SHANGHAI HARBOR IS IMMENSE PLACE
By Bob Van Leer

  (SHANGHAI, CHINA, Oct. 8, 1991) - Our Chinese hosts, the All China Journalists' Association, wanted us to see some of the background of the Communist Party of China (CPC) that led to the takeover of all of China in 1949 by the communists which is referred to as the "liberation".

  Chou En Lai, China's most able diplomat, and later premier, occupied a large house in Shanghai used for negotiations, press conferences and living quarters.

  It was here, and later in Nanking, that the CPC negotiated unsuccessfully with Chiang Kai Shek's Kuomintang. Negotiations were started in 1945 and broken of in 1947.

  The U.S. Tried to reconcile the opposing factions but was unsuccessful. The U.S. Supported and armed the Kuomintang and this was a classic case of betting on the wrong horse.

  U.S. China experts gave the message to their bosses that the Kuomintang could not possibly survive and a communist takeover was inevitable. Rather than heed the message, the messengers were hounded out of the government.

Ignored For 20 Years

  After the communist takeover in 1949 the U.S. Pretended that China didn't exist for 20 years until Pres. Richard Nixon normalized relations with China.

  Some of the old pictures on the wall of Chou's house we had seen when they were fresh news. But now it looks dated, time has passed this period by.

  Then we went to visit the home of Mr. Sun Yat Sen. He was the principal player in bringing China out of the days of the emperor. Sun and Chiang Kai Shek married sisters. It was an interesting old house but has less relevance than Chou's former office.

  Lunch was at the Jin Jiang Hotel, another old relic restored. It was at this hotel that Pres. Nixon signed the Shanghai Communique which led to the normalization of relations between the U.S. And China.

Harbor Tour

  After lunch we went for a 3.5 hour boat ride on the Huangpu River, The route was from the dock down on the Bund down to the mouth of the river where it joins the Yangtse River just before flowing out into the East China Sea.

  Shanghai is the biggest and busiest harbor we have ever seen. The trip from the dock to the Yangtse was almost two hours but we never ran out of harbor. The banks of the river were lined with warehouses, oil refineries, tank farms and a huge steel mill.

  On the river itself, something is happening 24 hours a day. Ocean liners and fishing boats run in both directions and crossways on the river.

  The effect is chaos but we saw no accidents and were told they are rare. The Chinese navy has an installation on the river. Among ships tied up were one submarine and a destroyer that mounts rocket launchers.

  Some observations: there were a few Mao jackets around but they appear to be worn by older men almost exclusively.

  Rents are cheap, $1.00 and $2.00 per month were mentioned for tiny apartments.

  Dress of the men and men is almost totally western. Streets are clean.

  There is a cleaning program on all the time. Labor is not used efficiently. There are a number of workers in this hotel who appear to do nothing but stand there.

  The people are friendly at all times but positively beam when you admire their child or children. The Chinese are immensely proud of their children. Most have only one child. China has a campaign underway that limits families to one child each and it is working. Even with that China's population is increasing by 15 million a year. China is a big country, a little larger than the U.S., and its population is huge, about 1.1 billion people, more than a fifth of the population of the world.

  Tomorrow our schedule calls for starting the day with a visit to a textile factory followed by a visit to a local newspaper.