Perestroika and Humanism in China

Xi'an, and Shanghai. Although the birth rate has been sharply reduced by dramatic government-instituted measures, such as economic sanctions for families having more Perestroika and than one child, the death rate has declined because of improved nutrition and health care. And so the population relentlessly Humanism in China grows. During the next fifteen years, China's population will increase by more than 250 million, which is close to the current population of the entire United States. The Communist party and government Paul Kurtz still exert tight control over the people of China. Virtually all aspects of life are regu- visited mainland China this past spring The reemergence in recent years of para- lated by central authority and freedom is I as head of a delegation of six representa- normal belief systems in China is, in my stifled. tives of the Committee for the Scientific judgment, an expression of a new religiosity There was some enthusiasm for Maoist Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal sweeping that country. It has been accom- Communism in the early days after the de- (CSICOP). We were invited by Lin Zixin, panied by a resurgence of interest in tradi- feat of the Kuomintang, but the cultural the editor of Science and Technology Daily, tional religions, such as Christianity and revolution of 1966 to 1976 brought wide- China's leading science newspaper, to pro- Buddhism. Numerous churches and temples spread disenchantment with Marxism. vide skeptical critiques of popular para- have been restored and are regularly filled Many of the intellectuals and scientists we normal claims and of some traditional to overflowing. met had been forced to abandon their careers Chinese medical practices. I have written Like other Western visitors to China, I and were sent to the countryside to work about this trip in the SKEPTICAL INQUIRER found the country's culture fascinating: it has at menial labor. Although conditions have (Summer 1988 and Fall 1988), but in those a rich heritage going back thousands of years improved they still do not have intellectual articles I focused primarily on our prelim- and is a treasure of civilization. Present-day freedom; they cannot publish their views inary tests of paranormalists, such as China is desperately seeking to modernize without permission, and many scientists are children who allegedly possess psychic and and in this task the highest priority is given not allowed to do research. psychokinetic powers, Qigong masters who to scientific, technological, and economic Indeed, few of the people I met were claim they can heal people from a distance, development. Yet for all its industrial might willing to defend the existing totalitarian and seers who say they can diagnose illnesses and its considerable achievements, it remains state—and we spoke to hundreds of citizens, by psychic means. When we tested their in many ways a backward nation. intellectuals, and top party officials. We were claims, we found that the "psychic" children One overwhelming problem is its con- told, even by the party faithful, that "Mao who allegedly displayed clairvoyance and tinued population growth. China's popula- was a great man, but he made many mis- psychokinesis were cheating, that the tion has more than doubled since Mao seized takes." The brutal repression during and healings achieved by the Qigong masters power in 1949. It now stands at well over after the revolution liquidated millions; the could be attributed simply to the placebo one billion, though we saw no evidence of Great Leap Forward wasted resources; the effect, and that the "psychic" diagnosticians starvation and no beggars in the streets in commune system enforced in rural areas led were rarely correct. the areas we visited, which included Beijing, to widespread famine; and the use of the Red Guard to encourage egalitarian con- sciousness during the cultural revolution led to popular distaste for the Communist re- gime. This does not mean, however, that no achievements have been made under the new system, for China has made considerable progress. Since the death of Mao and the over- throw of the Gang of Four, more liberal winds have begun to blow under Deng Xiaoping. But does this mark genuine change or is it only window dressing? The abandonment of the communes six years ago and the return to small-plot farm- ing and a limited free market led to an increase in agricultural activity. But this has now leveled off and food production has remained stagnant for the past three years. There are some signs of prosperity, however, particularly in the coastal cities and the rich agricultural sectors—almost everyone in the In Beijing, Premier Li Peng declared that there would be further "democratization of Chinese cities we visited had a bicycle, and most society." families own television sets. But the housing 26 FREE INQUIRY shortage is chronic, and the average Chinese finds it difficult to purchase luxuries with his estimated earnings of $30 to $50 a month. Moreover, the high rate of inflation has led to restiveness throughout China. While we were in Beijing, the Seventh Political People's Congress was meeting. Some of the new policies that were enun- ciated are startling, at least in comparison with the doctrinaire pronouncements of earlier days. China is going through impor- tant changes. It is opening the door to a private sector in order to stimulate production. There are now individual entrepreneurs running their own businesses—from taxi- cabs and restaurants to small factories and farms—and many are enjoying high incomes. A kind of capitalist free market is developing. A dinner was arranged for us with Chen Weili, the daughter of Chen Yun, who is reputed to be the second most influential Communist elder in China. Chen Weili Can China make further progress without weakening the monopolistic control of the Communist party? studied business management for two years at Stanford University and is now vice- achieved within the existing structure of While we were in Beijing, Premier Li president of the China Venturetech Invest- Communist society. Peng declared that there would be further ment Corporation. The main interest of China has a huge gap to overcome if it "democratization of Chinese society" and Venturetech, she told us, is to raise private is to catch up with the other industrialized even that non-Communists would be in- capital for new enterprises; to do so the nations; the problems are enormous. It is volved in the deliberations of the govern- company offers profitable incentives to for- estimated that more than a quarter of the ment. We were surprised to see an interview eign investors. population is still illiterate or semiliterate. in the China Daily with one of the country's I wondered aloud whether these reforms Only a small elite can be said to be well- most outspoken dissidents, the astrophysicist were similar to those of Lenin's New Eco- educated. Because China has a vast pool of Fang Lizhi. According to UPI correspond- nomic Policy (NEP), which he adopted in labor, technological innovations may cause ent David Schweisberg, Fang has raised the early 1920s in order to stimulate the serious dislocations in the economy and questions in foreign publications about economy, and whether the spigot would be improved productivity may lead to high whether dialectical materialism itself is turned off in China as it was in Russia once unemployment and other serious con- scientifically tenable. And students at Beijing production accelerated. I was assured that sequences. University have recently been protesting for this would not be the case, that the Chinese We have recently heard much about the freedom of speech and other democratic people would not permit a return to Maoist massive efforts of the Soviet Union and reforms. centralization. The level of expectation is others in the Communist world toward All of these signs are encouraging. But rising and the leadership is desperate to perestroika and glasnost; even Vietnam is is the present leadership going far enough improve the living conditions of the ordinary seeking foreign investments and is encou- fast enough? Can China make further pro- person. raging some private market forces to emerge. gress without weakening the monopolistic China's Asian neighbors—Taiwan, But the chief ingredient for dynamic change control of the Communist party? Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and is absent; there is still an urgent need for Singapore—permit considerable economic genuine grass-roots political democracy. It he question is often raised: Are Com- freedom and seem to be rapidly improving should be clear that if an economy is to T munist societies humanistic? They are their standards of living, while China is still advance, the total centralized planning of secular, even atheistic; but being secular is overwhelmed by bureaucratic inefficiency. all phases of life cannot be justified. Thus no guarantee that a government is genuinely Large sections of Chinese society are still the Chinese now recognize that the energies humanistic, especially where Marxism is in a semi-feudal stage of development; one of the free market need to be tapped. But taken as official orthodoxy and dissent is highly placed party official told me that can this occur without guaranteeing a free suppressed. Communist societies, which are China needed new, creative thinking and press, a multiparty system, the legal right based on doctrines of centralized control, diversity. He complained that the ordinary of opposition, secret-ballot elections, the have not permitted real freedom of inquiry Chinese did not want to work, that the right to form voluntary associations, due and have been the enemies of freethought revolutionary slogans of the early days did process in the legal system, and scrupulous and of the free mind so essential to human- not inspire the people and something dra- respect for human rights, including the right ism.

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