MIM Notes 187 June 1 1999

Harvard Chinese students organize for peace 

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--
Four Harvard University graduate students from 
China organized a petition drive on the Harvard 
campus on May 13 to stop the bombing of 
Yugoslavia. One male Chinese organizer asked 
passers-by: "what are you going to do, kill all 
the Serbians to save the Albanians?" MIM 
interviewed two of the wimmin organizers as 
well.

MIM: I work for a communist newspaper.

Student: The Chinese are not very communist 
these days. . . They just think it is better to 
do practical things. . . In the past the Chinese 
struggle for ideology too much.

MIM: Is this your first time organizing? Is this 
your first time organizing for an issue?

Womyn I: Yes.

Womyn II: Maybe not. One other time. You think 
it's just because of the bombing of the embassy?

MIM: Ah, you see where my question is going.

Womyn II: That's not the point. We have paid 
attention since the beginning . . . almost 50 
days.

MIM: I think it's all right if it is your first 
time. Maybe that's what caught your attention.

Womyn I: Right now we concentrate on economic 
development more, the national strength.

MIM: But don't you think you need some kind of 
ideology for the goal of global peace? Aren't 
economic development and global peace two 
separate things?

Womyn I: All I can say is that economic 
development will guarantee stability within 
China and that by itself will contribute to 
peace.

MIM believes that capitalist development in the 
United $tates hasn't prevented it from 
warmongering. Likewise, China cannot escape the 
question of social system when it comes to the 
goal of peace.

The activism of the Chinese students proves yet 
again the truth of dialectics. The ruling class 
cannot but help to politicize the masses.