ROUND THE WEEK · Crowds happily marched past the review- ing stand, cheering and waving flags. ......
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ROUND THE WEEK National Day Echoes Echoes of the 10th anniversary cele- bration are still reverberating through- out the land. What with so many things going on in so many places at once and the pressure of holiday deadlines it was imp,~ssible to cover everything. This week we would like to fill in the pic- ture of the greatest celebration in the history of New China. The three-da:¢ holiday (October 1-3), plus a Sunday on the 4th, made quite a stretch for t!-e festival. The people took part in the parade.~ and festivities, went to the thea- tres which were offering their best, visited the exhibitions, spent time with f~.mily and friends, and, of course, feasted. In Peking, despite unwelcome showers, more than a million and a half citizens thronged spacious Tien An Men Square, danced and made merry under the cl?ar October night sky illuminated by fas- cinating fireworks, till the wee hours of the morning. On Peking's many stages, memorable performances were given ranging from the traditional Peking opera, Kwangtung, Szeehuan, Shaohsing and other local operas to modern stage plays. Themes ranged from tales of the Hen dynasty lo the big leap forward of to,clay. The world- famous Bolshoi of the Soviet Union added colour to the festival with its rich series of performances and Ci~ina's No. 1 Peking opera artist Met Lan-fang gave a memorable portrayal of Mu Kuei-ying, the famous maiden warrior or Sung times. On the evening of October 3, the Minis- try of Culture presented a grand variety show in honour of the guests from many countries who had come to Peking to greet the Chinese people. Thirty-five art groups from various parts of the country and more than 2.500 performers took part in the gala performance. Chairman Mao Tse-tung, Chairman Liu Shao-chi, Chairman N. S. Khrushchov, and the many honoured guests, came to see the performance. The varied programme in- cluded a 540-voice chorus rendering The East Is Red and other songs; a 300-piece orchestra presenting the famous Chinese composition The Spring Festival Overture and Beethoven's Egmont Overture, and a selection from the Chinese dance-drama The Magic Lotus Lantern. The audience enthusiastically greeted the action-packed Peking opera selection from Uproar in the Dragon King's Palace in which the famous Monkey Sun Wu-kung heads an army of hundreds of jumping and somer- saulting monkeys storming the Dragon King's palace fathoms below the sea. But the Generals' Chorus~an amateur group--stole the show. 230 generals from, the lhree services of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, most of them veterans of the Long March and the early days of the revolution, sang the songs that were popular among the rank-and-file soldiers of the people's army during the Second I~ewJlutionary Civil War and the War of Resist, hnce to Japan. Throughout China there were parades on National Day. With charts of pro- duction figures and displays of products on floats, the people cheered their achieve- ments in the first decade of the People's Republic and demonstrated their deter- mination to continue the })if leap. The floats, charts, and sample products in every city eloquently spelt out the story of the tremendous change that has taken place in China during the past ten years. Shanghai is as good an example as any. Gone are the days when it was a paradise for the imperialist adventurers and one of the notorious badspots of the East. In ten years it has become a clean city and one of the major industrial bases of New China. 600,000 people marched past Shanghai's People's Square in its Na- tional Day parade. The models of their new achievements included a 25,000- kilowatt steam turbine generator, a 5,000- ton steamer, precision grinding machines which can work to a tolerance of 1/63 of a hair, high-quality nylons and plastics and other products of light industry that have given the city international fame. In the north China port city Tientsin, a huge float in the parade depicted a giant carp leaping over the dragon gate --a traditional symbol for great prosper- ity-with a worker riding the carp and holding a red flag inscribed with golden characters proclaiming: "Industrial Out- put Increased 13-fold in Ten Years." This is Tientsin's story in a nutshell. In Wuhan, the triple-city on the Yang- tse, the paraders happily reported that on the eve of National Day Wuhan's new iron and steel works had produced the first heat of steel from its first open- hearth :furnace and that its No. 1 and No. 2 blast furnaces broke records in the daily output of iron. The triple-city is well on its way to becoming a new giant steel base. The same spirit prevailed throughout the countryside. In towns and villages, the peasants, with unbidden pride, dis- played samples of their harvest and the advantages brought them by the first year of the people's communes. The Chinese peasants increased the value of agricultural output by 150 per cent in the past ten years. The nightmarish decades of importing rice, wheat and cotton before liberation had finally been brought to an end. Today China's total grain output st'~nds first in the world and its cotton output ranks second. In Heilu~gkiang, China's northernmost prov- ince, for inslance, the people hailed the transformation of the "Great Northern Wastelands" into a granary of the north. The peasants of Yunnan Province in the south paraded in the streets of Nunmin,I, the city of eternal spring, celebrating the upping of the province's total food grain output by 150 per ccnl in ten years. Among the gayest celebrants all over the country were the people of China's many national minorities. In Kwangsi, Sinkiang, Inner Mongolia, Ninghsia, Chinghai and other regions where the national minorities live, the minority peoples joined the festivities in large numbers. They sang and danced in their coiourful national costumes to celebrate the good life that the People's Republic had brought them. In Lhasa 30,000 people turned out on the square before the Polala to greet the tenth birthday o1" the People's Republic. Crowds happily marched past the review- ing stand, cheering and waving flags. National Minorities Get Together While their fellow Tibetans were rejoicing in Lhasa, Panchen Erdeni, Acting Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for the Autonomous Region of Tibet, and the two Vice-Chairmen of the Committee, Living Buddha Pebala Choliehnamje and Ngapo Ngawang- Jigme, were participating in the jubilee celebrations in the capital. On October 3, they attended the banquet given by Vice-Premiers Ho Lung1 and Ulanfu in honour of tile more lhan 1,100 representatives of over 50 national minorities in China who had come to Peking to attend the celebrations. Speaking at the banquet Vice-Premier Ho Lung said that during the past ten years great progress had been made by the nationalities, Estab- lishing regional autonomy and th:. ~ organs of national autonomy in the areas where the national minorities live in compact communities has basically been completed. Equality has also been fully ensured for those national minori- ties in areas where many nationalities lived together and for those minority peoples who are scattered in other regions. In the areas inhabited by the national minorities, democratic reforms and the socialist transformation have been completed and in most areas people's communes have been organized. The Tibetan people, too, under the guidance of the Communist Party, are vigorously carrying out the campaign of 4 Peking Review
Transcript of ROUND THE WEEK · Crowds happily marched past the review- ing stand, cheering and waving flags. ......
ROUND THE WEEK
National Day Echoes Echoes of the 10th a n n i v e r s a r y cele-
b ra t ion a r e s t i l l r e v e r b e r a t i n g t h r o u g h - out the land. W h a t w i t h so m a n y th ings going on in so m a n y places at once and the p r e s su re of ho l iday dead l ines it was imp,~ssible to cover eve ry th ing . Th i s week we would l ike to fill in t he pic- tu re of the g rea tes t ce lebra t ion in the h i s to ry of New China . The three-da:¢ hol iday (October 1-3), plus a S u n d a y on the 4th, m a d e qui te a s t r e t c h for t!-e fest ival . The people took pa r t in the parade.~ and festivit ies, w e n t to the t h e a - t res wh ich were o f f e r ing t he i r best , v is i ted the exhib i t ions , spen t t ime w i t h f~.mily and f r iends , and, of course, feas ted.
In Peking, despi te u n w e l c o m e showers , more t h a n a mil l ion and a ha l f c i t izens th ronged spacious Tien An Men Squa re , danced and m a d e m e r r y u n d e r the c l ?a r Oc tober n igh t sky i l l umina t ed by fas- c ina t ing f i reworks , till t he wee hou r s of the morn ing .
On Pek ing ' s m a n y stages, m e m o r a b l e p e r f o r m a n c e s were g iven r a n g i n g f r o m the t r ad i t i ona l Pek ing opera, K w a n g t u n g , Szeehuan , Shaohs ing and o the r local operas to m o d e r n s tage plays. T h e m e s ranged f rom ta les of the Hen d y n a s t y lo the big leap f o r w a r d of to, clay. The w o r l d - famous Bolshoi of the Sovie t U n i o n added colour to the fes t iva l w i t h its r ich ser ies of pe r fo rmances and Ci~ina's No. 1 Pek ing opera a r t i s t Met L a n - f a n g gave a m e m o r a b l e po r t r aya l of Mu Kuei -y ing , the famous ma iden w a r r i o r or Sung t imes.
On the even ing of Oc tobe r 3, the Min i s - t ry of Cu l tu re p r e s e n t e d a g r a n d va r i e ty show in h o n o u r of the guests f rom m a n y count r ies who had come to P e k i n g to g ree t the Chinese people. T h i r t y - f i v e a r t g roups f rom var ious par t s of the c o u n t r y and more t h a n 2.500 p e r f o r m e r s took p a r t in the gala pe r fo rmance .
C h a i r m a n Mao Tse- tung , C h a i r m a n Liu Shao-chi , C h a i r m a n N. S. Khrushchov , a n d the m a n y honoured guests, came to see t he pe r fo rmance . The va r i ed p r o g r a m m e in- c luded a 540-voice chorus r e n d e r i n g The East Is Red a n d o the r songs; a 300-piece o rches t ra p r e s e n t i n g t h e famous Ch inese composi t ion The Spring Festival Overture and Bee thoven ' s Egmont Overture, a n d a select ion f rom the Ch inese d a n c e - d r a m a The Magic Lotus Lantern. The a u d i e n c e en thus ia s t i ca l ly gree ted the ac t i on -packed P e k i n g opera se lect ion f rom Uproar in the Dragon King's Palace in w h i c h the famous M o n k e y S u n W u - k u n g heads a n a r m y of h u n d r e d s of j u m p i n g and s o m e r - s au l t i ng m o n k e y s s t o r m i n g the D r a g o n King ' s pa lace f a t h o m s be low the sea. Bu t the G e n e r a l s ' C h o r u s ~ a n a m a t e u r
g r o u p - - s t o l e the show. 230 gene ra l s from, the lh ree se rv ices of the Ch inese People ' s L i b e r a t i o n A r m y , mos t of t h e m v e t e r a n s of the Long M a r c h a n d t he ea r ly days of the revo lu t ion , s ang the songs t h a t w e r e p o p u l a r a m o n g the r a n k - a n d - f i l e soldiers of the people ' s a r m y d u r i n g the Second I~ewJlut ionary Civi l W a r and the W a r of Resist, hnce to J a p a n .
T h r o u g h o u t C h i n a t h e r e we re p a r a d e s on N a t i o n a l Day. W i t h cha r t s of pro- duc t ion f igures and d i sp lays of p roduc t s on floats, t he people chee r ed t he i r a ch i eve - m e n t s in the f i r s t d e c a d e of the Peop le ' s Repub l i c a n d d e m o n s t r a t e d t he i r d e t e r - m i n a t i o n to c o n t i n u e the })if leap. The floats, char t s , and s a m p l e p roduc t s in e v e r y ci ty e l o q u e n t l y spe l t ou t t he s to ry of the t r e m e n d o u s c h a n g e t h a t ha s t a k e n place in C h i n a d u r i n g the pas t t en years . S h a n g h a i is as good a n e x a m p l e as any. G o n e a re the days w h e n it was a p a r a d i s e for the imper i a l i s t a d v e n t u r e r s a n d one of the no to r ious badspo t s of the East . In ten yea r s it has b e c o m e a c lean c i ty a n d one of t he m a j o r i n d u s t r i a l bases of New China. 600,000 people m a r c h e d pas t S h a n g h a i ' s People ' s S q u a r e in i ts Na- t iona l Day parade . The mode l s of t h e i r new a c h i e v e m e n t s i nc luded a 25,000- k i l o w a t t s t e a m t u r b i n e gene ra to r , a 5,000- ton s t eamer , p rec i s ion g r ind ing m a c h i n e s w h i c h can w o r k to a to l e rance of 1/63 of a ha i r , h i g h - q u a l i t y ny lons and p las t ics and o t h e r p roduc t s of l igh t i n d u s t r y t h a t h a v e g iven the c i ty i n t e r n a t i o n a l fame.
In t h e n o r t h C h i n a po r t c i ty Tientsin, a huge f loa t in the p a r a d e dep ic ted a g ian t c a rp l eap ing ove r the d r a g o n gate - - a t r a d i t i o n a l symbo l for g r ea t p ro spe r - i t y - w i t h a w o r k e r r i d i n g the c a r p and ho ld ing a red f lag i n sc r ibed w i t h go lden c h a r a c t e r s p r o c l a i m i n g : " I n d u s t r i a l Ou t - pu t I n c r e a s e d 13-fold in Ten Years . " This is T ien t s in ' s s to ry in a nu t she l l . In W u h a n , t h e t r ip l e -c i ty on t he Yang- tse, the p a r a d e r s happ i l y r epo r t ed t h a t on the eve of N a t i o n a l Day W u h a n ' s n e w i ron a n d steel w o r k s had p roduced the f i r s t h e a t of s teel f r o m its f i r s t open- h e a r t h :furnace a n d t h a t i ts No. 1 a n d No. 2 b l a s t f u rnaces b r o k e records in the da i ly output of i ron. The t r ip l e -c i ty is wel l on i ts way to b e c o m i n g a n e w g ian t s teel base.
The s a m e sp i r i t p r e v a i l e d t h r o u g h o u t the count rys ide . In t o w n s a n d vi l lages , the peasan t s , w i t h u n b i d d e n pride, d is - p layed s amp le s of t h e i r h a r v e s t a n d t he a d v a n t a g e s b r o u g h t t h e m by t he f i r s t y e a r of the people ' s c o m m u n e s . The Ch inese p e a s a n t s i n c r e a s e d t h e v a l u e of a g r i c u l t u r a l o u t p u t by 150 p e r c en t in t h e p a s t t en years . The n i g h t m a r i s h
decades of i m p o r t i n g rice, w h e a t and cot ton before l i b e r a t i o n had f ina l ly been b r o u g h t to an end. Today C h i n a ' s to ta l g r a in o u t p u t st '~nds f i rs t in t he wor ld and i ts co t ton o u t p u t r a n k s second. In He i lu~gk iang , Ch ina ' s n o r t h e r n m o s t p rov- ince, for ins lance , the people ha i led the t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of the " G r e a t N o r t h e r n W a s t e l a n d s " into a g r a n a r y of the nor th . T h e p e a s a n t s of Y u n n a n P r o v i n c e in the sou th p a r a d e d in the s t ree t s of Nunmin , I , t he c i ty of e t e r n a l spr ing, c e l eb ra t i ng t h e u p p i n g of the p r o v i n c e ' s total food g ra in o u t p u t by 150 p e r ccn l in ten years .
A m o n g t he gayes t c e l e b r a n t s a l l ove r t he c o u n t r y w e r e t he people of C h i n a ' s m a n y n a t i o n a l minor i t i e s . In K w a n g s i , S ink iang , I n n e r Mongol ia , N inghs ia , C h i n g h a i and o t h e r regions w h e r e the n a t i o n a l m i n o r i t i e s live, the m i n o r i t y peoples jo ined the fes t iv i t ies in large n u m b e r s . They s ang a n d d a n c e d in t h e i r co iourfu l n a t i o n a l c o s t u m e s to c e l e b r a t e the good l i fe t h a t t he Peop le ' s Repub l i c h a d b r o u g h t them. In L h a s a 30,000 people turned out on t he s q u a r e be fo re t he P o l a l a to g ree t t he t e n t h b i r t h d a y o1" t he People ' s Republ ic . C r o w d s happ i ly m a r c h e d pas t the r e v i e w - ing s t and , c h e e r i n g and w a v i n g flags.
National Minorities Get Together W h i l e t h e i r fe l low T i b e t a n s we re
re jo ic ing in Lhasa , P a n c h e n Erden i , A c t i n g C h a i r m a n of t he P r e p a r a t o r y C o m m i t t e e for the A u t o n o m o u s Region of Tibe t , and the two V i c e - C h a i r m e n of t he Commi t t ee , L iv ing B u d d h a P e b a l a C h o l i e h n a m j e and Ngapo N g a w a n g - J igme, w e r e p a r t i c i p a t i n g in the jub i l ee c e l eb ra t i ons in t he capi ta l .
On Oc tober 3, t hey a t t e n d e d the b a n q u e t g iven by V i c e - P r e m i e r s Ho Lung1 and U l a n f u in h o n o u r of tile m o r e l h a n 1,100 r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of ove r 50 n a t i o n a l m i n o r i t i e s in C h i n a who had come to P e k i n g to a t t e n d the ce lebra t ions .
S p e a k i n g a t the b a n q u e t V i c e - P r e m i e r Ho L u n g said t h a t d u r i n g the pas t t en yea r s g r e a t p rog res s had been m a d e by the na t iona l i t i e s , Es tab - l i sh ing reg iona l a u t o n o m y a n d th:. ~ o r g a n s of n a t i o n a l a u t o n o m y in t he a r ea s w h e r e t he n a t i o n a l m i n o r i t i e s l ive in compac t c o m m u n i t i e s ha s bas ica l ly been comple ted . E q u a l i t y ha s also been ful ly e n s u r e d for those na t i ona l m i n o r i - t ies in a reas w h e r e m a n y n a t i o n a l i t i e s l ived t o g e t h e r a n d for those m i n o r i t y peoples who a re s ca t t e r ed in o the r regions. In the a r e a s i n h a b i t e d by the n a t i o n a l minor i t i e s , d e m o c r a t i c r e fo rms and t he social is t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n h a v e been comple t ed a n d in m o s t a reas people ' s c o m m u n e s h a v e been organized . The T i b e t a n people, too, u n d e r the g u i d a n c e of t he C o m m u n i s t Pa r ty , a re v igo rous ly c a r r y i n g ou t the c a m p a i g n of
4 Pek ing Rev iew
d e m o c r a t i c re forms . In the n a t i o n a l minor i ty a r e a s t r e m e n d o u s p rog res s h a d been m a d e in the economic a n d c u l t u r a l f ields and t he l i fe of t he people ha s improved immense ly . " O u r m o t h e r - land," Ho Lung said, "has b e c o m e a g rea t fami ly of soc ia l i sm in w h i c h all na t iona l i t i e s a r e on an e q u a l foot ing, a re uni ted, co-opera t ive a n d f r iendly , and work for t he c o m m o n p rospe r i t y . "
Th e V i c e - P r e m i e r po in ted out t h a t the c o m m o n t a sk facing all the n a t i o n a l i t i e s today is to bui ld C h i n a in to a s t rong social is t coun t ry w i t h m o d e r n indus t ry , m o d e r n a g r i c u l t u r e a n d m o d e m sc ience an d cu l tu re w i t h i n f i f teen, t w e n t y yea r s or more, in acco rdance w i t h the P a r t y ' s gene ra l l ine for bu i l d ing social ism, and he cal led on t he n a t i o n a l m i n o r i t y peoples to w o r k to fulf i l t h e g rea t task.
P a n c h e n Erdeni , in his speech, sa id t h a t t h a n k s to t he policy of the Com- m u n i s t P a r t y on t h e n a t i o n a l ques t ion an d the he lp g iven by t he H a n b ro the r s , t h e n a t i o n a l mino r i t i e s h a v e m a d e g rea t a c h i e v e m e n t s in d e m o c r a t i c r e f o r m s a n d social is t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n d u r i n g t h e pas t t en years, and as a r e s u l t t he p r o d u c t i v e forces in the m i n o r i t y a r ea s had b e e n freed. T h e T i b e t a n people w e r e m a r c h i n g a long b rave ly , closely b e h i n d t h e o t h e r b r o t h e r na t iona l i t i e s , a n d no r eac t i ona ry forces could s top t h e i r f o r w a r d march . He po in t ed ou t t h a t fo l lowing t h e de fea t of t h e c o u n t e r - r e v o l u t i o n a r y a r m e d r ebe l l i on of t h e r e ac t i on a ry c l ique of the u p p e r social s t r a t a " t he T i b e t a n people l a u n c h e d a v igorous c a m p a i g n of d e m o c r a t i c re form. Af te r speedi ly w ip ing out t he oppress ion a nd exp lo i t a t ion of the f euda l s lave sys tem, the T i b e t a n people, eccles ias t ic an d secular , wil l e m b a r k on the road of bu i ld ing socia l ism and wi l l comple t e ly f r ee t h e m s e l v e s f r o m s u f f e r i n g a n d p o v e r t y and m a r c h on the b r o a d a n d happy road of socia l i sm and c o m m u n i s m wh ich will give h a p p i n e s s to all. T h e asp i ra t ions of ' d e l i ve r i ng al l be ings ' as p resc r ibed by B u d d h i s t t e a c h i n g s wi l l thus be g r adua l l y real ized."
Economy Reaches Hew High Meanwhi l e , as the f ina l q u a r t e r opens,
t h e na t ion ' s economic s i tua t ion is b e t t e r
t h a n ever. Th e ou t s t and ing f e a t u r e o n t he in -
dus t r i a l f ron t has been a l l - r o u n d r ap id
g r o w t h eve r s ince the C e n t r a l Com- m i t t e e of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y issued the cal l for f u r t h e r d e v e l o p m e n t of the c a m p a i g n to i nc rease p r o d u c t i o n and p rac t i s e e conomy a t its L u s h a n sess ion in Augus t . As a r e s u l t of the r i s ing mass m o v e m e n t , to ta l i n d u s t r i a l o u t p u t v a l u e in Augus t was 14 p e r cen t h i g h e r t h a n J u l y a n d it r eg i s t e r ed a f u r t h e r i nc r ea se of a b o u t 27 p e r cen t in S e p t e m b e r . For the first n ine months of 1959, total industrial output va lue w a s 45.5 per cent h igher than the same period last year. T h e inc r ea se s for s teel a n d coal we re 67 pe r cen t a n d 72 p e r cen t respect ive ly . O u t p u t of m a n y m a j o r i n d u s t r i a l p roduc t s in the f i r s t n i n e m o n t h s of th i s y e a r exceeded t h e to ta l o u t p u t of the e n t i r e big leap y e a r 1958.
T h e v o l u m e of f r e i gh t in t he f i r s t n i n e m o n t h s of 1959 r eg i s t e r ed a n i nc r ea se of 69 pe r c e n t ove r the c o r r e s p o n d i n g pe r iod in 1958. T h e v o l u m e of c o m m o d i t i e s p u r c h a s e d rose 42 pe r c en t a n d re ta i l sa les w e n t up 16 pe r cent . T h e m a r k e t is b u o y a n t a n d t h e supply s i t ua t i on of a f ew commod i t i e s tha t had b e e n r a t h e r t ense fo r a t ime at the b e g i n n i n g of t h e y e a r ha s now t a k e n a f u n d a m e n t a l t u r n for the be t te r .
In th i s c o n t i n u e d upsurge , t h e s tee l - w o r k e r s lead. In S e p t e m b e r , t hey topped A u g u s t o u t p u t by 200,000 t o n s - - m o r e t h a n t he to ta l n a t i o n a l o u t p u t in 1949, the y e a r of l ibe ra t ion .
The na t i on ' s coal m i n e r s ove r fu l f i l l ed t h e i r t h i r d q u a r t e r p lan by n e a r l y ha l f a mi l l i on tons on S e p t e m b e r 28, two days a h e a d of schedule .
A t a f o r u m he ld in P e k i n g on Oc tobe r 5, V i c e - P r e m i e r Li F u - c h u n ou t l ined t h r e e m a j o r t a sks on the indus t r ia l , c o m m u n i c a t i o n s a n d f i nance and t r a d e f ron t s to more t h a n 1,000 mode l w o r k e r s w h o h a d come to the cap i t a l f r om al l ove r t h e c o u n t r y for t he 10th jub i lee :
1. Conso l ida t e a n d con t inue to deve lop t he c a m p a i g n to i nc rease o u t p u t a n d p rac t i s e economy and s t r i ve to ove r fu l - fil the t a rge t s se t f o r th by the P a r t y c o n s i d e r a b l y a h e a d of schedu le ;
2. M a k e even b e t t e r a r r a n g e m e n t s for i n d u s t r i a l p roduc t ion , cap i t a l cons t ruc - t ion, t r a n s p o r t a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n s m the f o u r t h q u a r t e r and lay the f o u n d a t i o n for the big leap f o r w a r d in 1960;
3. On the bas is of the big leap for- w a r d of 1958-1960, s t r i v e to ca tch up w i t h B r i t a i n in t he o u t p u t of m a j o r in- dus t r i a l p roduc t s in less t h a n ten years.
The s i tua t ion on the a g r i c u l t u r a l f ron t is equa l ly encourag ing . T h e ha t 'ves t ing of 150 mi l l ion m u of s e m i - l a t e r ice in 13 s o u t h e r n p rov inces , i nc lud ing Szechuan , H u n a n , K iangsu , Anhwe i , Y u n n a n , H u p e h a n d K w e i c h o w , has b e e n essen t i a l ly com- pleted. I n c r e a s e s in yields ove r l as t yea r g e n e r a l l y r a n g e f r o m 10 to 30 per cent, in a n u m b e r of cases exceed ing 40 pe r
cent.
M e a n w h i l e , r epor t s of b u m p e r h a r v e s t s k e e p p o u r i n g in as t he h a r v e s t i n g of t h e ea r ly a u t u m n c r o p s - - m a i z e , mi l l e t a n d kaoliang ( s o r g h u m ) - - i n t he Yel low R i v e r Val ley n e a r s comple t ion . T h e ea r ly a u t u m n c rop f r o m 16 mi l l ion m u of l and in K i a n g s u P r o v i n c e was 70 pe r cent h e a v i e r t h a n l a s t year . Yields in S h a n - t u n g a n d Hopei P r o v i n c e s w e r e gene ra l l y 10 to 20 p e r cen t h igher .
A vas t a u t u m n t i l l ing a n d w h e a t p l a n t - ing m o v e m e n t is in ful l swing in Cll ina 's w i n t e r w h e a t regions. I t is expec t ed t h a t 360 mi l l ion m u wil l be s o w n to w i n t e r w h e a t th i s year , 50 mi l l ion mu more t h a n las t year. This fore te l l s a r ich s u m m e r h a r v e s t n e x t y e a r and wi l l h a v e f a r - r e a c h i n g in f luences on the en t i r e n a t i o n a l economy. As po in ted out by Vice- P r e m i e r T a n C h e n - l i n : the big l e ap for- w a r d of 1958 was p rope l l ed by ag r i cu l - t u r a l p roduc t ion , espec ia l ly t he b u m p e r s u m m e r h a r v e s t of t h a t year . So n e x t yea r ' s s u m m e r h a r v e s t wil l also p l ay a key role in t he c o n t i n u e d big leap for- w a r d of the n a t i o n a l economy.
T h e V i c e - P r e m i e r was a d d r e s s i n g more t h a n 1,300 r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of o u t s t a n d i n g a g r i c u l t u r a l un i t s a n d model peasan t s w h o w e r e in P e k i n g for t he 10th a n n i v e r - sa ry celebrat ions . , a t a f o r u m jo in t ly s p o n s o r e d by the va r ious min i s t r i e s re- l a t ed to a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n f r o m Oc tobe r 5 to 7. He ca l led on the peas- a n t s to d e v e l o p the v a r i e d ru ra l economy a n d s ide l ines p r o d u c t i o n ene rge t i ca l ly in t he l a s t qua r t e r , in add i t i on to ca r ry - ing out wel l t h e t h r e e a u t u m n tasks of ha rve s t i ng , cu l t i va t i on and p lan t ing . The s t a t e p l an cal ls for a n inc rease of 10 per cen t in the to ta l va lue of a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n th i s year .
October 13, 1959 5
