Communist China: An American Appraisal

Abstract

more than six years of Communist power m China, it is possible to make a preliminary appraisal of the country's prospects under the Peking regime. Despite the mantle of secrecy which the Communists have lowered over China, adequate information for such an assessment is at hand. The Peking government depends for its day-to-day operations on leadership cadres who are geographically dispersed and inadequately serviced by modern communications facilities. Administrative directions are handed down to the cadres largely by means of policy pronouncements and the release of other basic information through the controlled press and radio. By weighing the contents of the mainland press and radio, and also the accounts of recent visitors and escapees, one can construct a reasonably reliable picture of China under the Communists. What follows is such a synthesis. Since its formal establishment on October 1, 1949, the Communist regime has developed machinery for the exercise of political power whose effectiveness, in terms of the extent and all-pervasive character of its authority, has seldom been equalled in China's history. In constitutional form, Communist China is a political democracy, with the central government ostensibly controlled by a multi-party coalition. Actually, the regime is a monolithic dictatorship, in which power is monopolized by the Communist party. But the importance of the democratic and coalition fagade should not be underestimated. It lends to the regime an aura of popular participation, and secures for it a degree of public support, that might otherwise be lacking. The Chinese Communist party is the real governing elite of the new China. Totalling over six million members, the party does not carry out the task of administration directly, but