11 ' A 5 i i 25%5 Na 1 s II Ko~ir I vj ity and each faction blames the other for the failures. The bickerings among the Chinese Communist chieftains had gone on for some time and became acute in 1964 and 1965. The question of who should have more say developed into an open power struggle. To forestall the attempts of his opponents to overthrow him, Mao Tse-tung and his supporters launch- ed the so-called proletarian cultural revolution. The organization of the Red Guards was meant to suppress opposition and to retain power through mob action. After seizing control of Peiping and the purge of the intellectuals, the Red Guards were branching into provinces to change the local party and adminis- trative machines. The anti-Mao forc- es in the provinces, however, were much stronger than Mao had sus- pected. In the ensuing struggle, both the pro-Mao and anti-Mao elements had to seek support from the masses. By so doing, they l--ave opened the Pandora's box, releasing the latent anti-Communist sentiments of the people. The peasants and workers take advantage of the confusion and clamor for changing the economic system. The Mao group has tried to use the army in his favor but the army is also divided. This many-sided convulsion has thus developed into a seesaw war among the various ele- ments whose respective strength is about even. In the meantime, the country has fallen into disorder with production suspended and transpor- tation disrupted. TN THE LAST few weeks, the Mao group seems to have sounded a retreat of the so-called cultural rev- olution. Ironically, the heroes of the Red Guards are suddenly called hooligans. They are accused of com- mitting all kinds of excesses and evil activities, which were once instigat- ed and tolerated by the Maoist hier- archy. The bulk of the Red Guards has been disbanded and asked to re- turn to the countryside. They are no longer given free transportation, shelter and food. Indeed, the young- sters who were cheated and exploit- ed have now to fine: their way home by looting, stealing and begging. What are the realities? The wild rampage of the Red Guards against the Establishment and among them- selves has brought the country to the brink of anarchy. The mobilizing of millions of teenagers, the suspen- sion of production and the disloca- tion of transportation have creat- ed a severe shortage of food and oth- er daily necessities in the big cities. They have affected the foreign trade as evidenced by the inability of foreign ships to load and unload in the Communist ports, and by the drastic reduction of exports to Hong Kong. The large-scale move- ment of population and the stop- page of regular municipal activities are such that many cities face the problem of the removal of night-soil and garbage. In fact, there is a ser- ious threat of epidemics. All this, however, is comparatively less grave, compared with the peril of a nationwide famine in the com- ing months. The Communist author- ities are making frantic appeals to the people and the army to hasten with spring plowing. Even they real- ize that with the country's shaky economy, a total collapse would be unavoidable if farming is not resum- ed right now. What would be the future devel- opment on the mainland? The gen- eral situation could be described as a scrambled egg which can never be unscrambled. The so-called cultural revolution has destroyed the mutual confidence of the Communists among themselves. It has intensi- fied the resentment of the people towards the Communists by further alienating the old and disillusioning the young. The armed forces appear no longer to be a unified and effi- cient instrument of the central au- thority. However, the leaders and the cad- res of the Peiping regime, be they Maoists or anti-Maoists, are all ded- icated Communists. They are un- likely to make any basic change of their ideologies and practices, .espe- cially in the economic field, since that would be tantamount to their abandonment and denunciation of communism. That being so, whoever gaining power could not put the country in order. The new appeal by the Mao group for returning to normalcy is seen as a mere temporary device and will not be heeded. Peiping will not be able to conjure the distrustful peas- ants, the unreliable army and the disenchanted Red Guards to toil scorn. In response to the latest pro- nouncement made by President Johnson in his State of the Union message in January, an article in the "People's Daily" of Peiping dated January 24, 1967, shrieked: "Pooh, Johnson, you are daydreaming." As long as there is a Communist regime in China, no matter who are their chieftains, it would never shift its ultimate goal, namely, the com- plete explusion of the United States from Asia and the Pacific. Fortu- nately, the present power struggle among the Communists and the pop- ular uprising generated by this struggle will bring the downfall of Communism and the Communist re- gime in China. What would be the role of the Chinese Government now tempor- arily seated in Taiwan vis-a-vis the mainland turbulence? The Peiping our allie ments w masses w to join 1 China. Since i Governn continue construc aggressi vince a sen's pri the deli the mail China, c local sel plement< larly ani ures ha form of; techniqu program tion. THE G lic o preserve the mar nese pe it to the tunities gain the dertake tion wit ready. In thi turn of i land is a not invi can vis of the Commu forces w the Pei] tation : able ou us to joi ing up I that my to retur] ate. The cided by After land, w ourselve habilita ity will once m through mine t- ciplesbef put befo for the foreign Dr. Sun of our e last 17 We ] portanc reform with a derly in tory to we shal clear re for pea come f and att capital : shall, w render conitri sence t teams i Africa. China cal and zation a In thi pite he] the san that the ilized an tablishe distant Chinese welfare tional 1p United1. the Pac historic Chinese ROMNE Y FOR PRESIDENT By NEIL SHISTER "IAN IS A creature first of God's, then of society's," said George Romney being sworn in as Governor for the first time in 1962, probably before he took the idea of becoming President too seriously. Now five years later, as he finishes up the preliminary heats of his race for the White House, it is a pretty safe bet that he still regards human so- ciety as a kind of temporary thing. George Romney, politician, is a curious mixture: One-third small town salesman with shoeshine and smile, one-third big executive who looks like he's able to come up with hard decisions, and one-third walk- ing messiah ready to give the word at a moment's notice. He wears blue serge suits that look like they came off the rack at Woolworths, one color ties and black shoes with plain toes. But when you look at Romney almost all you see is the glint in his eye. And often the glint in the eye is enough for the way Americans play at politics. Take away the sobriety of the mo- ment, the heated exchanges for the benefit of the TV cameras and the Shakespearian-like battles for hon- or. What remains is a usually smil- ing, pleasantly 'outer-directed' man who hopes (by gosh) that you'll let him lead you with the understand- ing that he won't take you anywhere you really don't want to go. Beneath the buttons and volunteers caught up in an excited world of ribbons and bands and placard signs there is a basic spirit of good-will. NAIVE AND WELL meaning. There are the good guys on our side who just want honest government doing what should be done and there are the bad guys in the other party who will bring everything tumbling down in financial ruin or turn the world over to the Commun- ists or let the poor people starve in the streets. But few believe their campaign talk too much and after the heat of the election has subsid- ed a lot of the good guys and the bad guys get together congenially at the same parties and talk about college football. And the world is none the worse for it. This seems to be the ethic of George Romney. , For Romney, more than anything else, is really an amateur, who plays the game mostly for the fun of it. This is one of the reasons, in fact, why he is so appealing; much of the country is quite tired of the profes- sionals who seem to do nothing to alter the nature of things once they gain office. The amateurs can do all right in the Senate or the statehouse, but they don't make it on Pennsylvania Avenue, e.g. Dwight Eisenhower. Usually the campaign itself de- feats them for the road is too long, the tours too exhausting, the press too scrutinizing to let an amateur run a national race unscathed. When you're running for President you're supposed to have something you intend to do once you get there besides look good. You're supposed to be something of substance. You're supposed to believe in a society of men. Most of the journalists who spent time on the western trip with Rom- ney were aware quite readily of his lack of depth. In Detroit to cover the state G.O.P. convention, a group of national newsmen were waiting for a press conference with Romney and Sen. Charles Percy of Illinois. to begin. Drinking coffee and eating doughnuts in the hotel suite as the cameras were being set up, they talked freely about his tour. "AS LONG AS he was on God and the gospel he was fine,"' said a national correspondent for The Washington Post, "but on real issues, he is really weak. His refusal to talk about Vietnam is almost laughable." A CBS television correspondent' commented that "amazing as it sounds, when Romney and Ronald Reagan are together, Reagan han- dles the 'issue questions' better." Romney, for all his distinctive gla- mour, has little substance behind the steel-grey hair and the granite pro- file. According to one state legislator, who served with him in the State Constitutional Convention where he first made his political name and has watched his subsequent performance as Governor, "Romney lacks a con- sistent philosophy with regards to government. His programs are a sort of hodge-podge of political pragma- tism and he ends up selling out what he said he believed in." Coming to the state convention in 1961 arguing for a plan which would enable the state government to do its job well, he ended up getting swallowed by conservative G.O.P. forces there and repudiated his whole concept of the flexible consti- tution. He voted for a restrictive tax clause which sets a 15 mill limitation on property taxes unless the voters specifically agree to an increase by referendum. He started out advocat- ing an apportionment plan based on population and ended up supporting apportionment based on geographi- cal distribution which over-repre- sented rural districts and conse- quently introduced a conservative prejudice into the government. The (Continued on page 17) again for a regime which will surely turn against them once the crisis is over. Besides, there are many prac- tical difficulties, such as the lack of cash, seeds, tools and animals, etc., that are insurmountable. Spiritually and mentally, the country is already fragmented. The fight among the Maoists, the anti- Maoists and the general public will eventually resume. It will be follow- ed by further deterioration of the economy and the physical fragmen- tation of the mainland. MUCH HOPE has been entertained by the outside world for a change to moderation on the part of the Chinese Communists. In the course of the past year, President Johnson made more than one appeal to Peiping to be sensible. Each time the appeal met with rebuttal and regime came to power by default, thanks to Japan's invasion and the international confusion during the postwar period. My Government which was elected by the people ac- cording to the constitutional proce- dure was forced out of the-main- land by peculiar circumstances. Af- ter suffering 17 years of its lunatic misrule, the Chinese people have ful- ly realized that the existence of the Communist regime is against Chi- na's national interests. The eventual return of the Gov- ernment of the Republic of China is not "empty rhetoric" as some short- sighted foreign observers may think but will be a reality. Our task will not be a purely military campaign. It is mainly a political one. The mil- lions of our compatriots on the mainland now beginning to rise up against the Communist regime are- PAGE SIGHT APRIL '67 THE DAILY. MAGAZINE APRIL '67 THE DAILY MAGAZINE