War Scare

China is in the throes of massive war preparation. Under the banner "Prepare for war and natural disaster," Chairman Mao Tse-tung has ordered hundreds of thousands of city dwellers to be shipped off to the countryside as part of the Shu-san (literally, "to disperse") movement. For months, the Chinese have been dismantling and dispersing factories, digging bomb shelters and trenches and stockpiling food.

The Peking government recently imposed a 20% to 24% "war preparation" tax on peasants' crops, in addition to the 16% to 18% the state normally takes. In towns in Kwangtung and Fukien provinces, long lines of refugees have been seen clutching baskets and bags containing such items as mosquito netting, washbasins and cooking utensils. They are heading for resettlement in the countryside.

The timing of such feverish activity seems strange. After months of border skirmishes, the Chinese and Russians five weeks ago sat down to talks in Peking. Though the talks are believed to be stalemated, there have been no reports of renewed tension along the border. One explanation for the war preparations is that the Chinese, who seem genuinely afraid of Soviet military power, suspect that the Russians might seize on a breakdown in the talks as a pretext for launching a military strike against China. A war scare also serves Mao's domestic interests. Though 15 months ago he called an official halt to the disruptive Cultural Revolution that had brought the country to the verge of civil war, China remains wracked by internal dissension and severe economic troubles. Mao undoubtedly hopes that China's xenophobic feelings about the Russians will serve as a unifying force in the country. He is also using the war scare as justification for one of his favorite and most controversial policies: to toughen the "pampered lords and ladies" of the cities by sending them to rural areas, where they will be put to work on farms and in local factories.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.