Jaap Post
In recent times there have been several attempts to publish a magazine about China. None, but one of those attempts was long lasting. We are rightly proud that our VNC magazine China NOW has been around for almost 50 years. This is due to the great efforts of the editors-in-chief and editorial staff that China NOW has had over the years. Thanks to their creativity and perseverance, a high-quality, attractive magazine about China could be published over the course of many years. A great achievement, especially since it was mainly volunteers who achieved this every time.
In the run-up to the 50th anniversary, Jaap Post provides an overview on the history of China NOW in ten parts. In this issue we continue with volumes 21 to 25, the period 1996-2001, part 5. Jaap Post has been a long time active member of VNC ; as chair from 2001 to 2008, currently advisor to the board and member of the Committee of Recommendation.
A new magazine; a temporary success
Many reviews were published in China NOW about books written or translated in Dutch about China. An average of five reviews were included in each issue, year after year. This meant a steady flow of literature about China became available and pushed the start of a magazine for translated Chinese literature by a Flemish-Dutch initiative. Although finding finances was hard, a zero issue was published in the spring of 1996, followed by a first issue in October of the same year. The magazine was called ‘The slow fire’ and was published twice and later four times a year. The name came from a combination of the content and the way in which it was created. On a regular basis China NOW posted advertisements to recruit subscribers and for some years the magazine was successful. Unfortunately, the editors had to give up in 2010 after 47 issues. This once again shows that starting a magazine and keeping it on the market is no easy matter.
From political fanaticism to political tourism
VNC celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1997. On the occasion, China NOW looked back on the stormy first two decades of VNC, together with the first chair, Maarten van der Linden, and the former editor-in-chief, Kees van Galen. The initiators of VNC were people with a professional interest in the Chinese development model. But soon an influx was seen of people active in Maoist-oriented political organizations. The Communist Unity Movement Netherlands – Marxist Leninist (KEN-ML) encouraged its members to be active within VNC and accordingly used VNC as a propaganda tool for political purposes in the Netherlands. China’s war with Vietnam led to discussion: “You needed strange twists to justify your interest in the country.” The former members feared that VNC would be taken over by the Maoist wing, which was very active in a number of regions. The developments in China after the death of Mao Zedong also had an effect on VNC. The fanaticism of the Maoist wing waned and most of them dropped out. The members who remained were interested in travel, culture, history, language, etc. After a while VNC flourished again. At that time there was also more cooperation with sinologists. Their credo was: ‘Observe China, don’t ’embrace it.
In memoriam Deng Xiaoping
In the first issue of 1997, Garrie van Pinxteren wrote an article in China NOW about the then recently deceased Deng Xiaoping. Deng fell from grace several times in his long life, but always returned to the highest level. Deng is the man who initiated the successful economic reforms that were gradually implemented since 1978. However, Deng is also the man who ultimately sent the army against the students in 1989 to suppress the uprisings and the call for more democracy. Deng’s vision was achieving the highest possible standard of living for the population: “Becoming rich is honorable.” Mao stated that China could achieve anything independently of foreign countries if the entire nation committed itself to it. However, Deng noticed that China was materially lacking behind the West and considered the use of Western technology indispensable. Moreover, he doubted the selflessness of the people. Garrie concludes her article with: “Time will tell whether the economic miracle in China can continue without political reforms.”
Free Elections in China
In 1987, a law was passed that stipulates that the administrations at the lowest level in rural China must be elected through general elections. At that time, the majority of the Chinese population lived in rural areas, so it was a significant law.
VNC member Dr. Vermeer provides an extensive report on his visit to China in 1996, where he contributed to an EU project aimed at improving these elections. At that moment, in over half of the village communities, the administration was elected through general elections. This occurred in various ways: It was quite common for the number of candidates on the ballot to equal the number of positions in the administration. Voting still had meaning in this case, as you indicated not only whom you want in the administration but also whom you do not wish to see in it. If a candidate is not elected, then another candidate must be sought. In other villages, the number of candidates exceeds the number of seats, which comes closer to real elections. There was also a third possibility: if villagers want to propose someone themselves, they can do so by writing a name on the ballot. The village administration has two functions; first, to manage village affairs, such as distributing scarce resources, constructing roads, irrigation channels, and so on. The second is to perform tasks imposed by higher authorities, such as collecting taxes. The village administrations are inspected annually by the yearly meeting of villagers or, as is increasingly the case in many villages, by village representatives committees. Many in the West believe that this could be the beginning of the democratization of China.
Struggle Against Terrorism
“Seen as a dangerous criminal to one person may very well be a freedom fighter to another.” With this sentence the winter issue of 2001, themed around Crime, Terrorism, and Piracy was announced. This issue aligned with the onset of the War on Terrorism in response to the attacks among others on the Twin Towers in New York on September 11 of that year. It contains an interesting overview article about Xinjiang and the Taliban. While China, together with Pakistan, supported the Islamic Mujahideen against the Russians in Afghanistan, most of the perpetrators of bomb attacks in Xinjiang had gained terrorist skills in Afghanistan. Both the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the sinicization of Xinjiang stimulated the pursuit of independence. In the early 1990s, Turkish President Özal declared that all Turkic-speaking regions had gained their independence, except East Turkestan. China goes far in combating activists and militant Islamists. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has therefore informed the Chinese government that the fight against terrorism should not be a pretext for repressive actions against the Uyghur minority. In this context, I noticed an advertisement in the previous issue of China NOW from Amnesty International seeking two country specialists for China.
About town twinning and gap filling
In the 1990s, many ties were established between Dutch provinces and cities and Chinese cities and provinces. On this matter, VNC organized three meetings for officials and employees of the Chambers of Commerce and of municipalities and provinces that were actively involved in these ties with China. Topics discussed in these meetings included developments in relations between the Netherlands and China, subsidy schemes that apply to China and dealing with cultural differences. The meetings provided a platform to meet each other, gain information and exchange experiences.
These experiences could be very diverse. For example, two dentists from the Eindhoven region, in collaboration with the Jiangsu province, worked on a project to fill dental cavities without drilling. This method, developed by a dentist from Radboud University in Nijmegen, was designed to be used in poorer regions without electricity or running water. It could also be done by healthcare workers. The project turned out to be a success.
