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