'BIG LEAP' FALTERS BECAUSE OF MISMANAGEMENT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-02771R000100370010-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 3, 1998
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: February 1, 1959
• Content Type: REPORT

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"13Ta AP" PALTERS
rebr :_9$)
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"BIG AP" ALTERS 13ECAUS3 OF MISMANAG
When in April 1958 Mho T3c king Chtnee Communist
regime heralded to the world that a sensational "great leap
forward" in Communism was to be achieved in China through
the introduction of the commonest Peking appeared satisfied
that a panacea to the country's tcouomic ills had been found.
However, the economics of any country iv a system of deli-
cate balance and cannot be sett141 by the invention of a
slogan or even by the use of untcld millions of pairs of
hands.
The .dea of the people' coirun.tnes was launched to en-
able China to leap forward iclo itieth century industrial-
ization. Since April 195E3, ,cent of China's half-
billien population hap been s4al awed up in the semi-mili-
tarized communes in the intevest or the new slogan. The
underlying motives for the introcuol;ion of the communes have
been made abundantly clear bl th* Party's theoretical journal
11111122AE. which has written; %fie must undermine the capital-
i41 type of social living built En he basis of the class ex-
ploitation system and at the sant time we must also undermine
the family built on the basis of the class exploitation sys-
tem. Individual domestic latcr is also a remnant of the fam-
ily under the conditions of irdividual production. In the
socialist society individual, win no longer have to worry
over their inability to estaflii1 O to maintain a moot simple
family. In the socialist ane commuaist collective body every-
body takes up labor with joy snd all jointly and reasonably
share the fruits of labor."
But labor alone is not 4Dochj it is its effects that
must be studied. It must not ba forgotten that throughout
history China, with its huge population to feed, has always
been forced to wage a not top 5ucce38fu1 battle to fill the
rice bowls of its people. Seuminglj forgetful of this, the
Communist regime suddenly ordrinud that China was to make a
giant stride forward in indurtrialimtion and that all pos-
sible efforts were to be concentrated on the production of
iron and steel.
Throughout the country op7e ilere set to
ins back yard" bla t furnacct. Thay toiled t
thousands of tons of pig irou _en, according
ark build-
fling out
o Peking,
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alted in the doubling of Mina's a 1 output last year,
hough it was of doubtful qualitv since the country had to
ort more than half a million -os of high grade steel
Western Europe.
This abrupt stitcb from.ag icultural pursuits to metal-
appears to have been mpre Alan the precarious food bal-
f China could stand. ',ale metallurgical statistics may
looked very good but thpy wt:re achieved at the price of
food, Now, a little belate014, the master planners have
realized that without food npthing Gan be achieved. By try-
ing to pres$ forward too preu:.pi-;ololy into industrialization,
Peking ha urrounded itself pit' a tremendous problem indus
try versus food.
It has now become upper t 1;bat Peking's agricultural
am has been forced to wie go a rigid re-evaluation in
tee Of national agricultura- eanferenoes since December.
Commanist hierarchy has tiven forced to recognize that a
e of imbalance exists in the eaonomy and that the agricul-
program as it stands a$ the moment is not sound.
It is evident that last ,I.,-aa;.'15 spectacular iron and
eel drive brought about a consAerable dislocation in Chi
rural economy and in October 195t 00orbed more than 25 per-
cent of the labor force needoc fur pressing harvest and plant
ing tasks. There has been no attempt to disguise the fact
that there is a very real labc4-, thortage, although misuse of
*slating labor would probab4 be a more accurate term. The
manpower shortage has been wiCel;v publicized in China and
speakers have pointed out thct the big problem Is one of dis-
tribution of men and draft animals, They admitted that in
the light of the fantastic production claimed in some eco-
nomic sectors, the demand for lalcir in others rose to a point
where there is actually an ate shortage of labor, even in
over-populated China,
The Party newspaper tied that "the
big leap has brought a ei ua on Iere rnanpQwer la needed in
all fields, and where a ahor npowor is increas-
ingly noticeable." In one large collective in Kwelabow?, the
newspaper said, there is a lot of good land available, but
trouble arose when it was fovr,d that; there were no men avail-
able to handle the agricultuzsistashines. This points to a
grave miscalculation on the pert of the government which,
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while, proclaiming itself Wallible, manifestly does not
possess the talent for organ.L.Ation and foresight demanded
by an operation of the gigant.lc r;cope such as the "great
leap forward."
It is quite apparent thy; the effort has been far too
much even for China's labor-eh economy. Crops lay un-
harvested in the fielde and lier=2 transportation and dis-
tribution channels wte.'it disreptee. Peking, therefore, has
been constrained to dilute ite heady propaganda and now says
that its iron and steel progmm :la rural areas is one which
is destined to produce "mere L-..nd better iron and steel with
Less manPower." Given the ruLimentary equipment in the
hands of the producers, it it di:Ticult to see just how this
is to be done.
The ill-considered induttricalzation drive has had an-
other disadvantage of considerable magnitude in that it has
siphoned oils manpewer from thie bLdly needed water conserva-
tion: Projects whioh were so bighlyipublicised 3aet winter.
The same applies to the deep ploviag campaign which the
regime now rinds Wedlent to rettriet. Peking says that
it will be satisfied if deep,plowing--whiah in meet instances
has meant Manual digging of tte coil to a depth of several
feet?is completed on way etie-thle,1 of the cultivated area
and to a depth of one foot or only eeven or eight inchee.
Through this aeries of retreato rural manpower is to be
released for employment in tasks directly connected with act-
ual cultivation and at leastenehalf or a commune's labor
force Is to be devoted to work iL the fields. One quarter
of the manpower is hencefortt to be put to work on the pro-
duction of fertilizer and mere attention is tol:be paid to
what Peking describes as "eidelire occupations, such as
forestry, fishing and the predeelew. of mea:; alAd vegetables.
This diversification: is being urged on the comMunes and the
regime has even suggested that they should look to these
sources for higher income3.
While: Peking plainly realizes that the "great leap"
forward" was too large a bite for ie country to swallow,
it is definitely not abandonin3 ite plane for a bigger and
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ter leap torwardin agrieult,ur 4h11 yeax. 14b0r aetiv-
s to be increased, not oily "-ly 1enth.ntng the work
ay, but also by an attempt t mwcv toie and organtza
titan. However, it is apparent that the immense labor re-
quireMent$ of this year's leap forward will not be met by
such measures alone and that tle altimato burden will be
on the backs of China's ens1al3r3 pec.ple from whom more and
harder work will be demanded.
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