Anglo.Qhinese '*Understanding

At its next meeting on 28 July the Council of

Management will discuss SACU's programme for

the rest of 1966 and early 1967. Branches and

individual members are invited to send in their

ideas. All suggestions are welcome and should

be sent to central office as soon as possible.

JUNE-JULY 1966 VOL. 1 No. 9

A Message from our ChairmanDear Member,

The attendance at the first Annual General Meeting was mostgratifying. To have had 200 — about one-eighth of the total member-ship—'present is an indication of the interest SACU members takein their Society and in promoting understanding and friendship withChina. Few national organisations could count on such a responsefrom their members.

I am, however, conscious that despite the efforts of all concerned there werecertain areas of misunderstanding between the retiring Council of Managementand the membership, which gave something of the appearance of a conflict ofinterests. I am sure that no such conflict in fact exists.

Let me say categorically that the membership is the Society and that theCouncil of Management and the officers are elected to serve the wishes ofmembers and carry out the policies decided by them.

It may be helpful if I add some further explanation about matters which havegiven rise to some misunderstanding.

Following the Inaugural Meeting, the Council of Management were advisedby the Society's solicitors that to further SACU's aims and objects and to affordlegal protection to both the Society and its officers, it was desirable toincorporate it as a Company limited by guarantee. This course is followed bymany national organisations. In no sense does it convert SACU into a commercialenterprise nor does it in any way change the original character and purposesof the Society. If the organisation were to become a corporate entity there wasno other legal form it could have taken. For this procedure a model or basicConstitution drawn up in correct style was a necessity, and this was what theCouncil approved.

The reasons for this action were explained in the April issue of SACU NEWS,but it seems that the explanation given did not make the position absolutelyclear. Members were also invited to consult the Constitution at the Society'soffice or elsewhere as might be convenient. This arrangement was made inview of the heavy cost that would have been involved in printing and circulatinga lengthy document to every member.

It was always envisaged that a General Meeting, at which members wouldhave an opportunity of modifying the Constitution in any way they so desired,should be held later. The new Council of Management has, in fact, decided tohold such a meeting in November and members will shortly be invited tosubmit any proposals for changes that they wish to make.

So far as the Council's policy resolution and the amendment proposed by oneof the branches are concerned, I can assure members that neither I nor any ofthose responsible for bringing SACU into being in the first place have departedfrom our original conception of a Society devoted to promotion the fullestunderstanding with China and friendship with the Chinese people.

The new Council of Management are giving urgent consideration to the questionof the relationship, functional and financial, between branches and the centralorganisation. Branches have a vital part to play in making the Society a truly

Continued on page 2

NEWS FROMTHE BRANCHES

THE Barnet branch has been holding aregular study group. On 4 June a one-day conference was held at Christ'sCollege, Finch ley, when a small butvery interested audience heard PeterTownsend talk on the changes he hadseen taking place in China immediatelyafter the liberation of 19-49. In theafternoon Bertram Jones and LiaoHung-Ying gave two different pointsof view on Chinese publications in theEnglish language. There was a livelyand informative discussion at eachsession.

The Oxford branch has held a num-ber of meetings. We should like todraw members' special attention to theweek-end school arranged by thebranch for 2-4 September, particularsof which appear separately in thisissue.

The working group of members inCambridge is planning to hold severalinformal meetings, preparatory to aninaugural meeting in October.

The Merseyside and North Walesbranch is holding its inaugural meetingon Saturday, 25 June, at 3 pm, in theRoyal Institution, Colquitt Street,Liverpool, when Felix Greene's film' China! ' will be shown.

SubscriptionRenewal

MEMBERS who joined the Societyat the time of its inauguration inMay last year or soon afterwardsmay have wondered why theyhave not yet received notices ofrenewal. We regret the delay insending these, which was due toadministrative reasons. Noticesare being sent with this issue tothose whose renewal is now dueor overdue.

ChairmanContinued from page 1national and effective body. We are always gtad to hear from members whofeel that there are possibilities of getting a branch going in their area.

Your newly elected Council of Management at its first meeting set in traina number of proposals to improve the functioning and effectiveness of theorganisation. At its next meeting in July, the Council will decide on a programmeof activities for 1966/67, based upon proposals which the Secretary hopes toreceive from branches, working committees and individual members.

The Society has had its share of teething troubles in its first year. It hascome through strengthened, I hope, by the experience, and better able toshould,er the responsibility for furthering understanding with China. The taskis an immense and vital one, becoming daily more urgent.

I appeal to every member to take an active part in SACU's work, and thusenable the Society to measure up to the important and challenging job it hasset itself.

May I send you all my warm personal greetings and wish success to the effortswe shall be making together in the period ahead.

John Bell A JOURNEY FROM ST. PETERSBURG TO PEK1N, 1719-1722Edinburgh University Press, 1965. 45s.

Ernest Benz BUDDHISM OR COMMUNISM: which holds the future ofAsia? Allen and Unwin 1965. 30s.

Myra Roper CHINA — THE SURPRISING COUNTRYHeinemann 1966. 42s.

Alvarez del Vayo CHINA TRIUMPHSMonthly Review Press, N.ew York, 1964. 40s.

William Watson EARLY CIVILISATION IN CHINAThames and Hudson, 1966. 15s.

All the above, and other new books relating to China, can be obtainedfrom SACU. Inclusion in this list does not preclude review in a futureissue of SACU NEWS.

Basic Books About ChinaSACU is at present trying to build up a library of basic books about China.This is a costly operation, and we desperately need donations. We print belowa list of essential books, and we would very much like to hear from memberswho may have copies which they would be willing to give to the library.

Buchanan, Keith —

(Tr. by Buck, Pearl) —

Loewe, Michael

Gelder, S. & R. —

Hogarth, Paul —-

Greene, Felix —

Fitzgerald, C. P. —

Mao Tse-tung —

Snow, Edgar —

Snow, Edgar —

Sewell, Wm. —

Boulnois, Luce —

Goodrich, L. Carrington —

Clubb, O. Edmund —

Lattimore, Owen —

The Chinese People and the Chinese Earth(George Bell and Sons)

All Men are Brothers

Imperial China (Allen and Unwin, 1966)

The Timely Rain (Hutchinson, 1965)

Looking at China (Lawrence and Wishart)

The Wall Has Two Sides (Jonathan Cape)

Birth of Communist China

Vol. 3 of Selected Works (Lawrence andWishart, 1955 edition)

Red Star Over China

The Other Side of the River (Gollancz, 1965)

I Stayed in China (Allen and Unwin, 1966)

The Silk Road (Allen and Unwin)

A Short History of the Chinese People,(Allen and Unwin, 1957)

Twentieth Century China (Columbia U. Press,1964)

Pivot of Asia

' The first years of the Yangyi Com-mune ' by David and Isabel Crook.Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1966, 42.

IN THE FOOTHILLS of the TaihangMountains which border the ruggedloess plateau lies a village called TenMile Inn. In the old days the greatmajority had to eke out a roughliving on an average of half ai acreof land per head. Old men thereremember how a flood in 1917 carriedaway a fifth of their cultivable landso that all but landlords and some richpeasants had to live or die with whatthey could scratch from the rest. Theyremember the death and destructionbrought by the Japanese invasion in1940 and the severe famine of 1942-3when in Ten Mile Inn alone fifty-ninepeople starved to death.

Today this village is part of theYangyi Commune which evolved outof the struggle between two tenden-cies —• that of ' every man for him-self and that of ' each for all andall for each.' The commune was notborn by decree but came into beingthrough the conscious work of thosewho saw collective efforts as the wayto .eliminate poverty and enrich life.It was consolidated and developed asdifficulties were met and overcome bythe multitude of ordinary human be-ings which made it a living organisa-tion.

The Crooks' book is packed with in-formation about this average com-mune which they had compiled onthe spot. They had stayed in TenMile Inn in 1947-8 and paid returnvisits to see how their old friendshad fared and what changes had takenplace over the years. They describethe history of the growth of the com-mune and the many-sid.ed aspects ofits life and work. Not only are theregraphic accounts of individuals andfamilies, but there is careful analysisof organisation and methods, with de-tailed facts and statistics. It is an in-valuable work, the only one of itskind, which presents an intimate andthoughtful account of that muchmaligned and misunderstood .economicand political organisation, the Chinesepeoples' commune.

E.V.P.

LIBRARY HOURSWILL members please note that untilfurther notice the library will not beopen on Thursdays. Other openingtimes remain unchanged (Mondays 6 to8 pm; Tuesdays 2 to 5 pnv Wednesdays10 to 5 pm).

The Secretary's Annual Report(delivered at the Annual General Meeting, 21

IT IS NOT easy in the short space of quarter of an hour to give acomprehensive report on what the Society has accomplished in itsfirst year. SACU was established because its initiators were veryconscious of the widespread and deep, if sometimes latent, desire inthis country to know more about China in a world in which herachievements and voice are to a considerable extent muffled.Developments in the year since the Society's inauguration have onlyserved to underline the fact that the initiating sponsors judgedthe need correctly. In this year, SACU has become a centre forall who have felt this need for information.

At our inaugural meeting in Maylast year, the Society was launchedwith the sponsorship of two hundredpeople well known in British life, andwithin a month of its coming intoexistence we had enrolled some sixhundred members. Today, a year later,the membership stands at more thansixteen hundred. At the inauguralmeeting a Council of Management oftwenty members was appointed, andthis has met quarterly. At its firstmeeting in June 1965 the Council ap-pointed a General Purposes Committeewhich has conducted the society's dayto day business.

Besides these two formally consti-tuted Committees, the office has con-vened a number of sub-committees ofvolunteer members to plan and org-anise the many and varied activities ofa grov/ing organisation. These includeevents, library, trade union and w,eek-end school committees, and on behalfof the regular staff of the office Ishould like to express our great ap-preciation of the work of the numer-ous members who have helped in thisway. Without this unstinting help thefoundation could not have been laid,or activities developed in the waythey have.

VARIED MEMBERSHIPOur membership is very varied. It

includes academic men and women,people from many professions, doctors,churchmen, artists, actors, scientists,industrial workers, housewives, andstudents. Every time we hold an event,w,e meet and get to know more mem-bers, and the enthusiasm with whichthey support our activities is a furtherconfirmation of the need for theSociety's existence.

More and more young people arejoining us, and although we have notyet been able to devote sufficient at-tention to a membership campaignas such, we know that SACU has al-ready become known to many moremore people than our membershipfigure shows. Three-quarters of our_members are in the London area andthe rest are scattered throughout thecountry, wish large concentrations in

the bigger cities and academic centres.We already have branches of SACU

in the London boroughs of Camdenand Barnet, and outside London anumber of branches are already eitherin being or on the point of comingformally into being: in Oxford, Cam-bridge, Merseyside, Leeds, Manchester,Birmingham and Bristol, in March aScotland-China Association was formed,and although this is an entirely inde-pendent organisation we hope to haveclose working relations with them andto co-operate by supplying speakersand in other ways.

BRANCHES FORMEDOur first branch in Camden, in-

augurated last September, has beenresponsible for the organisation of abold programme of events during thepresent month — the Camden Festi-val of China. This started with anexhibition of Chinese paintings at theCentra! Library in Swiss Cottage,which was opened by the Mayor ofCamden and is stili on display to-gether with a number of photographsand handicrafts from China. Duringthe month a series of eight lectures ondifferent subjects is being given atthe library and other halls in theborough. Chinese films, together withFelix Greene's film 'China' have beenshown in various cinemas, the bookshops carry special displays, andChinese food and other articles arebeing displayed in shops. Among .eventsstill to come is the Teach-in on Chinato be held at the old Hampstead TownHall tomorrow afternoon and evening,and a dinner reception on Tuesdayevening, the 24th, with Chinese foodand music.

The programme of events has al-ready attracted large audiences, stimu-lating interest where there was noprevious knowledge, and helping toenrol new SACU members.

SPONSORS'VISITIn September/October last year a

group of four of our sponsors visitedChina at the invitation of the People'sAssociation for Cultural Relation withForeign Countries. After their return

May 1966)a meeting was held at which reportswere delivered by the sponsors. Weconfidently expect that many more ofour members and sponsors will bevisiting China in future, and we havealready arranged a tour for teacherswhich is going to China in August/September.

MEETINGS HELDIn addition to the meeting addressed

by our sponsors who visited China,the Society in the past year arrangedother big meetings including a brainstrust, a symposium on China's inter-national relations and a lecture by thewriter Han Suyin, which was un-doubtedly most successful both in re-lation to the audi.ence it attracted andthe information conveyed.

In addition to these large publicmeetings, we have also helped toorganise many meetings outside Lon-don. In December Dr de Haas ofLeyden University spoke in Oxford,Cambridge and London, and in March/April Han Suyin spoke in Leeds, Ox-ford, Liverpool and Manchester. Atour premises at Warren Street wehave a meeting room which can holdthirty to forty people, and we havefrom time to time had informal meet-ings and discussions. These smallevents in informal and more intimatesurroundings are very popular. In ad-dition to them we also have regularlya Chinese conversation class which hasdeveloped into a serious and well at-tended activity. The type of organisedevent most appreciated by our mem-bers has perhaps been our weekendschools. So far we have held foursuch schools, two in Sussex, one atBourton-on-the-Water in the Cots-wolds, and one at Scarborough, andthese have been successful in everyway in stimulating thought, discussion,and interest in China. Such schoolscreate an atmosphere in which mem-bers and friends of SACU can gettogether in smaller groups, listen tospecialists, and participate in unhurrieddiscussion in pleasant surroundings.All these schools are self supportingfinancially. They have also engenderednew ideas for activities which mem-bers want.

SACU is continually being asked forspeakers on China by a great varietyof other organisations, large and small,specialised and general. These includeschools, United Nations Associationbranches, political parties, Co-opera-tive guilds, etc. Many of our members,sponsors, and members of the Councilof Management and General Purposes

Continued on page 4

Secretary's ReportContinued /rom page 3Committee also speak on China to agreat variety of audiences, quite apartfrom meetings arranged through SACUIn this respect 1 think it only rightto single out our Chairman and DeputyChairman, who so willingly respond tocalls on their time even though, aswe know, they are engaged in veryimportant work in their own fields.We hope that with more people visit-ing China, and some returning fromteaching English in China, we shallbe able steadily to extend our panelof speakers, and so better meet thedemand.

An integral part of our work isthe development of an informationservice. At present this includes alibrary, which is being gradually builtup in our premises for the use ofour members. We also have for saleon our premises and at our meetings'books and other publications relatingto China, and files of press cuttingshave been started. This work is beingorganised and developed by volunteersto whom we are very grateful, and weexpect that it will gradually becomea most important part of our organ-isation. As I have already reported, wereceive requests for information frommany sources, and it is essential thatwe build up the organisation necessaryfor us to be able to respond ade-quately.

CO-OPERATIONAmong outside organisations with

whom we have co-operated, | shouldparticularly mention the BBC We have

been m touch with them about theirrecent ' study session ' series of broad-casts on China, and also about theexperimental series of Chinese languagelessons which are to be broadcast laterthis year. We have also been able tohelp by supplying names of people whohave visited China and might take partm BBC programmes.

Immediately after the formation ofSACU a need was feit for regularcommunication with our members Forsome months the office sent out monthlyduplicated bulletins informing them of

1965 this was put on a more permanentbasis with the first monthly issue of

SACU NEWS. This monthly newsletterwas started with an editorial commit-tee of three volunteers, who have nowbeen joined by a fourth. W,e feel thatin the months that have elapsed thishouse journal1 has proved its worth

m keeping the membership in touchwith Central Office, and presenting in-formation and views about China toour members. W.e are grateful to theeditorial committee for their work onSACU NEWS and look forward to ksfuture development.

. , TEACHERS'TOURAS I have already mentioned, we are

sending a teachers' tour to China inAugust/September this year. Othertours planned for this year have failedto materialise owing to practical diffi-culties but we confidently expect tobe able to run more and better toursnext year.

The most outstanding public ev*ntorgan.sed by SACU in the year since

the inaugural meeting has been theshowing of Felix Greene's film ' China!'at a premiere performance simultane-ously In the two Academy Cinemas inLondon. This was a great success inevery way, not least financially, andthe film subsequently ran for severalweeks, and has since been shown int-arnden in connection with the Cam-den Festival. We have had many re-quests for it from groups of SACUmembers and others outside Londonand it is now available for generalsnowing.

A 'NOT UNIMPRESSIVE'As I recite this list of activities

which we have initiated and helpedto develop, | feel that the characterand volume of the work we havedone in a comparatively short timeis not unimpressive, the more so be-cause it has been done on a very smallbudget by a very small office staff,with enthusiastic help from manyvoluntary workers.

IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONThe setting up as a Trust of the

Anglo - Chinese Educational Institute(covenanted subscriptions to whichwill give automatic membership Of theSociety) should ensure a more solidfinancial basis for the Society Asour membership in various parts ofthe country and the number ofbranches expands, our work shouldalso develop qualitatively as well asquantitively in the coming y.ear Theneed for mutual understanding in the

r^rcA^0meS 6Ver more necessaryand SACU certainly has an importantcontribution to make towards this.

SACU Holds First AGMONE HUNDRED and ninety-five mem-bers attended the First Annual Gen-eral Meeting held on the afternoonof Saturday, May 23, at Central Hall,Westminster.

In his opening remarks, the chair-man, Dr Joseph Needham, briefly re-viewed the accomplishments of thefirst year and spoke of teethingtroubles encountered during that ini-tial period. But, he pointed out, thebulk of work done by SACU wasimpressive and far more importantthan ' the somewhat scurrilous news-paper articles that might appear fromtime to time.'

Dr Needham was followed by theGeneral Secretary, Derek Bryan, whogave his annual report (reprinted infull on pages 3 and 4).

In the discussion following MrBryan's report, several points wereraised from the floor: the proportionof members' subscriptions going toHead Office; the question as towhether the next General PurposesCommittee might not be elected in-stead of appointed (this was to be con-sidered by the newly elected Councilof Management); why SACU had beenincorporated as a limited liabilitycompany (the answer from the plat-form: a legal formality to give protec-tion to the Society's objectives).

FINANCEThe next item on the agenda

was the financial report presented byAlec S. Horsley on behalf of himselfand Dr Nicholas Kurti, joint treasurersof SACU. Total income for the firstyear had been £7,891, of which£1,341 had come from members* sub-scriptions and £6,019 from miscel-laneous donations, the remaining £531having been raised by the sale ofliterature and the sponsoring of theshowing of Felix Greene's film ' China!'Major items of expenditure had in-cluded: salaries £2,829; postage £658;printing (including SACU News) £913;advertising £373.

The Society had finished the yearwith a surplus of £1,629 — of which£909 was represented by fixtures andfittings and £743 was cash at the bank.£161 had been invested in the library,and creditors were owed £184 net.

Mr Horsley concluded his report bystating that expenditure was expectedto top £7,000 during the new financialyear and that this meant that evenwith a membership of 4,000 — thetarget figure — £3,000 or more'wouldhave to be raised through donations.This, he said, was a very serious anddifficult financial position which hewarned was precarious and would con-

a report by E. L. Ha betstinue to be so for some time.

New members of the Council ofManagement were then elected (theirnames are on page 8).

RESOLUTIONSVotes were taken on the three

resolutions which had been submitted.The first resolution — which had beenproposed by the outgoing Council ofManagement — concerned the Society'spolicy and stated in part that ' Allmatters affecting China today havesome political content, and SACUdoes not restrict the rights of itsmembers to discuss any aspects ofChina's policies and way of life.'Further, the resolution pointed outthat SACU was not a medium forparty politics or ideological partisan-ship and that its membership includedpersons with varying political, philoso-phical and social sympathies. The re-solution also stressed that conclusionsreached by members were their own,without attempts at mutual censor-ship, and that, similarly, speakers onSACU platforms and writers in SACUpublications were expressing their ownindividual points of view.

The Council of Management resolu-tion was carried by the meeting afteran amendment proposed by the Bar-net Branch had been defeated by 84votes to 49.

The Barnet amendment had soughtto alter the Council's resolution bysaying that views expressed by SACU

speakers and writers — whilst remain-ing the .expression of an individualpoint of view — had to be necessarily'compatible with the stated aims ofSACU and therefore conducive to un-derstanding.' The defeated amendmentalso suggested that comment should beconstructive, criticism sympathetic.

The next two resolutions — onefrom Barnet Branch and the otherproposed by John Lloyd and 19 othermembers — asked that SACU appointa Press Officer. As the resolutions weresimilar in intent, the proposers wereagreeable to a suggestion from thechairman that they be amalgamatedinto one which was passed by themeeting. In its approved form, the reso-lution stated that the Press Officer'sjob would include the scanning of thePress for misleading or inaccuratestatements. Corrections would then beissued either by him or, when necess-ary, by an expert in the particularfield. The Press Officer would be an-swerable to the SACU Secretary.

CRITICISMSEarlier there had been criticisms

from several members complainingabout the Society's new Constitutionand the fact that 20 signatories wereneeded to propose a resolution atthe Annual Gen,eral Meeting. In orderto test the feeling of the meeting,the chairman allowed ' straw votes'on several points. These, he said, would

Continued on page 6

Some of the hundred and ninety-five members who attend.ed the SACU AnnualGeneral Meeting held on May 21, in the Central Hall, Westminster.

SACU A.G.M.Continued from page 5be helpful to the new Council ofManagement in considering whatchanges, if any, were needed.

Another ' straw vote' was takenwhen a member asked what steps the

Council of Management intended totake about the ' crass stupidity ' whichhad appeared in the Sunday Times.

Members raised their hands to indi-cate that by a majority of two to onethey felt that the Council should takesteps to refute the untruths which hadbeen contained in the article.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTSOCIETY FOR ANGLO-CHINESE UNDERSTANDING (UNINCORPORATED)

INCOME and EXPENDITURE from 1st March, 1965 to 5th April, 1966

SubscriptionsDonationsLiterature

(Sales 316;Purchases 185)

Film Show

£1,3416,019

131

400

£37323745

148

AdvertisingExpenses of Inaugural MeetingOther meetings (net cost) ...Printing of Newsletter

(6 issues)Printing (other than News-

letter) and duplicating ... 765Postage 658Salaries 2,829General office expenses ... 1,207

6,262Surplus on Income Account ... 1,629

£7,891 £7,891

The Surplus on Income and Expenditure Account at 5th April, 1966, wasrepresented by: Fixtures and fittings £909; Library £161; Debtors £26; Cash atBank £743 —£1,839; Less Creditors £210—Total £1,629.

NEW BRANCH?PLANS are now being made to pre-pare the launching of a SACU branchin South London. Members living inthe area who feel that they wouldbe able to help in any way with th.esetting up of the new branch areasked to get in touch with SACUcentral office, 24 Warren Street, Lon-don, Wl (EUSton 0074).

GRANT AWARDEDTHE DOROTHY ALTON Travel Fundgrant (see SACU NEWS, April issue)has been awarded to Miss Sally Bishop,a 29-year-old history teacher, of Nor-wich. We congratulate her, and lookforward to hearing from her and herfellow-teachers on their return fromtheir August-September tour of China.

CO-OP MEETINGThe Education Department of the

London Co-operative Society is holdinga meeting on China at the HolbornLibrary, Theobalds Road, WC1, onThursday, 14 July, at 7.30 pm.

Colin P,enn, who lived in China in1962-64, will be speaking and showingslides. Plans are also being made toshow films, and play Chinese music.

HOUSE MEETINGS —A SUGGESTION

IT HAS been suggested that, as auseful addition to the centrally-organised meetings held in large hallsand in the SACU premises, some mem-bers might like to arrange small' house' meetings or social events attheir own homes—inviting their neigh-bours, friends and relatives. This wouldhave the effect of decentralising theactivities, and possibly provide anucleus for branches in different areas.The idea is that the member would beentirely responsible for organising theevent (or enlist the help of friends)and get the audience, thus relieving theSACU office staff of any responsibility.If the audience is going to be a par-ticularly larg.e one, the office couldpossibly assist by providing a speaker,if approached in good time. The eventneed not necessarily take the form ofa lecture. It could be a gramophonerecital, a little concert with ' l ive'

artists, a Brains Trust, or just a socialgathering with some refreshments—providing it is made clear that it isbeing held for SACU and somethingis said during the evening about theSociety and its work—and a charge ismade for admission (or a collectiontaken). The office can supply literature,if requested.

We would like to build up a rotaof members who are willing to throwopen their homes for such events. Ifyou are interested, would you pleaseadvise the SACU office, saying onwhich date or dates you could arrangesomething. Providing th,e office knowsat least six weeks in advance, it.will bementioned in SACU NEWS, encourag-ing any members living in your vicinityto contact you for the necessarydetails.

JOAN HORROCKS

PEN PALSWE WOULD like to hear from mem-bers, especially those connected withschools or universities, who might beinterested in correspondence betweenEnglish and Chinese school childrenand students. It is hoped that a penfriend service might eventually develop.Mrs Vicki Garvin, an American teacherwho lives in Shanghai, has approachedthe Chinese authorities on this ques-tion and the initial response has beenvery favourable. We hope that mem-bers will take advantage of this excel-lent scheme.

SPEAKERSSeveral of our members who teach

English in Peking will be in Englandon leave in July-August and are willingto speak for SACU. Will any branchor individual member who would liketo arrange a meeting please write tothe Secretary at 24 Warren Street.

CAMDEN FESTIVAL SUCCESSIN SURVEYING the events which madeup the Festival of China in the Boroughof Camden in May it is gratifying toreport that the Camden Branch ofSACU was indeed successful in itsefforts to bring to the attention ofthe inhabitants of Camden the exis-tence of China as an influential andgrowing nation. Poster displays, ex-hibits in libraries and galleries, depart-ment stores and other shops, filmshows in cinemas, reports in the localnewspapers and announcements inschools, all contributed to make theFestival and its events widely knownthroughout the borough. The series oflectures (nine in the month) coveredsubjects such as the internal develop-ment of China, China's significance inWorld affairs, technology, music,health, etc. The audience varied insize and types depending upon thesubject, the speaker and the weather.The average attendance was 60 to 70persons. The last lecture of the seriesby Dr Joseph Needham was attendedby some 250 people, all of whomwere fascinated by the thesis he de-veloped, and impressed with the way agreat deal of detailed information waspresented.

Specialist KnowledgeAll the speakers who were heard

during the month brought specialistknowledge to bear upon their sub-jects. Malcolm Caldwell gave an ex-hilarating talk on neo-colonia!ism andits relevance to China's world position.Trade Unionists showed particular in-terest in Ernie Roberts' first hand ac-count of the life of industrial workersin China. Some of the lectures werewell illustrated with slides and photos:Dr Kurt Mendelssohn's exposition ofChina's technological developmentwas particularly good in this respect.

Other speakers included Miss MaryTregear who spoke authoritatively onChinese art; Colin Penn who possessesan excellent collection of slides oneveryday life in China; and MartinLawrence, who spoke extremely wellon Chinese music. Yet another high-light of the Festival was the Teach-inwhich is reported in detail on thispage.

Chinese DinnerA Chinese dinner held at the St

Pancras Town Hall Assembly Roomswas attended by over 250 people.Entertainment was provided by aChinese orchestra and the well-knownsinger, Martin Lawrence. Despite thefact that the dinner—owing to trans-

TEACH-1NS notoriously provide aforum for fiercely partisan debaterather than for informed or informativediscussion, which seems better suitedto the small group meeting. The ChinaTeach-in, organised by the Camdenbranch of SACU as part of its highlysuccessful China month, and held atthe Old Hampstead Town Hall onSunday, May 22, was no exception tothis rule, but there was a surprisingamount of hard fact in the course ofover six hours political jousting be-tween Right, Left and Centre.

SpeakersThis coherence was inspired by some

distinguished contributions from theplatform. In the afternoon ProfessorJoan Robinson and Miss Myra Roperdealt with the domestic situation. Bothspoke with that authority and objec-tivity which only intelligent first-handobservers of modern China seem topossess. Mrs Robinson's main themeswere the economy and the communesand she clarified several thorny prob-lems concerned with team and brigadeorganisation. Miss Roper dealt with theeducational system and happily avoidedthe kind of bland generalities whichso often mar discussion of China'sdomestic policies. From the floor therewere rath,er too many meanderingmonogues. One speaker wanted tohear some really nasty things, aboutChina, especially about the way inwhich intellectuals are silenced by theParty. Another accused the two mainspeakers of being lackeys of theChinese government. These, and several

portation problems — was not as hotas it should have been, the eveningwas successful.

During the Festival, many newSACU members were made — some50 were directly enrolled, and app-lications are still arriving in the post.The success of each lecture was re-flected in the number of books andperiodicals about China which weresold; results show that the Teach-inand Dr Needham's lecture were moststimulating and thought-provoking.

The ultimate value of the Festivalwas that the Camden Branch of SACUwas able to reach a wide and interestedaudience. It is hoped that in the futureSACU will be able to satisfy thedesire for information with greatereffectiveness. Thanks are extended toall members of SACU who worked sohard in arranging and carrying out thisfestival. K.A.

other misconceptions, were well cor-rected.

The evening debate on foreignaffairs was more passionate. Vietnam,of course, featured heavily. Happilythere were a large number of Asiansin the audience and their no-nonsensecontributions counter-balanced some ofthe more theoretical and abstract ar-gument. The platform was balancedbetween Right and Left. Mark Ruther-ford from the Spectator confessedhimself a reactionary but spoke ob-jectively about Western ' interests ' inAsia. He thought that there wouldhave to be some rethinking done onthe part of the Americans, but doubtedthat this rethinking would come intime to avoid a further deteriorationin the Asian situation.

Asian ExpertsJulian Ridsdale's speech was not well

received. He spoke of mysterious' Western hands reaching out in friend-ship towards Peking' but lacked thenecessary factual equipment on whichto base his argument. Hugo Brunner,representing the Liberal Party, was alsoshort on facts, and confined himselfto a not very convincing series ofsuggestions as to how Sino-British re-lations could be improved in the fieldsof trade and cultural exchanges. BenWhitaker criticised Mr Wilson's Asianpolicy and went on to give a fineaccount of the United Nations con-troversy. This was certainly the bestfactual contribution from the plat-form.

Malcolm Caldwell and John Gittingsare both Asian experts and they bothspoke well. Dr Caldwell's speech waspassionate and partisan, and yet onewas aware that his condemnation ofWestern policy In Asia was based onintensive research into the phen-omenon of neo-colonialism. John Git-tings explained that, contrary toofficial Western thinking, China'sforeign policy since 1949 had been acautious one, and that the Chineseleaders will continue for some con-siderable time to be more concernedwith domestic than with foreign af-fairs.

More Teach-insIt was a pity that not everyone who

wanted to had an opportunity to speakfrom the floor during the eveningsession. But no doubt there will beanother SACU Teach-in, and to judgefrom the reactions of members andnon - members after the meeting, thesooner this takes place the better.

W.E.L.

SACU Educational TrustWith the approval of SACU's

Council of Management, a Trust calledthe Anglo-Chinese Educational Institutehas been set up, with Dr Joseph Need-ham, Professor Joan Robinson and MrsMary Adams as Trustees. The objectsof the Trust are to encourage andpromote the stud/ and disseminationof knowledge of all aspects of Chinaand the Chinese people. They are thusbound up with the aims and objectsof SACU, and it will be possible hence-forth for some of SACU's work to bedone through and with the support ofthe Trust.

At present rates of income tax, theTrustees are able to recover from theInland Revenue the sum of £1 8s. Id.for every £2 given under covenant tothe Trust. A member of SACU canthus benefit the purposes of the Trustwithout any additional cost to him orherself by entering into a deed ofCovenant to pay (preferably byBankers Order) a sum of not less than£2 annually to the Anglo-Chinese Edu-cational Institute for a period of sevenyears.

The sum of £2 has been fixed as theminimum because the administrative

work entailed in recovering income taxis such that covenanted subscriptionsfor smaller amounts would not benefitthe Trust appreciably. However, it mayin some cases be possible for a marriedcouple to pay their joint subscriptionof £2 under one covenant, and thiswould be very helpful.

The deed has to be entered into fora period of seven years, but in practicea member may stop payments if hefinds it impossible to continue. In sucha case the Trust would have to refundto the Inland Revenue the benefitspreviously obtained under the coven-ant in question.

In short, a member of SACU payinghis subscription by covenant to theTrust in this way automatically in-creases its value by 70%. The onlycondition is that he/she should bepaying income tax of not less than£100 a year (£8 a month or £2 aweek). Of course the £2 minimum isnot a maximum! The greater thenumber and size of covenanted sub-scriptions, the more effectively willthe Trust, and thus SACU, be able topromote and advance education aboutChina.

WEEKEND SCHOOLSFriday 9 to Sunday 11 September, 1966Glynllifon Agricultural College, Caernarvon.

Sessions on: China before 1949; Developments in China since 1949;The Chinese Communes; China's Place in the World.Cost: SACU members £4/5/0; SACU students £3/15/0

Non-members £4/10/0Send deposit of ten shillings to central office to reserve place.

Friday 16 to Sunday 18 September, 1966Philipps House, Dinton, near Salisbury, Wiltshire

Sessions on: China 1840 to the Taiping Rebellion;Taiping Rebellion to 1911; 191! to 1949;China since 1949.

Cost: SACU members £4/15/0; SACU students £4/0/0;Non-members £5/0/0

Send deposit of ten shillings to central office to reserve place.It is proposed to hold a week-end school in the Home Counties in

October dealing with the life and influence of Sun Yat-sen, the hundrethanniversary of whose birth falls on 12 November, 1966. Members interestedshould apply for copy of programme.

OXFORD SCHOOLA Week-end School will be held in

Wadham College from 2-4 September,1966, on ' Europe and China; the his-torical background '. Speakers will in-clude Raymond Dawson on ' Europeanattitudes to China before the twentiethcentury ', Keith Scott on ' Russia andChina', and Evan Luard, MP, on' Britain and China '. There will be aBrains Trust with local members whohave recently visited China and a tourof the Department of Eastern Art at

the Ashmolean Museum conducted byMiss Mary Tregear. Professor C PFitzgerald will also speak on 'Chinaand Europe'.

The inclusive charge for attendanceat the Week-end School will be£4 15s Od for SACU members, £4 10 Odfor SACU student members, and£5 5s Od for non-members.

All communications should be sentto the Secretary, SACU (Oxfordbranch), c/o Oriental Institute, PuseyLane, Oxford.

Society for Anglo-Chinese Understand-ing Ltd (Founded IS May 1965).

Office: 24 Warren Street, London W.ITelephone EUSton 0074-5

Telegrams ANGCH1N London W.I

Chairman: Dr Joseph Needham

Deputy-Chairman:Professor Joan Robinson

Vice-Chairman: Mrs Mary Adams

Joint Treasurers: Mr Alec Horsley andDr Nicholas Kurti

Secretary: Mr Derek Bryan

Council of Management: Mrs MaryAdams, Mr William Ash, Mr RolandBerger, Mr Geoffrey Carrlck, MrRaymond Dawson, Mr Andrew Faulds,MP, Miss Margaret Garvie, Mr AlecHorsfey, Dr N Kurti, Professor JosephLauwerys, Mr John Longstaff, Mr EvanLuard, MP, Mr Ewan MacColl, DrJoseph Needham, the Rt Hon P J Noel-Baker, MP, Mr Ernest Roberts, Profes-sor Joan Robinson, Sir Gordon Suther-land, Mr Jeremy Thorpe, MP, DameJoan Vickers, MP, Mrs Ethel Wormald.

Believing that understanding be-tween Britain and China is of thehighest importance, SACU aims tomake information about China widelyavailable in order to help every in-terested person in Britain to makehis or her own assessment.

Membership of SACU is open to allwho subscribe to the aims of theSociety. Members are entitled to re-ceive SACU NEWS monthly free ofcharge, use the library at head office,call upon the Society for informationand participate in all activities of theSociety.

Annual subscription: £1.0.0. Reducedrates for old age pensioners (5s), andfull-time students (7s 6d).

SACU NEWS is published by theSociety for Anglo-Chinese Under-standing Ltd, 24 Warren Street,London, Wl. (EUSton 0074-5), andprinted by Goodwin Press Ltd(TU), 135 Fonthill Road, London,N4.