to rob its people of resources and facilities that

to rob its people of resources and facilities that are needed at every level of daily living. Japan and Germany, where military expenditures comparable to ours and the U.S.S.R.’s have been avoided, have profited significantly. Can China have both rice and guns?

7. To change China, drastically will require a new educational system, new freedom for its people and such incredible economic disparity among the people that the present system of political control will have to be revamped. The example of Iran has shown that when a people are the victims of corruption and coersion for the benefit of a few, the government gulling the people may not endure. If China moves into billion dollar economic deals, can it remain honest?

8. I suspect uncertainty and indecision among the rulers of China. They are in a new developing phase—not a great leap forward, not a cultural revolution, not a cleansing of the influences of the gang of four but a pause while they come to some sort of consensus about the most rational steps to take next. So far, their announced plans for the four modernizations do not sound integrated. The propaganda we saw about the modernizations at a film show in Canton was not the sort to strike effectively at Chinese audiences. The government has a great people to work with but they need to be convinced that what’s being planned is good for all Chinese.

On leaving China, I asked myself: If I had returned after 30 years, as so many Americans have, what would seem the same? What would strike me as different? I think I know some of the answers to those questions. And if I return to China 30 years from now, what will be the same and what different? Some of the answers seem clear but many are clouded. For a long time to come, China may remain the most interesting society in the world.