One year later: Spirit of 'Beijing Spring' still lives

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Troops patrolling Beijing on the morning follow ground network was able to conceal even the most prominent student leaders.

Fearing the power of the workers once they began to move, the regime acted swiftly to save itself. But in the wake of the brutal crackdown, the Stalinists' problems have only multiplied. "The foremost task is to insure stability," according to CCP General Secretary Jiang Newly formed workers' organizations came out to support students against bureaucracy. These groups are now banned. Zemin. All available methods have been applied to that end. First and foremost has been direct repression. widespread corruption-particularly in the from the possibility of military attack. claimed to represent over 100,000 workers in Over a thousand were killed in Tiananmen CCP, whose hierarchy controls key eco- Most important, i the workers began to more than 40 industries and sectors in the on June 3-4, thousands more injured. nomic levers. For the workers, the reforms form their own mass organizations, raising country's capital." Thousands more have been detained across have meant the erosion of crucial gains of the specter of a Chinese Solidarnosc. China. According to Amnesty International, the revolution: subsidized prices, guaranteed According to Larry Jagan in the journal New A sharp stick "many arrests were carried out at night by employment, income, and benefits. Politics, "[Wlithin days of being set up on In revulsion at the June 4 massacre the soldiers and security forces, and those deWorkers responded massively to the calls May 19, the Autonomous Federation of movement exploded into the streets of major tained were taken to unknown destinations.' of the students for basic rights and against Beijing Workers boasted a membership of cities across China. Major protests occurred Independent student organizations and the corruption. Thousands organized in Beijing over 3000.... Before the cruel crushing of the in Shanghai, Chengdu, and elsewhere, in- Autonomous Federation of Beijing Workers to support the students and protect them democracy movement, the Federation volving hundreds of thousands. An under- were banned. Workers have been beaten and ers' councils will They massed outside the university and together, students and workers, we marched on the Chinese Embassy.

I spoke to workers and Communist Party hrow the tyrants' members, too. (I had been a member of the CCP.) There was tremendous sympathy for the Chinese people from everyone. They told me that the Chinese student movement had opened their eyes. I was very excited.

The experience of Romania is significant at Liu Bu Kuo. Six youths working in this I went to the student leaders and described for another reason. It showed the Chinese people that workers' councils will be the office saw for themselves what took place. what happened. They did not believe that it principal force in overturning the tyrants in They have all been threatened to keep them was possible for the army to have done this, to have used force against them. I then de- China because they played such an important role in Romania.

S.A.: What were you doing in Tian- scribed what I had seen, that the army was using machine guns and automatic weapons. S.A.: What will it take to have a Cai Chung-Guo: I had come to Beijing "If you don't leave, they will slaughter Romanian-like upsurge in China? from Wuhan along with 10,000 other stu- everyone." Most of the students did not want Cai Chung-Guo: You have to underdents. I was one of the leaders of the Student to leave the Square and reluctantly did so. stand that the fall of the Chinese government Union at the University of Wuhan. We came S.A.: What about the workers? depends not only on the dissatisfaction of the to Beijing May 19 and lived at Beijing Cai Chung-Guo: The workers stayed. people but on the weakening of the Chinese University through the events of June 4. There were 20 main leaders of the workers in government as well. Deng Xiaoping's death The students discussed and worked among Tiananmen. Most of them were killed in the may prove to be a great opportunity. themselves. On the morning of June 4 we workers' camp during the massacre in the A friend in Beijing told me: "Even the began discussions with the Autonomous young police are saying to each other: 'Wait Federation of Workers. I spent a lot of time until the old Deng group dies."" Certainly, with them listening to their speeches and S.A.: What impact did there will be huge divisions within the upheavals in Eastern Europe Communist Party once the old guard dies.

I was the first witness to describe the mas- Chinese workers and students?

People are waiting for this moment and feel sacre. The massacre began at Mu Xhi Di and Cai Chung-Guo: The events of it will come soon. There is anger, exspread to Xi Dan and then to Tiananmen Romania gave new hope to them. Dazibao Young people of China will not forget. pectancy, restlessness and growing hope.

Square. Twenty people were killed between [wall posters) are springing up again, despite Mu Xhi Di and Xi Dan from 11 p.m. to the tremendous fear of government repres- S.A.: What type of society do you want midnight June 3. sion. Acts of resistance are everywhere. This I gave a talk at the University in to see come into place following a victoriI urged the workers from the Union to is the result of the courage demonstrated by Bucharest. I told them about the develop- ous anti-bureaucratic revolution? leave Tiananmen Square, but they refused. the Romanian people in particular. ment of the student movement and the role Cai Chung-Guo: I don't want capitalThey said: "If we leave what will happen to The events in Romania are very important of our workers. I said that the Eastern ism. I hate dictatorship, but people think the students." They asked me to go to the for the Chinese. I traveled to Romania earlier European students and workers should sup- that communist dictatorship is bad and capiCentral Bureau of Tiananmen Square and tell this year; it was very exciting. Young men, port us and we should coordinate our strug- talism is good. They don't understand. the leaders of the students there that the army women, old people all embraced me, crying, gles. All the students stood and applauded Since 1979 capitalism has been introduced had begun to kill students. This was at 1 calling out to me: "Tiananmen, Tiananmen.' after my speech. They shouted: "Action, into China more and more. Workers want social justice, democracy, and freedom.

TION JUNE 199| lae Ceauber, signs earn from 1 the mass ;, Chinese illance of lebrations. vernment police, and Ibat readiirackdown ements at 1989, the icise their eral of Hu e Chinese as widely use of his persecuted ler represthe reform ligent and pendently. ess and for h implied roups. leadership is a mortal efiance of hem. The ›pened the e workers ing Zemin and News ticize ourTiananmen ent in the it here togains ot only by out also by • After the rity, Deng market resmall enet mechaecial ecoped where igh growth inflation, yment, and a peasant i university 'overnment members of quiet. 'CCP) who during the anmen Square?

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Square.

Tiananmen it truly was the recent hinese gov- declarations. have on the troops into ere had not Chang An uilding. The were all arTany, many aid to speak them and warned to y be asked irty (CCP) g the events a.m. on June 4. I cried. the pi porari sharp. reduc Peter Turnley it was rose sweet As belt-t for 1! millic millic more Thi 80 m monti poure prote porte have count Thi Ta the L tion. in Ti follo mont and 1 SO: exper Ta Squa a.m. the S brou Boul bodie brout Re arour near firing they: could fight the a sprea the as Th the S gathe them peopl the I Action." streel

Scan page 12

Troops patrolling Beijing on the morning following the massacre. cers in in the Ie the major curred re, inunderground network was able to conceal even the most prominent student leaders.

Fearing the power of the workers once they began to move, the regime acted swiftly to save itself. But in the wake of the brutal crackdown, the Stalinists' problems have only multiplied.

"The foremost task is to insure stability," according to CCP General Secretary Jiang Zemin. All available methods have been applied to that end. First and foremost has been direct repression.

Over a thousand were killed in Tiananmen on June 3-4, thousands more injured. Thousands more have been detained across China. According to Amnesty International, "many arrests were carried out at night by soldiers and security forces, and those detained were taken to unknown destinations."

Independent student organizations and the Autonomous Federation of Beijing Workers were banned. Workers have been beaten and tortured, many in the Workers' Palace of Culture in Beijing.

While 784 detainees have been released since January to improve the regime's image, as many as 30,000 more, according to Asia Watch, remain captured. How many of the disappeared have perished in summary executions is unknown.

... and a few carrots Brute repression, however, will not solve root problems. In order to stabilize and win the people back, the Stalinists have temporarily slowed the economic reforms. With sharply tightened credit, inflation has been reduced to 6%, although last year as a whole it was still 17.8%. Wages, meanwhile, only rose 11.6%, so the carrot has not been so sweet as the stick is sharp A severe contraction has accompanied this belt-tightening. Growth was down to 3.9% for 1989, from 11.2% in 1988. More than 4 million local enterprises have closed, and 15 million have lost their jobs, with millions more underemployed.

There are now an estimated 60 million to 80 million floating workers in China; in one month this year, 1 million migrant workers poured into Guangdong alone. Sporadic protests of the unemployed have been reported, and an estimated 500,000 workers have applied to protest in 30 cities across the country. The applications have been denied.

The Stalinists have tried to modulate their attacks on workers to prevent an explosion of discontent. For example, in an apparent concession, two-tier pricing will be curbed. Many items have a low subsidized price for goods produced under the plan, and a higher market price for surplus production over planned quotas.

This was seen by the bureaucracy as a key reform because it gave an incentive to produce over plan, but was resented by workers because of high prices. Now the two-tier system will be phased out, with the fixed prices being raised gradually instead.

The stability of the regime will also depend on the situation in the countryside. A good harvest this year brought a respite for the regime.

Realizing the dangers of the reform measures, the government made sure that fewer peasants were paid in IOUs for their quotas and that investment in agriculture increased. The policy of the "rich areas leading the poor" has been revised. Larger subsidies are going to the more backward areas, especially in light of the national movements in Tibet and in Muslim areas of Xinjiang province.

Economic program at impasse But the long-term problems remain. Industry is stagnating. Inequality is increasing. Public works, including irrigation, have deteriorated since the inauguration of the "household responsibility" system. Land is being degraded. Increased food production can't keep pace with population growth, while repressive family-planning measures are extremely unpopular.

The Stalinist bureaucracy's economic program is at an impasse. None of its measures address the fundamental questions. While market measures can raise technique and lift productivity, they lead to overall disorganization, subordination to imperialist-controlled markets-and growing worker discontent.

But reinforcing the state sector preserves the most bureaucratized industries. The state sector is flat. Output rose by 3.7% in 1989, compared with 24.1% in the private sector. Inefficiency, waste, and corruption are endemic to this sector. Alienated from the regime and having no tangible incentives, workers are not motivated.

What lies ahead Without democratic forms of workers' control at both the producing and consuming ends of a plan—which the bureaucracy is incapable of instituting—stagnation will be the long-term result.

The unfolding political revolution in Eastern Europe, especially the overthrow of Ceausescu, has made it clear that repressive Stalinism is crumbling.

But the ruling Stalinists in China are not without powerful friends. The best friend of the Chinese bureaucracy has been their imperialist business partners. Through secret meetings behind the backs of the peoples of China and the United States, the Bush administration has maintained close ties with the Stalinists. Despite all the crocodile tears, the Bush administration has continued China's "most favored nation" trading status.

The U.S. ruling rich are concerned above all with their investments and the strategic significance of China. They find that the Stalinists provide the best foothold today for capitalism. For their part, Deng and Co. seek out allies against the workers and hope for support from the imperialists.

In the short term, the Deng leadership is holding the fort with a "hard Stalinist" position. A key Feb. 8 editorial in the CCP press reaffirmed their stance against political (not economic) reform, saying that without strong CP leadership "there would be turmoil and warfare ... and the nation would be split."

It is this question of civil war and the threat of an independent workers' mobilization that has the party reformers temporarily in abeyance.

But when pressure rebuilds, the reform wing will undoubtedly resurface. The honeymoon period of Chinese economic reform is over, and political concessions will eventually be readied to appease workers' anger at austerity and the chaos of the market. A portion of the CCP will see it as being a matter of survival to offer these concessions.

In any democratic opening, the question of the workers' own organizations will undoubtedly be posed again. The social and political power of the workers, first glimpsed in Tiananmen last May and June, will flourish anew and raise the possibility of advancing toward genuine socialist democracy.

But to achieve this goal, Chinese workers and students will need to create a political party that draws all the lessons of the Tiananmen events. Such a party will have to be particularly clear on the anti-worker character of the reform wing of the bureaucracy, which is even more enthusiastic about reforms than Deng, the original architect of the program.

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pirit of till lives

250 г David Turnley