GENERAL POLITICAL SITUATION IN SOUTH CHINA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R004700300001-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 20, 2003
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: April 18, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

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General l'olitical Situation in 6outh
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a.. After five months of Uommunist rule, altiloui,-,h the economic situation in South
china appears to have deteriorated, political dr-5velopments are well under
control in their outward aspects, If not completely accepted ideologically,
Axmmulizt government attention is still concentrated primarily on the mili-
tary problem at the expense of normal civil affairs, and on indoctrination
and re-education of the people at the expense of attention to economic needs,
Official news relates nothing but military preparations and exhortations to
the people to cooperate with the government to their fullest ability in
viping out the Nationalists in their Taiwan and Hainan strongholds,
2, The city of Canton, for example, is not progressing as was promised before
Communist occupation, but on the other hand shows evidence of deterioration.
Part of the decline is attributable to war damar.!es and continued fighting,
for example, the curtailnent of electric power supplies, redm:tion of
Rater supplies, lack of vehicle amintenancr.% and the deserted harbor The
revolutionary spirit, which the Uommunists vaunt so highly in Nanchuria and
North China, is notably lacking in Kwangtung
3 The stated Communist policies of honesty and democratic representation in
government have produced little effect on the t,shavior and attitude of the
Cantonese. The population, with the exception a a wall number of party
workers and newly indoctrinated youth, regard impassively isrd sceptically
the Communist official fervor and repetitive propaganda, showing that to
..hem the whole enlightenment and manner of operation appear as strange find.
,An-Ghlnese as the northern accent.s and dialects of of the new
officials The intvusion Commanist ideology into ev.DryttAng on147
confuses the populace, and Alen confusion nears off t is replaced by
neither c0000ration nor enthusiasm but resistance, This, Although unexpressed,,
pnorganized, and leaderless, oxiss to an e:dent recognized by the Cm-
munist authorities as a matter of concern.
!, The Cantonese themselves remain invincibly selfish and interested mostly in
making money and securing hotter living conditions, less control, and loss
5ureaucracy. Indoctrination campaigns 'encounter much ridicule from (*stinate
jptAY
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WON DISRB DISTRIBUTION
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This document is ne-eby regraded to
CONFIDFNMAL ;n accordance with the
letter o i Ctober 1978 from the
Director of enti ai intelligence to the
Archivist ot 'ale United States.
ApproaleFgre. w Date: 2008
Keiease 2003/ORM ? riA Rpm_
Approved For Release 2003/08/11 : CIA-RDP82-00457R004700300001-3
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realists, and even the youth appear little interested in Communist teach-
ings. Although there is a certain amount of verbal enthusiasm for both
parties in the civil war, the Cantonese really are not subscribers to either
policy but merely feel the Communists are stronger and less corrupt and
therefore likelier to win in the end. Meanwhile, the people continue in
their usual ways, waiting to see what will happen and utilizing the situa-
tion for their own profit.
50 Communist political policy, in the face of this attitude, can only attempt
to explain to the people the continued failure of the new regime to improve
conditions by pointing to the long-drawn-out civil war and the Nationalist
air raids and naval blockade. Although these causes of difficulties are
obvious to everyone, they are also obviously not the whole explanation, and
some Communist theoreticians admit openly that even without these hindrances
they would still be unable to master the problem? The party counters by
offering official sympathy and advancing the stern credo that the people
must continue to suffer, even after suffering so long, in order to attain
eventual recovery. Vesile this approach does not encourage cooperation and
points up the principal failure of the Communist authorities, they have the
advantage of being unqpposed by any political competitor, since the Nation-
alists have lost face beyond hope of rehabilitation, and they know that no
effective opposition from the people is possible.
6,, Within the Communist Party itself, there is constant self-criticism. The
party functionaries are largely sincere and devoted workers who believe they
are bettering the Chinese nation, and they struggle along in spite of the
adverse conditions and disappointments. They are using every means to con-
vert the southerners, and where educational persuasion is ineffectual, they
eeploy the political police. The Cantonese, in their preoccupation with
business, endeavor to avoid all trouble with the authorities, although their
idea of observing the laws is merely not to get caught. This attitude does
not please the more earnest Communists, but they try to wear it dowa through
re-education, placating potential opponents, frightening some into sub-
mission, bribing those who are amenable, and explaining to those of the
community who are willing to listen-
7, The present adult generation, holisever, with the exception of a few politically
conscious wcrkers and peasants, is considered by the Communists to be lost
to them, They are therefore concentrating on the youth of the nation and
on leading it smoothly along the path of "new democracy". As long as older
groups show no evidence of effective opposition or sabotage, they are ignored;
if they become a menace, they are dealt with by Gestapo methods. Although
the reaction against Communism in the ssuth is steady, the Communist political
strategists had expected it and prepared for it in advance and had taken
special care to fill all controlling positions, from the provincial govern-
ment down to the smaller villages, with reliable party members? Additional
prestige to the party is supplied by the large number of troops in the
province, which the Communists apparently intend to keep ":3-vrea,
8. The existence of the "imperialist" colonies of Hong Kong and Maceo on the
fringe of Kwangtung is irritating to the Communists but is officially ignored
at present. Some propaeanda for return of these areas to China is current,
but a real caepaign has appareat'y been postponed until the ccnclusion of
CONFIDENTIAL
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Approved For Release 2003108/11 : CIA-RDP82-00457R004700300001-3
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the civil war and the settlement of internal affairs. Although the Macao
attitude is defiant, the British in Hong Kong have first taknn a firm
stand and then worked along the lines of a mutually profitable friendship?
The Communists in Kwangtung appear willing to maintain this situation as
long as Hong Kong does not prove politically embarrassing to Canton, although
relations are delicate and unusual tact is required? Both interests,
however, realize that the ultimate decision is not a local matter.
9,D The general impression of southern China in late February 1950 is that the
people, especially in the country and villages, lead dull lives but little
worse than before the Communist influx. The standard of living has declined
somewhat and there is a larger amount of economic defeatism, leading to
increased emigration where possible The relative poverty and unproductivity
of Kwangtung have not been changed by the Communist government, and no real
advance can be expected except with large outside assistance, which neither
the Communists themselves nor their Soviet allies can provide. In Canter'
particularly, where western contacts were well-developed, business men feel
that the breaking of mutually profitable ties with the western economic
world is not compensated for by the establishment of a Communist government
which, even in its early stages, has not been able to keep basic promises
or to offer real progress to the people.
COITIDENTIAL
Approved For Release 2003/08/11 : CIA-RDP82-00457R004700300001-3