‘The Middle Ages with missiles’

Press, 19 December 1989, Page 11

‘The Middle Ages with missiles’

Tonight in “The Great Wall of Iron: The Middle Ages with Missiles” (8.30 on Three), Philip Sherry investigates the great paradox that is modern China — the country where you can train to be an astronaut while living in a house without running water. The episode opens with a crack anti-terrorist squad attack on a building housing kidnappers. The squad claims to work as a counter-terrorist force, but the truth is more chilling — they are used against internal dissidents. This modern display is then countered with a look at the ordinary streets of China. Modernisation is the current government catch cry; ironically the People’s Liberation Army is one of the institutions most in need of it.

As seen in archival footage, the last time the P.L.A. fought as a unit was in 1979 when Vietnamese forces killed 26,000 Chinese over a 16-

day period. The P.L.A. was hopelessly inadequate, as confirmed by interviews with Vietnam War veterans. We watch the Co'mman-der-in-Chief of the Army proudly review a parade of military might in Peking, but the hardware is antiquated. At an airforce base we see the fighters take off. There are more than 5000 of them but they cannot fly at night, have no radar, and can be grounded by rain. Technology has stagnated and pilot-training methods are often as bizarre as they are primitive. In other unique ways, the P.L.A. is ahead of the game. At a Defence Fair we see the Chinese selling their arms to eager buyers. By using the bld principle of “reverse engineering” the P.L.A. copies other people’s high-tech weapons and sells the copies to Third World countries at bargain prices.