Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Where I Stand — Classic Hank: C-SPAN interview had an international flavor

Note to readers: Sun Publisher Hank Greenspun, who died in 1989, was a prophetic, hard-hitting columnist who butted heads with world giants and demagogues and zealously defended the rights of the little guy. Every week the Sun will run one of Hank's Where I Stand columns, recalling his finer moments as a chronicler of the late 20th century. We call this feature "Classic Hank. (TODAY: the International Olympic Committee recently selected Beijing,China, to host the 2008 Olympic Games. In 1984, Hank visited RedChina and reported that he saw the country "slowly lacing Marxism with capitalism.( He predicted in this June 6, 1984, column that China would be- come "a strong factor in world relations":

China revisited.

I was a guest of C-SPAN, which is in Las Vegas for the cable convention being held at the Convention Center.

For one hour I answered questions being called in from all over the country; not only about Las Vegas, the strike, the economy, the Hughes influence, but about China and the international scene when Brian Lamb, president of the company and my interviewer, notified the audience that I had just returned from China.

C-SPAN is carried over 1,350 cable systems across the country to over 17 million homes, so the questions were plentiful and varied.

One caller thought I was rather naive when I suggested that China is not a typical Communist society, but is slowly lacing Marxism with capitalism.

I countered that it was not my opinion I was expressing but that of greater experts, who had more exposure to the Chinese mainland in the past and who were revisiting it in the present.

One of the so-called China hands was Otto Miller, the retired chairman of the board of Standard Oil of California, who, with his wife Alberta, was on the ship with us and toured the mainland.

Each day there were lectures aboard the ship by Dr. Robert Bruce, from Scotland, whose forte is the Orient, and who speaks Chinese like a native. His long government service in that part of the world qualifies him to speak authoritatively on the subject.

We had discussions about what we had seen and heard, along with Maury Stans, who was director of the budget under President Eisenhower, and secretary of commerce under President Richard Nixon.

If these men cannot qualify as China experts, no one can, and these are the views I am expressing -- not my own.

The worth of an opinion is measured by the moral and intellectual competency of the man or woman by whom the opinion is express...so if there are some China experts who have developed their own ideas and sentiments about a situation, I hesitate to intrude with mine, which at best would be cursory.

Otto Miller didn't become chairman of the board of Standard Oil through a legacy or pre-accumulated wealth. He earned it.

He joined the company in 1934 as a research and developments engineer, rising in the ranks to supervisor, v.p., president from 1961-67 and then the top spot until his retirement. His first job after leaving engineering school with a Ph. D. was working in a gold mine in Nevada in a very commonplace job, which he was thankful to get.

In his position with Standard Oil, he was privy to all the reports of experts employed by the oil company in China where they had refineries and depots.

His impressions are invaluable to not only industrialists who will eventually do business with this vast country, but to all who will travel the China road. It follows.

"We visited China five years ago, somewhat more extensively than this tour. In this short period of time we noted changes far beyond our expectations.

"To name a few (1) people in the street (young and old) are noticeably better dressed in style, in quality of clothing and in footwear.

"(2) Many of the younger and a few of the older set now display considerable color in their dress; before we saw little but dark grey.

"(3) Construction is now going on in a major way in practically all areas we visited -- apartments, factories, water systems, sewage systems, etc. On our previous visit we saw very little construction and progress.

"(4) Trucks and buses are in much better state of repair, and in much greater numbers.

"(5) On our previous visit we saw few trees in the countrysides, and we were told that vast tree destruction had taken place in recent years to provide food as well as fuel. Now you see many varieties of trees growing on the edges of all roads, streets, canals and fields.

"Where is China headed as a country and in the world scheme of things? Five years of my small experience is too short to be meaningful, but I am inclined to be optimistic.

"Presently China appears to have some strong and dedicated leaders.

"It is quite evident they are experimenting a great deal with their so-called communistic system, and they do not appear to be reluctant to make changes in the interest of the state and the people. On every hand you hear and read of changes designed to promote incentive and remuneration to individuals or to groups linked to production. This could have far-reaching consequences in the progress of China.

"In the long run, the strength and the dedication of their leaders will be a major if not decisive factor as to their progress, and I do not believe anyone can foresee the future in this respect.

"I expect China to become more deeply involved in world trade, and in this area they could become a strong factor in world relations. I do not foresee them becoming involved in alliances with other nations in respect to world trade -- or any other respect."

This is the kind of thinking which can be helpful to our nation, and our president should value these opinions as the United States embarks on its new adventure with a new China.

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