Prisoner in China

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33253, 16 June 1973, Page 10

Prisoner in China

China "Spy." By

George Watt. Johnson.

208 pp.

China now being in the favoured nation group, with politico-economic favours conceded and sought, background information from independent sources should be welcomed. George Watt, an Ulsterman, following upon government employment in West Africa, and afterwards on an engineering project in the Ukraine, subsequently went to Northern China as a constructional engineer with a British firm. In 1967, he became embroiled in the throes of the “Cultural Revolution,” and, on trumped up charges, was alleged to be a spy. As a consequence, he suffered acutely during three years as a prisoner mostly in Peking. Mr Watt’s experiences and observations associated with the turmoil that appears to have been characteristic of the evolution of Communist China can be compared by readers with somewhat more substantial reports now available. One might conclude that Mr Watt was particularly unfortunate in his involvement at' a time when China was clearly in a mess. Fortunately for him and his family he was released, but his appraisal of the situation in China and of the underlying forces at v.'ork will not enhance appreciation of Communist China as a place where overtures from our segment of the world can be expected to be viable or profitable.