Mao declaring the founPeoples' Republic of China, I October 1949. British imperialism at gun-point a century and a half ago should be welcomed by every socialist. The reunification of China and ending imperialist control of both Hong Kong and Taiwan has been an objective of the Chinese Communist Party since 1949.
The terms of the deal with Britain, represent a government's rightward move over the past years. Ironically, this deepening of a reactionary course comes almost exactly on the 35th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese revolution it self.
The Chinese-British aureemen smaa auas lo preserve the capitalist domination of Hong Kong's The Chinese leadership Inis as essenual lo Ils own development plans wolcivo ve dscredsing element of capitalist penetration of the Chinese For cabilausil. .the agreemen1 offers fresh opportunities exploitation the most populous market in the world.
Bat inorn doss such profit calculatons are, une core of the agreement altico al strengthening the existing aCCuCHs between perialism and the Chinese vul caurialy against the revolutionary struggles in Asia.
For the past ten years the Chinese regime has followed an open counterrevolutionary course, in Asia and on a world scale. on the pretext of fighting Soviet "social perialism'.
The Chinese government's record in that time is eloquent. In Africa, China supported UNITA in the Angolan civil war however, significant deepening of the Beijing ten (which placed it alongside South Africa!). In the Middle. East gave suppod in Latin America no and in Latin America ocel calosuo. Chile. In Europe support was given to the EEC Asia, Beijing congratulated the Sri Lankan regime on its repression of the left wing JVP The significance of Beijing's onemano Asia can hardly be overestimated This region has been at the centre of revolution since 1945. There have been five successful revolutions there since World War in China, Korea, Vietnam, Kampuchea Laos. It remains an area of great MStaDILv JIlperialism, most notably at Drescil the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines.
The Chinese Communist Partv's alliances ir the region for the last ten years have been. with the United States and Japan analist the liberation struggles. The Hong Kong dustrial goods — sectors of the which have been hard hit by the recession - and in the exploitation of cheap Chinese labour in light industry.
Agreements with capitalist powers that assist in the development ol unina s economy are of course, perfectly ассерtable. But not when ther accompanied by reactionary foreign policy.
The present agreement was hardly icveosal y SPARHAM /TET Thatcher could not have 'done Falklands' on Hong Kong. The people of Hong Kong had nothing to expect from British rule ana ll ls a aeligni lo ser Britain thrown out of one of its last colonies. But unfortunately those same people have also beer cynically bartered over by the Beijing regime OVLU see the British flag hauled down in yet another part of the world has to be tempered by that fact.
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