Students view of China

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32707, 9 September 1971, Page 17

Students view of China

“The average Chinese isi a good Marxist-Leninist who regards his job as being to reform his own country; because of this, he has little desire to [spread his doctrine else- ! where, whether by revolution or other means.”

This view was given to the Christchurch Lions Club by Mr D. F. Caygill, president of the University of Canterbury Students’ Association, who recently visited China as deputy leader of a delegation lof students from New Zealand universities. In support of his opinion, Mr Caygill quoted the Chinese maxim, “Revolution cannot be exported,” and the Chinese view that the success of communism depends on the political situation in individual countries. The Chinese were little concerned with the outside world, of which they had little knowledge, he said; he did not consider that China was helping other countries in revolutions.

“Chinese troops and the Chinese Army are internal, and they certainly don’t look like an army,” Mr Caygill said, adding that one divisions of troops the delegation had seen fan a factory and a farm to make it selfsufficient.

The army was concentrated on defence. Indeed, the whole population was geared to defence, and anybody who tried to make a land invasion of China “would have to be insane.” China had no intention of using her troops outside her borders. The Chinese were very bitter against the United States—the Americans being China’s traditional enemies. “But it is not America that China is most worried about, it is Russia, and, possibly, Japan,” Mr Caygill said. “Quite clearly, China is not aggressive.” Mr Caygill went on to say he believed that China had achieved the ultimate way of life, everybody having been made happy. The Chinese

had tremendous drive and a' spirit of working together for goals which they 'themselves had set. There were small factories everywhere—even attached to schools—to ensure that every person in the community was industrious. The delegation visited three communes, and in one the municipal revolutionary committee —equivalent to a city council—spent one day each week working in the factories so that its members knew their people and did not forget what hard work was like. Mr Caygill said that he had been impressed with the sense of unity in society; this was encouraged by the

Government, which did not want to establish a political and educational elite.

To guarantee against such an elite being formed and to ensure that everybody had an equal opportunity to attend university, students went out to work in the communes after high school. Such a system was worked in some parts of Scandinavia also. Persons were selected for university by their communes. “Some students at the universities have had only primary education,” Mr Caygill said. “We were told that they were there because they were experienced practically and had something to offer other students to help bring them to the level needed in society.” Generally, the level of education in China appeared to be low, but sufficient for the needs of the community. There was plenty of evidence to show that there was no lack of individuality in action and expression among the Chinese, Mr Caygill said. Similarly there was diversity in clothing and hair styles, although within a framework set by themselves. “This is because they’ve got better things to do than to change their style of dress every six months.”