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Southeast Asia. The aggressive nature
of China's hostilities in Korea, Tibet,
Vietnam, her interest in Sinkiang and
Outer Mongolia, are defended on the
grounds that these nations and territorics
are necessary
b111Jers
between China and
the outs ide world.
War by "aggresso.rs" against thosc:
buffer nations is justification enough,
according to the Red Chinesc, for them
to interfere in that war. China con–
siders Korc:a much as the United States
would consider Cuba or Great Britain
would consider Ireland. Whatcver cnemy
threatens to use one of these smaller
neighbors as a base of operations threat–
ens thc safety of these big powers.
The Overseas Chinese
Communities
While not aggressive military men,
the Chinese have proveo themselves to
be
aggressive businessmen. This is what
often frightens Southeast Asians. When
Chincse migrate to foreign lands, they
settle clown and go to work, often
bccoming
Jeading bmineumen
in the
community. There are mi llions of over–
sc:as Chinese today who gc:ncrally livc
peaceful and productive lives. They are
admired and respected by all who really
know them. Their closely knit commu–
nities are among the cleanest and safest
areas in any city.
When they are persecuted in their
adopted lands they often show only pas–
sive resistance. One Chinese business–
roan told me of harassments by
govcrnment officials as well as indi–
viduals. "When thcy hit you," he
explained, "turn and run. Not as a cow–
ard, but as a wise man who knows that
he is a stranger in the land. You can do
nothing even if you do fight back, so
leavc the fight behind."
The Chinese seem more stablc and
bettcr able than most to cope with this
problem when it arises. They have
learned to remain calm - they have
had to. This inherent patience of the
Chinese is proverbial.
For instance, in the furious May 17,
1969
riots that shook Malaysia, the
populace became understandably fearful
of thc potential dangcr from the
large interna! fore ign community. Many
attackcd the Chinese and Indians with
Tbc
PLA IN TRUTH
great fury. Thousands of Indians fled
the country. The Chinese, for the most
part, sat by patiently until order was
once again restored.
Naturally, many in Southeast Asia are
somewhat nervous with such large num–
bers of Chinese withi n their own bor–
dees . "What if all thc Chincse decided
to rise up and join with Communist
China in ovcrthrowing the smaller
nations ?" they ask.
At prescnt, few Chinese in Southeast
Asia seem intercsled in overthrowing
their adopted nation. When they do
listen to Communist propaganda broad–
casts f rom within Red China, it is more
out of curiosity and a desire to hear of
news from their homeland than to be
swayed by the call to join the Communist
cause.
It
would be na·ive to say there are no
Communist Chinese in Southeast Asia.
But there are no vast hordes of them.
Chinese usually express their desire to
remain in other countries - Malaysia,
Indonesia, the Philippines - and live
there peacefully. After all, most are
rmtch be/ter off
than they would be in
mainland China
and
they know
it!
In fact, when Communists becomc
internally active - much to the chagrín
of all concerned - it is
no/
always Chi–
nese citizens living in the bordering
nations who are responsible.
lt
is pri–
marily the
natit
1
es
of the nations
themselves
!
Filipinos fight Filipino Communis ts.
Vietnamesc are still at wa r with Com–
munist Vietnamese!
Three Ma jor Problems
If
the overscas Chinese are not the
problem, what about Communist China
itself? Can Communist China pour out
of its boundarics, overrun bordering
nations and rule thcm just by sheer
numbers alone? Red China outnumbers
all smaller Southcast Asían nations ( not
includjng India of coursc) almost
three
lo
011e .'
Certainly a
{
rightening prospect
if China should decide to invade.
Right now China has too many prob–
lcms of her own to think of starting a
costly and dangerous war. In spite of
limited nuclear weapons, her ability to
wage a massivc military expedition is
nil.
Historicall y -
and presen tly -
January
1971
China has had three major interna!
probkms sht has been unable to over–
come - disunity, poverty, and a weak
industry. These interna! problems con–
tinue today to restrict her ability to wag<:
aggrcssive warfare.
China - A House Divided
For centuries China has becn a
loosely knit nation, ruled by warlords
and rich landowners. These two fac–
tions did much to keep the peasants
poor, and enslaved physically and
mentally.
fathered by the Industrial Revolution
and mothered by social unrest, ferocious
riots broke out in the late 1700's, whcn
stagnating industry fai led to supply the
employment demanded by a burgeoning
population. Social and industrial strife
erupted.
In
1911
the monarchy was finally
overthrown and replaced by a republic.
Class warfare remained prevalent, how–
evcr. The small Commuoist party made
the most of it. That small party contin–
uc:d to grow, causing more and
mor~·
div ision betwecn the dasses until it
drovc out the Nationalist government
and set up a Communist-led dictator–
ship in
1949.
The Communists are now in power.
But this docs not mean all is unity and
harmony under Mao Tse-tung. Commu–
nism of course has brought about a
semblance
of
togetherness. Yet, th<:
govcrnmcntal structure is fragilc. Splits
and schisms plague the nation. Peasants
and intcllcctuals are still scparated by
vast differences - military and civilian
f
orces vie for authority and position.
The nation is vast - 4.3 million
square miles large. Communications and
transportation are Jimited. Regionalism,
sclf-interest and political diffcrences
hinder progress. As a rcsult, thc
(om–
munists find it difficult to establish a
strong central government.
Another obstacle to unity is the
ancient tradition of ancestor worship -
rcsulting in a fanatical family loplty.
Loyalty to the family comes first in most
Oriental nations. The govcrnmcnt scc–
ond. That is onc reason why Chincsc:
Communists so cnergetically rec¡uire the
populace to li ve in uon-famil y-oricnted