Social Role

The first people we saw after officially crossing the border were members of the People's Liberation Armed Forces (PLA), who are very distinctive in their uniforms. I noticed quite a few PLA soldiers in the streets of Canton, and although they were unarmed it struck me that a foreigner could very easily get the impression that People's China is ruled by the military. Of course many western observers at the time of the Cultural Revolution claimed that the struggle was no more than a takeover by the army.

I have no doubt at all that understanding the political, economic and social role of the PLA in Chinese life will be one of the most difficult things for us to grasp during our visit. The concept of an army which serves the people has always been one of the main principles of Chinese socialism and of Mao Tsetung's writings; and that concept is totally alien to western capitalist countries.

However tonight we found out something of the role of the PLA in serving the masses. We went to what was billed as an exhibition of acrobatics at the Sun Yatsen Memorial Hall — a very impressive piece of architecture. This turned out to be far more than a display of gymnastic talent.