COMMENTS ON LIFE IN AREA OF TOISHAN AND CANTON

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600060038-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 1, 2011
• Sequence Number: 38
• Publication Date: May 24, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/01: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600060038-4
PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE
ACQUIRED
CLASSIFICATION ;-7aAFIDElQTIl.,TT
CENTRAL INTEtL1SENCE AGENCY REPORT
INFORMATION REPORT CD NO.
DATE DISTR.ZL May 1954
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
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southeast of the City of Tcisban about 5 miles 'southwest o canto/:
Kwantung Provinrme, China. Deism Village is about our miles north of
the City of Txioiao and is located about one mile east of the highway
between Toishan and Towehan. The village consists of 11 rows of.
houeae, each rov containing about 10 houses of brick construction with
slate or tile roofe. There are abaft 300 people in the v`_.l.lage. Each
he hoaaes about five people, on an average. The rove are separated
by about 10 feet each and all houses face the north. There are no
streaks and no motor transport in the village. There are a few wagons
which are pulled by the peoples and most of the produce is carried on
the head. There is no electricity. iAster is supplied by one well
which is used by all. More is no industry in this agricultural village.
The main crop, of course, is rice and enough is raised so that acme can
be sold but most is raised for the support of the individual family.
Other crops errs potatoes and banana. Zaoh family has a few rice
paddies. About five no 10 percent of the people living in the village
get their main sort 1 rough gifts from relatives or friends in the
U9. A person can live or subsist in Doisan Village for 1.$50 a year.
Ul$1 will purchase six pounds of pork, X13 will purchase 100 pounds
of alga. A t dcfllpe is worth six Song tong dollars, or 24,000 _
Ohiaese Communist dollars. use Hong K=g dollar is worth 4,000 unsnswe
Communist dollars and one Bong Kong dollar is worth 4500 dollars on
the bleak markeh. I Son 't know the trice of rice since we raised all
our needs.
2. "There is a g:a,aaa soloed in the tillage and in 1931 there were about
45 obildxeo attending. CbLlArem CC high school 640 go to high school
in the CSly of Toiahao. TMAsport to the City of Toiahem is by bus.
8aw)wr, the paseragere apst walk .praodstsly We sale from the
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/01: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600060038-4
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/01: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600060038-4
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village west to the highway. There used to be a railroad through the
area but-it swss-destroyed by the Japanese in 1.942. There was no talk
of rebuilding as late as 1952. There is no airport in the .illage or,
to my knowledge, nearby.
3. "11 miles to the north is Toishan City. I do not kncno the population
but 1: think it is .about 18 thousand. The Communists are definitely in
control of the City of Toishan. It was impossible for me to travel
from Doisan Village to Toishan without a permit, and such a permit
could be received only after strong reasons for travel were proven. I
do not know too much about the City of Towshan in 1951. since I just
passed through enroute to Canton. Their electricity is supplied by a
hydroelectric powe^ station six miles west. I believe this station is
^.alled Man Be How. It is located at a dam by that name which backs up
a mountain stream. Water is supplied to the city to half of the homes
from this damp and the rest through pumps and wells in the city. A
few homes have indoor toilet facilities. 'he others all use outdoor
facilities. The railroad station is still level since the bcr.biog by
the Japanese in 1942. Travel on the highway from where I got on at
Doisan Village to Kow Kong is very hard and dirty. The road is just
ride enough for two vehicles to pass. It is constructed of dirt and
sand. There is a bus traveling between Towshan and Teishan.atproxi?-
mately every hour during daylight. These buses use coal for fuel in
their engines and travel about 75 li IT25 miles per houi per hour at
top speed? The bus trip from Doi,ean to Toishan cost U. thousand Chinese
Communist dollars or two and shelf Hong Kong dollars, or about'US$.35.
The buses hold approximately 30 passengers. It is impossible to travel
from Toishan to Canton by rail any more. All transportation of passengers
is by bus.
4?? ?'r home in Canton stayed tt1
a two story ,duplex,, iz ocate?d
Canton, is a nice part of ?town and t:ht!)S advisers have taken oar
the better homes there. I do not know hcwi many advisers there are or
how many homes they have taken - I never met any of them. I .lust heard
that +hfqv have settlel
n the area.
It is c:onstrxited of brick and. has a concrete
rover. ac story s six rooms, three bedrooms one parlor; bath and
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kitchen. My sister and her husband are now 'living it
the house. He works in a laundry. I. do not know where it is located.
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with him is hi eon and his son's family (wife"and two children)':' The'
son is ob.jut 30 years'old'and teaches school. Be in very Camunist-
iualined. I do not know' the -other people living on the block, nor the
people living to the west of us. I do, not k15ow any Communist leaders
in the City of Canton. lie were afrai. to ask sty questions of anybody.
5. "There is enowgh electricity to light our house qutte wall and there are
no conts'ols'on its use. Water is plentiful and'ths.serage- in handled sat-
isfsotosi].y. I do not know-how much these utilities cost or the totes
they charge for sisotriatty, eater, eta.
6. "The in i-laInt of the few people that I talked to was the high saxes
levied by the C-ietta and. the ba". t: t of the pec~'...:. U-man, In.
1951, tm O mists come to the Tolabsos they divided all the laud
of the 1aMow s among the lower.alasses of people. All thi people got
a sell piae'of land. Skis mads, the people "happy. However, soon
thsrsat'aer heavy tans Vera levied CO thr peopiG and heavy. Casmunist
have thre ''dren. Living in. the house 'Just east' of ours is the
'easily. is over. 80 years, old and"does not- work, 'hut living
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 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/01: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600060038-4
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demands for the crops produced by the people were enfor^.ed. The
taxes aren't the only thing the Communists exact from the people.
For instance, the taxep on our house in 1952 were 300 Hong Kong
dollars. This didn't sound too high to us, however, there was
another demand by the Communists that. our property be recorded each
year and the charge for this is high. For example,.the recording
5omparable to our registration of property with a Register of Deeds)
of our house in 1952: cost 2,000 gong Kong dollars. They have some
new method?of assessing and getting extra money over and above the
taxes each year. There is also a tax on rents. 'Then we rented our
upstairs flat we received about,100 Hopg Kong dollars a month. The
taxes levied against that rent almost equaled the rent taken in.
Since I left Canton my sister and her family moved upstair they
pay no rent. I Pave learned that a family by the name ives
downstairs. I.do not-know where he is employed or if he? a
Communist." .
-end-
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Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/01: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600060038-4