Chinese betting urge condemned

Press, 12 July 1984, Page 28

Chinese betting urge condemned

NZPA-AFP Peking Gambling, which was banned when the Communists took over in 1949, is still wreaking havoc in China, says the “People’s Daily.” The Communist Party organ said that gambling should be “absolutely banned” because it “poisons the social atmosphere, inciting crime and affecting production and social order.” The commentary followed reports of two cases involving inveterate gamblers. In one case, a building worker, Li Xingjie, was executed last year for killing his wife, who wanted a divorce because he gambled away his earnings. When the Judge asked why he left his wife’s body under the bed for several days after he killed her, he

responded, “I went immediately to the gambling table, and once there I was enjoying myself so much that I forgot (about her) for two days.” In another case, a peasant, Deng Kai’an, committed suicide last year to flee his creditors. He had lost more than 1000 yuan ($1756) gambling. The average peasant’s annual income is about 300 yuan ($236). Gambling remains a national passion in China in spite of the watchful eye of the authorities. The games take several diverse forms, including the traditional Mah Jong which reappeared after the Cultural Revolution, poker, dominoes, and the most elementary form : — betting, anywhere on ■ anything.