Rewi Alley a Communist today—newspaper

Press, 4 January 1988, Page 4

Rewi Alley a Communist today —newspaper

By

TONY VERDON,

in London

The New Zealand-born writer, Rewi Alley, has been described as an unwavering and vocal supporter of the Chinese Communist Party throughout his 60 years residence in China.

But some people found him bossy and domineering, according to an obituary in London’s “Daily Telegraph” newspaper. Alley was described as a “sturdily built bachelor with piercing blue eyes, a striking crop of red hair,” who often wore an embroidered cap like a fez. Although Alley had published many volumes of poetry, he was best known for his prose works which the “Tele-

graph ’ said lauded Communist achievements in China and earned him the gratitutde . of the Peking Government. During China's bitter struggle against Japan from 1937 until 1945, Alley had been a leading figure in the industrial co-operatives, known as the Gung Ho Movement. “His devotion was never in doubt, but many of those involved found him bossy and domineering and some could not work with him at all,” said the newspaper. After the Communists came to power, Alley had lived in the former Italian ambassador’s official residence. “In common with other ‘foreign experts’ Alley

combined communist convictions with enjoyment of a standard of living beyond the reach of most Chinese,” said the "Telegraph.” “He had a substantial residence, a car, a chauffeur and domestic help, spending each summer at Beidaihe, the resort favoured by party leaders, and staying in south China during the winter.” Attempts had been made during the Cultural Revolution to discredit him because of these luxuries. While Alley had been isolated, watched, and forbidden to write, the experience had never weakened his commitment to the Communist Party. When the authorities

began to criticise Mao and the Cultural Revolution during the late 19705, Alley, in common with former sympathisers, had duly trumpeted the new line.

“This gave him an equivocal reputation among the foreign correspondents who flocked to Peking as China began to liberalise after the death of Mao.

“One correspondent described him as a ‘toady’ to whatever faction was in power,” said the newspaper. The “Telegraph” said there was little interest in Alley’s experience of China amid the new taste for revelations about the worker side of life under Communist party rule.