is only by acquiring an objective highly developed commodity and correct understanding of economy is far more advan• modern capitalism that we can tageous than the natural or semi- sufficiently raise our conscious• natural economy of feudalism. ness to build socialism with This is principally because it Chinese characteristics. smashed the various bonds of feudal social relations, transform• ing slaves, serfs and peasants from IVIerits of Capitalism being dependant or semi- dependent into free hired To reunderstand capitalism we labourers, indispensable to the have to discard rigid and dogmatic development of capitalist produc• conceptions of its nature. We must tion. In other words, labour pragmatically study the course became a commodity. and laws of capitalist develop• At the same time, capitalism has ment, focusing on its present made use of its unique law of value characteristics, mechanisms and exceed the total sum of all and the mechanisms of market conditions. In particular, we must previous eras. competition to compel everyone comprehensively and correctly The history of human society is involved in the production and understand modern capitalism — the history of attempts to management of commodities to capitalism since World War II. understand and transform nature. make every effort to develop and In the long river of human It is reflected in the history of the improve skills, tools, management history, capitalism has pushed the development of productive forces: and efficiency. Thus production development of productive forces from the discovery of fire and has advanced to suit the demands to a peak where they now far slash-and-burn cultivation in of society, raising productive 18 BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 •i DOCUMENTS Report to the Third Plenary Session of the 13th CPC Central Committee Zhao Ziyang (September 26, 1988) Comrades, In the six months since the Second Plenary and problems, the most serious of which is inflation Session of the 13th Party Central Committee, the caused by excessive price hikes. The fundamental Political Bureau and its Standing Committee have reason for this situation is overheated economic on many occasions discussed China's economic and development and the outstripping of social total political situation as well as the issue of supply by total demand. Excessive demand on comprehensively deepening the reforms. Recently, China's market is a protracted problem that a central working conference was held at which the regulatory mechanisms cannot fully address or Political Bureau put forth the following views: that resolve during the interim when the old system is China is at present in a period of transition from the giving way to the new. Therefore, this makes it all old system to the new; that unless prices are the more necessary to improve administration and rationalized, the establishment of a foundation for a control in our work. Over the past few years, we new economic system in its true sense is out of the have achieved some success in curbing the scale of question, and that the deepening of the reforms budgeted capital construction. But the swelling of involves not only the question of price reform but extra-budgetary capital construction has not been also comprehensive reform in many other fields as checked. On the contrary, the problem has become well; that in order to create conditions for more and more serious. It would be easier if we paid rationalizing prices and to keep risks for the reform attention to tackling the problem at the beginning at the minimum, it is imperative to improve the of this year. To us, it may appear to be late in the day economic environment and straighten out the to only now realize the full extent of the problem economic order while adhering to the. general and take action to solve it. Of course, it is still not direction of reform and opening to the outside too late to tackle this problem. In fact, even more world; that although the overall direction of the serious problems will ensue if we continue to reforms must be steadfast, the steps and methods hesitate to tackle this problem. We must be fully should be adopted according to actual conditions aware of the importance and urgency of re'solutely and be safe. Now, I hereby submit the opinions of curbing inflation, and take prompt action and set the Political Bureau formed in the discussions to the the greatest determination on shifting in the coming Plenary Session for examination. two years the focus of the reform and construction to improving the economic environment and rectifying the economic order. Otherwise, not only I. Improving the Economic Environment and will it be very hard to deepen the price reform as well Rectifying the Economic Order Will Be Key Tasks as other reforms, it will also put the development of of the Reform and Construction in the Coming construction in question. It could even undermine Two Years the achievements made during the reforms of the China's reform has been going for a decade. It has past decade. instilled great vitality in the national economy, Here by improving the economic environment, promoted economic and social development, and we basically mean cutting back social total demand improved the people's living standards. Without and checking inflation. How can we go about doing reform, China would not have made the great this? First, the total investment in fixed assets next strides it has made during the past ten years. The year will be reduced by 50 billion yuan, roughly 20 significance of reform to China lies not only in what percent of actual investment this year. The task can it has accomphshed, but, more importantly, in what only be overfulfilled. It is necessary to adopt special it has put an end to: the closed, stagnant situation policies for key industries and protective policies for China was in before the reforms began and ushered foreign-invested projects, so as to truly introduce in a new period of historical development. appropriate adjustments of the investment Although China's economic situation at present structure and bring real control over the scale of is, in general, good, there are still many difficulties aggregate investment. Second, it is necessary to 1 control over-rapid growth in consumption, and in arbitrary price rises. The State Council is planning particular resolute measures should be adopted to to conduct a nationwide examination of matters curb institutional expenditures. While a consider• related to pricing, accounting and taxation. able part of institutional expenditures is reasonable Localities must make earnest efforts to organize and normal, there is nevertheless serious waste. So, strength, strengthen leadership, rely on the masses resolute measures must be taken to reduce such and do a good job, so as to resolutely halt all waste. Third, it is necessary to adopt a series of activities that are driving up prices in violation of measures to stabilize the financial situation, strictly state regulations. Earnings derived from illegal control money supply, efficiently manage value- price rises must be handed over to the state treasury, ensured savings deposits, and open up different and serious offences of law and discipline must be channels, such as selling publicly owned housing dealt with according to law. It is necessary to and issuing shares and bonds, in order to absorb educate the people, tighten law and discipline and idle funds in society and divert funds from close up loopholes in order to establish and improve consumption. Fourth, it is necessary to slow down the supervisory systems in pricing, accounting and overheated economic growth and reduce the growth taxation, and market rules. Second, it is necessary rate of industrial production next year to 10 percent to consolidate companies, separate enterprise or lower. This decision is made in regard to the management from government administration, and whole country. Different areas must, while "seeking government from commercial undertakings, and truth from facts," proceed from their own realities. severely punish "bureaucratic racketeers." All They should not compete with one another in a race companies, except a few which can exercise certain for speed. administrative power with special approval of the State Council, must sever their links with Party and The scale of investment and institutional government organizations before a specified purchasing power have continued to swell despite deadline. Otherwise, their licenses will be revoked. repeated orders from the central government. There Third, it is necessary to establish as soon as possible are two lessons to be learnt from this: at the top it is an order for the circulation of important products. mainly softheartedness and a lack of solid work For those products whose circulation is in disarray, performance; and at the bottom, it is mainly the especially those essential means of production, it is mischief done by selfish departmentalism and out- necesary to make a list of them and conscientiously and-out disregard for orders and bans from the top. solve the problem of mult-channel and multi-link Next year, strict measures will be adopted to reduce management. Some must be put under exclusive unnecessary, non-productive, or overlapping state control, while others must be traded at prices construction projects as well as frivolous dictated by the unified state market. The "battle" of institutional expenditures. Doing so will not affect purchasing grain, cotton, raw silk and other effective supplies, weaken our strength for future products at higher prices must be halted. Fourth, it development, nor lower living standards. In fact, is necessary to strengthen the macro-economic such measures are prerequisites for deepening the supervisory system. It is imperative to, under the reforms and garnering the enthusiastic support of unified guidance of the central government, the people. This is an issue concerning the overall strengthen the macro-economic control found• situation of reform and construction. Admonitions ations of planning, banking, fiancial, taxation, should be now given to leaders of various places, customs and railway departments, making full use departments and units so that they do not make of their supervisory roles while at the same time mistakes on this question. They must follow this line strengthening supervision over them, so as to form a next year, and, in no case whatsoever, will be closely knit system of supervision. Fifth, it is allowed to rush into new construction projects or necessary to stop apportion, sharing of profits, and spend money recklessly. exploitation of enterprises by various sectors. All Rectifying the economic order means addressing these must be taken as important tasks in our and correcting the various abnormal economic current efforts to establish a new order for the phenomena that have cropped up in the transitional socialist commodity economy. phase in which when the old system is gradually being replaced by the new. Now, there are many To tackle the problem of general demand problems in the field of circulation. Price hikes have outstripping general supply, on the one hand, it is encouraged law breaking and discipline violation in necessary to control the swelling of general demand, circulation, while confusion in the field of and on the other, to make great efforts to improye circulation has pushed up prices. The mutual and increase effective supply. Otherwise, there will reinforcement of these two factors has caused the be serious problems in the market supply. It is situation to worsen. This must not be allowed to go necessary to work hard to increase production, unchecked. Efforts must be made to rectify the especially the production of agricultural, light and disorder in the field of circulation. First, it is textile industrial products and other daily necessary to resolutely check the trend towards necessities, as well as products that sell well and are II in short supply. Energy, raw materials and must be both dynamic energy and restrictions and transport facilities saved from cutting down the both decentralization and control, and that the task scale of capital construction will be used for this of macro-control is extremely arduous. To exercise purpose. The export of raw materials and necessary macro-control, it is necessary to make comprehen• consumer goods which are in short supply on the sive use of economic, administrative, legal and domestic market should be reduced to guarantee disciplinary means as well as conduct extensive sufficient domestic supplies. Particular attention political and ideological work. In the transitional should be devoted to solving the problem related to phase, in particular, it will be unwise to abandon grain and vegetable production. It is predicted that administrative means prematurely or offhandedly. China's grain production will be somewhat lower Otherwise, economic chaos will ensue. The purpose than last year due to the greater number of natural of strengthening administrative means is to better diasters. Reduction in agricultural output this year promote the reforms, not to return to the old is a worldwide phenomenon, and so to substantially system. A clear understanding of this must be increase grain exports is not in our interests. In acquired. We must study hard in practice, general, the situation with regard to grain reserves accumulate more experience and gradually grasp in China is good. To ensure that there will be no and improve our skills in macro-control. trouble in grain supply, on the one hand, it is Improving the economic environment and necessary to resolutely stop panic buying of grain at rectifying the economic order is a major problem higher prices that drives up grain prices and disrupts that warrants our iong-tenn attention. The most the grain market, and on the other, to ensure that important is to ensure that price rises in the next two the grain reserves follow central unified allocation. years are conspicuously lower than this year. This is On the question of grain allocation, comrades in the the touchstone by which to test the Party and localities must lay store on the entire situation in the government's leadership and their ability to country and give support to the central government. command the whole situafion. Now, the people's If there are instances of violation of the central attention is focused on this point. If we accomplish government's unified guidelines on allocation, the what are aimed at, we will win the confidence of the provincial Party secretary and provincial governor people and then there will be hope for deepening the will be held responsible. This point must be made reforms. Therefore, this is not only a serious clear now. The problem of '"vegetable basket" economic problem but also an important political affects all families and it should never be treated in one. Minor principles must follow major principles. an offhanded manner. Last year, the rise in prices of The present major principle is that price rises next general consumer items accounted for two-thirds of year must be considerably lower than those of this the general rise in the retail price index. Price hikes year. All our work next year must be done in since the beginning of this year have also been fairly accordance with this principle. large. All cities, especially the big and medium-sized ones, must adopt measures in the fourth quarter of this year to ensure market supply, particularly during the Spring Festival (the first day of the first II. Carrying Forward the Mutually month of the Chinese lunar calendar. — Tr). As for Supportive Overall Reforms Under the problem of rural reform and agricultural Organized Leadership and in a Measured development, it will be discussed at a conference on Way rural work to be held this year. To solve fundamentally the complicated The current efforts to improve the economic problems that have beset us in our course of environment and rectify the economic order must development, and to set up step by step a new be integrated with efforts for strengthening and socialist commodity economy, it is essential for us, improving macro-economic control in the under organized leadership to resolutely and transitional phase between old and new systems. steadfastly deepen the reform in an all-round way. Comrade Deng Xiaoping recently pointed out, Comrade Yao Yilin, on behalf of the Political "Macro-control implies that the central authorities Bureau of the Central Committee, will address the mean what they say. The road we have taken over session to give an explanation of the tentative price the past few years has been correct. Now, it is high and wage reform programmes. Today, I am going time that we begin summing up our experience. If to elaborate on two points about the price reforms. over the past few years we had not relaxed control, First, the overall price rises in 1989 will be would it have been possible for China's economy to significantly smaller than 1988, and in the following develop as it has? In the past, we enforced control several years they will be each year less than 10 when there was poverty. Now, the situation is percent. This is the yardstick for judging whether different. It is macro-control in the transition to a the reforms are working effectively. In the light of better-off society."" These words of Comrade Deng the people's financial ability to bear and the Xiaoping's indicate to us that in the economy there enterprises' capability to take on the reform at III present, if the price rises reach double digit, the international markets will be impaired. The double- enterprises will not afford for them and resort to track pricing system is a product of specific raising the prices of their products repeatedly. This historical circumstances. As China's commodity kind of price spiral will endanger economic and economy and markets are far from being developed, social stability and give rise to panic. the time is not ripe yet for the abolition of this However, will we be able to achieve initial system. Since the double-track pricing system is success in readjusting the price system within five inevitable for the time being, it is essential to years or a httle longer by limiting price rises to the strengthen management and supervision of it, to above-mentioned range? It depends on whether we prevent confusion and to minimize its drawbacks. can effectively place social overall demand under This is an extremely important task of the state in control. So long as the gap between the overall macro-control. demand and overall supply is not so big, the The wage system and social distribution are the pressures caused by spontaneous price hikes will be concern of all. During the course of the price limited and the price reforms will have plenty of reform, the living standards of the overwhelming room for manoeuvre. It is possible for us to majority of workers and staff members shall be complete the initial readjustment of prices in five maintained at the current level, and be raised only in years or more, so long as we place a firm grip on tandem with the development of production. This is improving the economic environment and our set policy. Reform of the wage system shall be rectifying the economic order and effectively carried out step by step and focus on overcoming control the social overall demand in order to allow egalitarianism. The salaries for the educational, prices to rise only by a small margin. We shall strive scientific and technological, and medical personnel, to turn the possibility into reality. which are on the low side, will be raised in a planned way. The state will tighten its control over newly Second, the double-track pricing system for a founded state-owned corporations paying excess• number of primary products and raw and semi• ively high wages to their employees. High legal finished materials cannot and shall not be abolished wages shall be adjusted through taxation, and all in the near future. Ours is a planned commodity illegally derived incomes shall receive heavy economy. The aim of price reform is to ensure that censure. the price of a few major commodites and services will be set by the state and the prices of most The in-depth development of the reforms is a commodities will be open to market forces so as to comprehensive project, in which reforms in various meet the requirement that "the state regulates the fields shall support and complement each other. For market, and the market guides the enterprises." instance, the price reform should not and cannot However, this target can only be achieved by be accomphshed in isolation from other reforms. strenuous efforts over a long period. Judging from During the comprehensive reforms in various areas, the situation in China, the opening of prices to it is essential to conscientiously implement the market regulation can only be realized step by step. Enterprise Law, to deepen the reforms of In the near future open prices should be introduced enterprises, especially large and medium-sized only to those products whose supply is greater than state-owned enterprises, so that they can estabhsh demand. These include a multitude of consumer under the state's macro-control effective mechan• goods and industrial products. The state shall isms of self-management and self-restriction and' continue to set prices for public undertakings, such become responsible for their own profits and losses. as railway transport, communications and With the establishment of this mechanism, the electricity. The double-track pricing system for economic returns and ability of the enterprises to ' those primary products and raw and semi-finished take on the reforms will be raised, repeated price' materials that are essential to the national economy spirals and unreasonably big price gaps as they are and will be in short supply for a long time, including today will be prevented, and the state's macro- grain, oil-bearing crops, coal, crude oil, steel and control will become all the more efficient. Pricing non-ferrous metals, should not be abandoned reform is going to slow down next year, but reform rigidly and prematurely. Without market regulation of the enterprises shall be intensified in the for these products, it would be impossible to enliven following two ways. the national economy, and in particular the rural First, the government administration shall be enterprises, which produce one-fourth of the further separated from enterprises management country's total industrial output value, would find it and, where conditions permit, enterprises shall hard to operate. However, if the state-set prices do operate relatively freely. Several factors are not figure in "on the other track," prices of a great seriously affecting the vitality of the enterprises: the many products, including some daily necessities, powers that should have been delegated to will soar and go out of control. As a result, costs of enterprises have been retained by administrative industrial production will greatly increase and the departments and local governments; restrictions competitiveness of China's industrial products on^ and extortions placed on ^terprises by all kinds of IV administrative corporiitions and intermediate links; enterprise depends on the common efforts of both and a great variety of duties and charges demanded its leadership and workers. That is, the former of enterprises. The complete separation of should be ensured of independence in management, government administration from enterprise while the latter guaranteed of their democratic management will be the key to changing this rights. The authority of the executives and the role situation and providing the enterprises with a better of the workers as masters of the society are identical. external environment. The government shall They will never be opposed to each other. It is require that the great majority of state-owned essential to keep this principle in mind when eiiicrprises operate within the limits of the law, pay deepening the enterprise reforms. tavos according to regulations, and carry out The all-round, in-depth development of reform coiiiracts to the letter. Those involved in illegal also touches upon planning, labour, commerce, dealings, tax evasions, and breaking of contracts material supply, foreign trade, finance, and shall be duly punished. The state shall not interfere investment. Special efforts should be made for with the normal activities of enterprises, nor shall it reforms in areas essential to curbing the inflation. subsidize their losses. This independent manage• For instance, sales of public-owned residential ment shall be first implemented in state-owned housing shall be accelerated in order to gradually enterprises in the same line that produce enough to move in the direction of privatization. With several basically meet demands and in state-owned years of persistent effort, we will be able to recoup enterprises at the county level. huge amounts of funds while energetically readjusting the structure of consumption and Second, the contract system shall be improved, industrial composition. The public sale in a planned and the shareholding system carried out step by way and under organized leadership of the property step. We have already gone two steps in enterprise rights of small state-owned enterprises and the reforms. The first step, granting power to encouragement given to large and medium-sized enterprises and allowing them to keep a bigger share state-owned enterprises to issue their own stocks of profits, has greatly enhanced the vitality of state- will turn a portion of consumption funds into owned enterprises. The second step is the separation accumulation funds, curtail the rise in market of ownership and management by implementing the commodity prices, promote the flow of productive enterprise management contract system. The two factors towards areas with better economic results, steps have yielded good results. Our current tasks and optimize the allocation of resources. As with are to map out supporting measures for the the compensated transfer of the right to use state- enterprise contract system in order to facilitate its owned land, these reforms will never pose a threat to qualitative development, perfection, and develop• the dominant role of public ownership. On the ment. Such measures would include introduction of contrary, they will enable us to make good use of a genuinely competitive system, the optimum idle funds in society to reduce the state's financial organization of labour, improvement of manage• burden. They will be beneficial to the state and the ment skills, and promotion of scientific progress. It people, and shall therefore be carried out with great is advisable to borrow and absorb good enthusiasm. management skills Trom rural enterprises and foreign-funded ventures. We shall make a careful study of the shareholding system with public III. Strengthening Party Leadership and ownership as the mainstay, and then put it into Giving Full Play to Our Political practice step by step. China's state-owned Advantages enterprises will never be privatized. The share• holding system with public ownership as the The difficult tasks before us are to bring order mainstay is by no means privatization. In fact, it will to the economic environment, rectify the economic change a kind of vague concept of ownership into order, and deepen the reforms in an all-round way. clear concept of ownership to rationalize enterprise The whole Party should seek unity of thinking and mechanisms and behaviours. The organization of action. The Party's leading, supervisory, central enterprise groups is a good thing and shall be role should be strengthened. Every grass-roots encouraged through voluntary participation, organization of the Party should become a strong amalgation, regrouping, and buying of shares. No fighting unit. Every Party member must play a coercive measures shall be taken in this respect. The pioneering role among the masses. The Party implementation of shareholding system and the should be run with iron disciphne. Individual Party development of enterprise groups shall be members must submit to Party organizafions, the experimented with at selected spots before minority to the majority, subordinates to their formulating specific measures and clearly defined superiors, and the Party organizations at different policies. They shall never be decided hastily. levels to the Party Central Committee. This was the We run socialist enterprises, and each one of political advantage we relied on in the past to them is a community of interest. The success of an overcome the numerous difficulties that were even V more severe than the current ones we face. We addressing the issue of tackling the economic should continue to bring this advantage into full environment. Comrade Deng Xiaoping said that play and place high demands on our Party the Party Central Committee and the State Council members, with an emphasis on the role and must be authoritative, and it will not do without this discipline of the Party, in co-ordinating efforts of authority. When a decision is made, it has to be the whole Party and nation to overcome the carried out resolutely. We have to be strict, never difficulties lying in the way of accomplishing the lenient. We have to do it this way, even if we carry it targets set forth by the session. out a little bit in excess. The Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee deems it necessary that An extremely important problem is whether we Party and government leading bodies at all levels can correctly handle the relations between the local support and commend those Party members and interests and the over-all interests. In recent years, cadres who pay attention to the interests of the the central authorities has delegated powers to whole and carry out orders of the central locahties to encourage initiative on the part of the government in an examplary way. Those who do localities. This has proved correct. Local interests not consider the interests of the whole, only act as should always be respected and recognized by the they see fit, defy the leadership of the Party central authorities. However, the powers that organizations, or violate norms of discipHne shall be should belong to the central authorities must be duly punished. We shoud, by citing facts, make sure centralized and neither diverted nor weakened. All all our Party comrades, especially leading the regions and departments should be responsible comrades, understand that Party discipline must be for the safeguarding of the interests of the whole implemented no matter what happens. It must not nation and for subordinating their own interests to be allowed to happen that Party members turn their the interests of the whole nation. These relations back on the Party's discipline. The Political Bureau between the part and the whole should not be is convinced that the overwhelming majority of ignored, much less turned upside down. This cadres in leading positions are clearly aware of the problem deserves special attention in the process of situation and know their responsibilities. They improving the economic environment. The should take the whole situation into account, and country's economic environment is a whole. So resolutely carry out central decisions regarding when the state's finance bogs down, the whole imporving the economic environment, rectifying nation will land in dire straits. If money supply goes the economic order and deepening the overall out of control, all the markets across the country reform. This is the yardsfick for evaluating their will be shaken. Putting the economic environment Party morale. in order will never be an easy job. We have to suffer and make sacrifices. Faced with such difficulties, we The construction of Party's grass-roots should pull together, and each one of us should organizadons should be carried out in close never act simply as he pleases. We should never do connection with the improvement of the economic anything that benefits a locality at the expense of the environment, the rectification of the economic whole, such as would happen if the practice of order and the deepening of reforms in all fields. Not "countering a central measure with a local one" long ago, the Party Central Committee issued an were condoned. In recent years, there has been a emergency circular on strengthening Party craze to emulate certain notions of "success." It is discipline and safeguarding the reforms. It waS alright to emulate others in improving the economic rapidly passed out to Party organizafions in order environment and rectifying the economic order and to mobilize the whole Party to play a major role in deepening the reforms which are beneficial to both stopping bank runs and panic buying sprees. Facts the part and the whole. The central authorities will have once again proved that the role played by basic give its full support to this kind of emuladon. Party organizations and their members is mostly However, local institutions must never be allowed dependent on the work of superior Party organs. to vie with one another in bUndly expanding the Viewed from the whole, our Party works effectively. scale of construction and accelerating their rate of The great majority of its members are well growth; constructing office buildings, auditoriums disciplined. They play an active role when they are and hotels; and raising wages, fringe benefits and needed. The point to keep in mind is that the Party commodity prices. This kind of emulation is most organizations must explain clearly to their members unrealisfic and destructive. It has to be stopped; the principles and the situation, and let them know otherwise it will be impossible for the central in time their tasks and what is required of them. government to push forward its policies and Before the implementation of a major reform exercise macro-control. Party organizations at all measure, work should be carried out among the levels are integral parts of the Party. They must Party members, especially the leading cadres, to let safeguard the authority of the Party Central them know what is happening and enable them to Committee and carry out its orders. This is a facilitate their work among the masses. Confronted question of political importance. Recently, when with the tasks of improving the economic VI environment and rectifying the economic order, the reality, formalistic and dogmatic, should be cast every Party member should work honestly, increase away. We should follow in the footsteps of and production and practise economy, struggle continue to develop the fine tradition our Party had arduously, and strictly abide by the law. They during the war years. New ways of doing things should not engage in any illegal dealings. They should be tried out in the face of the new tasks, the should do nothing that is prohibited by the central new situation and under the new condition of the authorities. Otherwise, they are not qualified to be growing separation between government and Party. Party members. The above exhortations provide the Owing to the differences among the enterprises, criteria for judging a Party member. countryside, schools, and government organs, our political and ideological work should be based on In summary, two points should be remembered the actual characteristics of different units and on about the current building of our Party. First, we summarizing the experiences we have already must bring into full play the role of Party gained. The circular on strengthening and organizations and their members in ensuring the improving ideological and political work in success of our attempts to improve the economic enterprises presented to the session is a preliminary environment, rectify the economic order, and summation. The ideological and political work is achieve all-round, in-depth reforms. Second, we not only the job of cadres in change of propaganda, must improve the effectiveness of Party but also the work of the whole Party. All Party organizations and the political awareness of Party cadres and members, including those responsible members by improving the economic environment, for overall leadership and those engaging in rectifying the economic order and deepening the economic work, should take ideological and reforms in an all-round way. political work as part of their own sphere of One of our Party's traditional political responsibility and make contributions to its advantages is its being able to unite with the masses improvement. through lively political and ideological work. Our strength lies in the masses. At present, we should Maintaining the integrity of Party and start a nationwide educational drive among Party government dep. rtments is an extremely important members and the entire people centring around the and pressing matter that has a direct bearing on improving of the economic environment, the current efforts to build the Party into a more rectifying of the economic order, and the deepening effective organization. Historical experience tells us of the reform in an all-round way. The masses that corruption in the government departments is support the reforms. Their discontent is focused on often inevitable during the stage of commodity three points: first, the price hikes, second, the unfair economic development when legislation, regul• social wealth distribution, and third, the corruption ations, and social order have yet to be firmly in Party and government organizations. These established. Ours is a socialist country under the problems can be solved through patient work, and leadership of the Communist Party. Therefore, the they can be clearly explained to the masses. We Party and government should and can keep their should let the masses know the Party's pohcies members and employees within the bounds through the educational drive. We should tell them prescribed by law and social discipline and require the facts about the substantial achievements made them to maintain high standards of ethical integrity during the reforms in the past ten years, and the and to keep corruption at a minimum and, in no difficulties still lying in our way. We should discuss case, let them run wild. The Second Plenary Session with them the methods to overcome these of the 13th Party Central Committee has earnestly difficulties. Since we require everyone to take part in issued a call to maintain high standands of ethical accomplishing the tasks, we should put all our cards and professional behaviour on the part of the Party on the table. We should tell them in explicit terms and the government. This shows that our Party is what we advocate, what we are opposed to and why. clearly aware of the problem and is serious about All questions raised by the masses should be solving the problem. Party members must be able to analysed and answered in light of the Party's stand the test of living up to being part of the ruling policies. This type of educational drive will be the Party, one that is bent on pushing forward reforms most practical and most welcome part of our and opening up to the outside world. Ethical and political and ideological work. When the masses professional integrity is precisely this type of test. know the truth, they will work whole-heartedly to We should learn how to swim in the sea of overcome all these difficulties. This educational commodity economy without being carried away by drive should be taken as the starting point of our swirls of corruption. At present, corruption among attempts to improve our political and ideological staff members of Party and government work and will be continued in the future. The departments — graft, accepting bribes, extortion, political and ideological work should be practical, profiteering and squandering public funds—is lively, attractive, and convincing. The old way of bitterly hated by the masses. It is damaging not only doing ideological work, which was divorced from the moral character of the Party members and VH cadres involved, but also the image of the Party and level long before they break out into open social government. If this problem continues to go disorder. However, when necessary, forceful unsolved, we will lose the support of the people. measures are likely to be taken for the preservation Over the past several months. Party committees and of social stability. We should work doubly hard to governments at different levels have taken actions prevent social disturbances. However, if dis• and done a lot of work, including making public turbances do occur, we should be steadfast in work procedures, setting up various corruption pushing forward our reforms and construction. investigation and crime hunting centres, improving This should be the only policy of ours. relevant regulations and discipline, and settling The four cardinal principles* are the cases that involve violation of the law and foundation of our country. They must be closely discipline. All these have achieved good results. followed. We should continue to carry forward our There are several important things to be done. First, inherent political superiority. The purpose of our the question of keeping a clean government must be poHtical reform is to further display the advantages put on the agenda of the leading organs. Being of our socialist political system. We should continue apathetic and turning a blind eye to this question to move towards separation of Party from are unpardonable. Second, we must increase the government so that the Party can extricate itself channels by which our work procedures can accept from administrative matters and strengthen its the open supervision of the masses. Third, we must leadership and supervisory role. It is essential to set up all kinds of regulations in dead earnest, so straighten out the relations between the organs of that administrative work will become gradually state power and administrative organs in order that standardized and put in good order to prevent they be able to perform their duties according to law power manipulators from being able to milk and that the efficiency and authority of the different situations for their own personal gains. government be raised. We shall strpngthen the Experiments and other work conducted in different multi-party system of co-operation and consult• areas should be continued in a down-to-earth ation that operates under the leadership of the manner in order to achieve solid results. Chinese Communist Party in order to develop even closer relations among our Party, the democratic The reforms of our political structure and the parties and non-party persons, and to strengthen construction of socialist democracy should be the nation's unity. The whole Party and nation carried out unswervingly under Party leadership should be clearly aware of these fundamental and in light of the principles proclaimed at the 13th policies. Their close observation will be beneficial to National Party Congress. A political situation of the smooth progress of our reform of the political stability, unity, democracy, and harmony is structure and will serve as a powerful guarantee that essential to creating a healthy, dynamic economic the improving of the eocnomic environment, the environment, rectifying the ecnomic order, and rectifying of the economic order, and the all-round deepening the reforms. We must handle social deepening of the economic structural reforms will contradictions with great care. It is necessary to sum be successful. • up experiences in handling the local unrest that has occurred in recent years. Efforts should be made to expand democracy in grass-roots units, to develop social dialogues, and to solve social contradictions Adherence to the socialist road, to the people's democratic dictatorship (i.e., the dictatorship of the proletariat), to the within the bounds of democracy and law. leadership of the Communist Party and to Marxism-Leninism Contradictions should be solved at the grass-roots and Mao Zedong Thought. VUI forces to an ever higher plane. realized in ideology, culture and is to proceed from books, making As the representative of the new politics, thus advancing practice suit theory. The other is to mode of production, the bour• civilization. proceed from practice, drawing geoisie made painstaking efforts The foundations for capitalist new conclusions, improving and to create a world market and civilization were laid during the developing former theories in line develop new technologies. This Renaissance, which created the with social changes. I think the resulted in an even more rapid ideological and cultural precon• latter is the correct method. development of the productive ditions for the development of the Over the past 100-odd years forces. As early as the 1840s, Karl capitaUst economy and the since Marxism came into being, Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote bourgeois revolution. The anti- and especially since World War II, in the Manifesto of the Communist feudal ideological, cultural, polit• capitalism has been compelled to Party, "The bourgeoisie, during ical and economic achievements of make many adjustments in its its rule of scarce one hundred capitalism not only possess relations of production. These years, has created more massive historic value but also are of great have occurred for many reasons: and more colossal productive practical significance for those the great expansion of its forces than have all preceding countries still haunted by remn• productive forces, the understand• generations together." ants of feudalism. ing of its own defects gained Since these words were written, But modern capitalism did not through practice, the development capitalism has endured numerous stop at mere opposition to of the labour movement, the crises, both large and small. Its feudalism. It has made many steps struggle against colonialism, and, relations of production and forward in estabUshing and in particular, the emergence of the operational mechanisms have improving the capitalist mode of socialist system. undergone various transform• production and social system, New practices have emerged. ations and improvements, and its gradually evolving a superstruc• For instance, to mitigate the productive forces have seen new ture which better suited the harmful influence of economic and massive development. Since development of productive forces crises and realize the state's World War 11 in particular, the and the commodity economy. In macro-economic goals, some capitalist world market has modern developed capitalist capitalist countries have strength• continued to expand, new indus• societies, comprehensive and well- ened government interference in tries have emerged one after organized legal systems have been economic life. This contradicts another, and progress in science estabUshed, and the sense of our former understanding that and technology and productivity competition and efficiency have capitalist production was funda• has far exceeded expectation. The taken deep root in the minds of the mentally anarchic. The fact that productive forces have rapidly people. last year's stock market crash did moved from the era of iron tools It has to be noted, however, that not lead to a worldwide economic and machines to the epoch of capitaUsm's material advances, as depression and the bankcruptcy of electricity and the age of well as those parts of its cultural many banks has something to do computers. How big an impact the wealth which are of positive with the joint interference by the worldwide new technology revo• significance, were created by the governments of major capitalist lution, especially the development whole mankind: the bourgeoisie, countries and the amendments of microelectronics, bioengineer- the proletariat, intellectuals, far• they have made to their economic ing, space technology, new forms mers and so on. Thus they are the poHcies and laws since the crash of of energy and new materials, will common wealth of the human 1929. have on the future development of race. People should treat capital• In the field of production, to productive forces and human ism and its accomplishments ensure fair competition and society, it is impossible to judge at historically and scientifically, support the development of present time. rather than adopt an attitude of medium-sized and small enterpr• As well as developing the historical nihilism aimed at ises, some capitalist countries have productive forces, capitalism has negating all its achievements. passed anti-monopoly laws. In also made some historical contri• many capitalist countries and butions to the ideological and regions, such enterprises still political superstructure of capita• Changes in Capitalism account for a large and important list societies. proporfion of the economy. This At every stage of capitalism's What method should be also contradicts our former view economic development, corre• adopted in observing and under• that the capitalist economy is sponding achievements have been standing modern capitahsm? One dominated by monopolies. BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 19 •1 ARTICLES Some developed capitalist foreign policies. Under the hindered the development of countries have adopted a series of precondition of not giving up their productive forces and would soon social welfare pohcies and other interests in overseas expansion, die out. Because of this, we drew income distribution policies. capitalist countries have adapted some mistaken conclusions about These serve to mitigate class their international policies in the its nature. We have failed to study contradictions, improve the rel• hope of bringing about detente. the m.odern development of ations between labour and capital Although the current capitahst capitalism, and as a result knew and stabilize the social and system has generated problems little that the scientific and political situation, improving unforeseen 100 years ago, it can technological progress has in• living standards for people on low still accommodate further devel• fluenced the capitalist world. We incomes and protecting the rights opments in its productive forces. also failed to note that capitalism and interests of working people. In Through fierce competition, the to a certain extent can accommo• this way, the normal development citizens of capitalist societies feel date and promote the develop• of the economy can be main• that it is possible for many people ment of producdve forces through tained, which again runs counter to change their economic and self-regulation and drawing on to our former understanding that social status through their own some successful experiences of in capitalist societies the life of the efforts. In other words, a social socialism, and that modern working people is insecure, the environment exists where hard capitalism has some advantages relations between labour and work by individual members of which we do not have in capital are always antagonistic, society is encouraged and the promoting the development of and the working class is being initiative and creativeness of the productive forces. Today, it is plunged ever deeper into poverty. people can be aroused to a certain necessary for us to adopt the extent. attitude of seeking truth from In modern capitalist societies, It should be acknowleged that facts to form a new and objective property relations have become in the past we underestimated the judgment of modern capitalism. more complicated. Many enterpr• development potential of capital• In particular, we must study how ises do not belong to a single ism, particularly as regards its the capitalist system has matured capitalist or a family. They now productive forces. For instance, at and its future developmental can sell their shares openly on the the end of the 1940s Hong Kong prospects, so as to draw up a market, and in this way anyone was basically a transit trade port. practical strategy for the period of can become a shareholder. In fact, Its economic take-off began in the sociahst and capitalist co• many public institutions have 196Gs, and by 1985, its per-capita existence. become important shareholders in GNP had increased si.\-fold over big companies, and some enterpr• 1951. This development has been ises have encouraged their achieved despite periodic up• workers and staff to buy shares in Learning From Capitalism heavals: the panic bank runs in the their own company. Hence, the 1960s, and the stock market relationship between the employer slump, the oil crisis and worldwide The founders of Marxism and the employed has become economic depression of the 1970s. forecasted that with the abolition blurred, and the role of the middle It shows that Hong Kong's of exploitation, socialism would class has become increasingly capitalist economy and society has undoubtedly create higher labour obvious. They form an independ• great flexibility in adapting to productivity and achieve a rapid ent social strata, being neither rapidly changing situations. development of the productive ordinary hired labourers nor Today. Hong Kong is a modern forces. Over the past 30-odd years, bosses of enterprises. In Hong metropolis, one oi' the world's China's socialist construction has Kong, they are called the "elite major trade and financial centres. made great progress despite many elements." And yet it still holds great serious setbacks and mistakes. A Overall, the bourgeoisie has potential for development. fundamentally socialist economic strengthened its ability lo control and political system has been modern mass production, and so For a long period, our established, exploitation and corresponding adjustments have understanding of capitalism came classes have been abolished, the been introduced to the socio• mainly from two sources: One was economic strength of the state has economic structure and class the Marxist-Leninist theoretical grown enormously and educ• relations of capitalist society. classics, and the other was our ational, scientific and cultural In addition, since World War II, persona! experiences of old China. undertakings have made consider• developed capitalist countries In our mind, die capitalist system able progress. It has to be said that have continuously adjusted their was extremely cruel, seriously such achievements in an extremely 20 BEIJING REVIEW. NOVEMBER 14-20. 1988 backward country like China have influence is still evident today. improved and developed. Without initially demonstrated the superi• In socialist construction, we the cultural heritage of capitalism, ority of the socialist system. have known too little and there would be not socialism. But it is also necessary to point harboured too much fear of Socialism can never cut its out that the superiority of modern capitalism. Because of historical and present ties with socialism has not been brought this, we have failed to inherit its capitalism and succeed by isolat• into full play: a large gap still exist achievements, and strived to ing itself from the development of between the concrete results we negate many of its features from world civilization. have realized and the theoretical which we could have benefited. As With the development of possibilities offered by socialism. I Zhao Ziyang, general secretary of capitalism, various forms of think there are two important the Central Committee of the economic relations have emerged reasons for this phenomenon. One Communist Party of China, which, through the commodity is that China was a semi-colonial pointed out in his report to the economy, have led to the and semi-feudal society up until 13th National Party Congress, introduction of numerous ways to 1949. It did not experience the full "Many things which fettered the organize and regulate socialized development of commodity pro• growth of the productive forces production. Most of these have a duction. Indeed, at Hberation, and which were not inherently dual nature, both reflecting the small-farmer production was socialist, or were applicable only characteristics of capitalism and dominant and most of the under certain particular historical manifesting the objective demands population was illiterate. The conditions, were regarded as for the socialization of production difficulties of building socialism 'socialist principles' to be adhered and the development of the on such a foundation have to. Conversely, many things, commodity economy. Take Hong naturally been formidable. The which, under socialist conditions, Kong for example. Over a long other reason is that for a were favourable to the growth of period of time, it has established considerable period we committed the productive forces and to the an internationally oriented market "left" mistakes. During the commercialization, socialization system incorporating manage• "cultural revolution" (1966-76) in and modernization of production ment methods, a monetary particular, we tried to negate were dubbed 'restoration of system, and a legal system backed capitalism completely, equating it capitalism' to be opposed." up by administrative control and solely with the commodity socio-economic policies which economy, which we attempted to For far too long in the past, we combined to ensure free compe• bypass in our construction of harboured too many Utopian ideas tition. At present and for the socialism. in our attempt to build a pure socialism, which were reflected in foreseeable future, these are After the Third Plenary Session the "left" influence on many basically conducive to the devel• of the 11th Party Central policies. I think acknowledging opment of Hong Kong's produc• Committee in 1978, we closely re• and correcting this has been our tive forces. It is based precisely on examined both traditional socia• biggest lesson. such a judgment, which takes into list theories and the level of our In remains true, however, that account the history and current economic development. At the there are fundamental differences conditions of Hong Kong, that the same time, we began to restudy between sociaUsm and capitalism. Chinese government put forward capitalism, reaching our present Therefore, we must adhere to the the principle of "one country, two understanding after ten years. sociahst principles of predomi• systems." According to this Looking back at this part of nantly retaining public ownership principle, Hong Kong will con• history, we now understand that and the common prosperity, while tinue to practise capitalism for at China's congenital defficiencies in fostering contact with capitalism least 50 years after returning to the the development of capitalist in the areas we share. As sociaUsm motherland in 1997. At the same commodity economy were a can only be built on the time, China will be able to expand product of history. After the foundations of previous social its economic and trade relations founding of New China in 1949, it development, and the two systems with the capitalist world via Hong was only natural that we devoted will exist side by side for a Kong. This will not only be our major attention to developing considerable period to come, we conducive to Hong Kong's a sociaHst commodity economy should and must learn from prosperity and development, but aimed at promoting socio• capitalism and inherit all the also benefit our socialist economic development. But, our outstanding cultural achievements construction. subsequent errors impeded our of human history. Only in this way Because China is still in the efforts, and their pernicious can socialism be consohdated, primary stage of socialism, its BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 21 ARTICLES principal tasks are: achieving full new economic order. In all these modern capitalism, so that we can industrialization, developing the fields, capitalism has already learn from and assimilate its commodity economy, and es•acquired much experience. There• achievements, adopting any that tablishing a political structure that fore, it is necessary for us to prove suitable for the current corresponds to the needs of the systematically and critically study conditions of China. • China's Elderly Surveyed In 1982, China had 49.72 million people aged 65 or over. It Is estimated that this figure will have almost doubled to 86.46 million by the year 2000, constituting more than 7 percent of the population. By 2040, the figure will have leapt again to 250 million, or an estimated 17 percent. According to a United Nations assessment, the changes that China will witness In four decades would take around 80 years In some developed countries. by Tian Xueyuan* lthough one of the major about China's elderly, the Chinese ted a nation-wide survey of 36,755 A problems facing China is Academy of Social Sciences' people aged 60 or over in 1987. controlling the size of its Population Research Institute and People were interviewed in all 28 population through strict enforce• the State Statistical Bureau's of China's Provinces, autonomous ment of the government's family Sample Investigation Group for regions and municipalities except planning policy, the very reduc• Rural and Urban Areas conduc• Tibet and Taiwan. Using strict tion in the birth rate is having a dramatic affect on the country's age structure. In particular, the numbers of the elderly are A trio of 70-year-olds admire their new homes In Boal County, Henan Province. increasing fast. ZHU GUANGZHI In 1982, China had 49.72 million people aged 65 or over. It is estimated that this figure will have almost doubled to 86.46 million by the year 2000, constituting more than 7 percent of the population. By 2040, the figure will have leapt again to 250 million, or an estimated 17 percent. According to a United Nations assessment, the changes that China will witness in four decades would take around 80 years in some developed countries. To discover more information * The author is director of the Population Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 22 BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 principles of random sampling, China's elderly tended to marry and 27.1 percent had had more the results should be accurate to earlier than the generations that than eight children. within plus or minus 0.5 percent. have followed them. 5. Family Structure: On aver• age, each household surveyed had 4.9 people — an increase of 0.7 on the 1987 national census — and Table 1. Age of First Marriage more elderly people (18.9 percent) belonged to a five-person family than one of any other number. Age at Proportion of Population Proportion of Popu• Of the elderly interviewed: 50 First Marriage Aged 60 + lation Aged 15+ (%).* percent belonged to three gener• ation families; 29.2 percent 15-19 47.0 7.5 belonged to two generation 20-24 35.2 72.8 families; 12.9 percent lived as a 25-29 11.8 15.8 couple; 3.4 percent lived alone; and 3.0 percent belonged to a four 30-34 4.2 2.8 generation or greater family. 35-H 1.8 1.1 6. Economic Role: Of those Total 100.0 100.0 interviewed who lived in cities, 41.5 percent played the dominant 1986 figures. role in their family's economics, compared with 39.9 percent in towns and 18.7 percent in Under the title 1987 Sample 4. Child-bearing: Among the counties. Survey Materials on China's female senior citizens interviewed: 7. Financial Support: The •Senior Citizens, the results of the 14.5 percent had borne a child majority of China's urban elderly survey have been compiled and before they were 20; 75.1 percent derive their income from pensions: pubhshed in book form by the before they were 25; and 24.9 56.1 percent in the cities and 47.5 editorial department of the percent after they were 25. percent in the towns. Many are research periodical, Chinese De• Some 5.7 percent had had one also supported by their children: mography. Its principal findings child; 7.3 percent had borne two 22.4 percent in the cities and 14.3 are listed below. children; 9.3 percent had borne percent in the towns. 1. Age Structure: In 1987, the three children; 12.2 percent had In rural areas, the situation is median age of people over 60 was borne four children; 65.5 percent quite different. Some 67.5 percent 67.6, that is to say half of them had borne more than five children; are supported by their children. were aged 60 to 67.6 and half were aged 67.6 plus. Elderly people enjoying an after dinner harmonic concert, 2. Cultural Level: Using a t standardized index, the survey revealed a national average cultural attainment of 2.00 for China's elderly (a 1982 survey of all ages produced a figure of 4.65). This average, however, masks an enormous disparity between both the sexes and urban and rural dwellers. The urban male aver• aged 5.29, and the female, 1.73; in the countryside, the male averaged 2.13 and the female, 0.41. 3. Marriage: Over 60.3 percent of those surveyed had spouses; 30.6 percent were widowed (a majority of whom were female). As the table below shows. BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 23 ARTICLES 26.2 percent support themselves by working, and 5 percent are supported by their spouses. The remainder are supported by either other relatives, the government or collectives. It is evident that China's urban elderly are principally reliant on the state and their former enterprises, while those who live in the countryside remain bound far more closely to their families. Over the past few decades, there has been a gradual movement from the latter to the former across the entire country. 8. Employment: Compared with rural areas, a relatively small proportion of urban elderly A peaceful retirment beneath the trees in Tianjin. continue to work. In cities, they number 15 percent (20.4 percent niiicance to their own lives as well 9. Medical Services: The fol• male, 10.2 percent female); in the as those around them. lowing table gives a breakdown of towns it is 11.6 percent (17.9 Of those who continue to work how China's elderly pay their percent male, 6 percent female); past 60, some 18 percent in the medical expenses: and in the counties it is 31.5 cities and 13.2 percent in towns 10. Health: According to the percent (53 percent male, 12.4 have been re-employed in new survey, 10.3 percent of China's percent female). jobs. Although this is clearly over-60s are in good health; 28.3 In the countryside, more than beneficial to those concerned — percent have relatively good half of the over-60s are still generating income to participate health; 27.9 percent felt they were engaged in manual labour, in wider social activities — it does generally all right; 17.6 percent indicating that because of China's nothing to alleviate China's were moderately unhealthy; and low productivity and relatively shortage of jobs. 9.3 percent were in poor health. backward agricultural produc• During the next two or three Some 0.7 percent were not clear. tion, most rural elderly have to decades, China's working popul• earn their own living. This, ation will reach a peak, with In all, around 70 percent faced however, does have the benefit supply far outstripping demand. no serious health problems, and that they can continue to play a This will prove a severe challenge 83.8 percent declared they could vital role in the economic life of to the growing re-employment of look after themselves in their daily their communities, adding sig- the elderly. lives. 11. Daily Activity: Those sur• Table 2. Payment of Medical Fees (%) veyed were asked to quantify the time spent on four categories of activities: sleep, labour (including National City Town County housework), study and recreation. In the cities, the proportion was Paid at 9:5:4:3, while in rural areas it was Own Expense 71.7 26.7 45.1 94.7 9:5:1:9. The urban elderly in• dicated that they spent around Half Paid 9.9 22.1 19.2 3.1 three hours more a day on reading, Free Medical study and other cultural activities Care 18.4 51.2 35.7 2.2 than their rural counterparts. Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 It is little wonder, therefore, that 31.4 percent of the over 60s in the countryside asked for greater Again, the major discrepancy is between rural and urban areas. access to cultural facilities. • 24 BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20. 1988 I Causes Given for Income Unfairness Some people in China say that "the experts who make missile earn less than the pedlars who sales eggs; the barbers who wield razors earn more than the surgeons who use scalpels." Thes are the complaints of an unfair income distribution system. Chen Xiao wrote this article for the Opinion column of "China Daly" on November 5. We reprint it to help our readers gain further understanding of China's reform programme, by Chen Xiao ome sayings such as "the covers only the basic wage. Within headway. The result is those who Sexperts who make missiles earn the confines of this wage system, work in enterprses ge their income less than the pedlars who sale there remains equalitarianism. from various sources, and those eggs; the barbers who wield Fan described the personnel who work in institutions receive razors earn more than the system as unreasonable, the "iron only basic wages. The capacity of surgeons who use scaplels" bowl" (a secure job) is still one of the central government to budget have become popular in China the main fatures of the personnel for salaries is getting smaller and in recent years. system, he said. A goodjob or a smaller. The government cannot In fact, these are the complaints high position earns a high wage. readjust personal incomes. of an unfair income distribution So, those who do not have good Wang said, as the central system, a hot point ofthe current jobs or high positions will suffer government delegates power to reform. low wages no matter how hard the localities, each local author• The situation has created they work. ities will scramble for investment disadvantages. Professionals rece• The management of enterprises and preferendal rights to consoli• ive incomes that are so low that is not equitable either, he said. date their owninterests. this has they almost lose their initiative for Enterprises have not ye achieved caused differences in income levels work. The unfair system is complete independence. Reforms among differnt localities. polarizing society and making the such as the contract system cannot Xin Changxing, a reseach fellow social structure unbalanced. It has solve all the problems of in the Ministry of Labour and become an obstacle to social and enterprises. Personnel, said that old thinking economic development. The "double-track" price sy• impedes income reforms. At present, many economists stem has negative influence on The old idea holds that brain and entrepreneurs have expressed wages, too, Fan said. Individual work is not real work. Although views on the causes of the problem producers, private enterprises and the slogan, "esteem intellectuals" and offered their prescriptions. even some state-enterprises take has been raised as a state policy, Fan Yifei, a scholar of the advantage of the loopholes of this many people, epecially workers, Ministry of Finance, analysed the price system to speculate and ignore it. Xin said, government causes from the standpoint of the make profits. efforts to raise the basic wages of state system. Basic Cause intellectuals will be opposed, at "The shortcomings of some least initially. systems are important causes," Wang Jiuying, an editor of the The experts also suggested Fan wrote in Financial Times. economic page of Guangming various solutions. As the sugges• He called the wage management Daily, analyzed the problem from tions each lay particular emphasis unfair, saying it was drawn up a different angle. The basic cause on some aspects of the problem, under economic conditions that of income inequalities is the they are useful if the government have passed. Although the difficulties some enterprises en• can synthesize them. economy isbeing reformed, the counter in adapting to a Fan Yifei urged establishment wage management system still has commodity economy without of a comprehensive market system shortcomings. There is still no freeing up the old pay distribution that would bringthe market into adequate method to readjust system. full play. He said the government personal incomes. Wang said reforms of produc• should open the labour force In recent years, the proportion tion and the exchange of market and cancel the "double of wage in personal total incomes commodities are proceeding fast. track" price system to create an has dropped, he said. However, However, the reform ofincome environment of competition on the wage management system distribution has hardly made any equal basis. • BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 25 m ARTICLES FACTS & FIGURES (Decade of Reform VIII) Changes in the Life-Style of Urban Residents by the State Statistical Bureau ince 1978, great changes have average per-capita income for Consumption Patterns Staken place in the lives of urban citizens was 315.83 yuan. China's urban residents. Their By 1987, however, it had soared to With more income sources and income has risen rapidly and its 915.96 yuan, an average annual raised level of their income, urban sources have diversified. Accom• growth rate of 12.6 percent. citizens have gradually altered panying this transformation in Allowing for price increase, this their patterns of consumption. their personal finances has been a has meant an 85.7 percent rise. At —The proportion of money restructuring of their consump• no time since the founding of the spent on food in the total tion patterns, greater ownership of People's Republic in 1949 has real expenditures on consumer goods private property, a rise in bank income climbed so rapidly, and as has decreased from 56.65 percent savings, and improvements in a result, urban citizens have never in 1981 to 55.73 percent in 1987. housing conditions and cultural been better-off. However, the proportion of non- life. Although basic wages have staples foodstuffs, especially risen substantially, the major leap animal produce, in the diets of in income has come from money urban residents has risen mark• Increjase in Income earned through other channels. In edly. From 1978 to 1987, average 1978, the annual wage income of annual grain consumption per workers in urban state-owned capita dropped by 18.59 kg, pork Before 1978, the major source of enterprises was 318.03 yuan. It rose by 5.15 kg, and eggs by 2.87 income for China's urban citizens reached 613.08 yuan in 1987, an kg. From 1981 to 1987, fish and was their basic wages. For many increase of 92.8 percent, or 7.6 shrimp consumption incrased by years, these had not only remained percent annually. Of this total, 6.67 kg and sugar 1.97 kg, while low, but had increased extremely basic wages amounted to 286.87 the consumption of fresh veget• gradually. The principal ways in yuan in 1978 and 404.16 yuan in ables decreased by 162.10 kg. which urban living standards were 1987, up 40.9 percent at an —The purchase of medium- raised were by increasing job average of 3.9 percent a year. and high-grade consumer goods opportunities and providing The balance has come in the has increased. In 1978, many greater social welfare. forms of bonuses, subsidies, urban residents still wore what Since 1978, however, policies floating and contracted wages. In some foreigners called "Mao aimed at smashing the "iron rice 1978, such items totalled 31.16 jackets." Since then and especially bowl" have led to the abandon• yuan, in 1987 they totalled 208.92, during the last five years, people ment of egaUtarian distribution. up 570.05 percent, at an average have begun to pay more attention Through China's reform pro• annual growth rate of 28.5 to the style, colour and material of gramme, competition has been percent. Their proportion of total their clothes. High-quahty, ready- introduced into daily economic income increased from 9.8 percent made and fashionable clothes life, enterprises have greater in 1978 to 34.1 percent in 1987, have become ever more popular. autonomy to determine how their and to 33.3 percent in the second In 1987, for every 100 urban employees should be paid, and quarter of 1988. Other possible households there were 36.97 fur- new forms of ownership have income sources for urban workers Hned overcoats, 154.22 woollen emerged. Accompanying these now include dividents on share, overcoats, 359.01 woollen gar• changes has been a diversification rents from property, subsidies for ments (including 155.42 Western- in income sources for urban commodity prices, and securities. style suits), 630.02 pairs of leather residents. These accounted for 19.9 percent shoes and 105.32 blankets. But perhaps more immediately of all personal income in the first Per-capita spending on clothing significant is the huge jump in half of 1988. They will continue to rose from 42.24 yuan in 1978 .to urban income. In 1978, theris e with the deepening of reforms. 121.09 yuan in 1987, or an average 26 BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 increase of 186.67 percent a year. sum of money in banks each year. system. This should lead to a Its proportion of the total living By the end of 1987, savings thorough improvement in living expenditure increased from 12.53 totalled 206.76 billion yuan, to conditions. percent in 1978 to 13.69 percent in which another 31.5 bilUon yuan Across China, municipal gov• 1987. can be added in cash kept at home. ernments have constantly in• Furniture consumption has also So far this year, deposits have creased investment in facilifies to moved up-market. Suites and unit dropped off slightly as a result of make urban life more comfortable furniture are proving ever more interest rates failing to keep pace and convenient. The amount of popular, hard chairs are being with inflation and the subsequent money spent on tree-planting, replaced by all sorts of sofas, and rush to buy goods or other forms schools, kindergartens, hospitals, wooden beds by spring matresses. of investment. Recent statistics transport and recreation centres In 1987, for every 100 urban reveal that average per-capita has risen greatly. households, there were 8.13 sets of monthly deposits in the second unit furniture, 10.12 spring quarter of 1988 were 11.10 yuan — Cultural Life matress beds, 145.08 sofas and a shght drop on the 12.71 yuan of In 1987, the average urban 105.03 wardrobes. the first quarter. resident spent 14.15 yuan on — During the "cultural revo• cultural, educational and recre• lution" (1966-76), urban residents ational sevices (up 4.19 yuan on owned little family property. With 1985), 2.76 yuan on medical and more money in hand, people vied T^he last few years since health care (up 0.84 yuan), and with each other in purchasing the 1985 saw a faster growth in 6.89 yuan on tourism and high-grade goods in the last transport (up 2.45 yuan). The last decade. From 1979 to 1987, for both the time and expenditure few years since 1985 saw a faster every 100 urban households, spent by city residents on growth in both the time and ownership of bicycles increased elementary education, expenditure spent by city residents from 112.7 to 176.53, sewing retraining, intellectual on elementary education, retrain• machines from 54.26 to 74.88, and ing, intellectual pursuits, recre• watches from 204.16 to 314.91; pursuits, recreation and tourism. Now urban ation, and tourism. According to a but ownership of radios decreased sample survey, urban employees from 70.46 to 67.01. Ownership of employees spend an average now spend an average of three electronic goods has risen parti• of three hours a day on hours a day on education, sport, cularly fast. In 1987, for every 100 education, sport, entertainment or socializing— urban families there were 99.4 entertainment or socializing. around half of their spare time. television sets (including 34.63 colour sets), six times the 1979 All these changes indicate that figure; 19.91 refrigerators; 103.92 urban citizens have substantially electric fans, nine times more than Housing Conditions benefited during China's decade in 1979; 57.38 cassette recorders of reforms and opening to the (including 29.36 stereo ones); and outside world. Anxieties remain, By the end of 1987, the average 14.34 cameras. mainly stemming from the sharp urban household had 2.44 rooms, price rises of the last few years, Nowadays, some well-off fami• every urban citizen had an average which has led to a drop in real lies are turning their attention to of 8.47 square metres of living income for some households. remote control large-screen colour space, a considerable rise on the There are also problems with TVs, high capacity refrigerators, 4.96 square metres in 1980. income distribution, an insuffi• automatic washing machines, Around 72.25 percent of house• cient supply of certain goods, the video-cassette recorders, and hi- holds had tap water, 81.30 percent income falling short of expendi• fidehty music and equipment. had separate kitchens, 54.90 ture in some families; the gap — Expenditure on services has percent had lavatories and between personal wishes and jumped from 2.63 yuan per capita washing facilities, and 26.38 reality; poor housing conditions in 1978 to 75.13 yuan in 1987, a 21- percent had gas or liquefied and traffic jams. These problems, time increase in real terms. petroleum. either hangovers from the old During the last two years, the system or the newly emerged Savings Deposits government has been experiment• during the last decade, should ing with housing reform in some certainly be solved as China's Over the last decade, urban selected cities in preparation for a reform programme grows in depth citizens have deposited a greater nationwide reform of the housing and breadth. • BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 27 •1 FROM THE CHINESE PRESS 14, the corporation raised the Officials Profit by Illegal Sales price 150 yuan per ton and sold the material to a Shenyang jointly managed industry and trade his buyer—the Metal and In• corporation and gained 1,065 "Shichang" dustrial Chemicals Corporation yuan in profit. This corporation affihated to the Xinchengzi paid Yang Huilan 1,500 yuan, and (The Market) District Bureau of Materials and its office workers, Yu Chang- Equipment in Shenyang. In late cheng, Hao Yushen, Chen Ping, July of the following year, these 3,100 yuan. After that, fenced hile there is a voice for a ban steel plates were transported to by the four bureaucrat racketeers, Won bureaucratic racketeering, Xinchengzi from Wuhan at the 7.1 tons of polyethylene changed the Administration for Industry price of 890 yuan per ton. In hands seven times among five and Commerce of Shenyang City Autumn, they changed hands at corporations. The price rose from in Liaoning Province has offered the price of 1,070 yuan per ton, 5,150 yuan to 7,300 yuan per ton, some figures. reaping a profit of 190,000 yuan. resulting in illegal profits of 15,000 In the first half of 1988, the city Of this, 90,000 yuan was sent to yuan. A detailed investigation of investigated and dealt with 986 Shenyang Railway Bureau's Be- the case revealed that the cases of illegal sales, of which 101 ifang Jointly Managed Depart• corporation in Shenyang illegally major ones were imposed a fine of ment Store, which sells hardware, gained some 10,000 yuan and the 1.77 million yuan and goods were alternafing-current equipment other seven corporations confiscated, however, bureaucrat and materials. In early September, benefited anywhere between racketeers of every description can the department store withdrew several hundred yuan and one only be investigated but not 60,000 yuan and bought an thousand yuan. Those corpor• stopped. So bureaucrat racketeer• apartment. Gao Fei moved into ations knew clearly that they could ing seems to have become more the apartment this February. At make only minor profits illegally. prevalent. the same time, he withdrew more What prompted them to do such a Why is this happening? An than 10,000 yuan to buy a video thing? The key factor was that the office worker of a corporation in tape recorder and electronic four bureaucrats profited from it. Shenyang said: "Only several organ. He pocketed 3,000 yuan. Their individual illegal income bureaucrats do whatever they like . The allotment and profiteering amounted to 4.600 yuan. Facts and seek exorbitant profits. If only of the one hundred tons of cold- show that the bureaucrat profit• the corporations are punished, rolled steel plates evolved around eering of all types are done by a and the bureaucrat racketeers are buying a house for Gao Fei with variety of bureaucrat racketeers. not investigated, how can the illegal income 100,000 yuan. In order to ban bureaucrat bureaucrat profiteering be Of this, Gao Fei's individual profiteering, the punishing of banned?" income was more than 70,000 corporations is necessary, but His remarks contain a grain of yuan. Wasn't this bureaucrat's more importantly, bureaucrat truth which is illustrated by the personal gain a vital part of the racketeers should also be brought following two cases: bureaucrat racketeering case? to trial. The first case: A planned quota The second case: Seven tons of (August 29, 1988) of one hundred tons of cold- polyethylene were sold six times rolling steel plates was changed by eight corporations, four into an apartment. bureaucrat racketeers benifited In 1986, Gao Fei, an assistant from it. chartered accountant of the Coal In October 1987, through the Higher Education Industry Ministry's Northeast introduction of Yang Huilan, an Administrative Bureau of office worker of the Beihua Plastic In Minority Area Materials and Equipment had a Packing Materials Factory in housing problem in Shenyang. To Shenyang, the First Branch of the solve the problem, the supply Shenyang Industrial Chemicals "MINZU TUANJIE" department of the Qitaihe Coal Corporadon purchased 7.1 tons of Mine in Heilongjiang Province polyethylene from a processing (Nationality Unity) took out one hundred tons of cold- factory for plastic materials in the rolled steel plates and asked Gao suburbs of Fushun at a price of n recent years, notable progress Fei to resell them. Gao Fei found 5,000 yuan per ton. On October I has been made in the underta- 28 BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 king of minority education as a to hold part time jobs in 1988, result of the implementation of Engineers Do people began to wake up to the special pohcies in the minority reality. Allowing scientists and areas. Sunday Work technicians as "Sunday engineers" can meet the shortage of technical The institutions of higher forces in collective and township learning in minority autonomous "LIAO WANG" enterprises. At the same time, they regions have increased from 78 in (Outlook Weekly) can increase their incomes to 1984 to 91 recently, an increase of improve their lives. 16.7 percent. Some 65 institutions (No. 16, 1988) of higher learning have been very Sunday about 20,000 established in the five autonomous Eengineers in Shanghai go to regions of Xinjiang, Inner Mon- suburban areas by bus or bicycle goUa, Ningxia, Tibet and to help township enterprise China Studies Guangxi. Judging from enrolment develop new products, train at the 12 existing institutes for technical personnel or resolve Plateau Diseases nationalities (two of them are still technical problems. Though the being built), the number of numbers of their workdays are not students has topped 20,000. These many, their technological know- "RENMIN RIBAO" institutes have a total of 72 how has immediately brought (People's Daily, Overseas Edition) disciplines, 31 special departments vitality to those township enterpr• for master degrees and three for ises with low production ovv^ing to doctoral degrees. the shortage of technical forces. hina leads the world in the With their contributions, the Cprevention and treatment of Sunday engineers have won plateau diseases, the study of Since China set up its first respect from rural enterprises, human colonization of plateaus Institute for Nationalities in the which have also created a fine and adaptation, and the manu• \350s, it has had more than working condition for them. facturing of antianoxia medicine. 139^000 graduates. Some top- However, many of them look Now, those who take business rateij universities affihated with depressed, even perplexed and trips, make a long journey or work the State Education Commission uneasy, when they return to the in China's plateau areas have no and some institutions of higher town because their work has need to worry about plateau learning under the provinces also incurred censure from various diseases for which the medical hold minority classes or minority quarters. field used to be at a loss what to preparatory courses. According to One such engineer said, in the do. 1986 statistics, the number of second half of 1986, he worked in a Based on their knowledge of minority students in colleges and township enterprise during his basic biological theory and universities throughout the coun• spare time. In the beginning, he traditional Chinese pharma• try stood at more than 100,000, an was very happy. But one day his cology, Chinese medical workers increase of about 180 percent over leader told him that technicians have prepared more than ten 1978. Besides, there are now more were not allowed to hold part-time medicines for preventing plateau than 1,900 minority post• jobs according to higher-authority diseases. These antidotes, com• graduates in various specialities. regualtions. "Because it is so," he prised of plants growing in areas said, "1 have no way out." with high elevation and cold The country has 55 minority Several other engineers from a climate, have received good nationalities, eac.h with a number research institute under the results. of college students. Now the Chinese Academy of Sciences said China's achievements in study• number of college students out of bitterly. "What we • are most ing plateau medicine have drawn every one thousand people in concerned about is applying our international attendon. Over the some minority nationalides is 3.46 knowledge and technical achieve• past few years, China has co• for Korean nationality and 2.35 ments to the practice of produc• operated with the United States, for Inner Mongolian. These tion. As for rewards, we only get Japan and Australia in plateau figures are higher than the the share we deserve." medicinal scientific research. country's average. There are more Views on Sunday engineers vary Some other countries have asked than 14.200 full-time university in Shanghai. Since the State to join in this co-operation or teachers for minority students. Council approved a document make investigations in China. (No. 7, 1988) I allowing scienUsts and technicians (August 22, 1988) BEIJING REVIEW. NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 29 m BUSINESS/TRADE Perhaps equally important, however, has been the trust HI has developed with its partner and Sales of Plane Components Soar clients. This was demonstrated half a year ago when faults appeared in one of Hi's major ajor advances in the scale and The rapid expansion of its trade production processes. The com• M technical standards of has led to plans for establishing a pany immediately halted all China's aviation industry have led warehouse in the United States. exports, only resuming them when to the export of US$10 million The Chinese government plans the problems were fully resolved. worth of aircraft components this further growth in the export of HI has also politely dechned offers year, according to Sun Lipeng, aircraft spare parts and from some Chinse companies who general manager of the CATIC components. suggested buying directly from the Industries Corp. by Liu Jianjun United States instead of via After a period of stagnation in Sinotronic. the early 1980s when China Hi's business in China has drastically cut its armed forces, the grown several-fold over the last country's military aircraft fac• Texan Company's few years. Now, company presi• tories switched their attention to Hong Kong Link dent Doyle Cavin has declared, it civil aeroplanes. To boost its is time HI considered making a commercial airlines, China im• technical investment in China. As ported a series of Western models. bout 85 percent of all China's a result, HI is drafting a plan in But from 1986 onwards, the A imports of plotters and collaboration with Sinotronic to government has insisted that digitizers come from one source — manufacture its goods in partner• increasing numbers of compo• the Houston Instrument Co. This ship with Chinese companies. It is nents and spare parts be produced Texas-based company, however, expected that co-operation should in China. is quick to attribute its success in start some time in 1989. by Yue Haitao This gave the national aviation cracking China's market to its industry the boost it needed, and Hong Kong partner, Sinotronic to date, contracts totalling Ltd. US$100 milhon have been signed When HI drew up plans to Huimin Seeks Funds to supply parts over the next market its goods in China six years decade with companies from the ago, like many other foreign For Export Boost United States, Britain, France, the businesses it discovered it knew Federal Republic of Germany, almost nothing about Chinese Canada and Sweden. Already business practice. Casting around ver the past four years, exports landing gear, main and auxiliary for advice, it selected Sinotronic as O from Huimin Prefecture in wings, fins, engine components, its agent. Shandong Province have leapt forged and cast parts, noses and The partnership has proved a dramatically. In 1984, trade value stabilizers have gone into resounding success. Their first stood at around 70-90 milHon production. undertaking was replacing several yuan. In 1985, it rose to 139 The Harbin Manufacturing hundred Japanese instruments for million yuan, and it has kept rising Co., for example, has manu• the Ministry of the Aeronautics by around 100 milHon yuan a year factured landing gear for British and Astronautics Industry. Now ever since. Aerospace and wings for Short the ministry buys around US$1 This year, trade should top 450 Brothers, as well as numerous million worth of Hi's instruments million yuan, and according to the parts for Sikorsky's Black Hawk annually. director of the prefecture's foreign helicopter. According to Wu Hongbing, economic relations and trade As business has expanded, general manager of the ministry's commission, the figure should rise technological standards have importing arm, the Beijing to 700 milUon yuan in 1990 and 1.5 advanced. The Chengdu Engine Astronautical Technology Devel• billion yuan in 1995. Manufacturing Co. has begun opment Co., Hi's products cost a Huimin Prefecture, populated production of jet engine compo• bit more than their Japanese by 6 million people, stands at the nents for an American company. equivalents, but their quality and north of an area rich in mineral Its parts all passed a strict quality the company's after-sales service resources and agriculture. Its control test at the first attempt. are superior. major export commodities include 30 BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 last month. According to Kodak (Export Sales) Ltd., the company now sells US$50 miUion worth of film, photographic paper and other materials in China each year. It has also exported to China audio• visual equipment, chemical fabrics and plastic raw materials. Work has started on establish• ing two co-operatively owned and managed factories in China, one in Shanghai to produce slides and the other in Xiamen for colour film and photographic paper. When fully up-and-running early next year, they should satisfy half of the country's demand for colour film. The Chinese military has also WIckerwork baskets produced in Boxing's Industrlai Art Factory. LI JIANGUO bought many of Kodak's pro• ducts. The University of National Defence, the PLA's major in• stitute of higher learning, spent US$100,000 on a series of maize, soya beans, cotton, pears and jujubes are grown in the programme-controlled film pro• peanuts, fruit, machinery, granite prefecture for domestic and jection and production facilities. and textiles. overseas consumption. Invest• Both the Military Commission of Before 1985, no foreign capital ment is required in processing the CPC's Central Committee and was invested in the prefecture. But machinery to enable exports to be the State Education Commission since then, money has flowed in at increased. have praised the results produced an increasing rate: US$2,239 Petrochemical Industry. With the by the equipment. million in 1987, and US$6.92 ShengU Oilfield, China's second by Yang XIaobing million by October of this year. largest, Huimin is rich in oil Including four projects due to be resources. signed by the end of the year, total Grass. Each year, Huimin grows foreign investment should stand at 280,000 tons of fresh grass and US$19.27 million. 1.65 million tons of straw, making News in Brief The region, however, still seeks it an ideal place for developing further overseas funding to animal husbandry. It is planned to purchase advanced technology. use West European capital to • A new Sino-foreign joint To develop trade, several areas develop sheep and cattle breeding venture restaurant opened in have been designated as key farms. Beijing last week. The Beijing Doo projects for foreign investment: by Zhang Zeyu San Restaurant, which offers Sea salt. Huimin plans to double more than 40 varieties of roasted its annual output of sea salt to foods in the Korean style is 800,000 tons next year. Plans have located in the capital's newly- been drawn up to use foreign Kodak Develops developed food area, Hualong capital to set up two 500,000 ton Links With China Street to the west of the Beijing salt works. Hotel. Almost $1.1 miUion was Cotton. Overseas companies are put into the venture by the currently being sought to invest in o consolidate and expand its Japanese Sansui Scoji Company Huimin prefecture's cotton pro• Tmarket share in China, East• Ltd. and the China Ocean cessing industry. man Kodak organized a photo• Aviation Corporation. The Japa• Agricultural and sideline pro• graphic and information manage• nese investment accounted for 80 ducts. Around 10 million kg of ment technical exchange in Beijing percent of the total. • BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 31 m CULTURE/SCIENCE Yi Woman Shows Coloured Woodcuts i Xiu, from Yunnan Province, L is the first female woodcut artist of Yi nationality to hold an individual exhibition in Beijing. The woodcuts, exhibited at the National Art Gallery of China during October, are all in colour. The styles are both bold and flowing, full of distinctive local and national features. "The colours of Yunnan Province are very abundant and attractive." Li Xiu said, "Without colour. y6u can't manifest its beauty and inner feeling." The series of woodcuts Leisured Time portrays Jingpo mountain areas in the western Yunnan Province. In the first woodcut, Offering Sacrifices to the Moun• tain, the cold tone carries the ancient aesthetic feeling of the Woodcut: Blissful Land. Woodcut: Red Duckweed. Jingpo custom to the viewers; the second. The Flower Goddess, shows Flower-Picking Day with a shining warm tone that radiates the happiness of youth; and Longing For sets a hopeful theme for scenery typical of the Jingpo mountain village. The three woodcuts are also decorated with tiger skin signifying bravery and wealth, and herbs and mountain flowers peculiar to this area in the spring. Combined, these decor• ations make the tableau appear as ardent and reserved as the Jingpo nationality. The series of woodcuts Oh, the Caravan, which won first prize in the National Art Exhibition of Minority Nationalities in 1982, displays the primitive tranquility of the natural terrain where the Yi nationality live in compact communities and describes the life r hinterland of the sparsely popu• lated Inner Mongolian grassland. White ibis are very rare in the world; only in New Zealand are there around 200. Several workers there claim to have witnessed white ibis groups twice: 10 white ibis the first time and 14 the second. These sightings indicate that this is a breeding place for the birds. The white ibis has a big, crooked sickle-like beak and pure white feathers. The exposed skin of an adult's head and neck is black, as well as its beak, feet and legs. An immature white-ibis has blackish-brown feathers around its neck. This species builds I nesting cavities in big trees and \s for food in freshwater rivers ! and the marshland. I An investigation group consist- : ing of biologists and professors from the Inner Mongolia Teachers University has observed that besides white ibis, a dozen or so rare birds, including stork, swan, Woodcut: On the Return. bustards, lark and red-crowned crane, are found in the Dalai Nur Lake area. According to the group's prehminary statistics, they of caravans with rich, local white foal, with mountains and belong to 15 orders and 32 species. featurc^. Campfire manifests the clouds vaguely visible in the Many birds breed and raise their alternating use of various blue background. The whole picture is young there. hues. The warm tone of a campfire designed succinctly to create the The Dalai Nur Lake is a habitat contrasts with the stark images of idea of mystery and remoteness. for migratory birds in spring and black and white horses in various Li Xiu. a graduate from the autumn. In the autumn of 1983, postures. These images, combined painting department of the there were 2,400 swans staying with azaleas blazing blue light in Guangxi Art Institute, is now a there. Two years later, during the the night, create a picture of council member of the Chinese same season, there were 2,300. The mountain delights and harmony Artists' Association and of the herders described the white swan between nature and humanity. Chinese Woodcut Artists' Associ• groups as looking like flocks of The series of woodcuts The ation. She is also a professional sheep. Hengduan Mountains, created in painter at the Academy of Fine 1987, represents the artist's search Arts of Yunnan Province. • for a new approach. On the tableaux of the four works, there are no human beings, only white clouds, mountains, a full moon, Rare Birds Live in herds of cows, lakes and trees. In one of the woodcut series — Inner Mongolia Summons, the artist cuts a white wooden frame on the crimson The white ibis, a bird near ground, occupying almost half of • extinction, is found in the the tableau. Under the frame is a reserve at Dalai Nur Lake, BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMIiER 14-20. I9S8 33 •i TOURISM by the fresh air there. A Japanese Travel Services Multiply tourist who visited Qiandao Lake said he previously thought that Chinese brush paintings were all he various provinces, autono• numbers of tourists, a state tourist fabricated, but he now realizes Tmous regions and municip• official said. that such natural scenery does alities directly under the central Regardless of whether the exist. government, as well as ten cities climate is hot or cold, tourist According to statistics, since with separate plans will each set up resources in areas such as 1983, approximately 70 million one or two travel services with the Xinjiang, Tibet, Hunan, Henan, Chinese and foreign tourists have power to establish connections Shanxi, Guizhou and Heilong- journeyed to these forest meccas. with foreign travel agencies and to jiang have been tapped in recent More than 5 million, including issue visas, according to the State years. With the opening of new over 100,000 from abroad, went to Tourism Administration. scenic spots and the emergence of Zhangjiajie. The Liuxi River Now work units with the above special tourist programmes, tra• Forest Park in Guangdong power include 17 travel services vellers' demands can hardly be Province, only 90 kilometres from and tourism bureaus across the met merely by a few travel Guangzhou, has 6,600 hectares of country. When the above- services. bamboo forest and 1,400 hectares mentioned travel services are Severe competition is expected of water surface. Dozens of established, there will be approxi• to emerge on China's tourism academic and cultural groups mately 90 such bodies with foreign market in the future. Travel have toured there annually. The travel agency relations. agencies and tourists from abroad Qiandao Lake Forest Park in The increasing inter-agency will have greater choice of better Zhejiang has 40,000 hectares of contacts are a result of expanding service and more colourful and woods, 50,000 hectares of water tourist areas, new tourist pro• interesting activities. surface and 1,078 islets. In co• grammes and the increasing by Han Guojian operation with Hong Kong businessmen in recent years, it has organized various tourist activ• ities, which have dehghted nature- Don't Fence Me In lovers. Many forest areas in China hina, heeding the call of the have dense woods, unusual Cwild, has been paying more landscapes, various wildlife and attention to forest tours in recent famous ancient temples. Inquisi• years. Following the establish• tive visitors can join tours to ment of Zhangjiajie Forest survey plants, row boats, visit Reserve in Hunan in 1983, nine historical places, hunt, fish, ride large-scale forest parks have been horses, climb mountains and established. They include Tian- swim. tong Mountain and Qiandao Lake by Han Guojian in Zhejiang, Shatoujiao and Liuxi River in Guangdong, Louguan Terrace in Shaanxi, Mount News in Brief Taishan and Weihai in Shandong, Langya Mountain in Anhui and • The Sino-Japanese Loulan Songshan Mountain in Henan. In Tourist Exploratory Team of 80 addition, there are tourist spots at people arrived at Urumqi, after Sichuan's Emei, Jiangxi's Lushan, completing its travels on October Hunan's Hengshan, Anhui's 12. It started off from Gansu Huangshan and Shandong's Province's Jiayuguan Pass, the Laoshan mountains. western end of the Great Wall, on Adventurers, following the lure September 20, and went westward of nature, have changed wilder• passing Dunhuang, known for its ness areas into new tourist hot arts grottoes, Lapeiquan and spots. An American tourist who Milan along the ancient Silk visited Zhangjiajie was impressed Road. • 34 BEIJING REVIEW, NOVEMBER 14-20, 1988 Woodcuts by Yang Mingyi Yang Mingyi, born in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province in 1943, is a professional painter of the Suzhou Studio of Chinese Painting. He is adept at woodcuts and Chinese paintings and devotes his skills to China's river and lake landscapes south of the Changjiang River. His paintings evoke the tranquility of nature. A Mountain Village by a Riverside. CO OU TV ET • Clear in picture • True in colour and sound • Beautiful in design