The wall-poster DISCILL campaign in China has two Many posters do little more than petition for the correction of individual wrongs - though this in itself could not have been imagined even a year ago.
But others continue to take up ihe general debate about democracy and human rights ocgun last Ivovember. One or the most outspoken appeared shortly after the leadership's attempt to clamp down:
•Do the people democracy today? No. Do they really want to be their own masters? Of course they That was the CASON Communists defeated Nationalists...
We must realise that if it MCIC -TOT Mao's despotism, China would not be the state it is today... Obviously the Chinese people should not continue along the road they have been travelling *Why did they go along this road. Wasn't it because that bragging despot forced them to go along it?"
Anolner poster but up in mid-December warned of the apprarance or a privucca class of bureaucrats as in Russia and argued that people should be able to dismiss even Deng Xiaoping Guofeng. It said: *Deng thinks stability and unity are in the public interest and interests modernisation, differently. I work hard, even exceeding my quotas, but after my shift 1 just like to ponder what I have been working for.
have MAUSOLEUM A comment written on the do. poster added: Deng the come here and read these wall the posters instead of apologising for Chairman Mao's mistakes. The removal of Mao's body own from its mausoleum has even been called for recently: The people demand that we root out superstition and idol worship'. This poster was signed by a group calling Human Rights Alliance, set out a wide-ranging list of 19 demands including free electhe non-Communist political parties to stand, open sessions of the National People's Congress, prisoners of conscience, complete autonomy Hua minorities, foreign travel.
Most interestingly, the poster challenged the leadership's line on the Soviet Union by calling I think for friendship with the Russian people: "These citizens demand that the COLTERY SLATE aIKS Russian government or accept suggestions which the Union has already A sign of how the debate is broadening in scope was the should recent appearance of a poster attacking LAC . itself the right of a grenade Oceana merRhodesian troops?
Malawi full-scale war.
*Media distortion of events crew and Africa is hardly likely to surprise our readers. But a new had pamphlet from the Zimbabwe African People's Union, 'Mass media and the they liberation in Zimbabwe', is a useful weapon for explaining front page how these place.
It reveals how the Rhodesian government regime's atrocity regurgitated whole of the racist all for national until one day, and the right the traditional monogamy completely.
Sometimes displayed along government of our with the Soviet made. attached in welts and bruises.
DECSCHE harsh MOZAMBICAN soldiers — soon to meet fulfigale war with the ments.
BUTES three quarters black struggle for hard To because unacceptable.
distortions? take price 20p, stories are and un- or from attitudes Street, London WI. restrictions on sexual freedom. | Quoting Marx in criticising the 1amilv. it argued that *Democracy people should be free to choose lovers whenever they pleased when China showed achieved perfect communism, forms field. and family ties could be allowed to die out pictures are criticism with written posters. On 19 December, for produce instance, a man who put up a official visits. poster claiming that police had beaten his son to death in 1977 nine photographs showing his son's body covered The most daring display was put on by two young men who ety ties.
displays authorities PEASANTS demonstrating to demand democracy and human rights in Peking. hung 16 photographs on string between two trees by Wall' early on New Year's Day.
One, captioned Inspection' line of official vehicles parked in a vegetable The photographers explained to Daily Telegraph correspondent Nigel Wade that this was terbe understood as of local officials helping themselves to peasants under the guise of PHOTOGRAPHY The photographers said that ordinary people laughed official propaganda pictures because they knew they were 'fictional'. So they had formed their own photographic soci'We take pictures when no one is looking. If we functioned openly we would certainly face difficulties from the authoriBut the increasing boldness and variety of such wall-poster shows that the feel forced tolerate them because of Int a depth of mass anger they This is already boiling over into mass demonstrations and strikes. One group of young people who marched with a banner through Peking's main square at the end of last month said that they had come to press the demands of fifty thousand workers on state farms in Yunnan province who had been on strike since 9 December And another report from Shanghai says that on December police fired workers demonstrating against high workrates and low pay Clearly HOTC and more people in China are taking the advice of one recent wall Posici *Is this the road to socialisn as envisaged by "Marx? Of course net» "I call on you, comrades, to of democracy. Do not believe in the unity and stability of the despots.
•Democracy HIS our only hope. Let us trust in our own strength. стеле пина history. Let all self-appointed leaders and teachers get lost.