The following artiel@ was written especially for The Week by Miss L. Pearce-Higginss Who is teaching in Shanghai. CNS he American and Belgian aggression in the Congo (aided as
Britain) China has been protesting against this latest and most
itical example of imperialism in Africa.
The wave of protest began in Peking on Sunday, November 30. Chairman Mao issued an official statement condemning the aggression. On Sunday afternoon Tian An Men Square was filled with half-a-million demonstrators, who listened to speeches by Peng Cheng, Mayor of Peking and a member of the Politburo, as well as to representatives from African countries — notably from Algeria, U.A.R. and Congo Brazzaville.
During the following week all major cities followed Peking’s example. In Shanghai, China’s most populous city, there were three days of mass demonstrations. Every type of organisation in the city and suburbs — schools, universities, factories and communes — took part. The biggest demonstration took place on Tuesday, December 2, when 300,000 people gathered in the People’s Square to listen to two hours of speeches. There were speeches from the Vice-Mayor of Shanghai, by teachers from Algeria and the U.A.R. who are working in the city, and from the leader of the Congo Brazzaville song and dance ensemble wh'ch was performing in Shanghai at the time. The speeches were broadcast on loudspeakers at strategic points throughout the city and were followed by a mass march through the streets.
Two weeks later the atmosphere is still one of militant support for the Congolese nationalists. In every shop in the city there are posters depicting the inevitable collapse of American-Belgian intervention in the Afrean continent, as well as the defeat of the Tshombe puppet regime. Revolutionary songs supporting the Congo have already been written and are being sung wherever people gather.
Chinese support for and interest in Africa is now everywhere evident. The extraordinarily militant reaction to the Congo affairisanother example of this positive interest. But it is only one example. African cultural groups are now frequent visitors. African ‘third world’ heads of state arrive nearly every month (Alphonse Massamba-Dabat, President of Congo (B) and Modibo Keita, President: of Mali were amongst the guests of honour at the 15th anniversary celebrations on October 1), Dahomey is the latest of a series of African states to open diplomatic relations with China,
All makes it evident that Chou En Lai’s famous African trip was the beginning of a significant rrend— the rapid development of friendship and co-operation between China and ‘New Africa’.
L. Pearce-Higgins