OCR
N or October THE SITUATION IN CHINA. Besídes the vast interest aroused here by the result of Chu65n-lei's visit to Moscow, there are a number of much less publicized features of Chinese policies, which permit important conclusions as to the future policies of the country. Ever since the beginning of the summer, one feature was more prominent in the press than evefything else : the insistence, that while reconstruction was indeed a very important task of the Chinese regime, it should not be forgotten, that ell this reeonstruction would be of no avail, if it fell a prey to Imperialist agression. Hence there is a primary duty of preparing for war and building up en Army so powerful, as to deter the Imperialist Agressors not only against Chinese teritory proper, but also against the territories of supreme Chinese interest such as Korea, Vietminh and “other similar areas", This psychological buid-up led soon to the climax, which was General Hsiao Hua's in the Liberation Daily of August 1st, reproduced by prectically all the other papers. The most interesting | features of the article was the announcement of the creation of e regular system of conscription in the country, the full moder= nization of the army and the creation of an independent Chinese armament industry. This article, since then, has been quoted and re-quoted, end is obviously the outline of things to come, As of present the regular People's Liberation A 18 roughly 3,100,000 men strong, of which 2,350,000 are in the seventy first line armies, while the rest is in different mobile, motorized or artillery units, The Air Force is now 2000 planes strong, 900 of which are et propelied aircraft. This army has roughly 25% of its effectives permanently engaged in Korea, though the forces there rotate at such a speed that it is very hard to give an exact number at any given time, In fact Koree remains the central training groubd for Chinese forces, which achieves much more for them than the numerous mode rnization Academies organized at present in the different parts of the country. This first line force is ba cked by rough 2,000,000 so-called Regional or District forces, which together with the 1,000,000 Public Security troops are responsible for domestic order and the repression of bandit and gueriila activities. The basic reservoir of the Army are the 13,000,000 porrly equipped Home Guard Militia Forces, a force largely existing, on apere jé When General Hsiao Hua speaks of a regularized conseription system, he thinks first and foremost of the rational ytilization of the Home Guard and its transformation into a terri