Evening star., 1954-11-17
From Inside chinu
Peiping Cooxes, Not Forces,
Peasants to Grow More Food

II his village is persuaded to
form q cooperative. he still owns
his land but gets q share Of the
cooperative profits as well as
contributing to its efforts. There /
are oficially said to be 100. 900
such co-operatives III existence.
The last stage Is collectiviza-
tion. So far only state farms set |
the example and they are frankly
experimental.
"You cannot force the peas
ants without risking productivity
and you cannot risk the rice crop
for the sake. of politics." Is the
official attitude. So progress is
slow.
Taxes Cause Discomfort.
Hasty assessments were made
at the time of land reform by in
experienced Communist cadres
SO that taxes are often a cause
Of discomfort. Some peasants find
too great a difference between
the prices paid for their crops
and the cost Of essential articles.
Before it introduced controls, |
Peiping dispatched circuit
courts" which tour the country
side and dealt out rough and
ready justice. Where genuine
complaints were heard, the peas
ant obtained redress and the
courts which met in the village
square took the opportunity to
lecture assembled spectators on
government policy.
These touring courts act both |
In civil and criminal cases.
There are 1000 such courts
and they fulfil the main task of |
China's judiciary in a period
when there is no written law. |
That main task in the words Of |
the party is ito strengthen and
employ the judiciary weapon to
further consolidate the peoples |
d m ocratic dictatorship and
make smooth the paths towards |
a socialist society"
During Indian Prime Minister |
Nehru's visit here it was instruc-
tive to watch reactions among |
his party to this approach to a
problem India also shares. India |
is progressively losing the battle |
to maintain even the wretched |
standards Of living now avail |
able.
Matter Of Principle.
Some or Nehru's party pointed |
out China was at least produc- |
ing more food than ever before |
and that in time her state-con-
trolled farmland would yield |
enough to keep, according to her |
Communist leaders, double the
present population in comfort.
Nehru was angry at Sugges-
tions he might adopt similar |
methods. He said in effect Its
a matter of principle. If we are
losing ground, that still doesn't
justify any interference with
individual freedom"
But an Indian journalist
pointed out "if China were not
getting more food this way. |
India and her neighbors would
have to worry about the expan-
sion of China's population into
other territory"
Producing More Food.
Basic to such arguments, OF
course, is whether in fact China
does extract more food today |
than ever before.
On paper the answer is styes."
It probably is so. anyway. The
agricultural minister Is a blunt
man and he says I'VE have to
proceed slowly and we have to
prove by example that each new
stage in our devele oment does
produce better results. There's
a lot of resistance now to the
co-operatives from peasants who
can earn more by staying out
side them. Meanwhile nothing
must interfere with the steady
rise in food production.
1t is almost impossible for an
observer to guess at the truth.
In some areas there are local
shortages of food. The overall
picture seems bright. Chinese
food products are exported in
exchange for East European and
Russian farm tools. The Chinese
are starting to make some of
their own farm implements and
chemical fertilizers. It appears
unlikely the country is going to
burst at the seams yet.
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Tomorrow: Fantastic land
makes hero of boy who killed