Hua and Giscard Share Their Problems

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French radio, television Lelasiesen and press last week were dominated by the arrival of Hua Guofeng, premier of China, in Paris.

Despite a week of strike action by gas and electricity workers and a two day strike by some railway workers; and major floods in the south of the country, the arrival of Hua was shown time and again as the major news item.

The minute details of his six-day stay were reported and mulled over for significant signs of change of policy and attitude.

secret The French bourgeoisie made no secret of their interest in the country of 975 million: the expansion of trade and the exploitation of Chinese workers in an effort to bolster up their crisis-ridden,. staggering economy. Although sales increased by 82% in the first seven months of this year as compared with last, this is not enough to make much difference to the disastrous French balance of payments deficit.

The fact that Hua arrived first in France rather than West Germany, which does the greatest trade with the People's Republic, was fully exploited by Giscard d'Estaing at a time of growing domestic scandal for his government.

More and more evidence is coming to light of the close relationship between exEmperor Bokassa and Giscard and his family.

What has become known as the "affair of the diamonds" is doing much to undermine Giscard's authority in the run-up to the 1981 presidential The satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine has begun to catalogue the 'gifts' given to the French presiddent between 1970 and 1975.

It also printed a letter written on 18 April 1978 by Yvon Bourges, Minister of Defence which talks of the 'friendship which has tied us together for so long" and "l remain attached by so many links... to Your Majesty.

Giscard desperately needed some event to use to attempt to boost his flagging standing.

However, the class struggle impinged on the beano when Hua was unable to travel to Brittany by train because of a railway workers' strike.

The Communist Partydominated CGT, however, did their best to aid the government by restricting the gas and electricity workers' strikes to four hours on Tuesday and rotating regional strikes for the rest of the week.

These underlying threats In the midst of all this, and arguments about how much of an austerity budget the government will be able to get away: with in 1980, Prime Minister Raymond Barre shrewdly took to his bed.

Even the polite, banal exchanges between the French and Chinese leaders were not without complications.

How wäs Giscard to react to Hua's talk of the need to continue "opposing any appeasement of the "hegemonists"

prevent an explosion within Giscard with Hua Should he make clear a position on the Kampuchean dispute?

How was he to continue to refuse to China the military weapons it asked for?

The French president played safe on all these issues and merely talked vaguely of the 'great affinity' between Asia and West Europe.

The Chinese bureaucracy, however arguably faces even more problems.

Hua's visit to Europe is unashamedly to try and gain tion in Zimbabwe. Mugabe 71~ talks of the hunger for land the Chinese economy up by its boot laces.

The other major issue in Peking which got plenty of space in the French press this week was the trials of dissidents.

For the first time in post-revolutionary China a penal code is to be introduced as from 1 January. The 'Gang of Four' is to be tried under the code. But those under attack at the moment as 'counter-revolutionaries' appear to represent much. more of a threat to the bureaucracy than Mao's widow. A so-called public trial with hundreds of people present. was set up last week.

The main targets are those involved in the journal Tansuo (Explorations).

The first editor Wei Jingsheng has apparently been sentenced to 15 years imprison:

ment. 29 years old, he is an electrician working for the parks department in Peking.

He was arrested on 29 March and has been in No. 1 Prison, Peking, ever since.

Cultural revolution

At the beginning of the Cultural Revolution he was at the school attached to the University of the People.

He comes from a family of old Party cadres and was among the first members of the Rect Guards and the United Action Committee.

He revolted against thro bureaucracy in 1967 when he realised that the Red Guards were being manipulated by one faction of the party leadership› against another.

He also fought against Jiangi Qing, Mao's wite, and wasi arrested along with 200 others: